CHRISTMAS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
To celebrate Christmas or not to celebrate. That is the dilemma for the Christian who has an understanding of the well documented pagan roots to the worlds celebration on December 25. Others have an aversion to celebrating Christmas because of the commercialism that saturates the day and pushes Jesus into the background.
Well let me share with you another perspective on why it is OK to celebrate Christmas. And the reason is quite astounding!
Although before l do, l want to preface this with the comment that we should not be telling our children that Santa brings them the presents. When we do we are effectively saying that Santa, is omniscient, in that he knows who ALL the good kids are and who ALL the bad kids are. We are also saying that Satan is omnipresent, because he can be everywhere at once. As a Christian this is hugely problematic as ONLY the TRINITY have those attributes; and last l heard they are 3 not 4.
The other issue that arises is that we are lying to our children, unless you are telling them that Santa is only a make-believe! Then when our precious children lie to us we chide them, and lecture them on the virtues of being truthful!!! Children will listen to what we DO, more than what we SAY!
Anywho.. moving on from that l want to put forward the following perspective:
The passage under consideration is John 10:22-42
22“Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30I and My Father are one.” 31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 33The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” 34Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? 35If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” 39Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. 40And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42And many believed in Him there.”
This is a spectacular passage, one that again, overtly declares Jesus’ divinity; to fail to see this truth, would be akin to pharisaic blindness. John has now moved us onto the Feast of Dedication,[i] celebrated in the winter, again alerting us to the change of venue and season. When John mentions, it was now night, or winter, whilst clearly it is there for us to note the chronology of events, interestingly it also seems to reflect the spiritual temperature of the people in the narratives. The reader’s natural impulse might be to assume this is a mere description. After all, it was winter. But the thoughtful reader of the Gospel understands that time and temperature notations in John are also reflections of the spiritual condition of the persons noted within the stories; just as Nicodemus came by night (3:2); and Judas’s betrayal which took place at night, and aligned him with the power of darkness; the nemesis Satan himself (13:30; 18:3, 18; 20:1, 19; 21:3–4).
The picture painted here of the Jews, is one of frustration.[ii] They want Jesus to tell them plainly whether or not He is the Messiah, but they have ears that are deaf, for He has already clearly told them.[iii] If they had spiritual discernment, they would have clearly connected the dots and come up with the correct conclusion. The works Jesus had shown them clearly bore witness to His authority, but they kept rejecting His works[iv] because they conflicted with their oral laws, of healing on the Sabbath. So bound up in their legalism they failed to hear His voice, the legalistic voice was that of His nemesis, their father Satan the devil; the evidence was irrefutable. Jesus never shrinks back from telling things as they are, especially when He has already provided enough evidence, to validate His claims.
The unity of thought and action between Himself and His heavenly Father is profound and unique. In Jewish thought, only Yahweh is the one who can save, but here Jesus is assuming that same authority, which He has been given by Yahweh. Only one is considered the giver of life and that is Yahweh, but now, that same assertion is made by Jesus. Only one has supreme authority over all, and that is Yahweh, but here Jesus claims it for Himself. These declarations are the prelude to a comment that will shock their presuppositions and incite them to do violence against Him. In the next breath He states the impossible, ‘I and the Father are one.’[v] Such blasphemy is inconceivable, a travesty of epic proportions. They take up stones to stone Him,[vi] and clearly confess, it is not for the works that He has performed, but for this preposterous announcement, on His part that they are going to do away with Him; because being a man He dares elevate Himself to the status of God. We need to carefully note, they are not accusing Him of declaring Himself to be ‘a’ god, but the God, of the Old Testament. Should He have declared Himself ‘a’ god, their concern would not have been so hostile, as even the emperors were worshiped as gods. This is an unmistakable claim, and things will get somewhat interesting from here now, as we start to do some background digging. Firstly, we need to again take a step back into the Old Testament and examine ‘The Shema;’ Israel’s most sacred prayer.
