Tell Us Plainly
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” - John 10:24
After ten chapters in the book of John, it is pretty difficult to understand how anyone could still be confused about Jesus’ identity. By this point, Jesus had healed people in their sight, he had fed the 5000, and his teachings had been so clearly dangerous that they had already started plotting his death. However, this group still assumes that Jesus is speaking in code, so they plead with him to just “tell us plainly.”
I wonder what would have happened if Jesus would have said definitively: “Read my lips… I am the Messiah.” Would they have dropped everything to follow Jesus? Something tells me they wouldn’t… and that something is actually my own experience. There have been many times in my life when I have expressed a similar sentiment to God. I have said things like, “God if you would tell me plainly, then I will share my faith with this person.” Or, “If you just make it clear, then I will follow your plan.” Or back when I was younger, “If you just send a shooting star, then I’ll know that she’s the one for me.”
We are not that different from these Jewish leaders. We too tend to crave certainty and clarity because this is where we feel safe. Let’s face it, deep down, we really don’t like being put in situations where we have to step out in faith. Faith is risky and dangerous. It is full of ambiguity and unknowns. Faith and trust are just unnatural. We long for the clear and the plain… this is where we are most comfortable.
However, Jesus’ call is to join him in the frightening field of faith. He refuses to give us certainty and he is far too nuanced to appease our desire for “plain.” Jesus will only be found when we join him on his adventure of faith.
So, will you join him into the unknown? Let’s be people who stop expecting the plain and start running toward Jesus’ great adventure of faith.
Josh Rose
Reclaiming Confidence
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 10:27-30
I spent a good chunk of my life worried about the possibility of losing my faith. I’ve seen people fall away, and I’ve seen my sin defeat my own fervent intentions. In Romans 7, Paul describes the maddening dichotomy of yearning to do good yet actually doing evil. What if I found myself somehow turning from God, given the apparent flimsiness of my intent? There’s real uncertainty there if I’m the sole proprietor of my faith, of my own will.
Our confidence is rooted in Christ and the Father's hold on us. Knowing this, we can breathe easy and enjoy the Lord’s peace. We might wander as sheep do, but not even ourselves will snatch us from their hands. We can then boldly continue to walk our imperfect faith without fear of our own wandering hearts. After all, the entire trinity is involved!
The Holy Spirit indwells and empowers us, and the Father and Son hold us as we are guided, protected, and provided for throughout our lives. Think about the role each person of the trinity plays in your life. It’s beautifully and fantastically intricate! I think when our faith becomes sight, we will see and marvel at how intimately close and involved our triune God was in our lives.
Jonathan Duncan
Plain as Faith
Series: Light in the Darkness | Text: John 10:22-42
Speaker: Pastors Ryan Paulson & Esteban Tapia
October 15, 2023: On Sunday, Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia continued our recent messages in the Gospel of John for our series, Light in the Darkness. This sermon message is entitled Plain as Faith. We hope you're enjoying our study of this section of the Scriptures.
Love Sacrifices
Recently my husband and I watched an inspiring movie on Amazon Prime called “A Million Miles Away,” the true story of Jose Hernandez who had a dream. He and his family came to the US as migrant workers in the 70’s and moved around in central California picking the produce that graced our tables. Even as a young boy, he and the rest of the family would get up at 4:15am to get into the fields to pick, then the children would go home and go to school. As the work moved from farm to farm, the children changed schools. Not an easy life. Often at night, Jose would wonder about the stars he saw in the sky and his dream was born. He wanted to be an astronaut. Impossible you say? Yet, he had a drive to achieve this goal, it did happen, but getting there was full of obstacles and required sacrifice from not only himself but others who loved him. His family saved money from their hard labor to buy a home but sacrificed their own dream so he could go to college and get an engineering degree and later a master’s degree. His wife encouraged and supported his dream fully even though it meant she had to parent five children alone often. They kept him from giving up because they loved him and saw he could do it! The story of Jose’s success reminded me that love sacrifices.
The story of Jesus and our redemption is all about love and sacrifice. This quote from Tim Keller sets the framework for understanding what Christ has done for us:
“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
We are not born good and we’ve always needed a Savior.
