Daily Scripture Reading John 10:22 - 11:6
When people are sick, it is normal to engage in some self-pity and ask, “Why me? Why am I sick? Why do I often get sick?”
It is understandable that people don’t ever want to get sick. However, we will read in John 11 that when Lazarus got sick, Jesus focused on the positive result of this sickness. This gives us a different perspective on illness that perhaps we should apply to our lives.
We read in John 7:10 that Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. John 7:14 tells us Jesus taught in the temple in the middle of the Feast. John 7:37 records some things Jesus did on the last day of the Feast. Then chapters 8-10 record numerous events and encounters involving Jesus, the Jews, and others.
John 10:22 ¶ At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;
It appears that the events in John 7-10 all took place while Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. We see in verse 22 that it was time for the Feast of Dedication. The Feast of the Dedication is Hanukkah. This was not one of the feasts proscribed by the Mosaic Law. Verse 22 indicates there was a time lapse between the events that concluded in verse 21 and the events that are recorded in the rest of chapter 10.
John 10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Portico of Solomon.
John 10:24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us openly.”
Note that they bluntly asked Jesus if He is the Christ.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me.
Jesus reminded them He had already answered their question, but they did not believe Him. Pay attention to the second half of this verse. The works that Jesus did proved that He is the Christ.
John 10:26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
There is an ongoing debate in Christianity over whether or not every person is predestined to either be saved or not be saved. This verse seems to side with the idea that predestination does exist, because Jesus stated the Jews did not believe because they were not of His sheep. In other words, the Jews did not believe because they were not predestined to believe.
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
There is also a debate within Christianity about whether people can lose their salvation. In this verse Jesus said “no one will snatch them out of My hand.” This indicates people cannot lose their salvation.
John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
The phrase “My Father, who has given them to Me” indicates it is the Father who is deciding who is saved and who is not. The phrase “no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” is evidence that people cannot lose their salvation.
John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”
The Jews understood the term “Father” referred to God. Jesus clearly claimed to be God Himself.
John 10:31 ¶ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
Since Jesus claimed to be God, the Jews wanted to stone Him.
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
In some ways this question is humorous. It was also a bit provocative. Jesus knew they wanted to stone Him because He had claimed to be God. When Jesus asked which deed was causing them to stone Him, He was somewhat provoking them to be even more angry.
John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?
Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6. Psalm 82 was written by Asaph. Asaph wrote about God judging in the midst of powerful people who seemed to be gods. Asaph called those people gods, but reminded them that they would die just like any other man.
After the Jews accused Jesus of making Himself God, Jesus quoted this verse. Jesus did not mean Asaph was correct that there were many gods. Nor did Jesus mean Asaph’s statement proved that Jesus was God. Instead, Jesus quoted this verse to throw the Jews off-balance. It was His way of demonstrating that the Jews were not as smart and wise as they thought they were. It was His way or proving He knew the scriptures better than they did.
John 10:35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
John 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
John 10:37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
Note Jesus’ reference to His “works”.
John 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and continue knowing that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
Observe that Jesus said, “believe the works”. Jesus performed miracles in order to prove He is God. The Jews saw the miracles. They should have believed Him when He said He and the Father are one.
John 10:39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
John 10:40 ¶ And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.
The phrase “beyond the Jordan” is from the perspective of Jerusalem. That means Jesus was to the right or on the East side of the Jordan River.
John 10:41 And many came to Him and were saying, “While John did no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”
John 10:42 And many believed in Him there.
Once again we see the phrase “believed in Him.”
John 11:1 ¶ Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Bethany was near Jerusalem.
John 11:2 And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
John 11:3 So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
John 11:4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Take note of the reason Lazarus was sick. He was not about to die. Instead, He was sick so that Jesus could be glorified.
When people are sick, it is normal to engage in some self-pity and ask, “Why me? Why am I sick? Why do I often get sick?” It is understandable that people don’t ever want to get sick. However, in the case of Lazarus. he was sick so that Jesus could be glorified. When we get sick, perhaps we should look for ways that our sickness can glorify God.
John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was.
This verse has the phrase “stayed two days”. When Jesus learned Lazarus was sick, He did not leave immediately. He waited for two days. Tomorrow we will read why that detail is important and how the sickness of Lazarus brought glory to Jesus.
Meanwhile, ponder the following questions.
How might a sickness glorify God?
When you are sick, how can your attitude about being sick glorify God?
When you are sick, how might God be using the sickness to make you a better person and better able to glorify God?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”