I and My Father are One

The Feast of Chanukah (mid-December) celebrated the re-dedication of the temple in the time of the Maccabees after its defilement by Antiochus Epiphanes. It was a quite unnecessary feast, for there was no new feast inaugurated to celebrate the cleansing of the temple after its defilement during the reign of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:12-15; 2 Chronicles 29:15-18), and again in the time of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:3-5). Attendance at this celebration was not obligatory, but Jesus was there for a more important purpose—to save a “lost sheep,” the once-blind man who had been cast out by the men of the temple (see Study 123), and also to use the opportunity to drive home an appeal in the minds of some of the rulers who were in a state of indecision regarding himself (v. 24). Mention of Jerusalem (v. 22) might be a hint of the Lord’s return there after spending two months with his team of preachers (Luke 10:1) who were busy covering the country.

“It was winter; and Jesus walked in Solomon’s Porch.” Josephus says it was the only part of Solomon’s temple which had survived. (Ant. 20.9.7). The facts are interesting in themselves, but they are of even greater value when seen through the symbolic spectacles which John expects his readers to wear. Here not only is there indication that because of cold weather Jesus continued his teaching in a sheltered part of the temple, but also an important hint of the frosty reception his word received. And the Hebrew word for “winter” also means “blasphemy”—a significant fact John must have been aware of. Similarly, Jesus in Solomon’s porch immediately conjures up a picture of one able to discourse with all the wisdom of Solomon (2 Chronicles 1:9,10).

There a number of the rulers came round him in a group, eager and aggressive. John’s word: “encircled him” echoes Psalms 118 with its powerful Messianic message. “They compassed me about like bees; yea, they compassed me about: in the name of the Lord (see John 10:24) I will destroy them” (v. 10-12). The superb relevance of this psalm to the experiences of Christ cannot be followed in detail here, but these are some of its outstanding prognostications:

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Author: Harry Whittaker

Keywords: I and My father are one, elohim, oneness

Bible reference(s): John 10:22-42

Source: Studies in the Gospels.

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