Unbelief Exposed

John 10:22-42

Main Idea: Jesus confronts unbelief, exposes it for what it is, and challenges unbelievers to believe on him.

1. Jesus Exposes the Reasons for Unbelief (10:22-26).
2. Jesus Exposes the Consequence of Unbelief (10:25-31).
3. Jesus Exposes the Folly of Unbelief (10:32-42).

Six percent of Americans believe the moon landing was faked. Another 5 percent are uncertain (“Conspiracy Theories”). If you were to walk down the street asking people if man walked on the moon, one out of every nine would say either “no” or “I don’t know,” which proves people are crazy. The conspiracy theorists remind me a bit of the religious leaders in Jesus’s day. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, they refuse to believe. They persist in unbelief despite all they see and experience.

In John 10 Jesus graciously exposes their unbelief. He speaks to a group of men and women who’ve heard him teach and seen his miracles, yet they persist in their opposition and antagonism toward him. This account takes place at the end of Jesus’s public ministry. In the following chapters Jesus focuses primarily on teaching his disciples. What’s so remarkable about this passage is that he doesn’t leave the public eye before coming face-to-face with those who don’t believe. One more time, he confronts their unbelief, exposes it for what it is, and challenges them to believe on him.

Jesus Exposes the Reasons for Unbelief

John 10:22-26

The Jews begin this conversation with Jesus by asking a question that sounds innocent. They ask him who he is, and they beg him to answer clearly whether he’s the Messiah—the Christ. It seems like a great request. Hopefully he’ll set them straight. What a great opportunity for Jesus! They want to know who he is so they can believe on him (vv. 22-24). But the spirit behind their question is not genuine. The word translated “surrounded” (v. 24) is only used four times in Scripture, and two of those times it refers to encircling armies. The reason they want him to state his identity plainly is not so they can believe but to have grounds to condemn him. They surround Jesus and want him to publicly declare he’s the Messiah so they can string him up for blasphemy.

To this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus has only claimed the title of “Messiah” once in chapter 4 when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman. Why didn’t he claim this title more often? He didn’t claim the title because the Jews had a misunderstanding of the purpose of the Messiah’s coming. They were looking for a political leader who would overthrow Rome (6:14-15). Even the religious leaders—the Pharisees and chief priests—were under this impression (11:48). Though Jesus hadn’t used the term Messiah, his works and words make his identity clear (10:25). He’s the promised Messiah, sent by God to redeem his people. There’s no denying the miracles of Jesus, and they serve as an unmistakable sign that he’s sent by God. Yet the Jews persist in their unbelief.

As the conversation continues, Jesus continues to expose their unbelief. He begins by eliminating their excuse. They place the blame for their unbelief on him, claiming he has kept them in suspense (v. 24). They essentially say, “It’s your fault. You haven’t made it clear. We don’t know what to think.” But they don’t lack information. They’ve seen and heard enough to understand who he was and why he had come. Consider what we’ve studied in the Gospel of John, which records just a small sliver of Jesus’s works.

Chapter 2—Jesus turned water into wine. After that, he went into Jerusalem and kicked the extortionists out of the temple, embodying the OT prophecies regarding the Messiah’s zeal for the temple.

Chapter 3—John the Baptist testified that Jesus is the Messiah, and John’s ministry is simply to point others to him. “He must increase,” John said, “but I must decrease” (v. 30).

chapter 4—Jesus healed the son of a royal official without ever taking a step in the direction of the child, who was sick and dying in another town.

Chapter 5—Jesus healed a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years. He then called God his Father and called himself both the Son of God and the Son of Man, the latter being a title for the Messiah found in the book of Daniel.

Chapter 6—Jesus miraculously fed five thousand men plus women and children. He then miraculously crossed a sea. The chapter ends with him calling himself the bread of life and the Son of Man.

Chapter 7—Jesus stood up at the Festival of Shelters and applied a messianic passage from Isaiah 55 to himself. He begged the watching crowds to come to him and receive the gift of the Spirit—a gift only the Messiah could give.

Chapter 8—Jesus continued to preach to those at the Festival of Shelters. This time he applied a messianic passage from Isaiah 4 to himself, promising the light of life to all those who walk in darkness. He also called God his Father and referred to himself as the Son of Man and I AM—the name of deity.

Chapter 9—Jesus healed a man born blind.

