BY: KIMBERLY PADILLA, A.A RELIGIOUS STUDIES -- One of my latest writing assignments for the edification of the body of Messiah. (Please keep in mind that Facebook notes messes up my format and makes everything crooked and messy.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION……………………………………
SURROUNDING THE OCCURANCE OF JESUS DECLARING HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD………………………………………………
THE HISTORY AND CUSTOMS OF THE FEAST OF CHANAKUH……. PAGE 5
WHAT ALL THIS MEANS…………………………………………………. PAGE 8
CONCLUSION…………………………………………
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………
Introduction
Jesus was the incarnate symbol for many godly things, and fulfilled many prophecies, while He was on this earth. He was the great I AM, which God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, at the burning bush, when He said, “I AM that I AM.”[1] In the Book of John, it is revealed that He is actually eight I AM’s. Doctor Towns covers them, noting that Jesus is all of the below:
* I AM the bread of life (John 6:35).
* I AM the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5).
* I AM the door (John 10:9).
* I AM the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
* I AM the vine (John 15:5).
* I AM the good shepherd (John 10:11).
* I AM the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).
* I AM… I AM (John 4:26, 8:24, 28, 58; 13:13, 19, 3:14; 18:5-6,8).[2]
Only one of these remarkable I AM’s will be considered in this paper; however, and that will be the “I AM the good shepherd” so let us examine how He fulfilled this, and how this proves His deity.
Surrounding the Occurrence of Jesus Declaring He is the Good Shepherd
In the preceding chapter, that of John 9, Jesus had healed a blind man, and had declared himself the light of the world. This happened to occur on the Sabbath, and so the Pharisees took the opportunity to accuse Jesus of not keeping the Sabbath. The man, whom was healed, defended Jesus saying, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”[3] Because he has said this, the Jews cast him out of the Temple, and so when Jesus discovered that he was cast from the Temple, He asked him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”[4] After Jesus explained that He was the Lord, the man said that he believed, and so Jesus further expounded that He had come into the world to make the entire world see, indicating that the entire world was blinded not physically, but by the god of this world, Satan. Some Pharisees overheard this and asked if the entire world being blinded, included them, and Jesus replied, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, we see; therefore your sin remaineth.”[5] Jesus then told them that He is the door to the sheepfold and that anyone who doesn’t go in by Him is a thief and a robber, but that His sheep know His voice and follow. The Pharisees were again divided, with some believing Him and some saying that He had a devil. Then the Book of John reveals that this occurred in the winter season at Chanukah. Jesus enters the Solomon’s Porch section of the Temple, and more Jews approach them, wanting to know for certain if He is the Messiah. Jesus told them that He has already told them, but that they had not believed because they were not His sheep. Jesus explained that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him, and that in turn, He gives them eternal life, saying that He and His father are one. The Jews wanted to stone Him, because they thought this to be blasphemy, and they did attempt to do so, but then He referred to them Psalms 82:6, which says, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”[6] They sought again to kill Him, after He insinuated that He and the Father are one, but He escaped.
The History and Customs of the Feast of Chanukah
John 10 surrounds the Feast of Chanukah or the Feast of Lights, as it is often called. Another world for the Feast is the Feast of Dedication. According to the First book of Maccabees the Feast was called these names because Chapter 4:56-59 records:
And they kept the dedication of the altar eight days: and they offered holocausts with great joy and sacrifices of salvation and of praise. And they adorned the front of the Temple with crowns of gold and escutcheons: and they renewed the gates and the chambers and hanged doors upon them. And there was exceedingly great joy among the people: and the reproach of the Gentiles was turned away. And Judas and his brethren and all the church of Israel decreed, that the day of the dedication of the altar should be kept in its season from year to year, for eight days, from the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with great joy and gladness.[7]
So we can surmise from this that the Festival of Dedication was named so because of the cleansing of the Temple and dedicating it to the Lord, and also it is mentioned here that the Jews celebrated for eight days. Chanukah also means dedication, so when Chanukah is used; it is also saying Feast of Dedication. But what is the significance of that? The website Torah.org has this to say about explaining the Feast of Chanukah:
The Talmud (Shabbos 21b) sums up the background of Chanukah: "When the Yevanim entered the Sanctuary of the Holy Temple, they defiled all of the oil there and rendered it ritually impure. When the House of the Chashmonaim strengthened and were then victorious over the Yevanim, they searched and found only one flask of oil that had the seal of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) in tact, enough to last one day. A miracle occurred and they were able to light with it for eight days. The next year they established and made these days into a holiday, for saying songs of praise and thanks.[8]
So God had provided a miracle to keep the menorah alit, even though only enough oil for one day was found. And it is because of this miracle, that we sometimes see the Feast called The Feast of Lights.
