The Voice of the Messiah

John 10: 24-28

“24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Who are you?  This is a question that we have to answer frequently for others and for ourselves.  Most often, when we answer this question, we state our name, where we live, where we came from and what we do for a living.  This seems to satisfy most people.

The Jews who surrounded Jesus wanted to know who He was.  “Tell us plainly,” they demanded.  While Jesus may not have told them in so many words, he thought that his works spoke louder than words.  After all, as he said to John the Baptist when John asked if Jesus was the Messiah, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5).

After witnessing such miracles, why would they not believe He was the Messiah?  Why did they need to hear it from his lips?  Some things do not need to be put into words.  Every one of Jesus’s miracles was a shout to the world that the Messiah, as foretold by Isaiah (35:5-6), had come.  Maybe they did not believe and would never believe in the Messiah, no matter how loudly the miracles or the scriptures announced His arrival.

Sometimes the obvious truth of God is obscured by our own prejudice and refusal to believe.

But His sheep know His voice.  

And they follow.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)