The Shema is fundamental to Jewish tradition and is prayed daily; morning and night. In Deuteronomy 5 through 6, Moses calls the wilderness community of Israel together and reiterates the law to them prior to their taking possession of the Promised Land. It is essentially the retelling of the Law that was established at Mt. Sinai, to which the liberated people from the Egyptian slavery, agreed to follow wholeheartedly, yet unfortunately failed to uphold time and time again. Now on the precipice of entering the Promised Land, the generation that was birthed in the wilderness must agree to the keeping of it, as did their forefathers, before them. In verse 4 of chapter 6, Moses states, “Hear, O, Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” This verse has the palpable overtone to the Jewish mind, that the LORD, Yahweh, must be worshiped exclusively and is also a statement as to His plurality in unity.
This passage is often used by some to deny the 3 persons of the Godhead. The Hebrew word ‘echod’’ (one), however, prevents us from interpreting it as such, as it refers to a compound unity, it is also used in Genesis 2:24 of Adam and Eve who became 1 flesh. The Hebrew has another word which expresses exact singularity, it is the word ‘yochid’; this has the intended meaning of a singular 1, “The verse states that to Him alone the name of Jehovah (the Self-existing One) rightfully belongs, He is the one who is absolutely God,”[vii] it also segregates Yahweh from the polytheistic, syncretistic, belief systems of the pagan surrounding nations. He is not to be considered on any level as the same, and therefore, none but He is to be worshiped, neither would He share their affections with another. To ‘Hear’ is not limited to hearing alone as we might think; it implies action, obedience, as the text goes onto affirm that, one’s whole self, everything one does, one’s energies and affections must be devoted to Him alone; body, soul and spirit (Matt.22:38; Mk.12:29-30). Moses would not have understood the concept of Trinity as we suppose, from our study of the full scope of Scripture today. Nevertheless, the foundational understanding of Yahweh being a unified 1; is clearly witnessed in this text by the use of Elohim (God) which is a noun, masculine, plural; and can be said also of rulers, judges, angels, gods, and Elohim. Therefore to read the text with this understanding we would state it as; ‘The LORD, our God, is one, God, in plurality and unity and unique, unlike all other who claim to be gods.’ Jesus is saying of Himself; ‘I am unified one with God, not like any others who claim to be a god, but the God.’ This is a incredible statement to their ears.
They were taunting Him to reveal Himself, even blaming Him for their not understanding,[viii] yet when He did make His explicit claim, they could not bear the implications, when set against The Shema, and their only response was to stone Him, for such blatant blasphemy. Yet, we cannot stop here; as we dig deeper, we will see without doubt they would have recalled to their minds the imagery of a past historical event, which took place in the days of the Maccabees, further contributing to their vehement reaction.
The 1st thing that we need to do is remember where we are; namely at the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, or as referred to by Josephus, the Feast of Lights’ a feast not mentioned in the Law of Moses. It is a feast that postdates the closing of the Old Testament cannon; a feast that emerged from the Maccabean revolt around 164A.D. As with all the Biblical feasts instituted by God, feast were designed to recall and perpetuate the memory of God’s saving acts in the life of the nation of Israel. Over time, many of the practices associated with the Biblical feasts, were adjusted, no doubt impacted by different political regimes’, and circumstances. We arrive at the understanding of this feast from the Book of Maccabees. It was instituted by Judas Maccabaeus in 164A.D, after the Jews gained independence from the tyrannical rule of the Syro-Grecian domination. Prior to the liberation from the tyrannical rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanies (175 – 165B.C.; Epiphanies: god manifest in the flesh), the Jews were forbidden from speaking their language, circumcision, offering sacrifices at the Temple, in fact in order to ensure they would not, Antioch, a megalomaniac, desecrated the altar by offering a pig, a ceremoniously unclean animal to the Jews, upon the altar; and declared himself god in the Temple, along with erecting a pagan altar to Zeus. Every available copy of the Holy Scriptures was destroyed; whilst some hold that, a number of the obtainable Old Testament scrolls were rescued and hidden by the Maccabees, in the caves of Qumran.
