Do we earn eternal life or do we receive it? And if we receive it then who could possibly give it to us?
We find clues in the dialogue Jesus had with this opponent in John 10.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28.
* That we go somewhere for cleansing first and then to heaven.
* That angels, saints, or patriarchs grant it.
* That everybody would have eternal life.
* That our good deeds balance out our bad deeds and buy us eternal life.
* To be all-knowing since he said he knew his sheep.
* He claimed to possess eternal life. To possess eternal life he would have to be God.
* To give life away, to have command and authority over life he would have to be God.
* Authority to forgive a lifetime of sin. Sin condemned the sinner to judgment. To be able to give eternal life he had to have the authority to forgive sin, so he would have to be God.
* Equal power with God, because he said no one would snatch his sheep out of his hand, or else he would have to say no one but God can snatch them out of my hand, but he says no one.
Jesus used unmistakable word pictures that his Hebrew audience would never miss then or today, and his reference to shepherd and sheep is clear in their minds of God the Shepherd in Psalm 23.
The people took up stones to stone him because as they said, "We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:33.
TODAY
Jesus gives his sheep eternal life. The question is, "Are you his sheep?" Sheep follow the shepherd in the Middle East if you are one of his sheep you are his follower. To follow Jesus you first have to know him.
Jesus invites us to him he said "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls," Matthew 11:27-29.
To learn more about the plan of salvation click the tab above for the Gospel.
We find clues in the dialogue Jesus had with this opponent in John 10.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28.
JESUS DID NOT SAY
* That we earn eternal life.* That we go somewhere for cleansing first and then to heaven.
* That angels, saints, or patriarchs grant it.
* That everybody would have eternal life.
* That our good deeds balance out our bad deeds and buy us eternal life.
JESUS' CLAIM INFERS THIS
* To do something only God can do- to give eternal life.* To be all-knowing since he said he knew his sheep.
* He claimed to possess eternal life. To possess eternal life he would have to be God.
* To give life away, to have command and authority over life he would have to be God.
* Authority to forgive a lifetime of sin. Sin condemned the sinner to judgment. To be able to give eternal life he had to have the authority to forgive sin, so he would have to be God.
* Equal power with God, because he said no one would snatch his sheep out of his hand, or else he would have to say no one but God can snatch them out of my hand, but he says no one.
JESUS' WORDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIRST CENTURY.
People look for Jesus to say these three words, "I am God." He wouldn't say that. In the first century, gods were cheap and petty. Everybody claimed to be some kind of god, all the Caesars, Pharaohs, kings, and generals. If Jesus said I am god the Roman and Greek people of his day would have said, "So what?" and it would have ended there.Jesus used unmistakable word pictures that his Hebrew audience would never miss then or today, and his reference to shepherd and sheep is clear in their minds of God the Shepherd in Psalm 23.
The people took up stones to stone him because as they said, "We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:33.
TODAY
Jesus gives his sheep eternal life. The question is, "Are you his sheep?" Sheep follow the shepherd in the Middle East if you are one of his sheep you are his follower. To follow Jesus you first have to know him.
Jesus invites us to him he said "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls," Matthew 11:27-29.
To learn more about the plan of salvation click the tab above for the Gospel.
(c) Adron5/16/15
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