T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S sets His seal to His oneness w ith the F a th e r and to the perfect assurance of the salvation of His sheep. This state ment of Jesus should be stressed be cause it was understood by the Jews as being a claim of Jesus to perfect Deity, and it was because of th is claim th a t they finally pu t Him to death. (3) THE RESPONSE OF THE JEWS: “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him .” « JESUS reiterates His claim and chal lenges them again to te st His claim by His works, “Many good works have 1 shown you from my F a th e r; for which of these works do ye stone m e?” This is one of the strongest arg u ments for the Deity of our Lord and for th e inerrancy of His Word. The church stands as th e proof positive of the son- ship of Jesus. W hat it has w rought, proves, its power. Every tru e believer is an outstanding illu stration , and the call of th e hour is for every believer to so live and labor th a t the enemies of the tru th may be pu t to shame. Jesus insists upon th e ir believing th a t th e^F ath er worked in Him and He in the F ath er, (vs. 37, 38). Contrast th e religion of Jesus Christ w ith all other systems and le t the works testify. P eter quoted the proof in Acts 2:22; 4:8-12 and Jesus Himself sets His own seal again to th e fact th a t His works proved His oneness w ith the F ath e r (John 14:10-11). “llelievest thou not th at I am in the F ath er, and the F ath er in m et the words th a t I speak unto you I speak not of m y self; but the F ath er th a t dw elleth in me, he doeth the w orks. ‘‘B elieve me th a t I am in the F ath er, and the F ath er in me; or else believe me for the ve ry w orks’ sake.”
426 in ten t upon suppressing His teaching and finding sufficient evidence by which to hale Him before Pilate. At th is festival Zech. 2:10 was read and th e words were - no doubt ringing in th e ir ears: “ Sin g and rejoice, O daughter of Zlont for lo, I c o n e, and I w ill dw ell In the m idst of thee, saith the lord.” As well as Zech. 3:8. Always longing for deliverance from th e bondage of th e Roman government, longing for th e freedom promised them , it was impossible for them to be indif feren t to these predictions. The Jew ish m ind can never be diverted from the belief in th e coming of the Messiah. Always looking, always believing, and yet, when He came, th e ir ru lers suc ceeded in blinding th eir eyqs— as they do now afte r centuries of testimony of th e church— to th e fact th a t He has come and fulfilled the prophecies. “Tell us plainly,” ■“Do not keep us in suspense.” W hat will His answer be? (Matt. 21:23-27). (2) THE REPLY OP JESUS, “ I told you and ye believed no t.” How often had Jesus told them . He had told them in John 5:19. “Then answered' Jesus and said unto them , V erily, v e r ily ,.I sa y unto yon, The Son can do n othing of him self, hut w hat he seeth the F ath er do; for w h a t things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likew ise.” He cites His works as evidence (vs. 32, 38). Nicodemu-s had borne evidence to His works (3 :2 ). “Rabbi, w e kn ow th at thou art a teaeher eome from God; for no man can do these m iracles th a t thou doest, except God he w ith him.” He had invited them to a comparison between His works and th e works of John th e Baptist (5 :3 6 ). “But X h ave greater w itn ess than that o f John; for the w orks w hich the F ath er hath given me to finish, the same w orks th a t I do, hear w itn ess of me, th a t the F ath er hath sent me.” He now rev erts to His message con cerning His sheep, “No man shall pluck them out of my F a th e r’s hand. I and my F a th e r are one.” Here the Lord
No one can read the Gospel of John w ithout being met w ith th e constant proof th a t Jesus claimed equality w ith the F ath er. To deny H is Deity makes it necessary to question the validity of this Gospel, and to question th e valid ity of th e Gospel of John would be to A GOOD INVESTMENT MAY BE A FOE
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