Hi all,
The 3 parables in John 10:1-18 are a progression of thought. In the 1st, Jesus teaches He came legally into the earth, and the one who came in another way is the thief and robber. He promises to one day lead His sheep out of the earth by His voice. In the 2nd parable He assures us He is the protector and guardian of His sheep, and the one who climbed into the earth another way, only wants to 'steal, kill, and destroy.' In the 3rd, He tells us He isn't just a shepherd, but 'the good shepherd' who will lay down His life for the sheep. and will not shrink back when He sees the 'wolf' (devil) coming, but will in fact give up His life for the sheep.
The 3rd parable:John 10:11-18:
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Here Jesus isn't the one who came in through the door as in the 1st parable. And He doesn't say He is the door as in the 2nd parable. Here is the 'good shepherd' who gives up His life for the sheep. Jesus identifies religious leaders as hired hands not shepherds, who run when the 'wolf' comes (devil) for they care more about their own lives than the lives of the sheep. But He doesn't run when He sees the wolf, but will give up His life in sacrifice for the sheep. His sheep.
In v16 Jesus alludes to you and I and all Gentiles when He says He has other sheep not of this pen. In this parable the pen is Israel and He is talking about Gentile nations coming to Him. Don't make the mistake of blending the parables, each clearly has its own definition of terms. Here the pen is Israel, and the other sheep not of Israel will also hear His voice, and we will all become one flock with Him as the one shepherd. Clearly alluding to Jew and Gentile believers being one in Him. Paul writes about this in Romans 11, Ephesians 2 and Galatians 3.
Jesus often taught parables in a series of progressive lessons, each one building on the next. I hope you'll never read John 10:1-18 the same way again. Now we move to another set of 3 lessons in a row presented as a lesson/prayer, parable, lesson, all in 13 verses. And these 3 are about the good and giving nature of the Father God.
Luke 11:1-13, but verses 2-4 is the first lesson
2"Our Father who is in heaven, holy (sacred) is your Name. Let your kingdom come let your will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth.
3 Give us daily our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."
It should be noted the Greek 'bring us not' agrees with James 1:13 which says:"Let no one say when he is tempted, tested, or tried (same Greek word) that God is doing it to him, for God isn't tempted, tested, or tried with evil and neither does He tempt, test, or try with evil." Jesus in the Lord's prayer is addressing the desire for the Father to so guide our lives that we avoid evil all together - don't allow our lives to be brought into situations which are evil. (We often get ourselves in those positions, but the Father isn't doing it to us)
The Lord's prayer was written in the aorist tense with imperative verbs. The aorist tense means a completed action, we might say as a statement on the part of the one praying, but also in the subjunctive imperative, which means in modern English we might say; 'May your name be considered holy, may your kingdom come.' But the aorist communicates a complete action later in the prayer. We would say in modern English:"You do give us our daily bread. You do forgive us our sins. We do forgive everyone indebted to us. You don't lead us into temptation, test, trials."
My thought:When you pray, include statements of fact with your request as seen here. First, remember who you are addressing. Father God, you are holy and just and good, you are worthy of all worship and praise and glory. Father I come boldly to your throne as Hebrews 4:16 says to do, and I ask ________. Remember who you are talking to.
The theme of these 3 lessons is the goodness of our heavenly Father. Jesus continues in verses 5-9:
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’
7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him the bread because of friendship, yet because of his persistence he will certainly get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “And I say to you:Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Remember that Luke writes in Luke 1:3 that his account of Jesus' life is written in chronological order, as also is Acts. They are 2 volumes of 1 work in chronological order, starting in Luke 1 when Gabriel tells John the Baptist's dad he and Elizabeth would have a son who would prepare the way of the Lord, to Paul living in peace in his own apartment in Rome in Acts 28. So when we read Luke 11:1-13 this is all one discourse. Matthew's version in 6:9-15 leaves off the lessons following the Lord's prayer that Luke includes here as part of the chronological order. Therefore Luke's version is the more complete account of Jesus' thoughts and context in which He taught.
Having laid out the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches a parable to emphasize the goodness of the Father. Many read of the sleepy friend at midnight and the man pounding on the door repeatedly and stop there. They think or they are taught you have to keep pounding and pounding and pounding, thinking their Father in heaven is the sleepy friend at midnight who doesn't really want to be bothered by their requests.
Jesus makes the point the man in v8 the man won't get up and give his friend what he wants on the basis of friendship, but because of his persistence. THEN Jesus says this:"AND I say to you, ask and it WILL be given, seek and you WILL find, knock and the door WILL be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks does find, and the one who knocks has the door opened."
The parable of the friend at midnight isn't a lesson about the Father God of the Lord's Prayer not really wanting to be bothered by our prayer requests. NO! He is affirming the aorist tense in which He spoke the prayer; Father, you do forgive us our sins, you do give us our daily bread, you don't bring us into evil temptations, tests, and trials...when I ask it will be given to me, when I seek I will find, when I knock if will be opened, for all who ask receive, those who seek, find, and those who knock have the door opened to them. It's all one lesson.
