Tell Us Plainly, Who Are You?

Many people claim to know God’s will. Many people claim to speak for God. You may have met some of them. This happened in Jesus’ time and it happens in our time. How do we sort it all out? How can we be sure who knows God’s will and who doesn’t? Is it even possible to know?

This is one of the persistent questions in the Bible. Who speaks for God? Who accurately proclaims the will and message of God? In Jesus time various people claimed to be that person. Was it the Emperor? Was it the religious elites in Jerusalem? Was it Jesus? Was it someone else? And who decided who spoke for God?

People in our time also make claims about being God’s anointed, the one who speaks for God. People in our time nami someone as God’s anointed. People in our time claim to know God’s will. People in our time claim to speak for Jesus. How can we know? Is there any way to figure this out?

In Jesus’ time there were a variety of expectations about the Messiah. Remember in Jesus’ time, the word Messiah (and Christ) meant anointed. The word didn’t carry all our modern Christian ideas about the Messiah. To be the Messiah was to be God’s anointed. The question remained, anointed to do what? Some people expected a military ruler. Some expected a religious reformer. Some expected a political ruler. There were a variety of opinions about what the Messiah would do and how they would act. There were individuals other than Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah.

As 21st century Christians we need to think carefully about the New Testament discussions concerning the Messiah. We should try to hold off – just for a little bit- bringing our modern ideas and questions to the text. We need to remember that no one then, thought talking about the Messiah meant talking about the second person of the Trinity. In the first century questions about the Messiah were theological questions, and they were also political and military questions. The expectation, for most people, was that the Messiah would act in real time in the real world. People then, as now, wanted someone to save them from unjust governments and systems of oppression.

Life in the Roman Empire was not easy for people in Galilee and Judea. People wanted relief from oppressive economic policies. They wanted their freedom. So they asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah?”

At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me, but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all else, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.

The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?”

If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” John 10: 22-30, 31-32, 37-38 NRSVUE¹

One of the first things to notice about these verses is the date- the Festival of Dedication. I’ll confess that for a lot of years, I didn’t realize that dates and locations in the New Testament help us understand the context. I treated them as historical markers- not unlike a news account saying, “On Thursday the President went to Florida”. Knowing where the President is and when, does not necessarily help one understand the President’s actions. But the author of the Gospel of John uses this date and location to give us a clue about what’s going on.

The Festival of Dedication is what would now be called Hanukkah. It celebrated the liberation of the Temple from the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus had defiled the Temple. In 165 BCE Judas Maccabeus and his brothers led a revolt, freed the Temple and rededicated it to God². This was the Maccabean Revolt and lead to the Hasmonean dynasty. The Hasmonean dynasty was a time of semi independence from the Seleucid empire. It was a complicated time in history but the Hasmonean dynasty lasted until 63 BCE when the Roman Empire took possession of the land. That ended about 100 years of Jewish self governance.³ Revolts and wars continued intermittently through 135 CE. It was a tumultuous time.⁴

This means the question, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” was a dangerous question. They were celebrating the liberation of the Temple from occupying foreign kings. They asked Jesus, in the Temple, while they were occupied by a foreign empire, “Are you the Messiah?” They might as well have asked, “Are you the one to lead the next revolt? Are you the next Judas Maccabeus?” It was a dangerous question.

Jesus responds by talking about sheep. At first glance this may seem an odd response. However, the language of sheep and of the good shepherd was familiar to people in Jesus’ time. In the Old Testament, the relationship between God and God’s people is likened to the relationship between a shepherd and their sheep. The relationships between faithful kings and the people had been described in terms of a shepherd and sheep. The first part of John chapter 10 records Jesus’ explanation of himself as the good shepherd. The sheep know their shepherd. The good shepherd, lays down their life for the sheep. Sheep and shepherd imagery was familiar to Jesus’ listeners.

