Interpreted to Death (witness number twenty) ...

Time passes, but people are not changed in a positive way by the passage of time, without a reliance on Christ.  It was winter, during a feast of dedication, and Jesus was in Jerusalem again walking and teaching in the porch of Solomon’s temple.  John’s gospel account continues in chapter 10 and verse 24 when Christ is confronted by the Jewish religious leadership who again ask Him to state plainly whether He was the long awaited Messiah or not.  This question however, was not designed to illicit a spiritual response, it was designed to illicit a political one.  The popular conception about the primary job of the coming Messiah was that He would liberate the people from Roman oppression.  The Pharisees and religious leaders had applied the texts in their scriptures regarding the final kingship of Christ and the overthrow of all evil in the universe to His first appearance by mistake.  They ignored all the references to the sacrifice the Messiah must make of His own life for our redemption, and applied only those that referenced worldwide dominion of His kingdom.  This was a popular view because it offered the people hope to live outside of oppression, with the possibility of power that would never reach an end.  The Pharisees, being the leaders of the people at the time, considered themselves to be the “first” to enjoy the privileges of world-wide dominion.  This was the idea of the Messiah they were invested in.  That the true Messiah might be the sacrificial Lamb of God, and never declare His own power, was inconceivable in their minds.

The Pharisees hoped that if Christ would simply declare Himself openly as the Messiah, the pressure of the people to liberate themselves from Rome would be so great, that He would either have to capitulate to their demands, or to lose them as followers.  In either case the Pharisees stood to gain the advantage.  Most of the traps the Pharisees laid for Christ were designed to be no-win situations, where either answer could be exploited for their purposes.  The fundamental they were relying on is the choice between two evils.  The truth they missed was that with God, we are never forced to make a choice where both outcomes are evil; there is always another choice through the power of God that can confound evil entirely.

So in verse 25 Jesus begins His response saying … “Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: …”  This question had been asked and answered, just not in the way the Pharisees had desired.  The work of the Messiah was NOT to be what they were looking for.  Jesus continues … “the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.”  The mission of the Messiah was to LOVE.  His sacrifice for our redemption was the epitome of Love.  Every encounter of Christ with our brokenness was to heal and restore us.  Every encounter of Christ with us sinful men, was not to condemn us, but to love us to redemption, restore us to His intentions, and focus us on what is truly important.  Christ freed no slaves from their owners.  But he offered each of us freedom from slavery to self, that whether bound or free, we are all subject to without His gift.  Christ did not nothing to overturn the power of Rome by force or by conflict.  But by meeting evil with love he started a movement that would turn the largest heathen power in the world into a different creature who would attempt to carry His name.  Christ knew that only Love can defeat evil.  Matching force with superior force does nothing to eliminate evil.  But matching evil with superior love, destroys and eliminates evil once and for all.  The deeds of Christ attest to the response of our God to us.  The deeds of Christ show the heart and motive of God.  Jesus did nothing for Himself, but everything for us.  Our God literally served us first.

But the idea that the most powerful being in the universe would stoop to serve others with no thought to Himself, was more than the Priests could take in.  It was baffling that one with so much potential power would use none of it to exalt Himself, and all of it in simple service of love to others, particularly to those who did not “deserve” these displays of love.  The priests, like Satan, reasoned that if “they” had that kind of power, “they” would rule the world (you know, in a good way).  But this is the contrast between God and Satan – God uses His power to show love to all.  Satan would use his power only on himself at the expense of others.  So the Pharisees did not believe in Christ, because Christ did not follow their logic or wisdom, or make sense to them.  All of their study of scripture had done nothing to melt their hearts from thinking first of serving only self.  Scriptural leadership had offered them power, and superiority over other people.  The concepts of service were replaced with self-aggrandizement.  And now this humble teacher showed a stark contrast between where they were, and where they should have been.

Jesus continues in verse 26 … “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. [verse 27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”  A sheep is a humble creature because they recognize their own need.  A sheep looks to his shepherd to meet his needs.  Therefore a sheep is happy to follow and trust instead of attempt to lead and teach.  Christ would gladly have accepted these very men as His followers, but they would refuse to follow.  They did not look to Christ as their shepherd, or leader.  Instead they expected Christ to submit to their own leadership and ideas about scripture and what it meant.  This conflict was not one brought on by Christ, it was one brought on by their own pride.  Are we any different?  Do we presume to teach others to listen to our own ideas about what scripture means and ignore the influence of anyone else?  Do we do this instead of teaching all believers to seek Christ first, even if that journey travels along a different road we do not understand?  Do we trust Christ to save the lost, or believe the lost can only be saved if they listen strictly to ourselves … like our Pharisee forefathers perhaps.

