The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 23 And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Jesus came back to the Temple area where the religious leaders had previously tried to stone him (Jn. 8:59). The Jews now demanded publicly that Jesus tell them if he was the Messiah (v. 24). Jesus did not confirm or deny if he was the Messiah but told them that the work he has done in his Father’s name testified to who he was. Those who believed knew who he was and followed him. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day (Jn. 6:44).” He will give them eternal life (v. 28). Jesus had previously told the scribes and Pharisees, “If you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins (Jn. 8:24),” and Jesus again reaffirmed his comment by saying, “The Father and I are one (v. 30).” Jesus will not lose anyone the Father has given to him, and when he was about to return to the Faither he prayed for all his disciples; “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are (Jn. 17:11).”
Almighty God, we live in the hope that we will be among the faithful who will spend eternal life with you. Through our faith and repentance may we be sanctified by the new covenant written on our hearts and signed with the blood of your Son. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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