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  EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS ON JOHN - JOHN 10:19-30
  by J.C. Ryle
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Another sharp division took place among the Jewish authorities because
of these words. Many of them were saying, "He is possessed by a demon
and has lost his mind. Why do you listen to him?" Others said, "These
are not the words of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause
the blind to see, can it?"

Then came the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and
Jesus was walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Portico. The Jewish
religious leaders surrounded him and said, "How long will you keep us in
suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus replied, "I
told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name
testify about me. But you refuse to believe because you are not my
sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch
them from my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than
all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. The Father and
I are one."

We should notice, first, in this passage, what strifes and controversies
our Lord occasioned when He was on earth. We read that "there was a
division among the Jews for His sayings"--and that "many of them said He
has a devil, and is mad," while others took an opposite view. It may
seem strange, at first sight, that He who came to preach peace between
God and man should be the cause of contention. But herein were His own
words literally fulfilled--"I came not to send peace, but a sword."
(Matt. 10:34.) The fault was not in Christ or His doctrine, but in the
carnal mind of His Jewish hearers.

Let us never be surprised if we see the same thing in our own day. Human
nature never changes. So long as the heart of man is without grace, so
long we must expect to see it dislike the Gospel of Christ. Just as oil
and water, acids and alkalies, cannot combine, so in the same way
unconverted people cannot really like the people of God. "The carnal
mind is enmity against God." "The natural man receives not the things of
the Spirit of God." (Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14 )

The servant of Christ must think it no strange thing if he goes through
the same experience as his Master. He will often find his ways and
opinions in religion the cause of strife in his own family. He will have
to endure ridicule, harsh words, and petty persecution, from the
children of this world. He may even discover that he is thought a fool
or a madman on account of his Christianity. Let none of these things
move him. The thought that he is a partaker of the afflictions of Christ
ought to steel him against every trial. "If they have called the Master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his
household." (Matt. 10:25 )

One thing, at any rate, should never be forgotten. We must not allow
ourselves to think the worse of religion because of the strifes and
dissensions to which it gives rise. Whatever men may please to say, it
is human nature, and not religion, which is to blame. We do not blame
the glorious sun because its rays draw forth noxious vapors from the
marsh. We must not find fault with the glorious Gospel, if it stirs up
men\

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/jc-ryle/expository-thoughts-on-john-john-1019-30/
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