Hearing Jesus: A Meditation on John 10 for the 4th Sunday in Easter

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him,

How long dost thou make us to doubt?

If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

 

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not:

 the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

I and my Father are one.

 

There is a recurring error in the history of the Church which is also common in contemporary western Christianity, regarding the nature and origins of faith.  It is tempting to think that faith is something we generate by our own powers, through our own exercise of good works, or that perhaps we’ve received because of our own merit.  On the contrary, Jesus teaches something very different:  faith in Him, comes from Him, apart from any works or merit on our own part.  Those who are made children of God by grace through faith in Christ alone do not make themselves, and thus as St. Paul would later write, no man has any ground to boast in anything save the Cross of Jesus.  In our text above, the Pharisees had been listening to and watching Jesus for some time, yet their demand for more knowledge was not born of faith.  They had chosen not to believe, and in their disbelief, Jesus told them they were incapable of seeing what was right before their eyes.  Furthermore, in the verses immediately following Jesus’ declaration to the Pharisees that He and Father are One, the Pharisees’ unbelief became violent as they sought to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy.

 

While fallen people are incapable of generating faith in God on their own power, or earning faith by their own merit, they are certainly capable of rejecting faith and abiding in their evil.  The Word of God comes to all people, and as God told His Prophet Ezekiel, He takes no joy in the death of the wicked, but desires all people to be saved.  Yet God gives to mankind, even in his fallen state, the ability to receive or reject His Word, and with it the gift of faith which alone receives His grace.  This is how we know that grace—the good, unmerited gift of God—saves alone, because faith itself is a gift carried to us by God’s Word and Spirit.  To hear the voice of God through His Word is a miraculous gift, as God is under no compulsion to condescend in dialogue with sinful men, let alone to give a Word of Gospel which saves evil men from their just condemnation.  God’s love for the world has moved Him to give His Only Begotten Son, the very Word of God Incarnate, that whosoever believes in Him might have everlasting life in Him.  His Word gives us another choice we didn’t have before it enlightened us, so that we become free to either accept it and abide in His light and love and life; or to reject it, sinking back down into our own darkness, hatred, and death.  Either way, God is always the author and finisher of our faith, and if we reject Him, we are always solely culpable in our own destruction.

 

This truth should help us remain calm and balanced as we navigate the world around us.  We know that just as the Word of God has come to us, it has also come to others, calling everyone to repentance and faith through His Law and Gospel.  Each individual faces a daily challenge of faith to abide in that saving Word or to reject it, with the Holy Spirit our only power to choose the good and avoid the evil.  When we fall, that same Word calls us back to faith and repentance, reviving us again in the grace of Jesus which forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Yet if we abide in the rejection of that Word, we remove ourselves from the faith which alone receives grace, and eventually our ears and hearts can become dull to the calling of His Word.  Without that Word there is no saving faith, and without faith it is impossible to receive grace and to please God.  It is not by the charisma of preachers, or the talents of musicians, or the trappings of presentation that people are given faith, but by the Word and Spirit of God alone.  This reminds us that as much as we are incapable of saving ourselves, we are just as incapable of saving others.  God alone is both all-powerful and all-loving to seek and to save all souls, that all who will receive His Word will hear His voice, and be raised up to live in Him forever.

 

What comfort this brings to tortured souls!  First to remember that it is not the Church’s job to save the world, anymore than it was of any individual Christian to save himself.  The job of Savior of the World is already taken, and Jesus alone is worthy to occupy it, because He alone was able to give His life as a ransom for every soul under heaven, and to rise up three days later triumphant over every enemy of mankind.  The Church’s job is to be faithful to the Word which saves Her, that through Her faithful witness the Word of God might be carried out to everyone both inside and outside the Church.  Secondly, we know that if the Word of Almighty God has sought and saved us, there is no creature or force in all creation that can snatch us away from Him.  Jesus and the Father are indeed One, just as they are One with the Holy Spirit, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, so that when we are saved by the Most Holy Trinity, we are absolutely and unquestionably saved.  There is no room for doubt or torment or fear, because the perfect love of God casts them all out by the power of His Word, pouring out upon us the incalculable riches of His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  There we abide by His power and love, living in His fellowship and hearing His voice forever.

 

Hear the Word of Jesus calling to you today, that His Spirit might create in you the faith to believe all that His Prophets and Apostles have testified of Him.  In faith through His Word, may grace abound unto you that you might rise up today, and every day unto ages without end, in an eternal life that reflects His hope and love.  May your ears be opened to hear the voice of your Good Shepherd, and your heart enlivened to trust in Him forever—for there is no other Name given under heaven whereby we must be saved, and no greater power that can keep and preserve you from every peril.  Share the good and saving Word of Jesus with someone today.  Soli Deo Gloria!