Shalom, my dear friends and dear brothers and sisters. Our study together is in the Gospel of John. And we are right towards the end of the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. To remind you that Yochanan wrote this Gospel. And the express purpose of the writing of this Gospel is to present before all men, all women, all people, the divine nature of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He is indeed the eternal Son of God. John 10 is an important chapter. And in this chapter, Yeshua presented Himself in three ways. In the first 10 verses, He presented Himself as the door. And if you remember, in John chapter 10 and verse 9, the Lord Jesus said, "I am the door; by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Then secondly, in verses 11, all the way to verse 21, the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, the Messiah, presented Himself as the Good Shepherd.

And if you remember, we read of Him, and He said in verse 11 of John 10, "I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." He repeated this in verse 14, saying again, as He was speaking to the people of Israel, saying, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep." In this ministry meeting, we will continue with John chapter 10, read from verse 22 to the end of the chapter, to verse 42, and in this section of John chapter 10, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, really expressing Himself before the nation of Israel, before the spiritual leaders of Israel, and those that came and deliberated with Him.

He is now presenting Himself in this section as the Son of God. In Hebrew, "Ben HaElohim." You will notice that, as we are going to move along in this 10th chapter, how He will present Himself as the Son of God. Just to highlight this verse, He said in John 10, verse 30, "I and my Father are one." Let me read to you these verses. If you have your Bible, please open your Bible to John 10, verse 22, and we read: "And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication." In Hebrew, "Chag Chanukah." "And it was winter, and Yeshua walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about Him and said unto Him, "How long dost thou make us to doubt?

If thou be the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and ye believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

Yeshua answered them, "Many good works have I showed you from my Father. For which of those works do ye stone me?" The Jews answered Him saying, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou being a man, makest thyself God." Yeshua answered them, "Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods? If He call them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son of God. If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him." Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hands. And he went away beyond the Jordan, to the place where John at first baptized. And there he abode. And many resorted unto him. John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believe on him there. Dear brothers and sisters, and dear friends, this passage is an incredible passage, because here the Lord Yeshua the Messiah presenting himself as God the Son, as co-equal with God the Father, as one of the persons of the Godhead, as he said in verse 30, I and my Father are one.

In other words, he claimed to be equal with God the Father. Now this truth of the triunity of the Godhead is a problematic subject to many, many people, especially to our own people. because for us who grew up in a Jewish home, we always have been taught that God is one. As we read in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4, the central verse in the history of our people of Israel, Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Now, of course, one must understand the construction of the verse in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4, in order to help us to understand how can the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah claim to be equal with the Father, with God.

And in order to understand that, one needs the help of the Lord and to compare Scripture with Scripture, to realize that God is indeed one God, as we read in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4. But this one single God of Israel consists and exists in more than one persons in the Godhead. In fact, the word one, Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. The word one in the Hebrew text is the word, the Hebrew word echad. And the word echad means a compound unity. Not a distinct unit. In Hebrew, a distinct unit is the Hebrew word yachid. But when you say echad, it is a compound unity.

Two or more. And so, this is fundamental. Because if God is going to save sinners like you and I, who can provide forgiveness for a sinner? Who can provide redemption for humanity? Because after all, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So, how can God forgive a sinful people if God is holy? Kadosh in Hebrew. Isaiah said, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God. The Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with His glory. So, who can save, who can forgive the human race who fell into sin beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden? Everyone that was born as a descendant of Adam and Eve, we all fell into sin.

That's why the sacrificial system that God had given to our forefathers, the people of Israel, on the altars, the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, all these offerings had to do with blood that was to be shed by animals. And the blood make atonement for the soul. Only to cover the sin of the nation temporarily until the Messiah will come. And here's the Messiah, Yeshua. He came to this world in order to die. In order to die. But you see, my dear friend, he must be more than just another man if he is going to be sinless.

That's why the virgin birth is so important. The virgin shall conceive and bring forth a child, a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, God with us. And the Gospel of John, presenting before us, God, who came to be with us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John 1.1. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, John 1.14. And so this God with us, Immanuel, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, is now presenting himself not only as the door, not only as the Good Shepherd, but he is reminding us again and again that he is the Son of God.

