“Jesus answered them, ’I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will 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 the Father's hand. I and the Father are one’” (John 10:25-30, ESV).
Have you heard about the Filipino who became a very successful businessman in Norway, who was looking for and found his biological mother here in Legazpi?
His Norwegian name is Espen, while his Filipino name is Jerad. He was adopted when he was only one year old.
According to him, the Norwegian couple was super happy to have him in Norway. His father is in the oil industry and his mother is in the government. And he grew up to become CEO of his own company.
But despite his success and in living in a loving family, he felt the longing for his biological mother. They finally met last January.
According to his mother, “It was very difficult decision to give your child away.”
In many verses in the Gospel, especially in John 17, we read that God the Father has given a people to His Son. In our text today, we also find the same truth.
But, what would happen, if God the Father would give you to Jesus Christ?
So, this time, we will have our topic, GIVEN TO JESUS while we study some verses in our text (John 10:25-30).
What would happen or, specifically, what would a person do, when he is given by God the Father to Jesus?
Again, be reminded that the Gospel of John was written by the one who addressed himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” No other than the Apostle John. And he wrote it about 90 AD.
The book is different from the other Gospels, called Synoptic Gospels -- Matthew, Mark and Luke. They focused on the narrative of the life of Jesus. However, the Book of John related more on the works and words of Jesus while in the last part of His life on earth.
In the early verses of John 10, John related that Jesus told the Jews that He was the good Shepherd. And He laid down His life for special group of people -- the sheep.
Then, when Jesus was in Jerusalem, the Jews again gathered around Him. They said to Him, “…If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
And in our text, Jesus related His expectation of their unbelief. And we could also learn, what the sheep or those people given by the Father would do. And if we are among them, what do you think we would also do?
– PERSEVERE TO FOLLOW JESUS (verse 27).
We read verses 27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Let’s focus on the last three words, “… they follow me.”
Of course, we understand that the word, “they” refers to the “sheep.” And the sheep is a metaphorical identification of those persons given to Jesus by the Father. As we read in verse 29, ”My Father, who has given them to me…”
And they -- the sheep -- or the persons given by the Father follow. They follow Jesus. They follow Him, not their hearts, not their feelings, not their dreams, not anyone or anything or any practice in the world.
What do you really mean “follow”? If we take other verses in the Bible, we could understand “follow” in many ways. The most common is to obey. To make Jesus the Boss. That means to make Him Lord of our lives.
We may see it also as a “call to self-abasement and self-sacrifice.”
In another passage, it could mean that to “follow Christ means He has become everything to us.”
It could also mean “we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus walked besides us in person.” Or, as in verse 4, we could infer that we follow Him wherever He leads or tells us to go.
However, if we consider the word “follow” within our text, we can draw another or broader meaning. Notice verse 26, “…but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.” Jesus told the Jews that they do not believe because they are not among His sheep. But while they do not believe, Jesus said in the next verse (v. 27), “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” -- or, as if Jesus was saying, “My sheep, not only hear My Voice audibly and understand it… also, they follow me or believe me.” And in the following verse (28A), Jesus said in the first part, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish…”
Remember the last part of John 3:16(B), “…whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Notice the words: “believe(s), not perish… have eternal life.” Go back to our text in John 10:27-28. Notice also the words: “they follow me, I give…eternal life…. will never perish.” In both passages, follow and believe came together with the words, having “eternal life” and “not to perish.”
It is interesting to note that NKJV Study Bible commented on the word “follow” in verse 27, “The following of the sheep is a metaphor for faith.”
So far, it is clear to us, whom to follow. A person who is given by God the Father to His Son, of course, will follow Jesus. He will follow not anyone or anything else. He will not even follow any Jesus. But Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
It is also clear to us how to follow. In our text, to follow Jesus means to believe Him. To believe who He is. He is the Son of God. He is the Christ, meaning the Prophet, the King of kings, and the High Priest of God. And not only to believe who He is, but also to believe in His Word.
As a person given to Jesus, he will follow Him.
But where is the word “persevere” in the text? It is implied. What is obvious is the “preservation” of the sheep (the people given by the Father to the Son).
Consider what Jesus said in verse 28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
What will Jesus do to the people given by the Father to Him? “I give them eternal life…” He did not say, “I will give…” He said, “I give them eternal life…” He was speaking in the present tense. Next, “they will never perish…” -- their safety up to the future is assured. Also, “no one will snatch them out of my hand” -- their security from all threats is guaranteed.
The preservation of the sheep is total and complete. On the side of the Shepherd that’s His Sovereign job -- the preservation. On the side of the people given to Jesus -- the perseverance. They will be motivated to persevere to follow -- or persevere to believe in Jesus, because God preserves them.
So, what will the person given by the Father to Jesus do? He will persevere to follow Jesus.
How would a person persevere? He would “continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success.”
What’s the difference between persevere and persist?
Google helps us: “…while both terms refer to continuing a belief or effort despite obstacles, persistence can sometimes be stubborn and mindless, whereas perseverance embodies resilience, determination, and a positive mindset.”
So, both have “continued action.” However, in persistence refers “to actions whose purpose is either bad, good or neutral.” In perseverance refers “to actions with good purposes or desirable goals.”
A person given by the Father to Jesus is motivated to persevere. He perseveres to follow. Some of the definitions in the dictionary of “follow” are, “move or travel behind” and also an “act according to an instruction.”
