Sermon Notes - John 10:22-42 - Littleby Baptist Church - June 25, 2023

1.     I would say that Jesus was pretty clear last week.

a.      He is our shepherd.

b.     He loves us, protects us, and provides for us.

c.      If He is our Savior, we are to follow Him.

d.     To trust in His Words, let them guide us, and grow us as His followers.

2.     Simply, we need to listen to His voice and Follow Him.

3.     John 10:22

a.      Festival of Dedication would be called Festival of Lights or Hannukah today.

b.     A celebration in honor of the reconsecration of the temple that happened in 165 BC.

4.     John 10:23

a.      Jesus returned to the temple of God, and is in Solomon’s Colonnade, a long covered hallway on the East side of the temple.

b.     These events take place roughly two months after the last conversation we looked at in John between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.

5.     John 10:24

a.      They surrounded Jesus.

b.     Cornered Him and wanted to force Him to answer their questions.

c.      They were hoping that He would clearly state that He was the Messiah so that they could try Him for blasphemy.

d.     We have seen a couple of occurrences in John that the people wanted to stone Jesus.

                                                    i.     He had stated that He came from the Father.

                                                  ii.     He called himself ‘I Am’… meaning He is God.

e.      His past declarations may not have been clear enough or public enough to convict him.

f.      They have been clear enough for us to know that Jesus is God.

g.     But maybe not legal enough for the actions those who had turned against Jesus wanted to take.

6.     John 10:25

a.      The works speak for Jesus.

b.     The signs declare that He is the one sent by the Father.

c.      The leaders did not see it.

d.     They could not see that this poor carpenter’s son was the Christ.

e.      They were set on their preconceived notions of a coming warrior king.

f.      No way it could be this man who came to serve and to be a sacrificial lamb.

g.     Sadly, many have preconceived notions on who God should be.

h.     I once thought that I could not follow a God who condemned good people.

i.       Now I know better.

j.       God does not condemn good people; He calls out to them in hope that they will choose Him.

k.     It is our sin that condemns us, not Jesus Christ.  

7.     John 10:26

a.      A sad statement, they do not believe because they are not His sheep.

b.     They don’t believe that Jesus is the one the Father sent.

c.      They are holding on to their sin instead of looking to God.

d.     Many today have a preconceived notion of what God should be like.

e.      Loving All – Ok.

f.      Forgiving – absolutely.

g.     Accepting of all – Yes, He accepts all people but also no, He does not accept all our choices or lifestyles.

                                                    i.     He wants none to perish, but we have to repent of our sins.

h.     Many paths to Glory – No.

i.       Those that believe are those that follow Him.

j.       We understand that we are all sinners and that all of us fall short of the glory of God.

k.     We recognize that we all need a Savior.

l.       As His sheep we are choosing to forsake the world and to follow Jesus.

8.     John 10:27

a.      As Jesus’ sheep we are to…

b.     Listen to Him.

c.      Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

d.     We are to study His Word.

e.      We are to talk to Him.

f.      Our God knows us, we have a relationship with Him.

                                                    i.     The more time we spend with Him, the closer we become.

g.     As His sheep we are to follow Him.

h.     We don’t just read His words and maybe memorize a few verses here or there.

i.       We don’t just show up on Sundays.

j.       We are to do the work that we were created to do.

k.     We are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and to do the will of the Father.

l.       It is a lifestyle of giving each aspect of our life to Him.

m.   It does not have to be complicated.

n.     It simply starts by giving Him our time each day in the Word and in prayer.

9.     John 10:28

a.      Amen!

b.     Our salvation through Jesus is Secure!

c.      Through His sacrifice we are saved, we are redeemed.

d.     We will not taste eternal death.

e.      We will not be cast into the lake of fire.

f.      The devil cannot steal our hope, our salvation.

g.     We belong to God.

h.     1 Peter 2:9

i.       We are His possession, and He will defend us.

j.       He will not give us up without a fight.

k.     And here is the best part of that, if Jesus if fighting for us, no one can stand against Him.

l.       No one can beat Him.

m.   Our salvation is secure in our Lord’s hands.