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” Isaiah 64:6
“There is no one righteous, not even one; ...there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3:10,12
And because we know from Romans 6:23 that the payment for sin is death, love would sacrifice Himself that it might be paid. In John 10:1-21, Jesus declares four times that He will lay down His life for us! He did it voluntarily, sacrificing Himself on our behalf. Thanks be to God, that is not the end of the story because He also declared that He would take up His life again.
Did you notice the phrase in Keller’s quote ‘at the very same time?’ This next verse encapsulates the truth.
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Dear ones, our sin is never too great that His blood could not wash it away. His sacrifice is more than sufficient because that is what love has done.
Reflect: Throughout your day, ponder how great Jesus’ sacrifice was for you. And remember what that little phrase ‘at the very same time’ means in your life.
Francie Overstreet
Love Unifies
John 10:16 records Jesus explaining to the Pharisees that there is but “one flock and one shepherd” and that hearing His voice was the true test of belonging. As if this wasn’t audacious enough, he told them that there were “other sheep” that belonged as well. This caused a rattle among the Pharisees. They understood that they were God’s chosen sheep and that he was saying that God’s grace and salvation were for the Gentiles (the “other sheep”). A statement that was so inclusive it caused division!
When I come across verses like this one that points out God’s heart was always for everyone, I get overwhelmed with gratitude because that includes me! Without the Good Shepherd, I could not belong. God’s beautiful redemption plan is for all who trust in the Good Shepherd’s sacrifice at the cross and hear His voice. Let’s be encouraged to be sheep that guard against division so that before the throne there may be “every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Revelation 7:9).
Jessica Klootwyk
Groups & Women’s Discipleship Director
The Good Shepherd Remains
John 10:15
At the beginning of every backpacking trip I’ve gone on, there’s a discussion about what to do if a bear comes into the camp. There are the normal suggestions of trying to make yourself look big, making noise to try to scare them away, and keeping in mind that bears are more scared of you than you are of them. I’m not sure how anyone could validate that last claim, but it makes us feel better. After those suggestions are given, I’d usually throw in one last piece of advice. “If a bear comes into the camp, you don’t have to be the fastest person in the group, you just can't be the slowest.” Ha!
How terrible is that? To think or suggest that a guide would ditch people they were charged to care for and preserve themselves instead of defending the ones they are leading. Yet, we see this kind of activity all the time. We see those in positions of power using people to pad their own pockets or further their own agendas, rather than doing what’s best for those in their care. We see people split when times get tough rather than standing firm in the midst of trials.
This is nothing new. It happened in Jesus’ day too. Listen to the way Jesus talked about it in John 10. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-13) Jesus was suggesting that the religious leaders had the mentality that they didn’t have to be the fastest person in the group, but they just couldn’t be the slowest. They were using people instead of serving people; taking advantage rather than giving themselves in love.
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus stands in stark contrast to the religious leaders of his day. He boldly declares that when trouble and threats come, he remains. He’s there when life is great and he’s by our side when life is hard. When the wolves and bears stroll into the camp of our lives, Jesus stands between us and them. Jesus is showing us in narrative form what the Apostle Paul taught in Romans 8:38-39 when he wrote, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but Jesus loves you way too much to leave you. Nothing you have done or could ever do would cause him to desert you. He’s with you today and he always will be; he’s The Good Shepherd.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
The Good Shepherd Prophesied
Many centuries earlier, a young shepherd named David watched over his family’s sheep in the hill country of Bethlehem. The experience of shepherding instilled in David keen spiritual insights about God as the shepherd of His people. Those insights were beautifully memorialized in Psalm 23:1 when David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”. God later called David to shepherd the nation of Israel as king for several decades. They proved to be some of the best years in the history of the Jewish nation. But tragically, many other kings and priests in the centuries that followed were dismal examples of “shepherds” over God’s people. Instead of leading God’s flock to green pastures, those unfaithful leaders abused God’s sheep through pride and avarice. After several centuries, God judged the unfaithful “shepherds” in Ezekiel 34:4-5 declaring, “with force and cruelty you have ruled [the sheep]. So they were scattered [for lack of] a shepherd…” I imagine that Jesus had such examples of unfaithful shepherds’ in mind when he cried out, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” (Jn. 10:8).