That's why the leaders in Israel accused him, saying, you blessed him, because you said that you are the Son of God, Ben Elohim. That's why they were unhappy with him, because he claimed to be equal with the Father. I and my Father are one. So this is very important for all of us to understand the divine nature of Yeshua the Messiah, who took union, human nature, with his divine nature. And the reason that he became a man, he took human nature, because he could never die in his divine nature. He's God. But when he took humanity with his divine nature, this is the mystery of mysteries, yet clearly taught in the Bible, taught in the Hebrew Scriptures, taught by the prophets, taught by the apostles, taught by the Messiah himself.

He had to become a human being so he could die for other human beings. And because he was sinless, sin apart, holy, he could bear the sin of this world, yours and mine. And you and I can be saved and forgiven if we believe on him. And so you notice this in John 10 verses 22, 23 and 24, we have the encounter between Yeshua the Messiah and the spiritual leaders of Israel. There was a continue on an encounter because they did not recognize that he was indeed the Son of God. They did not recognize that he was indeed the promised Messiah, like many in the world today, who still reject him.

And reject him and reject him again and despise him and do not want to accept him, not realizing if they will ever receive forgiveness of sins, they must turn to him. And so notice what we read in verse 22, 23 and 24 of John chapter 10, as we continue on. In that chapter we read in verse 22, it was in Jerusalem at the Feast of Dedication. And it was winter, the Feast of Dedication. In Hebrew, Chag Chanukah. It is the dedication of the house of God, of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. And why we have been celebrating the Feast of Dedication, Chanukah, already since 165 BC. Why? Because the Grecians had a wicked king called Antiochus Epiphanes.

Antiochus the fourth. And he was a wicked man who claimed to be God. He desecrated our temple in the city of Jerusalem. And situated image of Zeus and asking our people of Israel to worship him as God. And to offer pigs on the altar. He desecrated the temple in the city of Jerusalem, which was predicted by Daniel in the eighth chapter. When Daniel received this revelation from God concerning the future events that will happen in Jewish history. Daniel in chapter 8 received this revelation from God. We read in verse 9 about this wicked man who will be one that will come out from the four notable ones, ones which were the military men that inherited Alexander the Great's power over this Grecian kingdom.

And he came as one that came out of one of these four notable generals. And he was one of these Grecian king who was in control over the land of Israel. He was a Syrian Grecian king. And we read in verse 9 and out of one of them, namely out of one of those four notable ones. These are generals that inherited the Grecian empire from Alexander the Great. One of them we read here was called here in Daniel 8 and verse 9. He came a little horn which waxed exceedingly great towards the south. This is Egypt. And towards a pleasant land. This is the land of Israel. And he waxed great even to the host of heaven.

He was treating the people of Israel very poorly, very bad. He cast down some of the host. These are God's people, the people of Israel and of the stars to the ground. And he stamped upon them. And he magnified himself even to the prince of the host. And by him, listen to this, the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. And we read as we continue on how he desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. We read that in verse 12 of Daniel chapter 8, that an host was given to him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression. And he cast down the truth.

This is the Torah. The word of God. He cast it down to the ground. And he practiced and prospered. In other words, he was allowed by God to prosper, to get his own way. But he desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. But the temple was rededicated. That's how we get the word Chanukah. Chanukah means dedication. And here we find that Yeshua, the Messiah himself, along with the Jewish people, with the old people of Israel, he's participating in the Feast of Dedication, which was established in 165 BC. After the people of Israel, rededicated the temple of God from the desecration that Antiochus Epiphanes have caused the temple to be under.

And so we read that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, was there. Notice it is a winter time in Jerusalem. And Yeshua walked in the temple in the Solomon's porch. About 200 years earlier, some 200 years earlier, the temple was rededicated. Now come another man. And this man also claiming to be God, the Son, the Messiah. The difference between Yeshua, Jesus, and Antiochus Epiphanes is simply this. Antiochus Epiphanes was a wicked man who claimed to be God, wanted worship from the people of Israel. But Yeshua, the Messiah, was the Emmanuel, as Isaiah the prophet said. Unto us a child is born, a son is given. He is the one that came from heaven.

