Loving God and Loving People; The Depth of Christ's Love: Its Freedom John 10:14-18

Some further thoughts from Sunday"s Message

     Since Jesus cared so much that we know how freely and willingly he suffered for us, let's look at just a few other illustrations of this truth. Let the truth sink in…. No one took his life. He chose to give it for us. He embraces the suffering. He was eager and willing. It was—and I risk the statement— It was his joy to live and die for us.

    Do you remember the story in Luke 4 where he comes to the synagogue in Nazareth where he had grown up? He read the Scripture reading that day. Then he said that the Scriptures were fulfilled in their hearing that very moment. But when he pointed out that the blessings of the Messiah were going to include the gentiles and not just the Jews it says in verses 29-30, They rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.

    Now what's going on here? A mob of people, enraged over the local teacher's teaching, carry him to the edge of a cliff to throw him down. And the next thing you see is Jesus walking through their midst—like the children of Israel through the Red Sea—and going his way. Why? The reason is this: his hour was not yet come. No one take's my life from me. I lay it down on my own initiative. And I lay it down at the appointed time. Not one second before and not one after.

    Later on in his ministry he was on his way to Jerusalem and some Pharisees came up to him (Luke 13:31-32) and said, "Go away and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You." But Jesus said, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.'" What does this mean?.... Don't go up there, the king wants to kill you. The king! He has all the authority. He can do anything he wants with people like you. You don't stand a chance.

     How does Jesus respond?.... There was a saying among the rabbis in Jesus day that went something like this, "Better to be a lion's tail than a fox's head" (I. H. Marshall, Luke, p. 571). Here was the lion of Judah being warned that a fox was out to get him. So he says, "Tell that fox that I have ministry to do and I have a plan. I cast out demons, I perform cures, and on the appointed day—not before and not after I reach my goal." In other words, "Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own initiative."