Epiphanies demanded that the Jews recant their allegiance to Yahweh and offer a pig on the altar as confirmation of their allegiance to him. They were forced to watch their children and loved ones put to death, because they refused to recant. Some did, but most did not recant. It would be a bloody time in the nation’s history; however, from the Hasmonean family of Mattathias ben Yochanan, his five sons, hope came, as they organized a guerrilla-type army. Upon the death of their father, Judah became their leader; a man the likes of Gideon, in courage and stature. They ‘hammered’ away at the Greco-Syrian forces, thereafter Judah became known as the Maccabee; the Hebrew word meaning ‘hammer.’[ix] Upon victory the Temple was cleansed and refurbished, precisely three years to the day of its desecration, on the 25th of Kislev (December). A new altar was erected, with new stones, however, the previous stones from the altar were left in a corner of the Temple, as they had once been consecrated in worship; with the understanding that, when the Messiah comes, He will tell them what to do with the original stones. It is claimed that the Temple lamp was lit with only enough oil for only 1 day’s burning, yet continued to burn miraculously for 8 days. The number 8 Biblically, has the significance of new beginnings, as also male circumcision which is also performed on the 8th day, carrying with it the understanding of a new birth or new beginnings. First you are born naturally through a woman, and then you are born again, into covenant relationship with Yahweh. As Christians, how apt that we celebrate the arrival of the True Light of the world on December 25th; His entrance into the world, is the greatest miracle in the history of humanity, a new beginning; which brings light and new life and all who would believe in Him, are born again (Matt.1:18-25; Jn.1:4-13).
Now, as we look at the text again, with a fresh broader perspective, we begin to see why their response was so extreme. This Man standing before them, not only applies the sacred Shema to Himself, but further stands in the Temple as Epiphanies did 200 years earlier, declaring Himself God. They could not imagine what madness might ensue from this Man’s proclamation; would He be the second Epiphanies, and violate the Jews and their sacred Temple? To relive that horror was unimaginable; He must die. They pick up the very stones from the previous altar, left in the corner of the Temple, that were once the object of defilement, to kill the one who was standing there and by His very proclamation, again in their minds, defiling the Temple and Yahweh. So, at this point we can possibly sympathise with the religious Jews, because of the history behind the feast, but we can also now grasp the greater significance of Jesus’ self-revelation at this feast. This would not be Déjà vu; it would be a moment of great significance and the portent of something new, if only they would believe; Jesus mentions the importance of belief, some 5 times in this passage alone. The argument by which He brings them to understanding what He has just spoken, is taken from the passage in Psalms 82:6. Jesus raises the issue in a rhetorical fashion; because His opponents are ill equipped to come to the right conclusions. Again we witness an interplay of words, as Jesus shows them true logic. Essentially, the key to the passage is recognising that Jesus is the God-sent one, and if Scripture applies such theological terminology to created beings, in Psalms,[x] and Scripture is true and cannot be broken, how much more so, should this term be applied to one, who by His very works clearly demonstrated, His divine beginning, as having been sent by God. The argument is similar to Jesus’ unanswerable question when He quotes Psalm 110:1 in His Synoptic arguments with the Jews, in Matthew 22:41–46, Mark 12:35–37 and Luke 20:41–44. A play on words is seen when He talks about Himself as being sanctified by the Father or set apart. This word used, and applied to Himself, within the context of this feast, a feast commemorating the Dedication or Sanctifying of the Temple, becomes all the more profound. In the Old Testament, holiness is an attribute of God, who also sanctifies or separates to Himself both things and people and declares them holy. Therefore if Jesus had been sanctified and sent by the Father, the designation ‘Son of God’ was hardly a blasphemous statement for Him to make (10:36).[xi] Ultimately, if they can provide proof that His works are not from the Father, then His claims are as they say; blasphemous. However, if they cannot refute His works as being from the Father, then they are in a dangerous position themselves, and the hardness of their heart becomes evident; and He is indeed, who He claims to be.