Jesus continues in verse 28 … “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”  Life is a gift of Christ.  Eternal life is a GIFT of Christ.  It is not inherent within us, nor something we achieve of our own.  We are saved by Christ.  We are not just saved for a moment, and then subject to the power of Satan once again.  Instead we are saved by Christ, and taken beyond the reach of Satan.  Our lives are transformed by the power of Christ so that temptation is no longer the temptation it once was.  When we look to Christ to be remade, we are remade.  Our problems come, because we look away from Christ.  We begin to think our transformation was something attributable to ourselves.  And as we focus on the mirror again, we find ourselves failing again.  Victories are given away to relapse because we let go of our cure, and look again to self for healing.  But when we focus on Christ, when we humble ourselves as sheep who long for a restorative shepherd, we FIND one in Christ.  And the wolves of this world, are powerless against the Shepherd we have put our faith in.  Once in the hand of Christ, we are beyond the power of those who would destroy us.  For our temporal life means nothing, our eternal one begins immediately.  While we may experience the sleep of death before His return, our sleep will be unperceivably brief, and carry no lasting sting.  Our lives, both now as He removes our pain, and then as His work is finally completed, will be lives of service to others for all eternity that are truly worth living.  This is His gift to us.

Jesus continues in verse 29 … “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”  Lest you think Christ is alone in His mission to redeem and protect us from evil, think again.  His Father gives us to Him.  And even if you must choose to doubt the strength of the Son, no one can deny the strength of the Father.  The Father is greater than ALL.  No man can remove us from the hand of His Father.  We are not just in the hands of Christ, though that is plenty for me, we are also in the hands of His Father.  They are completely in sync in this effort.  They are completely of one mind on the topic of our redemption and restoration.  We are loved every bit as much by the Father as by His Son.  Every action of service Christ takes is the will of His Father on our behalf.  Every act of mercy and restoration, and healing, comes from the source of all Love who exists in heaven.  Christ was the physical revelation of the mind and heart of God, both Father and Son.  This level of unity cannot be ignored or undone.  And He states it plainly as He declares in verse 30 … “I and my Father are one.”  Not only do Christ and His Father share divinity, but they share Love for us, and the mission to redeem and restore us.  This is the true nature of God which Christ revealed in His visit to our world.  The life of Christ stands in rebuke to the imagery the devil would like to associate with the motives and desires of the Father.  The words of the devil are undone by the actions of Christ.  For love is fully defined in the life of Christ, and He states all throughout His ministry, that these actions are the specific will of His Father.

Predictably the Jewish leadership had only one response to the idea that Jesus was divine, they must stone Him.  Here again, were the learned men of the law, ready to kill someone who did not conform to their own ideas or leadership.  Here were men who believed themselves to be the leaders of the religion established by the most high God, ready to kill the most high God, because He would not agree with them.  What is more, they intended to kill Christ, in order to protect the honor of their God.  But in reality their “god” had become themselves.  Their religions had devolved into their debates about what they thought scripture meant.  Their interpretation of scripture allowed for the idea that they should kill others who did not accept their leadership.  In effect, Christ was about to be “interpreted” to death.

So Jesus asks a simple question of them in verse 32 … “Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?”  This question contains more than what might first meet the eye.  First; Jesus is not asking them if He is being stoned for what He says, but for what He does.  This is not just an ideological debate about the mind and heart of God.  Christ puts His argument in what He has done to make His case.  Second; Christ links the actions He has performed to the power and will of His Father.  He makes no personal claim for these great deeds, instead deferring all glory to His Father.  In effect, He is plainly stating that these miracles require the stamp of divine approval or they could not have been conducted.  Those picking up the stones at the moment, are not just rejecting Christ, they are rejecting His Father God, for Satan has never done such acts of mercy to any here on earth.   Lastly; Jesus is asking them to pause for a moment and consider the reasoning that would allow them to kill someone under the guise of a religion that was intended to be one where love to others was first and foremost.  The Ten Commandments after all, which is something they purport to most revere, state plainly “thou shalt not kill”.  It does not grant exceptions for those who do not agree with the law.  It does not grant exceptions for those who believe they know the law better than others.  It does not even grant exceptions for self-defense.  Yet all there this day, were willing to pick up stones and kill the author of their law, because they believed their interpretations of scripture allowed for it.

