“The Feast of the Dedication was at Jerusalem, and it was winter. Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s Porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him, saying, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you did not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name 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. I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them from My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them from My Father’s hand. My Father and I are one.’ Again the Jews took up stones to stone Him.” John 10:22-31 (Read John 10:22-42)
Is Jesus the long-promised Messiah and Savior? That’s what the Jews demanded that Jesus tell them. Still, it did no good because the people did not believe Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah, nor did they believe in Him because of the many mighty miracles he performed — works which no one could do unless God were with him and working through him. The Jews recognized what Jesus was claiming but did not believe. Instead, they sought to kill Him.
The situation is no different today. The Bible records Jesus’ words and claims for all to read and hear. It contains record after record of His miracles — even the account of His resurrection from the dead, witnessed by more than 500 people at once (1 Cor. 15:3-8). And Jesus clearly claimed to be the very Son of God, who came into this world as a man to redeem us and give to all who trust in Him pardon and everlasting life. Jesus’ miracles — healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, making the lame whole, casting out demons, feeding thousands, calming the sea, turning water into wine, and even raising the dead on multiple occasions — clearly testify to the truthfulness of His claims to be the only-begotten Son of God and the Messiah and Savior of the world. But most do not believe and place their faith in Him for life and salvation!
Why? Jesus answered that question when He said, “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. I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them from My hand.” While this is hard for us to grasp, only those chosen by God to follow Jesus as their Good Shepherd and trust in Him hear and believe Jesus’ words.
Jesus explained this on another occasion in John 6:37 and 44: “All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out. … No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
What does this mean? Consider the words of John 1:10-13: “He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jesus tells us that we cannot, by our own reason or choosing, come to Jesus and trust in Him as God’s Son and our Savior. We would all reject Him and fail to believe. Apart from God’s gracious choosing and drawing, no one can come to know Jesus for who He is or trust in Him and His cross for forgiveness and life. Apart from God’s gracious choosing and the Holy Spirit’s enlightening work, the Bible, including Jesus’ words and teachings, would remain a closed book to us. We would be unable to understand what these words are really saying and rightly apply them to our lives.
But God, in His grace and mercy, has chosen those who believe and called them to come to Jesus and trust in Him for forgiveness and eternal life. It is by God’s gracious choosing and drawing that those who hear and believe have come to Jesus and recognize Him for who He is, trusting in Him and His cross for eternal life.
And, as Jesus said of those who come to Him and believe, “They shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them from My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them from My Father’s hand. My Father and I are one.”
Not only is it by the grace and mercy of God that believers hear God’s Word and come to trust in Jesus; it is by the grace and mercy of God that He, through His Word, keeps and preserves them in the true faith unto everlasting life.
The Bible tells us in Philippians 1:6: “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
O gracious heavenly Father, through Your Word, draw me to Jesus and grant me faith to trust in Him and His cross for the forgiveness of all my sins and for life everlasting. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]