Th.9.10.15...The Anvil...John 10:22-42

When I was a boy, Saturday mornings were a favorite time to be in front of the TV. There were great cartoons to watch! One of them that came out was, The Road Runner. "That coyote is really a crazy clown. When will he learn that he never can mow him down?" So what's the following funny anvil scene have to do with today's passage? You'll see that it leads to a weighty subject. (Don't forget the anvil:)

Yesterday we saw Jesus dealing with the blind Pharisees who opposed him for healing the blind man on the Sabbath. They cared so little for the people. They were worse than bad shepherds; they were more like thieves and robbers of the sheep. Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. 

As we open our Bibles today to John 10:22-42, we'll notice first a change and then surprisingly no change. First there is a change- a change of season. Before, Jesus was dealing with the people and the blind Pharisees in the temple area during the autumn Feast of Tabernacles (ch.7 all the way through 10:21). Now the season has changed. It is winter during the Feast of Dedication (aka Hanukkah). But what hasn't changed is the subject matter. Jesus returns to the issue of being a good shepherd to his sheep, who listen to his voice. (His voice is recorded for us to listen to in the unbreakable Scriptures.)

In the middle of our passage today, we come to what some think is a weak moment in Jesus' life. They think that Jesus is trying to water down his claim to deity to save his skin from stoning. They think wrongly. Jesus was not afraid of anyone or any threats on his life. We read yesterday that he said, "No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" 10:18. He wouldn't die by stoning, though the Jews sought on more than one occasion to stone him. To such untimely attempts on his life, Jesus could say, "My time has not yet come." The OT also predicted that he would be pierced through for our transgressions, not stoned to death. God rules and overrules.

Read our passage now, John 10:22-42. Then go to your excellent commentary on the Bible that you now own and have on your internet bookshelf- http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/view.cgi?bk=42&ch=10 Scroll down to our passage and read through the comments especially on 10:22-25 and also on 31-39. If you have time, enjoy the great insights on the entire passage. 

1.- Share one insight you gleaned or a thought that impressed you from your reading today. 

So what's an anvil got to do with today's passage? Did you notice what Jesus said in 10:35? "The Scripture cannot be broken." A lot of critics have attacked the Bible, trying to break our confidence in it. But it only breaks them. It's like someone attacking an anvil with a hammer. The hammer or their hand may break, but not the anvil. Their plans of 'doing in' the Bible are no better than the crazy plans of Wile E Coyote. In the end, their plans will fall apart and the anvil of God's word and judgments will fall upon them. 

Here's how the anvil ironically fell upon one powerful man who attacked the anvil of God's word. He was a French infidel named Voltaire [1694-1778]. He was one of the most talented writers of his time. He sought to use his pen to destroy faith in the Bible and in Christ. "Of Christ, Voltaire said, 'Curse the wretch!' He once boasted, 'In twenty years, Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.' Shortly after his death, the very house in which he printed his foul literature became the depot of the Geneva Bible Society." This story is from a book entitled, The Last Words of Saints and Sinners. Would you like to hear the last words of this sinner? Here's how the story concludes. "The physician, Trochim, waiting up with Voltaire at his death, said that the infidel cried out most desperately: 'I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months' life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me, O Christ! O Jesus Christ!'" The anvil he sought to break, broke him. "The Scripture cannot be broken."

2.- Write a prayer of praise to God for his unbreakable word or a prayer of thanks for saving you from the anvil of God's judgment that would have rightly fallen on you and me.

3.- Hope you like the David Guzik commentary series I'm giving you. (Aren't I generous :) http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/ Please bookmark this link as a favorite on your computer. Then simply say, "Yes" if you've done so. (I spent mucho dinero buying commentaries like this years ago.)  

Horacio shared a great outreach story- "I was cutting my grass when the mailman came up and handed me the mail. I shut the mower off, received the mail, and said thank you and God bless. I turned around and started the mower, but from the corner of my eye I could see the mailman stop and pause while looking at me. I shut the mower off and walked up to him and introduced myself. Rod is his name. He asked me if I have ever listened to a pastor named Tony Evans. The ice was broken. We proceeded to talk and in return, I handed him an M3 card and a Greatest mini-movies card and invited him to watch the movies and consider M3. He also said that at night he goes for a run and enjoys listening to another pastor named Mark Jobe on Straight Talk." How cool is that Horacio! Way to go!