10.  John 10:29

a.      Jesus points to the Father.

b.     It is the power of God that keeps the followers of Christ secure.

c.      The Father is Omnipotent, His power is complete, it is absolute.

d.     The power that created the world, through Jesus.

e.      It is more than all of the power in this world.

f.      The power of God makes our salvation secure; it cannot be taken from us.

11.  John 10:30

a.      The will of the Father and the Son are aligned.

b.     They are on the same page and out to achieve the same goal.

c.      Colossians 2:9

d.     They are united.

12.  John 10:31-32

a.      The crowd understood what Jesus meant.

b.     They understood that He was stating that He is one with the Father, that He is God.

c.      That is why they prepared to stone Him.

d.     There was not doubt in their minds, Jesus was claiming to be God.

e.      Jesus questioned them, what did He do to justify this attack?

13.  John 10:33

a.      The signs, the healings, the feedings, they are not the issue.

b.     Their issue was that He claimed to be one with God the Father.

c.      Their actions and words show that they knew Jesus was claiming to be God.

d.     When we read these words, rhere should be no doubt in our minds that Jesus is exactly who He says He is.

e.      He is God, He is Savior, that He is our Lord.

14.  John 10:34

a.      Psalms 82:1-8

b.     They act like gods, lower g.

c.      Meaning they are passing judgement.  

d.     They are falling short in this manner.

15.  John 10:35

a.      Elohim = gods, God, or judges.

b.     Jesus is confirming that Scriptures states that men can be judges.

c.      He also states that since it says it, it cannot be broken.

d.     What Scripture states is the absolute truth.

e.      Isaiah 40:6-8

f.      It is eternal.

g.     Matthew 5:17-18

h.     It is infallible.

i.       It is the perfect word of God.

j.       We need to trust in what the Word shows us.

k.     It is our measuring stick, our plumb line.

l.       Absolute truth.

16.  John 10:36

a.      Jesus is twisting this back to them.

b.     How could those appointed to be gods, or judges, claim that the one sent by God the Father is a blasphemer?

c.      If they are to be wise enough to judge, how could they get this one so wrong?

d.     Isaiah 45:9

e.      How could the created claim to know better than the Creator?

f.      It is not possible for humans to correct God.

g.     God is all knowing, we are not.

17.  John 10:37-38

a.      If you see the signs as from God, believe the words.

b.     The signs were given so that people, that we would see that Jesus is God.

c.      The signs Jesus performed declare that He is who He says He is.

d.     It may be hard to accept the words alone, but the signs should convince them and us that Jesus is God.

18.  John 10:39

a.      We know how the story plays out.

b.     We know that Jesus will be crucified, but this was not that time.  

19.  John 10:40-42

a.      John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus.

b.     He planted seeds and watered them.

c.      Jesus brought the growth.

d.     People believed.

e.      There is no guarantee that every person we plant a seed with will be saved.

f.      But we don’t know when acceptance and ultimately redemption will come.

g.     Keep planting, keep watering, keep praying for God to break through.

20.  We continue to see John point out that Jesus is God.

a.      We continue to see people reject Jesus, while others believe in Him.

b.     We see it in John’s letter.

c.      We see it around us each day.

d.     As those who have been redeemed, we are called to follow our Good Shepherd.

e.      When He tells us to share the Gospel with others… we are to do it.

f.      When the Scripture says one of our jobs is to make disciples, that is what we are all called to do.

g.     As we follow Jesus, we are going to have days we see Him working and days we question what is going on.

h.     Thankfully that has no impact on our salvation.

i.       Our Hope that is grounded in Jesus is locked solid.

j.       Scripture tells us that it cannot be taken from us.  

k.     As Jesus stated, Scripture is true, it is infallible.

l.       Scripture guides us and is one of our conduits to our God.

m.   It helps us to see the Truth in this world and the things we need to stay away from.

n.     Make the infallible Word of God a priority each day.

o.     It will help you to draw near to God and help you avoid the traps of the devil.