Oneness in Humanity and Divinity

5.11.2025

4th Easter Sunday

[Texts]

Acts 9:36-43  Peter raises Tabitha/Dorcas from the dead

Psalm 23  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. (Ps. 23:1)

Revelation 7:9-17  A white-robed multitude sings before the Lamb

John 10:22-30  Jesus promises eternal life to his sheep 

God’s Blessings to You on the 4th Sunday of Easter!

We are now halfway through celebrating the Easter Season! In any great celebration, especially one marking a milestone, we naturally recall conversations that shaped the significance of the moment. We find ourselves saying things like:

"Do you remember when so-and-so said that? And when so-and-so did this? Amazing how we pulled it through!"

Today’s passage from John 10 is truly one of a kind. It carries several profound messages. We will focus on two of them for now.

The first one is about Jesus’ Last Public Teaching.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus offers His final public teaching, revealing His identity as the Good Shepherd and His ministry as the gate. Unlike hired hands who abandon the sheep in times of danger, Jesus walks ahead of His flock, protecting them from the Destroyer and the Thief even to the point of death.

Jesus’ ministry has two purposes:

• Guiding and protecting His sheep, who recognize His voice and follow Him.

• Bringing other sheep into the fold, so that all may experience true satisfaction both in daily life and eternally, as seen in today's readings: Psalm 23 and Revelation 7.

The second one is about the Jews’ Ultimate Rejection to Jesus and his teachings.

This passage also reveals the deep rejection Jesus faced. The Jewish leaders saw themselves as gatekeepers of religious authority, yet Jesus’ teachings unsettled them, particularly His claim that He and the Father are one. Some believed Jesus was demon-possessed, while others questioned: "Can a demon heal the sick and give sight to the blind?" Their anger escalated beyond words. They sought to stone Him for blasphemy. Their mission was to defend their religious territory and maintain control over people’s understanding of who God is and how humans relate to God.

Just like the Jews in John 10, we also wrestle with these two doctrines today:

1. The Oneness of Divinity—Who God is:

Monotheism is central to Judaism, deeply rooted in the Shema, one of its most important prayers. It begins with these words: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is One." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) Unlike a mere declaration of faith like the Apostles' Creed we recite weekly, the Shema is prayed at least twice daily. The Shema also commends God’s people to love God with all one's heart, soul, and strength.

Yet, from the very beginning, God uses "we" in Genesis 1:26: "Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness." The creation story itself hints at the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When confronted by the Jews in John 10:31-39, Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6, where God calls divinely appointed leaders "gods" because they carry out divine missions. If that is the case, why is it difficult for the Jews to understand that He is the Son of God?

2. The Oneness of Humanity—Who God’s people are and how they relate to each other and to God:

God did not establish Judaism as the exclusive path to salvation, nor did Jesus create Christianity as a separate belief system. Likewise, God did not establish Catholicism, Lutheranism, or any other denomination.

Throughout Scripture, both the unity and diversity of humanity are emphasized; nonetheless, God sees humanity as one, not divided by religious labels, ethnicity, race, or culture. Through the following passages in the Bible, God sees our identity as such:

• Made in God’s Image (Genesis 1:26-27)

• Children of God (John 1:12, Romans 8:16)

• One Humanity Under God’s Creation (Acts 17:26)

• Servants & Stewards (Genesis 1:28, Galatians 5:13)

• Beloved and Redeemed (John 3:16)

• The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)

• Saints (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1)

• Sinners (Romans 7:15-20, 1 Timothy 1:15)

These are the commonalities we all share equally. Then, how can we break barriers and see God’s Big Picture?

When thinking about breaking free from barriers to fully embrace God’s unified saving plan, an unusual pairing comes to mind: caviar on potato chips.

At first glance, most people might scoff at such a combination. It challenges our preconceived notions of value. In a high-end restaurant, potato chips might be seen as taboo, serving them alongside caviar might feel like an insult to wealth and status. But consider this: Our upbringing teaches us how to value things and people. Yet, when listing all the reasons why these two items don’t belong together, ask ourselves: Which reason actually matters? At the core, none of them have anything to do with love expressed through Jesus' cross, the very thing God asks us to extend to God, to others, and to ourselves.

Where Do We See Oneness in divinity and humanity?

Several scenes come to mind. When we greet one another, we take time to welcome each other’s presence as if God is next to us. Where else do we see oneness? When we listen to one another, we open our hearts to embrace who they are in their faith journey, just as God does. Where else? When we serve and care for one another, we give all that we are and all that we have, just as God, through Jesus, did by washing disciples’ feet and dying on the cross for the sake of humanity.

When Jesus declared: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30), the Jews struggled to accept the idea of oneness and that God could dwell among them in human form.

Let us reflect on these two questions in our own lives:

• When have we rejected something—not because it was wrong, but because it didn’t fit our expectations?

• When have we dismissed someone—not because they were mistaken, but because their perspective didn’t align with ours?

And in our personal faith journey:

• When did our perspective shift? Maybe we once saw faith as rigid and rule-based, but later discovered the beauty of grace.

• When were we humbled? Perhaps we once took pride in our goodness, only to be broken by unexpected trials.

• When were we forgiven? Maybe we felt unworthy after a mistake—yet found acceptance and love.

Last Sunday, I said: "We can only follow what we know, what we love, and what we believe.” May our Oneness with God through Jesus be the most important thing that we know, love, and believe.

Amen.