Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." --Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
When I was growing up, one of the worst things a person could be called was a lemming. It was believed that lemmings were so stupid that if one of them jumped off a cliff, all of them would follow, jumping off a cliff just like their leader had done.
Today I learned that this is a myth.
It is true that lemmings are pack animals. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica website, when the pack becomes too large, and their numbers are unsustainable, a number of them might split off and go together to find a new home. Since they are great swimmers, they might jump into a water barrier (like a river or lake) and swim across. Some may get caught up in the current and drown, but it is not a mass suicide event.
The myth was actually created by the producers of a Disney film called White Wilderness. Wanting some dramatic footage, they staged a mass lemming suicide by throwing the rodents off the cliff while cameras below were rolling. It was deliberate fraud.
"So why is the myth of mass lemming suicide so widely believed? For one, it provides an irresistible metaphor for human behavior. Someone who blindly follows a crowd—maybe even toward catastrophe—is called a lemming. Over the past century, the myth has been invoked to express modern anxieties about how individuality could be submerged and destroyed by mass phenomena, such as political movements or consumer culture." --www.britannica.com/story/do-lemmings-really-commit-mass-suicide
Sheep, on the other hand, are truly stupid animals. They are not pack animals, so they do not have an "alpha male" or a natural leader among their own kind. That's why Matthew 9:36 says of Jesus, "When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
You remember last time we discussed the assertion that Jesus made, that He was the Good Shepherd. Many in the crowd believed--even those Pharisees and Jewish leaders who were self-appointed judges of Israel. John documents this in these verses:
Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" --John 10:19-21
To review, this was the third accusation that His detractors had made. In earlier arguments in John, Jesus had been accused of desecrating the Sabbath by healing (more than once) on this holy day, which in some cases could be a capital offense. His second offense had been directing another person to do work on the Sabbath, when He had directed the man to carry his bedroll. Now, some accused Jesus of having a demon, which could be associated with witchcraft. Again, one could be stoned to death for this infraction of Jewish law.
In each case, those who wished to kill Jesus were restrained by others among the Jewish leaders who said His crimes did not rise to the level of a capital offense. In fact, they might even be evidence of His Messiahship. So there was a great discussion that lasted several weeks or months, because the next time John's narrative picks up again it is winter, during the celebration of the Feast of Dedication, which we would call Hannukah.
Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." --John 10:22-32
This was the last straw. There was no defense for claiming to be equal to God. Blasphemy was not to be tolerated among God's people.
One of the first prayers that a Jewish child was taught was known as the Sh'ma, which begins this way: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever." It was a prayer to remind them to guard against idols. Israel had a long history of rejecting the true God and falling into idolatry.
It never worked out well for them.
Their worship was centered around one deity only, and only Moses had seen Him face to face. Here Jesus was claiming equality with God. Notice the progression. In verse 28 Jesus said His sheep have eternal life in Him, and no one can snatch them out of Jesus's hand. In verse 29 Jesus said God, whom He calls Father, has given Jesus the sheep, and that no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand. Finally, in verse 30, Jesus says that He and the Father are one.
There are actual theologians today who claim that Jesus never claimed to be God. They try to explain that Jesus's words here were vague, and could mean a number of different things. However, the message was not lost on the Jews who heard Jesus first-hand. They were ready to mete out punishment right then and there.
When Jesus appealed to the less dogmatic among them, the ones who may have believed that He was the Messiah, notice what He said. Remember when the Pharisees had said He was guilty of having a demon, the others among them pointed to His works. "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" they asked. Here, Jesus points to His works. For which of them was He going to be stoned to death?
"We are not stoning You for good works," they said, "but because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus very clearly equated Himself with God.
I also want us to see another eternal truth in this passage. Not only is Jesus God, but He also shows here the way of salvation. Commentator John Trapp says of verse 27:
It is easy to observe those five links of that golden chain of God's grace in our salvation:
- My sheep--there is Election.
- Hear My voice--there is Vocation.
- And I know them--there is Justification.
- And they follow Me--there is Sanctification.
- And I give unto them eternal life--there is Glorification.
We exist for His glory. We are saved for His glory. He calls us for His glory. His glory will be fully revealed when we get to heaven to live with Him forever. Hallelujah.