And he is the one who came in order to provide redemption for Israel and for the nations of the world. And Isaiah continued to say in chapter 9 of the prophecy of Isaiah. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. The mighty God, El Gibbo, the everlasting Father, the Father of Eternity, and the Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom. And of the increase of his government of peace, there shall be no end. And upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with justice and with judgment from henceforth even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it. The prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of the Messiah. But sure enough, when he came, he was rejected. And so as he, Yeshua, walked in the temple, notice the very same temple that was rededicated some 200 years earlier. Now he, the Messiah, is walking there. Then came the Jews round about him and they said unto him, How long dost thou make us down? If thou be the Messiah, the Christ, the Christos, the Anointed One, tell us plainly. The Jewish leaders asked from him in John 10 and verse 24. Notice, if you are the Mashiach, the Messiah, the Christos, the Anointed One, tell us plainly.

And notice what Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, tells them. And this is very, very important, beloved brothers and sisters. In verse 25 on, notice how the Lord Jesus the Messiah explained to the leaders of Israel. And he's explaining it to you and I. Who he is. Who he is. He seeked to unfold before them the fact that he was indeed the promised Messiah. So he told them. In verse 25, I told you. Notice that. Jesus answered them. He said, I told you and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. In chapter 5, in verse 17, we read, Jesus answered and he said, my Father worketh either too and I work.

In other words, I came down to this world in order to accomplish the work that God the Father gave me. He continued. He continued. If you look at John chapter 5. He said, verily, verily, in verse 19, I said unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what thing soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son. And he's seeking to remind Israel and to point them to the fact that he is the Son of God, that he is the Messiah who came down from heaven to do the will of God. In the previous verses that we have already read in chapter 7, the Lord Yeshua said in verse 14, he's in the midst of the feast.

Yeshua went up into the temple and he taught. And even there, as you continue to read, the Lord Jesus presented himself as the Messiah. So, there was unbelief, rejection of his Messiahship. And that's why, my dear friend, it is important to see that once again in these verses, Jesus the Messiah explained to the leaders of Israel who he is. So, in verse 25, he said, I told you, and he believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. The works that he did wasn't evident. He just healed the blind man in John 9 that he sent him. He said to him, he said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, in Hebrew, Shiloach.

And he went his way, therefore, and he washed and he came seeing. If you see throughout the whole book of John, the Gospel of John, the eight signs, the eight miracles showing us that Yeshua is indeed the promised Messiah. This Messiah, he came, he was born to the Virgin Miriam. He lived a life that bear witness to the fact that he came from God. Now, again, I think it's always good for us to remember that never before God entered into this world to become a man. It only happened once. It will never happen again. That's the time that with the limitation that the Jewish leaders had, they didn't recognize that he was the Messiah.

But the problem, of course, was that their hearts were hardened. See, you and I today have a lot more light today. We have the complete canon of scriptures. We have the Tanakh, that is the Old Testament, the Brit HaChadashah, that is the New Covenant. We have plenty of information for us today to know who Yeshua is. The Gospel had been preached throughout the world by the apostles. And now in the last 2,000 years, the message continued to be shared that God loves the world, that God sent the Messiah, the Messiah for this world, that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah died for the sin of this world.

They had written in the Word of God and preached throughout the world for the last 2,000 years. Of course, they were limited. They didn't have the amount of information that you and I have. Nevertheless, they hardened their heart. And you and I, my dear friend, have to be extremely careful not to harden our heart because we have even greater responsibility today after 2,000 years of the ministry of the Word of God. So he said to them, I told you, in verse 25, Yeshua said, but you believe not. Look at my works. Look at what I have done. Witness the works that I have done. I healed the sick.

I fed the poor. I have turned the water into wine. I am ministering the Word, teaching the Word of God. I am fulfilling the Scriptures. Believe on me. I told you who I am, but you believe me not. In verse 26, he told them, you do not believe because you are not really belong to me. But you believe not because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. And here, my dear friend, this wonderful truth that Yeshua is seeking to teach us all. Verse 27, 28, and 29 are beautiful verses. Listen to these verses. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. And they follow me.

And I give unto them eternal life. Chayei Olam in Hebrew. Eternal life. And they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Notice this. This is one of the most important passages in the Word of God. Because in these verses, in these words of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, we learn of the truth of the eternal security of the true believer in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Notice that. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.

