Jesus Confronts Unbelief (John 10:22-42)
Before I became a Christian, I was a free thinker. I did not subscribe to any particular religion. Although I grew up in a Buddhist and Taoist family, my parents were not very religious. We would visit temples and perform rituals at various festivals, but more because of custom and tradition than personal devotion. I would go through the religious motions, while not believing any of it to be true.
Free-thinkers like what I once was are becoming more common in Singapore. This group includes atheists, agnostics, deists, humanists, and sceptics. According to the 2020 census, 20% of residents here do not belong to any religion, up from 13% in 1980. Irreligion is increasing in Singapore. For the first time, there are more free-thinkers than there are professing Christians. In terms of the religious landscape, free-thinkers are now the second-largest group in Singapore.
And these are not just abstract numbers or statistics. They present a picture of where we live and reflect our experiences. We have loved ones who are unbelievers. Some, despite growing up in Christian environments, no longer profess to believe. For various reasons, they have wandered away from the faith. Our burdened hearts still grieve for them. At our prayer meeting today, we will be devoting some time to pray for family and friends who have turned away from Jesus, or who wrestle with unbelief. For some of us, this struggle is a personal one. We wrestle with unbelief in our own hearts.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus also faced growing unbelief. Given where we are in the Gospel of John, this is surprising. We have come to the end of chapter 10, which marks the close of the first part of the Gospel. Known as the “Book of Signs”, chapters 1-10 focus on Jesus’ miracles. John calls them “signs” because they are meant to point to who Jesus is and what He came to do. While Jesus did many signs, John records only seven of them. In John 20:31, John states His purpose in telling us about these seven signs: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (Jn 20:31)”
We have looked at six of them so far: Jesus turns water into wine. He heals the official’s son. He heals the man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus feeds the 5,000, walks on water. He heals the man blind from birth. These signs, along with Jesus’ teaching, bear witness to who Jesus is and what he came to do. However, instead of more faith, there is more conflict between Jesus and the Jews. What John 1:11 describes is coming to pass: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” The Book of Signs ends with tension, not triumph.
This helps put the problem of unbelief in perspective. God is not caught off guard by hard human hearts. No, He is still very much in control. All things are still working out according to his plan. In our text, Jesus confronts unbelief. It is a timely passage for Palm Sunday. Today marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The growing opposition He faces will lead to His arrest and crucifixion. Despite seeing the signs and hearing the teaching, the Jews reject Him as the Christ and also as the Son of God.
This passage exposes the nature of unbelief and spiritual stubbornness. May it move us to consider the state of our own hearts. How might we have hardened our hearts against Jesus? How might we have we pre-judged Him, and our prejudices are preventing us from honestly hearing and learning from Him?
Faced with unbelief, Jesus still speaks the truth about Himself. Jesus confronts our unbelief. If we hear His voice, do not harden our hearts.
What does Jesus do in the face of unbelief? He does not get upset or anxious. He does not change the message. He continues to tell the truth about Himself. in season or out of season, it is the same good news that Jesus saves. This is the big idea: Faced with unbelief, Jesus still speaks the truth about Himself. Jesus confronts our unbelief. If we hear His voice, do not harden our hearts.
Not believing the Christ (Jn 10:22-30)
In these verses, Jesus’ dispute with the Jews revolves around His identity as the Christ. John 10:22 tells us this exchange occurred in Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Dedication, which was celebrated around two months after the Feast of Tabernacles. Remember: It was during the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus had healed the blind man and taught about Himself as the good shepherd. Now, it was winter, probably around late November or December. Because of the colder weather, Jesus was indoors, walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon (Jn 10:23). This was a huge space, more than 200m long. It was also where the early church gathered after Pentecost.
