(John 7:1-13)
Christians rarely consider that Jesus Christ, when He walked this earth, was ever afraid of anything. It is quite difficult to think that our Lord had experienced FEAR. It is more reassuring to think of the divine qualities of Jesus rather than accept that our Lord possessed human frailties as a man. In fact many sects consider it a sacrilege to delve into the human characteristics of Jesus. Such sects would ostracize anyone who would even suggest that Jesus had experienced any form of human weakness such as being afraid. Jesus had a human body that had all the usual human qualities. These included all the ordinary weaknesses that everyone had. The Book of Hebrews says the same thing (2:14-18 and 4:14-15). It is written that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, took on a human body to sacrifice His human life in order to save humans. It was a mortal body, subject to the same weaknesses and temptations that all of mankind regularly experience. The only difference was that Jesus our Lord did not commit any sin.
Let’s READ John 7:1. After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take His life.(NIV)
Jesus stayed in the area of Galilee for a while. He avoided going to Judea where the religious leaders of the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Jesus was experiencing fear in the same manner as anyone whose life was being threatened. The fear of dying is undoubtedly a part of being human. It was natural for the mortal Jesus to have this fear of death. In fact, on the eve of His arrest, Jesus underwent such a great agony over His impending death that He went into a bloody sweat (Luke 22:43-44).
Let us continue with today’s verses John 7:2-13. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for Me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for Me the right time has not yet come." Having said this, He stayed in Galilee. However, after His brothers had left for the Feast, He went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for Him and asking, "Where is that man?" Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about Him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, He deceives the people." But no one would say anything publicly about Him for fear of the Jews. (NIV)
The time for the Feast of Tabernacles had come. It was a grand festival that lasted for eight days. During the joyous festivities, the Jews would offer many sacrifices —— much more than at any other occasion. Thus, this was celebrated in the areas near the temple which was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea.
The brothers of Jesus were cajoling Jesus to go to Judea for the festivities. They were making fun of Him in much the same way that brothers ridicule each other. They could not see any divine purpose in the works of Jesus; nor did they believe in the things that He taught. No prophet is accepted in his own hometown, much less in his own family. It is then easy to understand that Jesus was not believed by His own brothers while He was still alive. It was only after the resurrection of Jesus that His brothers started believing. They became true followers as a result of seeing the risen Lord. Nevertheless that happened later; meanwhile they joked about Him.
As His brothers were making fun of Him, Jesus told them to go on ahead to Judea for the feast. He told them that He was not ready yet. But after they had gone without Jesus, He secretly went to the feast by Himself. Obviously, Jesus did not want to travel with His brothers on that long journey to Jerusalem because of the threat on His life. Travelling with His brothers would make Him more conspicuous and easily identifiable. It could endanger His brothers also. Thus Jesus traveled alone and incognito. Yet, eventhough He felt threatened, He did not allow fear to deter Him from divine destiny. It was with a heavy heart that Jesus secretly journeyed for more than a hundred kilometers to Judea.
The people who were already at the feast noticed the absence of the popular Jesus. Our Lord had often observed the feasts of the Jewish calendar by going to the temple to teach. People had become accustomed to seeing Him in the temple during any celebration. So because Jesus was not around on the first few days of the feast, people began wondering about Him. Apparently those who believed in Jesus had good things to say about Him; those who did not believe in Him spoke of Him as a deceiver, a liar. But no matter how opinionated they were about Jesus, the verses say that no one spoke openly about Jesus. Everyone was so afraid of the religious leaders who hated Jesus bitterly, even to the point of plotting to kill Him. Rumors of that plot had started to circulate. Understandably, the people avoided any risk of incurring the ire of those leaders if they got caught speaking about Jesus. Any talk about Him was done in secret. Because of FEAR.
How about us? What are the things that we FEAR? How do our fears affect our actions? It is normal to fear. It is natural for our survival instincts to trigger our fears. When we sense danger, fear sets in to warn us to seek safety. Actually fear can do us good if we react correctly; but fear can be bad for us if we react wrongly.
Spiritually, fear can lead us to do good things for God as well as for others. For example, fear can lead us to work for the salvation and well-being of our fellowmen. In the Book of Esther, the Jewish queen was overwhelmed by fear for her life and for the lives of the other Jews. As a result, she called for fasting and prayer. Then she risked her own life to plead to the Persian king in order to save the lives of her fellow Jews.
