The Great Divide Text: John 10:19-21
Introduction: The Sword of Truth
Jesus Christ did not come to bring a soft, sentimental peace to the earth. He Himself said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). This sword is not made of steel, but of something far sharper and more decisive: the truth. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Wherever the unadulterated truth of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, it does not broker a truce with falsehood. It does not seek a polite compromise. It forces a division. It sorts the room. It separates the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, and the honest heart from the rebellious one.
We see this principle on full display in our text today. Jesus has just made some of the most staggering claims in human history. He has declared Himself to be the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, that He and the Father are one, and that He has the authority to lay down His life and the authority to take it up again. These are not the words of a mere moral teacher or a kindly prophet. These are the claims of God in the flesh. And such claims cannot be met with a shrug. They demand a verdict. You cannot be neutral about a man who claims to be the Creator of the universe, your Shepherd, and your God.
And so, a division occurs. The Greek word is schisma, from which we get our word schism. Jesus' words create a schism, a clean split right through the middle of the crowd. There is no middle ground, no third way. The audience is polarized into two distinct, irreconcilable camps. This is not an unfortunate byproduct of His ministry; it is the necessary result of it. The light has come into the world, and it inevitably separates the darkness from the light. This is the great antithesis that runs through all of human history. Every person, in every generation, is confronted with the words of Christ and must choose a side. The question before us is simple: when the schism comes, on which side do you find yourself?
The Text
A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words.
And many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"
Others were saying, "These are not the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
(John 10:19-21 LSB)
The Inevitable Schism (v. 19)
We begin with the result of Jesus' teaching:
"A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words." (John 10:19)
Notice the word "again." This is not the first time this has happened. John has been carefully documenting this recurring pattern. When Jesus spoke of being the bread of life, "there was a division in the crowd because of Jesus" (John 7:43). After He healed the man born blind on the Sabbath, "there was a division among" the Pharisees (John 9:16). The truth of who Jesus is and what He has come to do is a rock of offense. For some, it is the cornerstone upon which they build their lives. For others, it is a stumbling block over which they trip into eternal ruin. But for no one is it a matter of indifference.
The division was "because of these words." It was not His demeanor. It was not a misunderstanding. It was a direct result of the theological content of His claims. Our modern age loves the idea of a gentle, inoffensive Jesus who made no exclusive claims. But that is a Jesus of our own imagination, a plastic idol. The Jesus of the Bible spoke words that were so clear, so potent, and so divine that they forced men to either worship Him or want to kill Him. There was no third option then, and there is no third option now.
This tells us that true gospel preaching will always be divisive. If a minister can preach for years and never offend anyone, never have anyone walk out, never be accused of being dogmatic or intolerant, it is a near certainty that he is not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is preaching a different gospel, which is no gospel at all. The gospel confronts our pride, our autonomy, and our self-righteousness. It declares that we are lost, dead in our sins, and that our only hope is to fall down in unconditional surrender before the crucified and risen Lord. Such a message will always create a schism.
The Reaction of Unbelief: Ad Hominem (v. 20)
The first group reacts with visceral, irrational hostility.
"And many of them were saying, 'He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?'" (John 10:20 LSB)
Observe the nature of their argument. They do not engage with the substance of Jesus' claims. They do not offer a theological rebuttal. They cannot. His logic is airtight, and His authority is self-evident. So what do they do? They resort to the oldest trick in the book of unbelief: the ad hominem attack. They attack the man because they cannot attack His argument. They cannot refute His words, so they slander His character.
Their diagnosis is twofold: He is demon-possessed and He is insane. This was not a casual insult. They had already accused Him of being in league with Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Mark 3:22). They are saying that the spirit motivating Him is not the Holy Spirit, but a foul spirit. And the charge of insanity is simply the natural corollary. Anyone who claims to be God, and is not, must be mad. C.S. Lewis famously articulated this trilemma: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord. These Jews rejected the third option, so they were left with the first two. He is either a deceiver or He is deranged.
Their conclusion is a command: "Why do you listen to Him?" This is the voice of censorship. This is the spirit of the cancel culture. When you cannot win the argument, you must shut down the debate. Unbelief is terrified of a fair hearing. It cannot withstand the light of scrutiny. So its only recourse is to silence the truth, to de-platform it, to dismiss it out of hand without consideration. Do not listen to Him. Do not engage His words. Just dismiss Him as a madman. This is the tactic of every enemy of the gospel, from the first century to the twenty-first.
The Reaction of Honesty: Empirical Evidence (v. 21)
But not everyone is swept away by this slander. The second group appeals to the evidence.
"Others were saying, 'These are not the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?'" (John 10:21 LSB)
This is the voice of simple, unadorned honesty. They present two pieces of evidence that contradict the slanderous accusation. First, they appeal to the nature of His words. "These are not the words of someone demon-possessed." His teaching was filled with grace, truth, wisdom, and authority. It was coherent, profound, and life-giving. Demonic speech, by contrast, is the language of chaos, lies, and death. These people had listened, and they recognized the ring of truth. They were willing to evaluate the message on its own merits.
Second, they appeal to the nature of His works. "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" This is the great, unanswerable question. They are referring, of course, to the stupendous miracle Jesus performed in the previous chapter, the healing of the man born blind. This was not a psychosomatic illness. This was a man born without sight, a congenital defect, and Jesus gave him new eyes. The Old Testament is clear that opening the eyes of the blind is a sign of the Messiah's coming (Isaiah 35:5). And the healed man himself had already concluded, "Since the world began, it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing" (John 9:32-33).
Their logic is devastatingly simple. Demons are agents of destruction, not restoration. Their work is to blind, to deafen, to bind, and to kill. The work of Jesus was to bring sight, hearing, freedom, and life. His works were consistent with His words, and both pointed to a divine, not a demonic, origin. This is an appeal to objective, verifiable, public evidence. Jesus did not perform His miracles in a corner. The evidence was there for anyone with eyes to see and a heart willing to be persuaded.
Conclusion: Where Do You Stand?
This short passage presents us with the two options, the two sides of the schism. There is no third way. On one side, you have the reaction of hardened unbelief. It refuses to engage the evidence. It resorts to slander and name-calling. It dismisses the claims of Christ by attacking His character. It demands that His voice be silenced. This is the way of the world, the way of rebellion.
On the other side, you have the reaction of honest inquiry. It listens to His words. It looks at His works. It weighs the evidence. It applies basic logic. The words are not the words of a madman. The works are not the works of a demon. Therefore, the claims must be true. This is the path of faith.
The evidence today is even more overwhelming. The central, undeniable miracle is no longer just the opening of a blind man's eyes, but the opening of a sealed tomb. Jesus Christ, having been crucified for our sins, was raised from the dead on the third day. This is the ultimate sign, the final vindication of all His claims. This historical fact, attested by hundreds of eyewitnesses, is the bedrock of our faith. And it continues to create the great schism.
Some will hear this and say, "This is madness. It is a myth, a fairy tale for the weak-minded. Why do you listen to this?" They will not examine the evidence for the resurrection. They will simply dismiss it, slander those who believe it, and demand that its proclamation be silenced in the public square.
But others will hear. They will look at the evidence. They will see the transformed lives of believers. They will feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. They will recognize that the words of the gospel are not the words of a demon, but the very words of life. And they will see that the power that raised Christ from the dead is the only power that can open their own blind eyes and save them from their sins.
The sword of truth has been laid down in our midst today. A division is occurring, right here, right now. You must choose. You can side with the scoffers who cry "insane," or you can side with the honest who look at the evidence and confess Him as Lord. You cannot remain neutral. Your eternal destiny hangs on your verdict.