It is significant that John mentions the Feast of Dedication, which was not a feast commanded in the Old Testament. It came about as a result of events that took place between the Old and New Testament. In the second century BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Jerusalem temple and used it for pagan worship. The Jews revolted and regained control of the temple. After purifying the temple, they re-dedicated it to the worship of God. The feast was celebrated as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in preserving the temple. David’s son Solomon had built the original temple But now, with the coming of Jesus, the greater King is here. The true and greater Temple has come. Recall Jesus’ words about himself in John 2: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking about the temple of His body.
The Jews, however, remain blind or choose not to see who Jesus really is. In John 10:24, they crowd around Jesus to interrogate Him: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” From the context, we can tell this is not an honest question. The Jews are not asking to know Jesus better. No, they want to entrap Him with a loaded question to get Him in trouble with the Roman authorities. If Jesus were to publicly declare in the temple that He is the Christ, the Romans would arrest Him as a dangerous rebel. At that time, “Christ” was apolitically charged title. Many Jews hoped for an earthly ruler to solve their worldly problems. The Messiah they were looking for was a powerful king, who would defeat Rome and free them from oppression. To the Jews, “Christ” meant “freedom fighter”. To the Romans, Messiah meant “terrorist”. The Jews are scheming to have Jesus arrested and executed by the Romans.
Jesus does not fall for their trap. Instead, He shines the spotlight on their hardness of heart. They think they are evaluating Jesus, but actually He is evaluating them. In John 10:25, Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe.” While Jesus has not explicitly declared himself the Christ, He has revealed this is indirectly through His words and works. For example, He said, “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11, 14). To the Jews who knew their Bible, they should have connected Jesus to David, Israel’s shepherd-king. This means Jesus is the Christ—God’s chosen King to save and rule over His people.
Jesus exposes the nature of unbelief. It is not due to a lack of knowledge, but due to a deeper refusal to receive what Jesus has revealed about Himself. His words and works — which include the miraculous signs — bear witness about Him. This is because His works have all been done in His Father’s name. They show that Jesus is the Son whom the Father has sent to reveal His glory. He is the Word made flesh, who makes God known to us. Therefore, because God has spoken finally and fully by His Son, we can know God by knowing Jesus.
Look at John 10:26. Our belief or unbelief reveals whether or not we truly belong to the Good Shepherd. Jesus says the reason why these Jews do not believe is because they are not among his sheep. In contrast, Jesus’ sheep will believe in Him because they know their shepherd and recognise His voice. Jesus is sovereign over our salvation. He knows His own and is not troubled by human unbelief. The Good Shepherd will not fail to gather all His sheep, not one of them will be lost.
Jesus’ sheep will heed the call of the Good Shepherd and follow Him.
The sovereign God is able to overcome our spiritual stubbornness by giving us new hearts. He can heal our spiritual blindness by giving us eyes of faith. Unbelief cannot thwart the purposes of the Good Shepherd who will save His own. Therefore, Jesus can confidently say in John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” The Good Shepherd knows His own and His own know Him. Jesus’ sheep will heed the call of the Good Shepherd and follow Him. This encourages us to persevere in evangelism. Keep speaking the truth about Jesus. Be faithful and patient. Trust God to save. He can, by His word and Spirit, raise the dead.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned away from God to live for ourselves. Because we have ungratefully forsaken our Creator and Provider, He would be just to punish us. We deserve His righteous wrath against us. But God, who is rich in grace and mercy, did not leave us to our sins. He sent his Son to save us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep (Jn 10:15). He died as a substitute for sinners like us, taking the judgement we deserve so that we can be forgiven and brought back to God if we trust in Him. Jesus rose from the dead in victory over sin and death to give us new life. This is the gospel, the good news of what Jesus Christ has done. He calls us to repent and believe in Him. So, today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Follow the Good Shepherd who can give us life. Do you struggle to believe? Do not lose heart. Faith is a gift from God. So, look to Jesus and cry out to Him for help, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
If we have trusted in Jesus, then praise and thank Him for overcoming our unbelief. Be humbled and amazed by God’s grace. We have done nothing to deserve or earn our salvation. Praise God for the Good Shepherd who knows us and calls each of us by name! Rejoice in our security in Christ. Jesus says in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Thanks to Jesus, we have passed from death to life. Eternal life does not simply refer to an endless duration of life. More so, it refers to the all-surpassing quality of life we have because we know God and his Son. In Christ alone, we have abundant life—a life of joy, peace, and hope. More than merely survive, we thrive. This does not mean our lives will be trouble-free life. No, we will still suffer and struggle. Yet, we can rejoice even in suffering, assured that God will unfailingly work all things for our eternal good and glory. We will never perish for there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We are safe in Him. The Good Shepherd will not lose even one of His sheep.