In Ezek. 34:22-24, God revealed that one day He would send a unique shepherd to watch over His people, promising that “...I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey…I will establish one shepherd over them…He shall feed them and be their shepherd.” In the fullness of time, God sent His only begotten Son to fulfill this prophecy. Knowing he had come in fulfillment of Ezekiel. 34:22-24, Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and I am known by My own.” (Jn. 10:14).
It’s a great comfort to know as believers that the Son of God shepherds us, loves us, protects us and continually leads us in paths of righteousness. If we follow Jesus wherever he leads, there’s no need to see what’s on the path ahead. Our shepherd goes before us and He has every possibility covered. As believers we can be eternally grateful that God has counted us to be part of the Good Shepherd’s flock!
Pastor Dave Korinek
Hear His Voice
Researchers say that adult Emperor Penguins can recognize their mates and their chicks by the unique sounds of their voice. This is vital so parents can care for offspring and each other in colonies with thousands and thousands of members. I don’t know how they do it, but that is what God made them to do.
Jesus said that voice recognition is an important trait for believers too. In John 10:3-6, he explains that sheep respond to their shepherd’s voice.
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Sheep know their shepherd’s voice and they trust it, but not a stranger’s. Christians know Jesus' voice and trust his ways, but they don’t trust teachings and ideas that go against what he said.
It is interesting that the folks who heard Jesus say that didn’t follow his illustration, “but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” Some people imagine that Christianity is about going to heaven and not hell. That is an important benefit, but it is not the main point or focus of the life or practice of a Christian. Christianity has always been about believers training believers to trust God’s revealed truth. Believers hear his voice by knowing and living out what Jesus says. He explains it like this in John 15:7-8, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Remaining in Jesus and having his words “his voice” remain in us is key to bearing fruit and being his disciple (a part of his flock). So, study, read, memorize, and focus on his words all the time so you will know them and be able to quickly recognize whenever you hear voices that are not from him.
John Riley
The Good Shepherd
Series: Light in the Darkness | Text: John 10:1-21
Speaker: Pastors Ryan Paulson & Esteban Tapia
October 1, 2023: On Sunday, Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia continued their messages in the Gospel of John, with our series, Light in the Darkness. This sermon message is entitled The Good Shepherd. We hope you'll enjoy studying this section of the Scriptures with us.
I Once was (and sometimes am) Blind
Ever known a person who irritated you more and more? Someone that you just couldn’t stand, someone that you found yourself, dare I suggest, hating from the core of your being? Feeling that way can happen to anyone and does happen to almost everyone at some point or points in life. The irritated person blames the irritator for making them feel that way, but it really isn’t that person’s fault.
I remember a sermon where the pastor said, “A critical spirit is a sign that you are distant from God.” This was a shock. Before the sermon, we sang to the Lord during a beautiful time of worship and I believed that I loved God. But I was also critical of so much going on around me. I felt justified in being critical because the things (or people) I made fun of or spoke out about were (I thought) worthy of criticism. I was blind.
The Pharisees felt the same way. They hated Jesus more and more as he broke their rules and claimed to be from God. Look at their interaction with the man Jesus healed who had been born blind. John 9:24, “So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.” Give glory to God by agreeing with us. Give glory to God by hating this guy like we do. Give glory to God by acknowledging that he is the problem, not us. It is not our hearts that need to change. This irritant, this pest, this problem of a person needs to go. 1 John 2:9 says this about it, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” Blinded.
I’m not saying that none of the people around us have problems, but I am saying that if you find yourself embittered toward or hating your spouse, a family member, a former friend, or anyone in your life, you are blind to what is really happening in your heart.
Jesus looked at all the losers, creeps, and idiots making his life miserable and said, Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” Hate keeps people blind and comes from blindness. What is the cure for that blindness? Let God’s light shine. Expose the critical spirit and the hateful heart. Confess it and walk into loving and accepting people as they are. God does it. We can do it with each other.
Pastor John Riley