Given all that, Jesus’ answer makes sense. His audience knew what he was suggesting. He invoked the image of shepherd and sheep, not so subtly implying leadership, even kingship. And he refused to make claims that, during this festival, may have been misunderstood. He was not the Messiah anyone was expecting. He could have talked all day long about his way of being the Messiah, but would people have understood? It’s more likely they would impose their understanding of what a Messiah should be on to Jesus. The disciples struggled with the gap between their expectations about the Messiah and Jesus’ way of being the Messiah. That’s a very human response. We too, place our own expectations on leaders, almost regardless of what they say about themselves. In that place, at that time, verbally reframing messiahship, probably wouldn’t work. And so Jesus said, “Look at what I’m doing. I’m doing the Father’s work and those who understand, understand. Those who understand follow me.”

He is making clear that people then and now, know he is acting on God’s behalf, not only by what he says, but most importantly by what he does. We all know, people can and do, say all sorts of things. They make all sorts of claims. And then they act in contrary ways. This happens with personal relationships, work relationships, and political relationships. I’m not suggesting that Jesus’ words don’t matter, of course they do. They matter immensely. And we need to be attentive to and not ignore what Jesus does.

What Jesus does matters. What Jesus does shows us what God’s values, and desires for us are. Jesus heals. Jesus feeds. Jesus restores life. Jesus has compassion for the suffering and the marginalized. Jesus restores broken relationships and broken community. Jesus lives a life focused on the flourishing of all. Jesus invites everyone into a life giving relationship with himself and with God.

Jesus’ statement, “The Father and I are one.” is not primarily or necessarily a statement about the Trinity or about how the persons of the Trinity inter relate. That’s where our modern minds take us. But scholars believe that this is Jesus telling us that he, Jesus is acting in alignment with God’s values, aims, purposes and will. Jesus is indeed claiming to be acting on God’s behalf. Jesus and God are united in purpose.⁵

And so we look and see what Jesus does. We look and see how Jesus lived. That is our guide as we evaluate the claims of people who say they know God’s will and speak on behalf of God. This is our guide to evaluate the claims of leaders and our own claims of discipleship. Our actions, personal, local, and national tell plainly who we are. The actions of leaders tell us plainly who they are. When people claim to be acting on Jesus behalf, we need to hold their words and actions up to the words and actions of Jesus. Claiming to speak and act on Jesus’ behalf means one is held to a particular, and high, standard. Not unlike the people in the Temple, we must be unafraid to ask the dangerous question, “Who are you? Who are you working for, your own well being or the kin dom of God that Jesus calls us into?”

When people claim to be Christian and to hold Christian values, we can and should ask, “Are these Christian values the values of Jesus?” When people claim to hold Christian values and advocate for the illegal imprisonment of migrants, we can and should ask, “Are these Christian values the values of Jesus?” When people want to cut access to health care, or food assistance, we can and should ask, “Are these Christian values the values of Jesus?” Sadly there is a long list of questions like this we should ask. We need to ask our leaders, “Tell us plainly, who are you?” Then we need to look, not just at their words but also at their actions. When we look at their actions we will know the answer to our question. Then the question shifts and we need to ask ourselves, “Who are we? Are we as Christians willing to accept these actions?” Or do we speak and act for the way of Jesus?

1. This week’s lectionary reading is John 10:22-30, I added a few verses because I think they add clarity to the discussion. ↩︎
2. You can read about this in 1 Maccabees, esp chapters 1-4. ↩︎
3. For a little context, it was 195 years between 165 BCE ( the rededication of the Temple) and 30 CE (the time of Jesus). From 63 BCE to 30 CE was 95 years. For comparison it has been 160 years since the end of the US Civil War. Think about how the Civil War still impacts US life and memory and you’ll have an idea why life remained unsettled in Jesus’ time. ↩︎
4. The Hasmonean Dynasty. ↩︎
5. Gail R. O’Day, “The Gospel of John”, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX, (Abingdon Press:1995) 676-677. And Warren Carter, John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist, (Hendrickson Publishers: 2006) 53,60, 200. ↩︎