John 10:16-18

John 10:16-18 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Acts 2:32-33 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Throughout the book of John, Christ's words and actions constantly reveal his sense of purpose: his singleminded commitment to the will of the Father and his understanding that The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. Jesus knew who He was and what He was about from the beginning, from his earliest days. When he was 12 years old and stayed behind at the temple in Jerusalem,

His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49) He did not incense the Pharisees because He did good deeds or touched peoples's lives or taught wise sayings. He was a threat to them because He came in the name of the Father; He came as the Good Shepherd in all power and authority, saying I have power and I received this

from my Father. Some of the most powerful contemporary Christian songs are those that make bold and declarative statements we know to be absolutely true: God Is God And I Am Not; Jesus Messiah Name Above All Names; I Will Rise When He Calls My Name, No More Sorrow No More Pain; I Know Who I Am, I Know Who I Am: I Am Yours, You are Mine.

This assurance of faith rose up in the New Testament church after the Day of Pentecost and turned the known world upside down. The same Peter who denied Christ stood up full of the Holy Spirit and the authority that led Christ to the cross and spoke these powerful words: "

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:36-41)

Likewise, the apostle Paul could say in faith believing, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) We have confidence by faith in Christ through his work because He kept his promises, paid the price, and the price He paid was enough.

God's sent his Son, the Holy One, the sinless One, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who would listen to the Father, and obey the command He received. He chose to die as the perfect, complete, sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Jesus fulfilled God's salvation plan by suffering death at Golgotha on a cruel cross. He died as Jesus Messiah, Son of God and Son of Man; but He rose again in victory over death and the grave as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and is seated at the right hand of the Father forevermore, making intercession for everyone who calls upon his name. Every man, woman and child who trusts in Christ rises with him in newness of life as a new creation in him, washed in his blood, cleansed and made holy. This is grace, this is the good news, this is the gospel message.

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1Corinthians 15:55)

We are now saints, sitting with Christ in heavenly places. No longer are we registered as Adam's kin, for we are now known as God's kin, as children of the MOST HIGH, perfect in his sight. Jesus, raised by God's directive, has brought eternal life to us. God has raised this Jesus to life. We who are IN CHRIST have eternal life with the Father. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11,12) Rejoice and walk freely and boldly in that life today!