And so according to the decree in 1 Maccabees, which we read above, it was the Feast of Lights or Dedication, which the Jews were celebrating in John 10, wherein verse 22 states, “And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter.”[9]
Kenneth Boa mentions in his study of the Book of John that at the Feast of Chanukah Ezekiel 34 was one passage, which was always customary to be read.[10] Let us see why that may be. Ezekiel 34:6-16 says:
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill… surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock… I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock… I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them… As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day… And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land… I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold… I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD… I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.[11]
And so it is very interesting that at this festival, this segment of the Old Testament is read, and at time of Chanukah, Jesus told His disciples:
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep… But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.[12]
We can see how Ezekiel 34 and John 10 tie in together, and how Jesus fulfilled that part of the Old Testament. It is also worth remembering that King David wrote in his 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”[13] David knew, before even the birth of the Messiah, that it was He who would fulfill Ezekiel 34.
What All This Means
Dr. Towns says, “The Pharisees were not part of God’s ordained plan for the leadership of Israel.”[14] He explains this to mean that “God had appointed the anointed office of the priests as spiritual leaders and teachers of the nation”, and that they were “the legitimate guardians of the sheep in the absence of the Shepherd; however, they had not fulfilled their duty, he continued to say.”[15] Dr. Towns points out that Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd twice (John 10:11,14) and says that He meant that He is the owner of the sheep, and that His purpose is to lead, feed and give His life for the sheep.[16] He says that Jesus brought up four times that He was giving His life for His sheep (John 10:11, 15, 17, 18) and that this refers to His taking “the consequence of sin upon Himself.”[17]
Since Jesus is perfect, as He is the second Adam, the Lord from Heaven, as 1 Corinthians 15:47 says, He is the only one, whom could lay down His life for mankind’s sins.[18] It is written that “None is righteous, no not one.”[19] This is because man is not the Lord from Heaven, but is made of the earth and is earthy.[20] Every man from earth has inherited a sin nature, but not the Lord, because the Holy Spirit, in a supernatural event, in which Mary remained a virgin, fathered Him.[21] Hebrews 5:9 confirms that Jesus was created without sin, as it says, “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.”[22] John 17:2 expounds that He gives eternal life by giving power over sinful flesh to all whom follow Him. Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”[23] We all know the words to the Lord’s Prayer, and when we think of it, we know that we always ask for Him to “lead us not into temptation, but to deliver us from evil”, as Luke 11:4 states, when we recite this prayer.[24] This is how He fulfills the three elements of Jesus’ purpose, which Dr. Towns lists above, “His purpose is to lead, feed and give His life for the sheep.”[25]
Conclusion
So Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Ezekiel 34, wherein God said, that He would seek out His lost sheep and gather them together in a good pasture, while feeding them at the same time. Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He is the one whom came to bind up what is broken, and strengthen that which is sick. And because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, that is why it is written in Ezekiel 34:30-31, “Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.”[26] And because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, it why at the Feast of Chanukah it was recited that, indeed, He is the Good Shepherd, and it was at this time He chose to reveal it.
Bibliography
Boa, Kenneth. “John - Chapter 10.” http://bible.org/seriespag
Prero, Rabbi Yehudah. “Chanukah – Shedding Light on the Identity Crisis.” http://www.torah.org/learn
The Holy Bible; Authorized King James Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1979.
The Holy Bible: Douay Version. London: Catholic Truth Society, 1960.
Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John, Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMA Publishers, 2002.
[1] Exod. 3:14 KJV.
[2] Elmer Towns. The Gospel of John, Believe and Live. (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002), xv.
[3] John 9:31-33 KJV.
[4] John 9:35 KJV.
[5] John 9:41 KJV.
[6] Ps. 82:6 KJV.
[7] The Holy Bible: Douay Version. (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1960), 1222.
[8] Rabbi Yehudah Prero. “Chanukah – Shedding Light on the Identity Crisis.” http://www.torah.org/learn
[9] John 10:22 KJV.
[10] Kenneth Boa. “John - Chapter 10.” http://bible.org/seriespag
[11] Ezek 34:6-16 KJV.
[12] John 10:11-16 KJV.
[13] Ps. 23:1-2 KJV.
[14] Elmer Towns. The Gospel of John, Believe and Live. (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002), 100.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] 1 Cor. 15:47 KJV.
[19] Rom. 3:10 KJV.
[20] 1 Cor. 15:47 KJV.
[21] Luke 1:35 KJV.
[22] Heb. 5:9 KJV.
[23] Rev. 7:17 KJV.
[24] Luke 11:4 KJV.
[25] Elmer Towns. The Gospel of John, Believe and Live. (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002), 100.
[26] Ezek. 34:30-31 KJV.
Bibliography
Boa, Kenneth. “John - Chapter 10.” http://bible.org/seriespag
Prero, Rabbi Yehudah. “Chanukah – Shedding Light on the Identity Crisis.” http://www.torah.org/learn
The Holy Bible; Authorized King James Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1979.
The Holy Bible: Douay Version. London: Catholic Truth Society, 1960.
Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John, Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMA Publishers, 2002.
©2009 KIMBERLY PADILLA, A.A Religion
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