The Jews respond in verse 33 … “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”  The Jews have interpreted the scriptures to allow for them to kill anyone who commits the sin of blasphemy.  Notice that they do not leave the act of judgment or condemnation up to God on a matter like this, they presume instead to take these actions into their ‘well-qualified’ hands.  Notice too, they do not allow for repentance to occur if it had been warranted, instead choosing to take immediate action to remedy the situation.  They are going to ignore the argument that proves the miracles of Christ come from God the Father, this is something they have no answer for; and they are going to kill Christ rather than accept that what He is saying may in fact be true.  Their interpretation of scripture allows for an on the spot murder conducted in anger, absent a trial, or opportunity for repentance, or even a discussion as to the merits of this claim.  Had Christ been a mere mortal who was making false claims of divinity, He could have easily been proven a liar and blasphemer.  But because of “who” He was, irrational anger was to rule the day.  If they could not prove Him a liar, they would kill Him to shut Him up.

The response of Christ was to cut right to the heart of their motives.  If they were to kill Him based on their interpretations of scripture, then Christ would call them to interpret something they would have no answer for.   Jesus responds in verse 34 … “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? [verse 35] If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; [verse 36] Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”  Jesus refers here to a Psalm, a poem, included in the Old Testament whose themes were ones of justice for those in need, and refers to a counsel of the mighty where judgment was undertaken.  But in the poem is the exact reference Jesus quotes, the saying “ye are gods”.  If He is to be killed based on their interpretations, then what do they have to say about this text?  Jesus is making the point that not all scripture is so easily understood, or singular in its purpose.  This poem may well have been using imagery to make a point, not attempting to be literal in its interpretation.  And the fact that the men there have no answer for this reference is designed to teach them that their interpretations have room for growth.  They are not the end-all, be-all of scripture interpretation.

Again Christ turns the argument to focus on deeds over words and their interpretations.   Again he says look at the facts, the actions that He has taken and evaluate the reality of who He is, by the reality of what He has done.  Jesus continues in verse 37 … “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. [verse 38] But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”  Miracles are not possible outside of the divine.  None of us by sheer will can undo the physics of disease.  But God can.  God can do what we believe is impossible.  God can restore what we are unable to restore, both physically and spiritually.  Jesus is saying to His listeners, if I can do these things, and they are not humanly possible, then I MUST have a connection with God.  And if I am the Son of God, and my actions prove it, why are you willing to kill me because I do not conform to your understandings and ideas.  Salvation is on the table, and to prove it, Jesus has done what no one else has ever done.  He has performed the miraculous.  Our reality has been altered by the deeds of Christ, not just by His words.

But simple logic, and yet another offer of proof that cannot be disputed, is not enough to change the mind of one who WILL NOT believe.  This is the problem atheist’s face in our world today.  They ask for proof, but were it given, they would find a “logical” reason to discard the miraculous even if it were done right in front of them.  This is because they have made a choice about what to believe in or not.  This choice will not be undone by that which cannot be explained.  And so the response to love and logic that cannot be undone recorded in verse 39 was … “Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,”.  Even after all this, they would have killed Him.  Nothing He could say would deter them.  Nothing He had done deserved this response.  But evil has only one response to love, and that is to kill it, or be conquered by it.

So Jesus left Jerusalem.  His effort to reach the spiritual leaders of His day had little success; a poignant lesson for the religious leaders of our day.  Christ then returned to the Jordan river area where John the Baptist used to minister, and John footnotes that a great many believed on Him there.  For what John the Baptist had said about Christ had been fulfilled completely in the sight of the people.  Those who were not blinded by the arrogance of their own ideas, were able to see the truth in the actions that Christ had done.  So they found salvation where the Pharisees would have killed it.  Are we ready to be led to truth, or do we believe it our job to lead others there?  Are we humble enough to be led by the child in our midst, or do we believe we have transcended from sheep to shepherd in some way?  The truth of Christ remains.  I wonder, would we too join our Pharisee forefathers and attempt to interpret Him to death as well?