John 10: 22-30 

A plumber sent an email to a research bureau pointing out that he had used hydrochloric acid to clean out sewer pipes and inquired, “Is there any possible harm?” The first reply was as follows: “the efficacy of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but the corrosive residue is incompatible with metallic permanence.” The plumber then emailed back his appreciation for approving his procedure. The dismayed research bureau tried again, emailing in response, “We cannot assume responsibility for the production of toxic and noxious residue with hydrochloric acid and suggest you use an alternative procedure.” Once more the plumber thanked them for their approval. Finally, the bureau, worried about the New York City sewers, called in a third scientist who wrote the final email in plain English, “Don’t use hydrochloric acid. It eats the ________ out of the pipes.” Plain English might work best. 

Jesus’ opponents gathered around him in Jerusalem and asked him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” They were simply looking for a yes or a no. If you are the anointed one of God, a perfect representation of the Father, that what you say and what you do represent the fulfillment of the will of God perfectly, tell us! Jesus told them he’d already answered that question, and they didn’t believe his answer.  

He’d already answered the question of his identity. In these weeks after Easter, the scriptures remind us there will always be the cynical, inquisitive inquiry of a broken, skeptical world to ask if Jesus, whom we adore, was all he said he was. Jesus’ answer to the cynics and enemies surrounding him that day is the answer we can offer to the skeptical, doubtful world of our day. Jesus said to them, “I have told you. The works I do testify.” Jesus said in John 5: 36, “The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” I believe the apostle John was particularly emphasizing Jesus’ work of redemption on the cross. I also believe the very works he was doing could be what we can learn from. We cannot be anyone’s salvation by dying on a cross and rising from the dead, but we can do things that testify that God is with us. 

At a Lutheran assembly in Minneapolis in 1957, Bishop Lajos Ordass gave testimony of years he spent in jail. He protested the Communist regime’s confiscation of church schools and was imprisoned for twenty months. Later he was under arrest for six years. He shared, “They placed me in solitary confinement. It was a tiny cell, perhaps six feet by eight feet with no windows and soundproof. They hoped to break down my resistance by isolating me from all sensory perceptions. They thought I was alone. They were wrong. The risen Christ was present in that room, and in communion with him I was able to prevail.” 

In our days, it could be asked of us if God is with us, can we say so plainly? Those who ask such of us could also ask us as we could ask of ourselves, “Do the works we do testify that God is among us? And do we hear his voice and follow him?”  The acts of charity we perform could say enough that God is with us. The acts of sharing the good news of God in Christ by telling our own stories of conversion or salvation could say enough that God is with us. The caring and encouraging for others growing in their faith could say enough that God is with us. All of these works and efforts in faithfulness could express enough, could testify to the truth that God is with us. As his sheep that hear his voice, we know something about his works that testify of his identity. His works, as he said, “the very works I am doing testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me,” his works testified, testified by CHANGED LIVES. Christ Jesus’ works and deeds show all who would see that God had sent him by virtue of CHANGED LIVES. 

Do acts of charity say enough? Do evangelical efforts say enough? Does pastoral caretaking say enough? ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGED LIVES! The works of Jesus testified of his divine identity. The works we do testify of God’s presence with us. We cannot be those who say we find comfort in God’s presence and give charitably but see no evidence of changed lives in our works that are to give testimony of God among us. The four gospels are filled to running over of stories and testimonies of lives changed, saved, healed, delivered, made whole by the love of God in Christ Jesus. The rest of the New Testament runs over in accounts of conversions and miracles performed by the early church in the name of Christ. These works continue to testify that Christ lived and moved in and through the early church because lives were changed. 

Maxie Dunnam wrote in his commentary on the book of Galatians, “(Several decades ago) The American Red Cross was gathering supplies, medicine, clothing, food and the like for the suffering people in Biafra. Inside one of the boxes that showed up at the collecting depot one day was a letter. It said, ‘We have recently been converted and because of our conversion we want to try to help. We won’t ever need these again. Can you use them for something?’ Inside the box were several Ku Klux Klan sheets. The sheets were cut down to strips and eventually used to bandage the wounds of black persons in Africa.” The works of converts testified. 

A gentleman by the name of Chad attended a church I pastored several years ago. Over the span of years, he and his family attended the church, and Chad experienced some things I would attribute to the presence of God coming into his life and doing miracles of grace. He and I had a friendship. We’d meet for breakfast once or twice a week. He would tell me he had to live out what he’d experienced in God. His passion was to be in ministry to men and women struggling in their sobriety. That passion grew into opening and managing a homeless shelter for such folks. His changed life became a life of sacrifice and compassion. Because of Chad and what Christ did in and through Chad, there were others who experienced miracles of grace in their lives as well. His works testified. 

Do our works in God and through the name of Jesus Christ testify that God is with us, and are there changed lives? 

(Preached at St Mark United Methodist Church in Anniston, AL, 5-11-25)