Jesus' sheep listen to His voice, so make sure your ears are directed to Him!
Read / Listen
Read John 10:22-31
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 45
Q. How does Christ’s resurrection
benefit us?
A. First, by his resurrection
he has overcome death,
so that he might make us share
in the righteousness
he won for us by his death.
Second, by his power we too
are already now resurrected to a new life.
Third, Christ’s resurrection
is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection.
Summary
The 'Feast of Dedication' is better known to us as Hanukkah, and Jerusalem would have been decked out for this winter festival in the same way our communities are for Christmas. But not everyone was in a festive mood; Jesus had shown up, and the Jewish establishment had had just about enough from Him.
Their request sounds so pure and noble: tell us plainly if you're the Messiah, Jesus! But it's really a trap, and in their eyes Jesus falls right into it.
But Jesus is much more coy than they think He is. He knows right off that He's dealing with wolves, not sheep. He knows the wolves will never listen to Him. Jesus' concern is only for His sheep.
Jesus knows His sheep, which have been given to Him by His Father, and His sheep have two primary characteristics that can be easily seen:
They listen to Jesus' voice;
They follow Him.
But the big idea we want to focus on today are the massive guarantees Jesus gives His sheep:
He gives them eternal life;
They shall never perish / be destroyed;
No one will ever snatch them, because they are held forever not just in Jesus' hands, but in His Father's as well.
Since Jesus is talking with wolves, they don't listen to His voice, rather they hear only what they want to hear, and all they hear is Jesus claim that God is His Father, so once again, they pick up stones and are ready to kill Him.
Dig Deeper
This week we've been focused on the benefits we gain because of Jesus' resurrection. Since He has overcome death, you have overcome death. Since accomplished perfect righteousness, you have perfect righteousness. Since He is already resurrected, so you too already are resurrected to a new life.
All of these resurrection benefits are guaranteed for Jesus' sheep.
Your only comfort in life and in death is knowing that you're a sheep belonging to Jesus. Consequently, make every effort to know for sure that you belong to Him!
Do you hear His voice? To hear it, you must be listening. You're listening to God's Word right now, so that's a great start. Plan on joining the flock as they gather on the Lord's Day to listen to Him as His Word is proclaimed. Surround yourself with good Christian teaching all week long (our Christian podcast site, Drive.Faith, is a great place to start).
Then follow the commands you hear from Him. Repent & believe. Know the Father's expectations and do all that you can to meet them. Live with the peace of comfort of the resurrection that's been guaranteed to you.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has you securely grasped in His hand;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will take comfort in the guarantees of new life you've been given as you listen to Jesus and follow Him.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 15
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