And they follow me. And listen to verse 28. And I give unto them eternal life. How long eternal life is? It is eternal. Never end. But it's not only eternal in a sense of quantity, of time. But it is eternal life is a relationship with an eternal person. Here is the explanation. That we learn from the Word of God in John 17 and verse 3. That the Lord Jesus the Messiah Himself gives us to what is the meaning of eternal life. In Hebrew we say Chaye Olam. Chayim or Chayim means life. Olam means endless. Forever. Listen to the words of Yeshua in John 17. And this is eternal life.

That they might know Thee, the only true God, and Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. This is eternal life. To know the true and living God, the God of Israel. The God of the universe, the God of creation. And Jesus Christ in Hebrew, Yeshua HaMashiach, the anointed one. Who came to pay for the price of the sin of this world. To believe on Him, to know Him, and to know God. This is eternal life. It's not only quantity or length of time, but it is a quality. A relationship with an eternal God. In verse 26, Yeshua said to the leaders who did not accept Him, He said, "You believe not because you don't belong to Me." "But, My sheep, they will hear My voice." "And I know them." My dear friend, did you hear the voice of the Lord Jesus the Messiah calling you to come to Him?

Have you turned your heart towards Him? Have you accepted the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, as your Lord and Savior? Are you one of His sheep? Because He said, "My sheep hear My voice." "But not only that, and I know them." Do you know the Lord? Do you realize that He knows you if you belong to Him or not? No one is going to enter into God's presence. No one is ever going to receive eternal life. No one will ever will have forgiveness if he or she do not believe in Jesus the Messiah. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Everlasting life, whosoever believeth on Him.

One must believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. This is the name of Yeshua. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father, but by me, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah said. In other words, it's not a matter of head knowledge. It's not a matter of family ties. It's not a matter of background and family membership. It's a matter of truly believing on the Lord Jesus the Messiah being one of His sheep. John 1:12 says, And as many as received Him, This is received Yeshua, Jesus.

To them He gave the authority to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I'll give unto them eternal life. And listen to this, my dear friend. And they shall never perish. Never perish. This is what we, as believers in the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, have received the assurance of eternal security. Never to perish. Never perish. Never perish. No one will be able to pluck the child of God out of the hand of God.

This is what we learn here, my dear friends, dear brothers and sisters from this passage. This beautiful passage in John chapter 10. Let me read it for you again. Verse 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. And they follow me. Verse 28. And I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish. You see, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah, Yeshua. No one can condemn the believer in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Why? Because He paid for the price of our sins. The Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, fulfilled all that which was spoken by the prophets. He is the one who would come to this world in order to pay for the sin of this world.

That's why the apostle, Shaul Paul, said in Galatians chapter 4, he said. In Galatians 4, in verse 4, he said this. Listen to this. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman. This is the birth, the supernatural birth. He took union humanity with His divine nature. And He was, not only became a human being, but He was born under the law. He was born to the nation of Israel, as part of the nation of Israel, to fulfill the law, which none could fulfill fully. All have sinned. And He was the only man, the holy, harmless, undefiled, who lived a perfect life, qualified to be the Mashiach.

They shall never perish. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish. John 3, 16. This is fascinating that we have here in these passages here, my dear friend. So, on and on we can read in the Gospel of John today, the assurance of eternal salvation to the believer in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. So, now, we continue to read in verse 28, Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. No one will be able to steal the true believer from Yeshua, the Messiah. No one will be able to take any true believer in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. No one will be able to harm them. They are eternally related to Him.

They belong to Him. No one will be able to pluck them out of my hand. And Yeshua continues in verse 29, My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. This is what is often called the eternal security of the believer. Some might say, you mean that if I will fall into sin, that I will still be saved? Well, the answer is simply this. Do you think God does not know that you are a sinner? And even after you believe in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, do you think that your old nature has disappeared?

While we are new creation, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, them that are in Christ Jesus are new creation. All things that pass away all become new, but we still have this old nature. And that's why the apostle Paul in Galatians tells us, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the last of the flesh. So as we walk here in this world, we often stumble. But our salvation is not based upon what we do and how we walk. It is based upon the finished work, the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. When He died, He paid for our sins at the cross, on the tree.

