13th Post - The Good Shepherd John 10:17-18

We have been looking at this passage John 10: 1 - 18; we have looked at good and bad shepherds, good and bad sheep, and what it means to follow His voice. I believe these last two verses are the most important. Jesus says "I will lay down my life and take it up again for my sheep." In the first part of this passage Jesus said if you are my sheep you will hear my voice and follow Me. What did Jesus mean when He said "I will lay down my life and take it up again." This is why this passage is in John and not the three synoptic Gospels. John (the Gospel) was written late in John's life, he had time to reflect on the words and sayings of Jesus John is showing us that when Jesus Said these words Jesus knew He was God and was looking ahead toward His suffering and death. Only God would know what is to happen before it does. This is what makes Bible prophecy different from all other forms of prophecy, the Bible prophecy is 100% accurate. Jesus is Lord over time and space. If the shepherd you are following is on the same page as the Bible, this should be the same message you are receiving. If it is not, something is wrong, you need to find out where the problem is. No one took Jesus' life from Him. This puts a damper on which group is responsible for the death of Jesus. If you believe the Jews are responsible, then clearly you do not sin. God points out sin to us in His Word the Bible. The Bible clearly states that "God so Loved the World that He Gave His One and Only Son (John 3:16). The Romans are not responsible either. I will explain this further when we study the death of Jesus. If this is a new teaching for you, you will see the ground work for this teaching in Genesis chapter 3. How did God know Adam and Eve would sin before they actually did? Read the account of the fall in Genesis carefully, God did not have to think up a plan, He already knew what He was going to do. If there is no sin, why did Jesus have to die? If Jesus is not God, what did His death accomplish? To be one of Jesus' sheep you have to believe all of these things, if you don't, or are not sure. I would be happy to talk with you about this further. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and it is this fact that gives Jesus the right to say "No one comes to the Father except through Me."(John 14:6)