We wear wrist bands inscribed with the letters, ‘WWJD’ – What would Jesus do? Essentially the works Jesus did was like this wrist band, except it would be stated differently as, ‘WWTFD’- What would the Father do? That question is easily answered from the Old Testament, that He is the healer and deliverer (Ex.15:26; Ps.103:3; 107:20; 147:3). How do we recognize what Jesus would do? We read the Scriptures. How were they to know what the Father would do? None are more conversant with the Scriptures than His audience; there is no excuse. Condemned by His words, rather than believe, they seek once more to kill Him; yet again He slips from their grasp. His retreat is not a cowardly act, but rather the act of someone who is on a timetable, that nothing or no one will derail; when the time is at hand, He will neither hid nor run from His destiny.
Following this hostile confrontation, Jesus retires to the area that was renowned for the Baptists work; beyond the Jordan,[xii] and there He finds faith; how refreshing that the common country folk will listen compared to those educated, who refuse to hear or believe in Him. Interestingly John makes a fascinating comment about the Baptist, that he was not known for performing any miraculous works, but only for his prophetic proclamation about the impending arrival of the Messiah. The Baptist really does strike us as a man of great humility, a man who never wanted to draw the glory away from the Messiah, nor grasp for being known as a great miracle worker, and yet, he had such a profound influence upon his disciples, who readily became Jesus’ disciples upon his declaring Him so. The Baptist, left behind a wonderful legacy of a man who pointed to Jesus, who never used his family connections as Jesus’ cousin to gain prominence; rather he was a man content to fulfil the background role, for which he was commissioned. Even so, his role was pivotal, in the scheme of things; he was clearly a competent teacher; due to his teaching, they believed in Jesus, when He presented Himself there.[xiii]
We can fall into the trap of wanting to be known as a great miracle worker, giving words of wisdom from heaven, being used to heal sicknesses, known for being used mightily by God; for our glory. We will look at the Kathryn Kuhlman’s and the Benny Hinn’s or the Reinhard Bonnke’s of this world and think these are the ministries that really count. We will compare ourselves against others and feel frustrated, believing our small contribution in the back blocks of our neighbourhood, or our work environment, matter little. However, the truth remains, namely, all that we do in the Kingdom of God, no matter how quiet or public, is observed equally in heaven, and has the focused attention of God. We have all been commissioned to speak the Word of God and make disciples, we are all ordained ministers by God, whether we preach from a pulpit or not, or whether we carry a minister’s credential card in our wallet, or not. We can all lay hands on the sick and they will be healed, we can all give words from heaven, but if we are waiting for a TV station to notice us, or the newspapers, or people in general, we may be waiting a very long time, and as a consequence miss wonderful opportunities to see God move in our lives, and in the lives of the people around us; for His glory. We have all been given gifts and talents to use in the Kingdom of God, may we not bury them, may we be driven by nothing other than to bringing glory to Jesus, at all times; whether we are noticed or not.
A beautiful, reassuring picture of eternal security emerges, from Jesus’ statement, for those who are His sheep where He says of them, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” It shows us how involved the Trinity is in our salvation. The Father draws us to Him, holding us in his hand, and gives us to the Son. The Son takes responsibility for the sheep and dies for the sheep, holding them in His hand. No one is able to tear them from their hands. And Paul tells us that no one can say Jesus is LORD except by the Holy Spirit (1Cor.12:3). In other words, it is the Trinity that is committed to our eternal security, our salvation.[xiv] The passage does not read, that we are holding onto the Father and the Son;[xv] this is all the action and the initiation of the Trinity; working in concert to ensure our salvation. And rightly so, as salvation is by grace and initiated by God, alone, we have done nothing deserving of salvation nor will we ever be able to do anything, worthy of salvation.
So often Christian’s wrestle with the theology of salvation; one day they feel saved, the next day they don’t. Their Christian walk is a roller coaster ride; exhausting and volatile. They wonder if they are good enough, holy enough, working hard enough for God, and what more they can do to ensure their salvation. Paul states that “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom.8:38-39).