Chapter 10—Jesus applied the messianic promises about the coming of a good shepherd to himself, making clear that he fulfills them.

In case that’s not clear enough, Jesus claimed repeatedly to have been sent by God and said he was doing the work of his Father. Their problem is not intellectual ignorance but spiritual ignorance. Jesus said in Chapter 9 they’re spiritually blind (9:39). They know what Jesus said and who he claims to be, but they are lost and in darkness. From a human perspective the reason they don’t believe is because they’re unwilling to embrace the truth about Jesus.

Jesus shows them a second reason for their unbelief. He just placed the responsibility on them for their unbelief, but then he shows them the divine perspective. The reason they don’t believe is because faith has not been granted to them (10:26). Jesus interweaves human responsibility and divine sovereignty. We have a tendency to look at this verse and interpret it, “You are not part of my flock because you do not believe,” but that’s not what Jesus says. He says, “You don’t believe because [for this reason:] you are not of my sheep.” We don’t believe to become God’s sheep. We believe because we are God’s sheep.

Maybe you’re wondering why Jesus tells them this. It’s easy for us to think this truth is inappropriate to share with someone who does not believe. We may think it gives them a built-in excuse for rejecting Jesus. But anyone looking for an excuse to ignore Jesus will find one. We can always rationalize what we’ve already made up our minds to do. This truth compels each of us to listen for the Master’s voice. Jesus shows us our inability to save ourselves. Unless God gives us the ability to hear the voice of Jesus, we will not be able to hear it. We must recognize our utter helplessness apart from Jesus to receive salvation and turn to him alone. We don’t do anyone a favor by suggesting they can in some way assist God in saving themselves. This truth is pictured in the miracles on either side of this passage. Could the blind man make himself see (ch. 9)? Could Lazarus raise himself from the dead (ch. 11)? Can a blind and dead sinner give himself sight and life? Only God can save.

Jesus Exposes the Consequence of Unbelief

John 10:25-31

We see the consequence of unbelief by paying close attention to the beautiful promises Jesus gives to those who are his sheep. Those who believe are given a gift that can never be earned: eternal life (v. 28). The opposite is true for those who do not believe. Death is their destiny. A believer will never be separated from God and will be free to enjoy his presence forever, but an unbeliever will be cut off from God forever; he will never know and experience the abundant life Jesus promises. The result of belief is safety and security in the presence of God. Jesus knows you and protects you forever. You do not need to fear what may happen because the basis of your security is not in your 401k, your physical strength, or your good works.

This passage powerfully argues for what theologians call “eternal security” or “perseverance of the saints.” It’s the truth that if Jesus saves you, you are saved for good. If Jesus makes you alive, you’ll never die. If Jesus gives you sight, you’ll never go blind. If Jesus adopts you, you’ll never be alone. If Jesus takes you in his hands, you will be in those hands beyond the bounds of time. When this age is a faint whisper in the annals of time, Jesus will still be holding you safe and secure in his hands. Nothing and no one can touch you there. In Mark 8:36 Jesus asked, “For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?” The man who turns in faith to Jesus Christ gains his life and in the process gains everything, but the one who persists in unbelief loses everything, including his life for eternity. There’s no safety apart from Jesus Christ. There’s only death and uncertainty.

These verses may cause fear in those who’ve not believed, but they should bring believers tremendous hope, encouragement, and comfort. If God has called us to his Son, nothing can ever pull us away from him. The apostle Paul said nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:35-39). Satan may attempt to convince us that our guilt is too great for God to forgive, but our hope is Jesus’s promise, not our performance.

How can Jesus make this promise of eternal security? He can because he and the Father are one (John 10:30). They’re distinct in person but perfectly united in essence. We can rest in the person of Jesus Christ because he is divine. After Jesus made this claim of deity, the Jews attempted to kill him (v. 31). This is the third time (cf. 5:18; 8:59), each because he claimed equality with God. The Jews perfectly understand Jesus’s claim to be God. Jesus would have been entirely justified to leave them, unhappy and unbelieving, to die in their sin, but before his public ministry ends, he makes one more call for them to believe on him by exposing the folly of their unbelief.