He says, it is finished. Now, Pastor Paul reminds us in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, For by grace are ye saved through faith. And that is not of your servant, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In other words, it's not what we do that earn for us the salvation. No, it's what Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, have done for us. The animal sacrifices that God gave to our fathers pointed to Him. Every time that the blood was shed on the altars, commended by God, demanded by God. They made atonement. They made kapara, temporarily covered, the sins of the nation of Israel, who were forgiven.

But they had to repeat it again and again, to receive forgiveness again, because they sinned again. But once the Messiah, Yeshua, came, we read very clearly in John 1 and verse 29, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away. Notice, He doesn't say that cover the sin of this world. No, but taketh away the sin of the world. Because all the sacrifices given by God were given by the Messiah Himself, that He knew that He Himself will become the one who will be the fulfillment, and will put an end to the bloodshed of an animal, which were a foreshadowing picture of the Messiah, that He will come.

Once He came, by one sacrifice, He once and for all finished the work of redemption. And here, beloved friend, in John 10, He hasn't died as yet, but it is in anticipation. He will die. He will become the Good Shepherd, as we have already read in John 10. The Good Shepherd lay down His life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, verse 11 of John 10. The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. Verse 15, I lay down my life for the sheep. Verse 18, no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.

This commandment have I received of my Father. And in verse 17, the previous verse of John 10, Yeshua said, therefore, does my Father love me? Why? Because I lay down my life that I might take it again. My dear friend, dear brothers and sisters, here is the Messiah voluntarily planning the time that He will give His life for those that become believers. The value of His work is sufficient enough to take the sin of the whole world. But only those who will believe will benefit from the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the redemption that He provides, the forgiveness that He provides for sinners such as us.

Well, listen to this. As we are moving along in John chapter 10, in verse 30, Yeshua said, I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. Well, what does He mean? I am a divine person. I am equal with the Father. I am co-equal with God the Father. Remember how the whole gospel began. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. In other words, that Word, that Logos, that Mimra in Hebrew, in the beginning, in eternity past, He was with God. But then He tells us the third part of verse 1 of John 1, and the Word was God. In other words, He was a distinct person in the Godhead, and yet He was co-equal with God.

He was divine. In verse 3, we read that all things were made by Him. He was the Creator. And without Him was not anything made which was made. In other words, when we read Genesis 1 and verse 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew word for God there is Elohim. It's a plurality. And all the three persons of the Godhead were involved in creation. God the Father. God the Son. God the Spirit. One God, three persons. Not three gods. Only one God. Here are Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu. Adonai Echad. But this one single God exists and consists in the three persons of the Godhead.

Ha'abba, the Father. Ha'ben, the Son. Ha'ruach, the Spirit. I and my Father are one. Now from here on, my dear friend, the Jewish leaders wanted to stone him. Let me remind you that they look back to some 200 years earlier, 165 B.C. even earlier, some three years earlier, when the temple was desecrated, 168 B.C. And they remember that there was another man who came and claimed to be God. That man was this wicked man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was the Grecian Syrian king who ruled over Judea. And he claimed to be God. And he wanted the Jewish people to worship him. He committed the abomination of desolation.

Like another one like him will commit the abomination of desolation, the Antichrist, in a future day. In the tribulation period, he will also desecrate the temple in the middle of the tribulation period. But here we have a man by the name of Yeshua, and he is claiming to be God. So these Jewish leaders of Israel, looking back, and they said, here we have again another one claiming to be God. But you see, had they understood, had their heart was softened to understand that he was indeed a Messiah, he came in love for them, in love for Israel, in love for the world. He came, as he said of himself, I came down to lay down my life for the sheep.

You see, Antiochus Epiphanes was killing the Jewish people. While Yeshua, the Messiah, was going to die for the people of Israel, and to die for the nations of the world. But he was going to lay down his life. Amazing grace, amazing chesed, amazing love. So they didn't understand it, and they rejected, they hardened their hearts, and they took up stone to stone him. And notice verse 32 on, Yeshua questioned the leaders, and he said unto them, Many good works have I done, and I showed you for my Father. For which of those works do ye stone me? In other words, why do you want to stone me?

