John 10:24-30
“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.”
There’s a lot going on in this passage. Jesus is being bullied by a crowd into defending his claim of deity. In that crowd there are those that are looking for him to make a misstatement so they may accuse him of blasphemy. But Jesus dispels their hopes by simply reminding them that he’s already spoken on this subject. It’s not his lack of clarity that’s at issue, but their lack of understanding. And not only do they have a lack of understanding, but they may not even qualify; because his sheep know his voice, and follow.
Believe it or not, this entire ordeal began with Jesus healing a blind man on the sabbath. The irony is that the miracle was overlooked and disregarded because it violated the Jews narrow interpretation of what activities are allowable during the sabbath. Obviously, miracles were not included. By the end of this story, the former blind man was kicked out of the synagogue, and Jesus chased by a mob trying to stone him to death.
But in just a few verses, the writer mentions that after Jesus miraculously escaped the angry mob, he went away on the other side of the Jordan, and there many came to him, and believed.
That’s what I’m talking about. There is value in myopically focusing on the voice of the Lord. We all hear other voices. We all are influenced one way or other on what people think, say, and do. It’s impossible to avoid hearing the clamor and confusion brought on by the multiplicity of opinions, thoughts, theories and rationalizations of others. Often from people in high authority, position, education and religious stature. But then, there’s the voice of the Lord. And that’s where the ‘rubber meets the road’.
Contrary to popular belief, following the voice of God won’t always place you in a wonderful position. At least not from a carnal perspective. Today’s story begins with a blind man meeting Jesus, miraculously receiving his sight, testifies of the goodness of Jesus and ends up kicked out the church and community. And Jesus who clearly explained who he was, and how he was able to do what he did, was chased by a mob that tried to kill him. All this because Jesus followed the voice of our Father. If you ever want to make folk mad, lose friends, be hated by family, get ostracized, disfellowshipped and kicked out of the proverbial “clique”, I dare you to focus on doing what God says instead of what people expect. They’ll drop you in a New York minute. Your haters and fans will join hands to destroy you because the voice of God cancels everyone’s agenda. Even yours. Especially yours.
But Dear Children of God, there is another side to this story. There’s another side to your Jordan. The Lord’s side. When you’re finally ready to leave the crowd. When you finally find strength to ignore the chatter and influence of people, systems, and strongholds that have us so bound. When you finally become a follower (one of the sheep) of Jesus, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll hear, the places you’ll go, and the power you’ll possess.
God bless