Our security rests upon God’s greatness. He will hold us fast.
Not only are we kept by the Son, but we are also secure in the Father. Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” The Son has come to do the Father’s will. Therefore, both the Son and the Father are perfectly unified in purpose. They work together to keep the sheep safe for all eternity. Consider this: The Father and the Son exercise their might and majesty to guard their own. Look at John 10:29. Not only is the Son strong to save, but the Father is also greater than all, and no one is able to snatch (us) out of the Father’s hand. Because the all-powerful Father has given the sheep to the Good Shepherd, all who truly belong to Jesus shall be kept safe until the end. Our security rests upon God’s greatness. He will hold us fast.
What wonderful comfort and encouragement for us if we are in Christ! We are often weak and weary. We are distracted and discouraged. We struggle with sin and suffering. We wrestle with unbelief and doubt. We are fearful and fainthearted. How will we navigate the perils of life in a fallen world and make it to the end? Take heart, beloved. Rest assured that our salvation is sure. It rests upon the unbreakable bond between the Father and the Son. The Father and Son are our unshakeable foundation.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:31-39) This is the God who saves sinners through His Son. Will we not believe in Him?
Not believing the Son (Jn 10:31-42)
Scandalised and angered by how Jesus makes Himself equal with God, the Jews want to stone Jesus to death for what they think are blasphemous words (Jn 10:31). But before anyone can cast the first stone, Jesus challenges them in John 10:32 to point out any wrong He has done. The fact of the matter is that Jesus has shown (them) many good works from the Father. Before we write Jesus off, at least consider all that He has done. He has obeyed His heavenly Father by healing the sick, making the lame walk, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead. And, Jesus will obey the Father by going to the cross to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus has shown Himself to be perfectly pure and sinless. There is no flaw or fault we can find in Him. He is totally blameless. Without any blemish, Jesus truly is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Even Jesus’ opponents can find nothing wrong with His works. But they refuse to believe He is the Son of God. Look at John 10:33. Thinking Jesus a mere man, they accuse Him of blasphemy because He makes Himself God. This was the sin of the first humans, who were guilty of sinful pride. Not content with being made in God’s image, Adam and Eve wanted to “be like God” (Gen 3:5). Like them, we live as though we are the gods of our lives. We make ourselves the centre around which everything and everyone else must revolve.
But Jesus did not have to make Himself God because the Son has always been fully God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1) What is truly amazing is that the eternal, glorious Son, who did not have to make Himself God, willingly made Himself man. Unlike proud sinners, the Son humbled Himself. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). “Though he was in the form of God, (he) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:6-8)” Such a selfless Saviour is surely worthy of our worship!
“Man of Sorrows”, what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
To answer His accusers, Jesus quotes from Scripture. Why? Because “Scripture cannot be broken,” He says in John 10:35. This shows Jesus’ high view of God’s word. It is our supreme authority, infallible and reliable. Scripture settles any dispute. If we follow Jesus, we should share His attitude towards the Bible. We ought to believe God’s word is trustworthy and true. It is a sure guide that shows us Christ.
