"I and the Father, We are one"
Johns Account 10: 30, Concordant New Testament Translation
Imagine for a moment that you are a member of that elite group of Jewish religious authorities we know as the Pharisees. As a Pharisee, it's your duty to interpret and dispense the written word of God (Torah) to the people of Israel. You are also charged with ensuring that the Lords chosen people of Israel adhere to the traditions and commandments God has set forth in His written word, which has been handed down by the prophets. Your job is generally pretty easy, and it comes with more than a few perks as well. You're greeted with greetings of honor in public, and the best places are reserved for you at banquets and the synagogues {Lukes Account 11:43}. The life of a Pharisee is not bad at all. Then, one day your world is thrown aside by some scruffy looking dude from the backwoods town of Nazareth who preaches to the people of Israel words that you find to be...blasphemous to say the least. Not only that, but this guy has taken to performing signs and miracles in the midst of the people of Israel. Those who have been lame have been healed. The sick as well. Then, word reaches you that this blasphemous man has supposedly raised a man from the dead! The worst part of all of this commotion is that a large portion of the population of Israel has begun to listen and take heed of this mans teachings. Some have even spoken of Him as the promised Messiah who will save the Lords people. You and your fellow Pharisees have been of the belief that Gods promised Messiah would deliver Israel from the chains of the occupying Romans. Something doesn't seem right about all of this. So, you fall back on your training and rebuke this man for His blasphemous words and actions. After all, He speaks against very the words you have been charged with giving to the people. Then one day comes the ultimate heresy, this Nazarene boldly declares that "I and the Father, We are one" {Johns Account 10:30}. Did He really just proclaim Himself equal with God? What more evidence do you need of His blasphemy? He must be silenced! If you were that Pharisee, what would you do? Would you scheme a way to catch Jesus in His blasphemous words? Would you seek to discredit Him in front of His followers? Well, the Pharisees of Jesus' day tried all that. But, it turns out that Jesus was right after all.
For someone who had been raised in the teachings of the Torah, it must have been difficult to swallow the words of someone proclaiming to be one with your holy God. But, as I said, Jesus wasn't lying. In fact, I am of the belief that He is incapable of lying {To the Hebrews 6:18}. Therefore, we must accept the very words of Jesus as truth. He and the Father are indeed one. How is it possible for the One we know as the Son of the living God to be one with the Father? Well, I take Him at His word. We also have the words spoken by the apostle Paul in his evangel as proof of the truth we have in Jesus {Paul to the Colossians 1:15}. Indeed, not only is Jesus one with the Father, but he is the image of God Who is invisible. What more proof do we need? But here's the issue which I have with those in the church. They might accept that Jesus and the Father share a common identity, yet all the while they ignore the truth that we also share in that identity with the Father. Jesus Himself has spoken to this truth of our union within the Father in Johns gospel {Johns Account 14:20}. As it turns out, Jesus was right, in both cases. Not only is He one with the Father, but we are one with Him as well. He is in the Father, we are in Jesus and He is in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. This is the truth we have of our life lived within the love of the Father. But why was it so difficult for those Pharisees to take Jesus as His word? Well, why is it so difficult for pastors of today to accept the truth that we reside within the Father? The common denominator here is religion. The Pharisees were steeped in the religious practices of their faith. They could never accept that a sinful man could ever be equal with God. Likewise, the pastors of today refuse to accept that sinful man could ever share an identity with the Father. To believe so would be...blasphemy. Well, it turns out that Jesus was right all along.
In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you
Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament Translation
~Scott~
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