I showed you many miracles, many signs. I've done good in your midst. Now, for which one of those good things that I've done you want to stone me? I just healed the blind man who was blind for many, many years. You want to stone me because I've healed the man that was blind? And you see, my dear friend, look at the explanation. Listen to the explanation that the leaders had. The Jews, every time you read the word Jews in Hebrew, Yehudim, the Yehudim in the Gospel of John, some 70, 71 time, almost all of these times, it has a reference to the Jewish spiritual leaders. Why? Because everybody else was Jewish there, including the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua himself.

So the Jews, the spiritual leaders, answered him, and they said, For good work will stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And because that thou being a man, notice that, thou being a man, makest thyself God. You see, they were opposing to any man to claim to be God. And after all, wasn't God the one who have taught the people of Israel not to have any other gods before the nation? Let me remind you what the Torah said in Exodus chapter 20. Verse 2 said, I am the Lord thy God. which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, thou shalt have no other God before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow thyself to them, nor serve them. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the Father upon the children unto the third and the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandment, God said to the people of Israel. And the people of Israel always were in danger of following other gods from the nations around.

And if you remember throughout the history of our own people of Israel, how many a time when they adopted the gods of the world, God had to punish them. Even Shlomo, the king of Israel, who married 700 wives and had 300 concubines, and he adopted, provided for them, and alters, each one for their own gods. That was an abomination before the Lord. And here coming a man by the name of Yeshua, and he is claiming to be God. And they said to him, because it is a blasphemy because you've been a man and you make yourself God. Now, my dear friend, this is the dilemma of dilemmas.

This is the most important thing to understand. This is exactly what the Gospel of John is seeking to present before us. The Gospel of John is seeking to present before us the fact that Yeshua is divine. And every one of us must understand that he was not being a man making himself God. No. But he is indeed God who made himself man. And the reason that he made himself man, not forsaking his divine nature, be God and man in one, the reason that he became or took union humanity with his divine nature because he had to pay for the sin of this world, for your sins and mine.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. I came down from heaven, he said it once and again, in order to lay down my life for the sheep. This is the whole point that the Apostle Yohanan, John, is presenting before us in the fourth Gospel, the Gospel according to Yohanan. Therefore does my Father love me. Why? Because as man, I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. My dear friend, I had a hard time to grasp this truth.

A long time it took me to understand as all of us, as Jewish people, we have been taught here on Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And here we have in the New Covenant, in the New Testament, the truth concerning the fact that Yeshua is divine. And of course, we have been taught from generation to generation that Jesus is not God, that He is not for the Jewish people. But my dear friend, after all, had our own people believed that He was the Messiah because after all, the New Testament was given to the whole world through the Jewish people. And the events that occur here in John chapter 10 were right there and there in the temple in the city of Jerusalem in the land of Israel.

As we have already read in verse 22, it was at Jerusalem. It was at the Feast of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication. And Jesus walked in the temple in Jerusalem. You see, my dear friend, how it is important to have the Lord opening our eyes and unfolding before us the fact that God became a man and as a man in the person of Jesus the Messiah, He paid for the sin of this world. What a love. God loved the world to provide the Messiah. And so notice that after they sought to stone Him and He asked them for which work that I showed you you want to stone me and they told Him because you being a man making yourself God.

listen to the last portion of John chapter 10 here from verse 34 to verse 38. Listen to the answer of the Lord. Yeshua answered them and He said, Is it not written in your law? I said, He is really quoting Psalm 86 and there the judges of Israel received the responsibility from God and they were acting on behalf of God. And then He said, If He called them, this is the judges of Israel, gods, in a small g of course, they were representing God unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of Him, namely of me, whom the Father has sanctified, set me apart to become the Messiah, the Messiah, and sent into this world, you call me blasphemous because I said I am the Son of God?