However, the tendency of people is to move ahead of someone they should follow, to act not according to an instruction. A typical example is King Saul who offered the burnt offering. We read in I Sam. 13:8-13:
“He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, ‘Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, “Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.” So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.’ And Samuel said to Saul, ’You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.’”
In the early days of his reign, Saul followed. But he did not persevere. The point came in his life that he went ahead of Samuel. Saul did not believe or trust that Samuel would come at the appointed time to offer the burnt offering.
His unbelief in the words of Samuel, his transgression of Samuel’s instruction was his unbelief and defiance of God’s command. Samuel spoke to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you.”
Even in our time, the tendency of people is not to persevere in following Jesus. They do not persevere to follow God. When they encounter difficulties, or when they encounter greater earthly gain of whatever kind, they give up their pursuit for God and for His Word.
Why?
Because something important is missing in their act of following. The essential element of belief is absent. Like Saul, they do not have genuine faith in the veracity of the promise, or instruction, or in the goodness of the Word of the Good Shepherd.
Perhaps, someone follows because he sees many are also doing it. And when he realizes he’s just the one making the effort, he ceases also to accomplish the noble task. Or, he follows because the way is easy, or he gets something out of it. But when the way is getting tough, for him it’s time, not just to rest but to fully stop.
There are also people who persist in following something. They persist in their wrong if not evil habits. They are interested to follow their seemingly pleasurable practices, or whatever attractive ways in this world. They follow whoever or whatever in the FB or other sites in the internet that stimulate or feed their earthly desires.
We find also those who persist in their wrong beliefs. Or they are contented to follow any Jesus, but not the Biblical One. Even during the time of Paul, he expressed his apprehension that believers in Corinth “will be lead astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3).
Why? In the Good News Translation, we read in the first part of verse 4A, Paul wrote ,”For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached…”
Now, in our time, there are those who gladly tolerate, not only who come and preach a different or another Jesus; but they persist to follow those preachers. But the people given by the Father to Jesus persevere to follow the One, whom Paul and the original Apostles preached.
Believers and lovers of Christ, do we acknowledge that we are given by the Father to Jesus?
We hear the words, “Give your heart to Jesus,” “Give your life to the Lord,” or whatever exhortation of similar kind. And, perhaps, once you also said, “I give my heart or life to Jesus.”
Could we really do that? Could we claim ownership on our life and free to dispense it to anyone we choose to?
We are not born free. Even before we are born and have the initial pulse of life in the womb, we are slave to sin. Our tendency is to give ourselves to selfishness. We give ourselves generously to rebellion, to pride, to unbelief, to hatred, envy, etc.
When Jesus set us free, the desire to be locked up again in indifference, laziness, or excuses is still strong. Who among us here who does not give in to his wrong or bad habit, or ungodly and unrighteous attitude or practices?
Like the Israelites before who were delivered from Egypt, yet still wanted to return to slavery, we are tempted and some fell into the temptation of returning to sin.
We need to realize, to remember always if we are given by God the Father to His Son, we will persevere. We will continue in the course of right action even in the face of difficulty. Remember Joshua and Caleb. Tho they knew they have to battle with “giants,” as perceived by the majority, they did not lose heart and continue to believe that they would triumph and acquire the promised land.
Perseverance is not the virtue of just the successful men in this world. The keepers of the Word have the greater motivation to persevere. Why? Because they are preserved by the Personal Word. They are under the preservation of Jesus and of the Father.
So, persevere to overcome bad habit or practice that still enslaves you. Persevere to defeat hatred with love. Persevere to conquer laziness with diligence. Persevere to smile, though you are tempted to frown.
Persevere to be forgiving. Persevere to share God’s Word with others. Persevere to pray regularly. And persevere to finish reading your Bible from cover to cover. Persevere to have your time with God.
And if we are really given by the Father to Jesus, we will persevere to follow or believe Jesus.
We will continue to believe and will never doubt that Jesus is God. We will never doubt that He is the Christ. Meaning, He is not just an ordinary prophet, but He is the Divine Prophet. He does not just relay to us the Word of ‘God, but He speaks to us the very Word of God. We regard Him not just an ordinary lord or king, but He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. We consider Him also the Holy High Priest, who offered not just an animal to pay for all our sins, but He offered His own Self to suffer and die in our place. And by living His life free of any sin, He clothed us with His righteousness.
We will continue also to believe in His Word. We believe, not because of any good thing in us. We believe because of what we are. We are His sheep -- the people chosen by the Father given to Jesus. And we are so motivated to persevere in our belief, because of the preservation He is doing to us. Continue, then, to believe that He gives us now life. We do not just exist. We live as new born children of God. Holy and obedient children. Safe. Secured. Continue to believe His promise, “Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book” (Rev. 22:7).
Persevere to follow the Biblical Jesus. Persevere to believe and follow Him, not only when He is leading you through green pastures or besides still waters. Persevere to follow and obey Him even “through the valley of the shadow of death.”
CONCLUSION:
In closing, remember the Filipino, who was given to adoption by his mother? While in Norway, because he looked different, he experienced getting bullied. So he persevered to succeed in life “to prove those who bullied him wrong.” When he graduated there in high school, he was at the top of his class. No wonder he finally became the CEO of his own company.
If you are given by God the Father to Jesus, you would think and behave different from the other people. Expect to be bullied. Expect even to be persecuted. But persevere to believe and follow Jesus. You will rejoice in greater success. Not just in the future, but even now. No success can match to have not just a Norwegian father, but to have the Sovereign God, as your Heavenly Father.