The parable of the prodigal son, who left and upon returning was happy just to be a slave; was met by a father who restored him to the same status as he had before he left. Why? Because a son is always a son, there is not time when he ceases to be such (Lk.15).[xvi] The truth is that we are not good enough, or holy enough, nor can we ever work hard enough for God, and there is nothing we can do to ensure our salvation; it was all done for us, it is called Calvary. Our salvation is initiated by God and our eternal security in Him, is His primary concern. May we rest in this knowledge, may it be revelation to us. However, conversely, may we never see it as a licence to sin; grace should never be abused. Paul in Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God’s grace will increase? Certainly not! We have died to sin, how then can we go on living in it?” (GNB).
[i] It was often called the Festival of Lights. There were great illuminations in the Temple; and there were also illuminations in every Jewish home. In the window of every Jewish house there were set lights. According to Shammai, eight lights were set in the window, and they were reduced each day by one until on the last day only one was left burning. According to Hillel, one light was kindled on the first day, and one was added each day until on the last day eight were burning. We can see these lights in the windows of every devout Jewish home to this day. These lights had two significances. First, they were a reminder that at the first celebrating of the festival the light of freedom had come back to Israel. Second, they were traced back to a very old legend. It was told that when the Temple had been purified and the great seven branched candlestick re-lit, only one little cruse of unpolluted oil could be found. This cruse was still intact, and still sealed with the impress of the ring of the High Priest. By all normal measures, there was only oil enough in that cruse to light the lamps for one single day. But by a miracle it lasted for eight days, until new oil had been prepared according to the correct formula and had been consecrated for its sacred use. So for eight days the lights burned in the Temple and in the homes of the people in memory of the cruse which God had made to last for eight days instead of one. Barclay, W: 70-71.
[ii] “Came round about him” ἐκυκλωσαν αὐτον. AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE of κυκλοω, old VERB from κυκλος (cycle, circle). Robertson, A: Jn.10:24.
The Jews gathered around Him. Actually they “closed in ekyklōsan, on Him.” The hostile Jerusalem leaders were determined to pin Him down, so they surrounded Him. Solomon’s Colonnade was a long covered walkway on the east side of the Temple. Walvoord, J. F. et.al: Jn.10:22-23.
Solomon’s Colonnade had remained intact in the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. Vincent, M. R: Jn.10:23.
JOSEPHUS says that Solomon’s Colonnade was part of the original structure of Solomon’s Temple. Josephus writes: “And now it was that the temple was finished. So, when the people saw that the workmen were employed who were above eighteen thousand, and that they, receiving no wages, were in want, because they had earned their bread by their labours about the temple; and while they were unwilling to keep them by their treasuries that were there deposited, out of fear of [their being carried away by] the Romans; and while they had a regard to the making provision for the workmen, they had a mind to expend those treasures upon them; for if any one of them did but labour for a single hour, he received his pay immediately; so they persuaded him to rebuild the eastern cloisters. These cloisters belonged to the outer court, and were situated in a deep valley, and had walls that reached four hundred cubits [in length], and were built of square and very white stones, the length of each of which stones was twenty cubits, and their height six cubits. This was the work of King Solomon, who first of all built the entire temple. But king Agrippa, who had the care of the temple committed to him by Claudius Caesar, considering that it is easy to demolish any building, but hard to build it up again, and that it was particularly hard to do it to those cloisters, which would require a considerable time, and great sums of money, he denied the petitioners their request about that matter.” Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1996). The Works Of Josephus: Complete And Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson. [Antiquities, 20.9.7]. Jamieson, R., Fausset, et.al: Jn.10:23.
[iii] “Because ye are not of my sheep” ὁτι ἐκ των προβατων μου. This had been the point in the allegory of the Good Shepherd. Robertson, A: Jn.10:26.
[iv] “If you don’t believe my words, believe my works.” Jesus asserted that, even if the Jews couldn’t accept His claims of deity, the miracles He had performed should be sufficient grounds for faith. Willmington, H. L: 615.