If I do know the words of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not, me believe the works that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and that I am in Him. This is so interesting, my dear friend. In Psalm 82 we read these words by the psalmists concerning those that were the judges of Israel. We read in verse 1 of Psalm 82 it is a psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty. He judges among the judges. And the word there comes from the Hebrew word the judges of the world. God is judging among all the leaders of the world.

and he said to them how long ye will judge unjustly and accept the person of the wicked selah and so on. Defend the poor and the fatherless do justice unto the afflicted and the needy. And he was appealing to them and Asaph was singing this psalm with the people of Israel. And then notice what it says here in verse 6 I have said this is to the judges ye are gods and all of you are children of the most high. In other words you were called to be a fair judges on behalf of God. And you notice what Yeshua Jesus the Messiah quoting in John 10 the psalmist of Israel.

And he said to them is it not written in your law I said ye are God Psalm 82 6 if he called them gods meaning judges who act on behalf of God unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken say ye of him whom the father had sanctified and sent into the world thou bless him is because I said I am the son of God you see it is so interesting to see how the Lord Jesus know the scripture why because it was he was the one who gave the scripture to the people of Israel God God God said to Moses listen to this he said to Moses in verse

16 he shall go saying speak about Aaron he shall be thy spokesman unto the people Aaron will be your spokesman to the people of Israel and he shall be even he shall be unto thee instead of a mouse and thou shall be to him instead of God in other word Moses you will be a representative of mine Aaron your brother will listen to what you say and you will be the spokesman of God you will be to him instead of God Exodus chapter 4 and verse 16 so God does not say to Moses you are divine you are God but you are speaking on behalf of God but you see obviously the leaders of Israel

didn't acknowledge him as the one who spoke for God anyway and for sure they did not accept him as the son of God and so notice Yeshua said in verse 37 and on in verse 38 if I do not the works of my father believe me not but if I do though ye believe not me believe the works that ye may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him you notice my dear friend in all these verses from verse 34 to verse 38 the Lord Jesus the Messiah wanted to present himself to the nation of Israel and to you and I today that he is indeed the son of God

and he wanted Israel and he want you and I to believe that he was the one that the father has sanctified the word sanctified means set him apart God the father set his son apart for the ministry for the service of becoming a man and paying for the sin of this word he was set apart by God the father to become the savior of this world and if you don't believe me at least believe the works that I do the miracles that I do the blessing that I bring to the nation and to the whole world love but notice what we read in the last verses of this chapter as we conclude chapter 10 therefore

they sought again to take him but he escaped out of their hands and you notice what we read here this verse 39 they sought to take him but he escaped they couldn't take him because the time was not yet for him to be killed and to die on the cross on the tree so in the last verses verse 40 41 and 42 Yeshua went back to where John the baptizer was and many resorted unto him there and actually many believe on him we read in verse 40 to verse 42 this is the last verses of John chapter 10 and he went away beyond the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized and there

he abode so he went away from Jerusalem he went there below where Jordan where the Jordan was he went beyond the Jordan and there he was where John the baptizer baptized earlier when he began his public ministry and we are drawing now towards the end of Yeshua's public ministry because soon he will give his life and will die on a shameful tree and you notice how beautiful many resorted unto him John did no miracle but all things that John spoke of this man were true and many believe on him there you see there was always a challenge do they believe on him because of the miracles or do they believe on him because he is

indeed revealed to them that he was the Messiah do you believe on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah do you believe on him only because he was a special man or do you believe on him because he is indeed the one that paid for your sins this is what we learn from this gospel of John and that's why the whole gospel was written to show us the life of our Lord Jesus the Messiah from a divine perspective to show us that he was indeed God the Son listen to these verses in John 20 30 and 31 and many other are in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are

written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ that Yeshua is the Mashiach and the Son of God and that believing he might have life through his name my dear friend do you believe in the Lord Jesus the Messiah if not I appeal to you that you will consider him recognize his love for you and the price that he was willing to pay for your sins we read in John 3 and verse 36 he that believes on the Son has everlasting life but listen to the other part of John 3 36 and he that believes not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him my dear friend may

God help us all to understand that he Yeshua is indeed equal with the father I and my father are one that he indeed is the son of God ben ha Elohim who came from heaven became a man and became the shepherd of the sheep who laid down his life for the sake of the sheep may God bless you my friend may God bless us all and encourage our hearts as we continue together in the study of the gospel of John and with these verses we concluded John chapter 10 God bless you and Shalom Shalom Shalom Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord

Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith and now teaching God's word from a Hebrew messianic perspective here is Gideon Levittam