December 3
“And I give unto them eternal life…”
John 10:28 (KJV)
The humble birth of our Lord hardly was suggestive of the uniqueness of the person who was placed in a manger (royalty enshrined in human flesh, the Savior of humankind). There was no heralding of trumpets, no grand parade, just the sounds of animals and the gaze of an adoring mother. Yet, that life has changed our lives forever.
John 10:22–30 explains how Jesus accomplished that. The religious leaders of that day, despite the validation of His claims through His words and miracles, repudiated Him, thinking He could not be the Promised One. The stunning confrontation at the Feast of Dedication in the Temple revealed the calloused hearts of the nation’s leaders (10:24). This occasioned an explanation for John’s readers as to why Jesus came among us and what he accomplished in doing so! Simply put, He came to seek “sheep” (weak, defenseless, dependent, fearful people).
Jesus described the people that He came to gather into His fold. First, they are people who know Him as their shepherd because, like sheep, they have heard His voice and have responded with obedience (10:27). Jesus knows us! Second, the reason that they have become His sheep is that He placed in them life, eternal life (10:28). Third, the life that He has “given” is of unique quality and duration because it is a sharing in the life of the shepherd; consequently, it will never end and no earthly potentate, however powerful, can prevent God’s destiny for His sheep (10:28). This is one of several biblical passages that makes the claim that anyone who believes in Jesus for salvation will never be lost! Fourth, everyone who believes in Jesus for salvation does so because the Father has given them to Jesus to redeem (10:29a). Fifth, the Father’s actions are incapable of failure (“snatch” suggests robbery) because He is omnipotent (10:29b). His people are secure. Sixth, God’s children are doubly secure because the intent and purpose of the Father and the Son are the same: unpreventable, undefeatable, and wonderfully consequential.
The baby in the manger, one born to us among sheep, has become the great Shepherd for all who believe. He has gathered a new “flock” from the nations of the world who have heard His voice and followed His leading. This is the meaning of Christmas: the true Shepherd has come!