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Is Your Heart Tender to the Truth?
Walking through the Gospel of John, verse by verse, we discover who Jesus is and what he has come to do. In John chapter 10, we find ourselves at a crossroads—the end of Jesus's public ministry in Jerusalem before his return for Passion Week and crucifixion.
The Feast of Dedication
It was winter, and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's colonnade during the Feast of Dedication—what we now call Hanukkah. This feast commemorated the rededication of the temple after Judas Maccabeus drove out Antiochus Epiphanes, who had profaned the Holy of Holies by sacrificing a pig and erecting a statue of Zeus.
The tragedy? As they celebrated recapturing their ability to commune with God through sacrifice, the Lamb of God stood among them—and they utterly rejected him. It was a spiritual winter, marked by cold hearts unwilling to receive the Son of God.

Historical Context
The Feast of Dedication occurs during the 400-year intertestamental period between Malachi and Matthew, when Israel briefly regained independence before Roman occupation.
How Long Will You Keep Us in Suspense?
The Jews gathered around Jesus and demanded: "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." But this wasn't genuine inquiry—it was entrapment. They wanted to trap him in his words.
1
Jesus's Teaching
"I told you through my words—I am the good shepherd, the Son of Man, the fulfillment of the temple."
2
Jesus's Miracles
"I told you through my works—who but God can do these things?"
3
Their Response
"You do not believe. You refuse to believe despite all the evidence."
"I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me. But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep." —John 10:25-26
The Hard Reality of Rejection
Sometimes people's refusal isn't from lack of revelation or truth. Sometimes people simply hate truth and love sin. They don't suffer from insufficient evidence—they refuse God despite overwhelming proof.
If God showed Himself clearly...
He does with every sunrise
If God appeared in the flesh...
He did in Jesus Christ
If God spoke clear words...
He did in the Scriptures
When clouds part at His return...
Revelation says people will hide in caves, shaking fists at God
This doesn't mean we stop sharing God's Word and truth. We present Christ through fervent prayer, pleading with God to pierce the darkness. Only through God's power can dark hearts be saved.
The Mystery of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
Jesus reveals a profound truth tension: "You do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
Divine Sovereignty
Jesus knows His sheep and calls them by name before they ever respond. Belief is a gift of providence—those given by the Father come to the Son.
Human Responsibility
The hostile Jews deliberately rejected truth. Their unbelief results from their own agency and choice to refuse God.

John MacArthur: "A full understanding of how exactly these two realities work together lies beyond human comprehension. But there is no difficulty with them in the infinite mind of God. The Bible does not attempt to harmonize them, nor does it apologize for the logical tension between them."
If you want to believe, you can believe
The invitation stands open. If you want the life Christ offers, freedom from sin, salvation from death and judgment—believe. Behind that invitation is the tapestry of God's providence.
Paradoxes in Scripture
This isn't the only place where paradoxes exist. The Scriptures state both are synergistically true, and we must be content with mystery while diving deep into understanding.
Who wrote the Gospel of John?
John or the Holy Spirit? Yes.
Who lives your Christian life?
You or the Holy Spirit? Yes.
Should you pursue holiness?
Fervently—yet without the Holy Spirit, it's impossible.
"Let us not sin by setting one Scripture against another or attempting to divide the living child of revelation. It is one. It is alike glorious in all its parts. Let us receive all truth." —Charles Spurgeon
If your system of theology fully resolves this tension, you haven't thought deeply enough. Deep searching of God's providence will provoke more questions and greater humility if done right.
Eternal Security in Christ
Nowhere in Scripture is there a stronger affirmation of the absolute, eternal security of all true Christians than in these verses. Here is truth to embrace with your whole being.
I Give Them Eternal Life
Everlasting life—a gift from Christ himself
They Will Never Perish
Final death can never touch those in Christ
No One Can Snatch Them
Protected by trinitarian divine omnipotence
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand." —John 10:28-29
You are literally embraced by the omnipotence of God. Your salvation can never be lost or forfeited. It was never yours to earn, therefore not yours to lose.
You are not held by your fervency, zeal, or good works. You are held by Christ, His Father, and His Holy Spirit, who seals you and says, "This one is mine."
Why Are We Afraid?
If this is how secure we are in Christ, why do we live in fear? Why are we afraid to go on mission, to let financial provisions flow to build His kingdom, to face tomorrow's uncertainties?
Tomorrow belongs to the Lord
We are safe in the arms of God today. We cannot be lost or snatched from His embrace.
Do we believe this to be true?
How would it transform how we live today and tomorrow? What would change in our priorities, our generosity, our courage?
Let us rest in His security
As a church, we want to stir up belief that reaches to the very core of our being.
I and the Father Are One
Jesus declares His divine unity with the Father, provoking the Jews to pick up stones. This verse has been at the epicenter of theological debate for two millennia.
Three Persons
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit—distinguished by their relationship to one another
Eternally Existing
Never created, never came into existence—they always were, are, and will be
Perichoresis
All three persons occupy the same divine space in unceasing circulation
Same Nature
Jesus and the Father are one in nature, purpose, and ability—fully God, distinct persons

St. Augustine: "Each are in each and all in each and each in all, and all are one."
You cannot have the Son without the fullness of the Father. You cannot have the Father without the fullness of the Son or the Spirit. When Jesus says "I and the Father are one," He speaks of shared divine nature while remaining distinct persons.
Cultivating a Tender Heart
The Jews had hard hearts because they refused to believe. But what about us? Are we cultivating tender hearts, pliable and moldable in God's hands?
The Tender Heart
Sensible to God's revelation, yielding to truth, presently receiving every impression like a thumbprint to soft wax
The Hard Heart
Obstinate, unyielding, refusing and excusing. Like stone—it can be broken but is unframeable for service

"This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." —Isaiah 66:2
Be under the Word of God
Tremble at His word, even at the least sin
Bring your heart to the fire
Use the means—be under the sunshine of the Gospel
Help one another
We need each other to recover from hard hearts
Ask God for a heart of flesh
According to Ezekiel 34, pray for transformation
May we not be like the Jews of Jesus' day with hardened hearts, but rather have tender hearts in full response to the glory of Christ. May the sunshine of the Gospel shine upon us today and give us tender hearts, pliable to the person, presence, and work of Christ.