By asking, “Is it not written in your Law?” in John 10:34, Jesus challenges His opponents to read the Bible for themselves. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This is how the early church father Augustine became a Christian. In the summer of 386AD, while Augustine sat in a garden in Milan, Italy, he heard a child singing, “Take it and read it; take it and read it.” This prompted Augustine to pick up and read the Bible for himself. He turned to Romans 13:13-14, was convicted of His sin, and repented and believed in Jesus. Jesus confronts our unbelief by calling us to read His word. Honestly consider what Scripture says about Jesus. If you are new to the Bible, start with one of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Find a Christian friend to study the Bible with you. Take and read!
Jesus quotes from Psalm 82:6. In this verse, God is speaking to the people of Israel whom He has redeemed to receive His law. God says, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” The Old Testament refers to Israel as God’s son. For example, during the exodus from Egypt, the LORD said to Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son… let my son go that he may serve me.” As God’s redeemed people, Israel had the great privilege and responsibility of representing God to the nations. Israel was God’s treasured possession to glorify God in all the earth. However, Israel failed miserably. The rest of Psalm 82 calls out the nation’s unrighteousness, and warns of impending judgment. Psalm 82:7 says, “Nevertheless, like men you shall die…” If God can call sinful Israel His son, then how much more can Jesus be rightfully called the Son of God?
These Jews, like their forefathers in the Old Testament, failed to live up to their sonship. Ironically, they are the ones who are actually blaspheming, for they have dragged God’s name through the mud. But God’s true Son has come to do His Father’s will. Look at John 10:36. Jesus is the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world. He succeeds where Israel failed, and He atones for the sins of God’s people. We were made in God’s image to reflect His glory. But like Israel, we have also failed to honour God. But God has graciously sent His Son for us and for our salvation. Shouldn’t we celebrate His coming and trust in Him?
The Feast of Dedication celebrated the re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. But now, Jesus the true temple has come. God’s glory dwells fully in His Son. Therefore, we behold God’s glory in the face of Jesus. He reveals the Father to us. We come to Jesus to meet with God. The Father has dedicated His Son, consecrating Him to carry out His salvation plan. Jesus went to the cross to do his Father’s will. He took God’s judgement in the place of sinners like us. And God raised Jesus from the dead, declaring his victory over sin and death. The Father has set the Son apart and sent Him into the world, that all who believe in Him might not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus’ works reveal the Father’s glory, wisdom and power.
Therefore, believe the Son for He has come to do the works of His Father. Look at John 10:37-38. “Believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Jesus’ works show that He and the Father are one — one in being and one in purpose. God is one in three Persons — Father, Son, and Spirit. The three Persons work as one. The Father exalts the Son, even as the Son glorifies the Father. Jesus’ works reveal the Father’s glory, wisdom and power. They reveal the Father’s grace and mercy towards sinners. He abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Jesus’ works reveal the Father to us, that we might know Him, trust Him, and worship Him. Even if we do not believe what Jesus says about Himself, we cannot silence the resounding testimony of His actions and miracles. In all of His interactions with people, whether the religious Nicodemus or the irreligious Samaritan woman, Jesus has shown Himself to be the friend of sinners. Shouldn’t we believe in Him?
Again, the Jews are offended by Jesus’ claim to be equal with God the Father. They do not believe the Son. John 10:39 says they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. Once more, Jesus shows He is in complete control. Unbelief cannot undermine God’s plan or purpose. The Father appoints the timing of the Son’s sacrificial death. His hour has not yet come, but it is drawing nearer. In His time, in full obedience to His Heavenly Father, Jesus will go to the cross. For now, John 10:40 tells us He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptising at first, and there He remained. With this, Jesus’ earthly ministry has come full circle. It began with John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! …This is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (Jn 1:29, 33b-34).
Look at John 10:41-42. The response of the people here is different from those in Jerusalem. Although John the Baptist did not sign, they believe what He said about Jesus: Everything that John said about this man was true. And many believed in (Jesus) there. We do not have to see to believe. Like them, we have heard the truth about Jesus. But even more than them, we have heard testimony from God in His word concerning His Son. God Himself has spoken. Will we not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that we might have life in His name?