[v] “One” ἕν. The NEUTER, not the MASCULINE εἷς, one person. It implies unity of essence, not merely of will or of power. Vincent, M. R: Jn.10:30.
[vi] “Do ye stone me” λιθαζετε. CONATIVE PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE, “are ye trying to stone me.” They had the stones in their hands stretched back to fling at Him, a threatening attitude. Robertson, A: Jn.10:32.
[vii] Gaebelein, Arno Clement. (1861-1942). The Annotated Bible: The Book Of Deuteronomy.http://bartimaeus.us/pub_dom/deuteronomy_gaebelein.html. Fruchtenbaum, A. (1998): 103-116.
[viii] “Make us to doubt” τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις. Literally, lift up our soul. Excite us and inflame our hopes. Vincent, M. R: Jn.10:24.
[ix] Brotsky, Edward Daniel. (1988). “The Bible and Prophecy: A Messianic View.” Lecture.http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/judeochr/hannxmas/macca.html; Edersheim: p214; Urbach, E: 526.
[x] “If he called them gods” εἰ ἐκεινους εἰπεν θεους. CONDITION OF FIRST CLASS, assumed as true. Robertson, A: Jn.10:35.
Ps.82:6. It used Elohim to refer to human judges. These judges (though wicked) are called “sons of the Most High.” The term Elohim is PLURAL in Hebrew but translated SINGULAR and used a SINGULAR VERB when referring to the O.T. Deity. Utley, R. J. D: 100.
On “your law” Psalm 82:6 in context refers to powerful people, probably the kings of the earth viewed as God’s divine council; those kings considered themselves divine, but they would perish like mortals. Keener, C. S. et.al: Jn.10:34.
An assortment of New Age sects and quasi-Christian cults believe that humans are divine. Often they point to this verse as support. This verse is actually a reference to Ps.82:6, a psalm of Asaph, which describes O.T. judges who stand in the place of God to judge His people. Being His representatives, they possess delegated authority to speak on His behalf. In Ps.82:7 these gods/judges are said to face death because of their unjust verdicts, showing conclusively that they are human and not divine beings. The word translated “gods” (elohim) in Ps.82:6 is translated as “judges” in Ex.21:6 and 22:8. This is not an acknowledgement of polytheism or a claim that human beings are gods; it is an argument from the lesser to the greater. Cabal, T. et.al:1592.
[xi] Borchert, G. L: 343; For a comprehensive study on the Greek text of the I & My Father Are One passage 10:22-42, see Barrett, C.K. (1978). The Gospel According To St. John: 378-387; Tenney, M. C. (1989). John The Gospel Of Belief: 166-169; Kelly, A. & Moloney, F. (2003). Experiencing God In The Gospel Of John: Chapter 10.
[xii] “Beyond Jordan” πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου. Into the region called Perea, from πέραν, beyond. It was on the east side of the river, and was the ancient possession of Gad and Reuben. Vincent, M. R: Jn.10:40.
This Bethany must be distinguished from the Bethany near Jerusalem, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. Hughes, R. B., & Laney, J. C: 476.
[xiii] John, even though dead, was still having influence in people’s lives as they remembered his witness. Though John never performed a miraculous sign sēmeion, the people believed his witness about Jesus. By contrast, the hostile Jerusalem crowd had seen His signs and yet disobeyed. Walvoord, J. F. et.al: Jn.10:40-42.
[xiv] “And they shall never perish” και οὐ μη ἀπολωνται. EMPHATIC DOUBLE NEGATIVE with SECOND AORIST MIDDLE (INTRANSITIVE) SUBJUNCTIVE of ἀπολλυμι, to destroy. The sheep may feel secure. Robertson, A: Jn.10:28.
[xv] The security of the sheep is found in the ability of the Shepherd to defend and preserve His flock, and does not depend on the ability of the frail sheep. Walvoord, J. F. et.al: Jn.10:28. What is true in the natural is true also in the spiritual. Through natural metaphors God communicates His heart to us.
[xvi] Missler Chuck: John 10. [Audio].
