The Jewish Leaders Tried to Kill Me

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

October 29, 2019

The Jewish Leaders Tried to Kill Me

Page 164-165

John 10:22-42

In Jerusalem for Hanukkah, Jesus’ words reach new heights of controversy. Approximately 200 years before Jesus’ ministry, Israel had been overrun by an invading army. The army occupied Israel, desecrated the Temple, and put the people under oppression. A man named Judas Maccabaeus led a revolt against the foreign army and defeated them. The people made Maccabaeus their king, and his family ruled Israel until the Roman invasion 100 years later.

Maccabaeus led the people to purify the Temple and to hold a festival every year to commemorate the rededication of the Temple. This festival, Hanukkah, which means dedication, is held at a time on the Jewish calendar that is close to our December 25th date. Against this backdrop, Jesus continues to confront the people with the truth that he and the Father are one and that he has been sent by the Father to be the true Messiah King of Israel. Jesus tells the people if they will not believe him because of his teachings, then believe because of the miraculous signs of his authority.

In the midst of Jesus’ proclamation about being the Good Shepherd, Jesus gives his followers the assurance they will live eternally with him. Jesus’ followers can rest in the absolute assurance that they are safe and secure in his grasp. Jesus says that when we choose to follow him, because the Father and Jesus are one, we now find ourselves safely in the Father’s hand.

Brennan Manning, writing in his book, Ruthless Trust, says, “Faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise means that his voice, echoing and alive in the Gospels, has supreme and sovereign authority over our lives.”

My Takeaway: We are now at a jumping off point for such a life of faith. We can gloss over Jesus’ assertion that he is our Good Shepherd, or we can choose to make the Good Shepherd the supreme and sovereign authority over our life.

We get to choose this day whom we will serve!

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.