Unbelief Exposed

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.

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.

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?