Jesus Exposes the Folly of Unbelief

John 10:32-42

Jesus exposes their folly by reminding them of two things they’ve had to ignore in order to reach their conclusion: his works and God’s Word. Jesus describes his works in a couple of different ways (v. 32). He calls them “good”—this term carries the idea of not just being morally excellent but also beautiful or praiseworthy. Imagine if Rembrandt went back to elementary school. He gets his report card and notices that among all of the As he has an F in art class. He goes to the kindergarten art teacher and spreads out all of his finest paintings on the table in front of her. All over the walls are plastered the scribbling and finger-­painting efforts of kindergarten students. He points down at his priceless masterpieces. “Which one of these beautiful pictures,” he asks, “is the reason I failed your class?” Here Jesus, the perfect Son of God, is living in the midst of a wicked, godless world. Every action, every word, and every conversation is spotless. Not only is he free from sin, but he travels around healing the helpless—restoring sight to the blind, making the lame walk, and curing the leper. He spreads his works out on the table in the sight of these men and says in effect, “Which one of these beautiful works is the reason you want to kill me?”

He adds a second phrase, which makes their indictment even sillier. He points out that these works are all “from the Father” (v. 32). So he’s essentially asking, “Which beautiful work of God do you want to kill me over?” These men are so wrapped up in religion they miss the beauty and glory of the Son of God on display right in front of them. They’re like a person who visits the Grand Canyon and is so fascinated by the potholes in the parking lot he fails to see one of the wonders of the world.

Their religion—full of man-made requirements designed to impress God—is weak and worthless in the presence of Jesus. How weak a religion that opposes healing a blind man! How worthless a religion that wants to kill a man for helping the downcast and oppressed! They can’t see how amazing Jesus is. They think Jesus is a man who is making himself God (v. 33). They’ve tragically reversed the truth. He’s God who made himself a man. His display of power and grace can only be explained by God’s becoming a man. Three times they’ve tried to kill Jesus, but Jesus still calls them to come to him to receive salvation from sin and death through him. He pleads with them to believe on him if for no other reason than the works he’s been doing (vv. 37-39). He says, “There’s only one explanation for what I have done: I’ve come from the Father, and I’m one with the Father. Believe on me! Don’t persist in your unbelief” (my paraphrase). Would you offer salvation to people trying to kill you? Jesus does, and it’s a good thing because each one of us is described as an enemy of God. Jesus in his grace pleads with them to turn from their sin and follow him.

They’ve ignored his works, and they’ve also ignored God’s Word. They wanted to stone him because he called himself God—the Son of God (vv. 33, 36). Jesus shows them how foolish they are by appealing to Psalm 82, particularly verses 6-7. This is a much-debated passage. Who is God referring to here? Some think he’s talking to corrupt judges in Israel. Others view it as referring to angelic powers. Most scholars think he is talking to the nation of Israel, focusing on when God gave them the law on Mount Sinai. Regardless of to whom God is speaking in Psalm 82, he calls them “gods” and “sons of the Most High” because they’re functioning as someone sent by him—someone acting on his behalf. If those who acted unjustly on God’s behalf were called sons of God, how is it not appropriate for Jesus who came from God and did beautiful works for God to refer to himself as the Son of God?

Jesus subtly and sarcastically reminds them, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (v. 35). In other words, you can’t set aside the law just because you don’t like it. But that’s exactly what they do. They ignore the testimony and character of Jesus. They disregard the works of Jesus and the Word of God, and they seek to harm him (v. 39). With their rejection the bulk of Jesus’s public ministry comes to a close. It ends with rejection and unbelief. Jesus graciously called men to himself, revealing himself as the Messiah, but the religious men and women persisted in unbelief.

After their rejection, Jesus went away from the city, out into the pasture, away from the religious center, and called his sheep to follow him (vv. 40-42). Men and women there heard the truth about Jesus and believed. It really is that simple: belief or unbelief?

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why do the Jews ask Jesus one final time to tell them plainly whether he is the Messiah?
2. Why doesn’t Jesus claim the title Messiah in this passage?
3. Why do the Jews have no excuse for their failure to believe Jesus is the Messiah?
4. What two reasons does John give concerning why the Jewish leaders don’t believe?
5. What reason does Jesus give them for why they don’t believe?
6. What promises does Jesus make for those who are his sheep?
7. Describe eternal security. What does this mean for you right now? How does it affect your life?
8. How can you respond to the lies of Satan that your guilt is too great for God to forgive?
9. How can Jesus make the promise of eternal security?
10. Would you offer salvation to those who were trying to kill you?