The Deep End

Living Your Best Life

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 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. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

John 10:12-19

I have discussed before the “division” that Jesus caused and still causes today as He drives a wedge between the true and the false, between the spiritual and the worldly and the fleshly, between man-centered religious expectations and the truth that God’s righteousness requires a sacrifice for sin.

And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

John 10:22

Many thought that talking about the fact that no one could take His life from Him, but that He could lay it down and take it back up again sounded like crazy talk, but:

Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

John 10:21

The incontrovertible evidence of His miraculous healing power being used for a noble purpose was still there to be dealt with.

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

John 10:22

This festival is not found in the Old Testament. It originated in the intertestamental period. After Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the Temple in Jerusalem by setting up a pagan altar a “freedom fighter” named Judas Macabbeus led a group of Israeli fighters to overthrow him and rededicate the Temple. It is celebrated today as Hanukkah, with the menorahs or lamps burning in people’s homes for 12 days.

And Jesus 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 Christ, tell us plainly.

John 10:23-24

They demanded that He spell it out for them, whether or not He was claiming to be the Messiah, so, while knowing that nothing would cause them to change their minds about Him – neither His teaching nor His miracles – He nevertheless stated His Divine identity clearly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed 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.

John 10:25-31

This time Jesus did not escape, but stayed to speak with them, and reasoned with them from the Scriptures for a while. Of course, they still didn’t believe, so eventually He did escape.

Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

John 10:39-40

This is an inclusio, indicating that the key turning point in the Gospel of John – the break from Jesus’s early ministry and the transition to the final days on earth – is probably not at the end of Chapter 11, as most commentators say, but here at the end of Chapter 10 and on through Chapter 11. John starts off with the ministry of John the Baptist, and here returns to it to show that John’s preaching about Jesus was true.

So far in our study of the Gospel of John we have seen Jesus show Himself to be the bread of life, the water of life, and the light of life. Food, water, and light are all necessary for life, but now we will see that Jesus IS the life. Lately I’ve been seeing people post pictures of themselves, their friends, their family members, even their pets, with the curious caption, “Living my/his/their best life.”

If Jesus is truly eternal, abundant Life personified, then, by necessity, you can’t be living your best life apart from Him. Get your life on the right track by knowing and following Him.

John Chapter 11 is where we find the account of Lazarus (probably not the same Lazarus from the story of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16), a man who was part of a family that was especially close to Jesus, a family from Bethany (one of the Bethanys in that area) near Jerusalem which Jesus had left for the time being because of the attempts of the Pharisees to kill Him.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

John 11:1-2

This lets us know that at the time when the Holy Spirit inspired John to write his Gospel, the account of Mary anointing Jesus’s feet with oil, which will happen in Chapter 12, was already well-known.

Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

John 11:3-4

God had brought about Lazarus’s (temporarily) fatal illness so that both the Father and the Son ccould be glorified through it, a situation similar to the man born blind. Jesus’s miracles throughout John had been increasing in power: from turning water into wine, to feeding the multitude, to healing the lame, to walking on the water, to giving sight to the man born blind. Now He was about to perform the greatest miracle so far.

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

John 11:5-6

This does not sound like an act of love to us, but Jesus had a greater plan and He loves with a greater love.

Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

John 11:7-11

Jesus referred to death as sleep, which was not an uncommon euphemism, but, again, His words were misunderstood as being merely literal.

Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

John 11:12-15

We do not think of death, much less the death of a loved one, as an occasion for gladness, but Jesus wants His followers to have transcendent faith-fuelled joy, not merely temporary happiness.

Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

John 11:16

This indicates that the nickname, “Doubting Thomas,” may be something of a misnomer.