Jesus emphasizes His point even more in lesson 3, again confirming the Lord's Prayer which teaches us the goodness of our Father God. And that is for next week, until then,
blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
The 3 parables in John 10:1-18 are a progression of thought. In the 1st, Jesus teaches He came legally into the earth, and the one who came in another way is the thief and robber. He promises to one day lead His sheep out of the earth by His voice. In the 2nd parable He assures us He is the protector and guardian of His sheep, and the one who climbed into the earth another way, only wants to 'steal, kill, and destroy.' In the 3rd, He tells us He isn't just a shepherd, but 'the good shepherd' who will lay down His life for the sheep. and will not shrink back when He sees the 'wolf' (devil) coming, but will in fact give up His life for the sheep.
The 3rd parable:John 10:11-18:
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Here Jesus isn't the one who came in through the door as in the 1st parable. And He doesn't say He is the door as in the 2nd parable. Here is the 'good shepherd' who gives up His life for the sheep. Jesus identifies religious leaders as hired hands not shepherds, who run when the 'wolf' comes (devil) for they care more about their own lives than the lives of the sheep. But He doesn't run when He sees the wolf, but will give up His life in sacrifice for the sheep. His sheep.
In v16 Jesus alludes to you and I and all Gentiles when He says He has other sheep not of this pen. In this parable the pen is Israel and He is talking about Gentile nations coming to Him. Don't make the mistake of blending the parables, each clearly has its own definition of terms. Here the pen is Israel, and the other sheep not of Israel will also hear His voice, and we will all become one flock with Him as the one shepherd. Clearly alluding to Jew and Gentile believers being one in Him. Paul writes about this in Romans 11, Ephesians 2 and Galatians 3.
Jesus often taught parables in a series of progressive lessons, each one building on the next. I hope you'll never read John 10:1-18 the same way again. Now we move to another set of 3 lessons in a row presented as a lesson/prayer, parable, lesson, all in 13 verses. And these 3 are about the good and giving nature of the Father God.
Luke 11:1-13, but verses 2-4 is the first lesson
2"Our Father who is in heaven, holy (sacred) is your Name. Let your kingdom come let your will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth.
3 Give us daily our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."
It should be noted the Greek 'bring us not' agrees with James 1:13 which says:"Let no one say when he is tempted, tested, or tried (same Greek word) that God is doing it to him, for God isn't tempted, tested, or tried with evil and neither does He tempt, test, or try with evil." Jesus in the Lord's prayer is addressing the desire for the Father to so guide our lives that we avoid evil all together - don't allow our lives to be brought into situations which are evil. (We often get ourselves in those positions, but the Father isn't doing it to us)
The Lord's prayer was written in the aorist tense with imperative verbs. The aorist tense means a completed action, we might say as a statement on the part of the one praying, but also in the subjunctive imperative, which means in modern English we might say; 'May your name be considered holy, may your kingdom come.' But the aorist communicates a complete action later in the prayer. We would say in modern English:"You do give us our daily bread. You do forgive us our sins. We do forgive everyone indebted to us. You don't lead us into temptation, test, trials."
My thought:When you pray, include statements of fact with your request as seen here. First, remember who you are addressing. Father God, you are holy and just and good, you are worthy of all worship and praise and glory. Father I come boldly to your throne as Hebrews 4:16 says to do, and I ask ________. Remember who you are talking to.
The theme of these 3 lessons is the goodness of our heavenly Father. Jesus continues in verses 5-9:
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’
7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him the bread because of friendship, yet because of his persistence he will certainly get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “And I say to you:Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Remember that Luke writes in Luke 1:3 that his account of Jesus' life is written in chronological order, as also is Acts. They are 2 volumes of 1 work in chronological order, starting in Luke 1 when Gabriel tells John the Baptist's dad he and Elizabeth would have a son who would prepare the way of the Lord, to Paul living in peace in his own apartment in Rome in Acts 28. So when we read Luke 11:1-13 this is all one discourse. Matthew's version in 6:9-15 leaves off the lessons following the Lord's prayer that Luke includes here as part of the chronological order. Therefore Luke's version is the more complete account of Jesus' thoughts and context in which He taught.
Having laid out the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches a parable to emphasize the goodness of the Father. Many read of the sleepy friend at midnight and the man pounding on the door repeatedly and stop there. They think or they are taught you have to keep pounding and pounding and pounding, thinking their Father in heaven is the sleepy friend at midnight who doesn't really want to be bothered by their requests.
Jesus makes the point the man in v8 the man won't get up and give his friend what he wants on the basis of friendship, but because of his persistence. THEN Jesus says this:"AND I say to you, ask and it WILL be given, seek and you WILL find, knock and the door WILL be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks does find, and the one who knocks has the door opened."
The parable of the friend at midnight isn't a lesson about the Father God of the Lord's Prayer not really wanting to be bothered by our prayer requests. NO! He is affirming the aorist tense in which He spoke the prayer; Father, you do forgive us our sins, you do give us our daily bread, you don't bring us into evil temptations, tests, and trials...when I ask it will be given to me, when I seek I will find, when I knock if will be opened, for all who ask receive, those who seek, find, and those who knock have the door opened to them. It's all one lesson.
Jesus emphasizes His point even more in lesson 3, again confirming the Lord's Prayer which teaches us the goodness of our Father God. And that is for next week, until then,
blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
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