On the other hand, fear can also be spiritually bad if we resort to doing ungodly things. In that case, fear can consume us and tear up our faith in God. This happened to King Saul who became afraid of David (1 Sam.18:6-25). The loyal and God-fearing David had never gone against King Saul. But because of the king’s ungodly ways, Saul developed a growing suspicion towards the young David. This brought a great fear in the heart of King Saul which resulted in his numerous attempts to murder David, the innocent worshipper of God. Fear can likewise prevent an unfaithful person from doing what is good and just in the eyes of God. In the Parable of the Talents (Mattehew 25:24-30), the servant who received one talent was unfaithful and had no trust for his benevolent master. He had the wrong notion that his master was unjust and cruel; thus he was afraid of his master. His fear led him to hide the one talent which was entrusted to him instead of using it productively. For that, he was punished. People like him fail to benefit from God’s good gifts.
Yes, Jesus also experienced what it was to be afraid as we see in today’s verses. However, Jesus never allowed fear to be victorious. He did not allow fear to prevent Him from doing what was good and just in the eyes of God. First, He used His fear to make sure that the lives of His brothers were not jeopardized. He sent them to go without Him to Judea for the feast. And then, He did not allow His fear to prevent Him from doing what He was sent to do —— to teach about the will of God. He dealt with His fear by going to the feast in Judea at a time when the religious leaders were determined to kill Him. Such was the way of our Lord Jesus in the face of FEAR. A shining example for all who follow Him. May He give us the grace to walk in His footsteps.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
HE WHO HAS WILL BE GIVEN MORE. WHY?
Let's read today's verses Matthew 25:14-30.
"Again it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came, `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; See, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man who had received the one talent came. `Master,' he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.'
"`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (NIV)
This is the widely known Parable of the Talents. A talent was one of the coins used as money among the Israelites. This valuable coin was distributed among the servants in the parable; and Jesus used this story to teach that God expects a result from us for what He had given us.
In the English language, the word talent means the abilities and skills of a person. God has gifted each of us with unique talents. We use our talents wisely for our well being and also to benefit others. And at any point in time, we can be made to account for the fruits of these God-given talents.
But the scope of this parable is not limited to the monetary "talents" we invest or the creative "talents" we cultivate. What Jesus illustrated in this parable was of a spiritual nature. He wanted us to focus on our spiritual life, our spiritual gifts, our spiritual abilities, our spiritual works.
God wants us to cultivate our spiritual talents and put them to good use. If we do, God's pleasure will bring an increase to our spiritual gifts. It is foolish to hide our spiritual talents for whatever reason. This would displease God as He sees no productive results in our spiritual life.
Faith (also known as trusting and obeying God) is a spiritual gift. The more we use it, the more it increases. The more we trust and obey God, the greater our capacity to trust and obey God. This also holds true for all the other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, praying, worshipping, doing good works, etc. Jesus also taught that we accumulate "treasures in Heaven" as we use our gifts to the pleasure of God.
But there is a statement in this parable that must be tackled more clearly. It is, "To him who has, more will be given; to him who has not, the little that he has will be taken away." Many humanists would find this quite unjust. Many would argue that those who have none should be given more, and not those who already have. Many might even conclude that Jesus is espousing an injustice.
However, what Jesus was saying is not an injustice when it pertains to spiritual realities. Our Lord wanted to stress that any person who cultivates his spiritual life and uses his spiritual gifts would receive a commensurate reward. His spiritual gifts will be increased to allow him greater participation in spiritual life.
Another way of saying it is: the more we listen to God, the more we are allowed to hear Him; the more we seek His presence, the more we are allowed to experience Him in life's unfolding events.
Once there was a very old prophetess named Anna. She had been a widow for many decades. She spent all her time on the temple grounds where she worshipped, fasted, and prayed. Anna's life was filled with spiritual activity.
God blessed her unceasing spirituality by allowing her to see the Baby Jesus when He was presented in the temple. Anna was allowed to recognize God's Son when He came; and she was even empowered by God to prophecy about the salvation that Jesus would bring.
On the other hand, the reverse is also true. A person who neglects his spiritual gifts will not see any spiritual profit. His spiritual activities will continually decrease and his spiritual awareness will dwindle. He will become more insensitive to God’s voice and more doubtful of His presence in daily events. He may lose whatever little is left of his spiritual life.
But his losses do not end there. Today's parable says that Jesus will finally command, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is an unmistakable statement that a spiritually neglectful person will end up in hell.
God bless us all.
"Again it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came, `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; See, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, `Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man who had received the one talent came. `Master,' he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.'
"`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (NIV)
This is the widely known Parable of the Talents. A talent was one of the coins used as money among the Israelites. This valuable coin was distributed among the servants in the parable; and Jesus used this story to teach that God expects a result from us for what He had given us.
In the English language, the word talent means the abilities and skills of a person. God has gifted each of us with unique talents. We use our talents wisely for our well being and also to benefit others. And at any point in time, we can be made to account for the fruits of these God-given talents.
But the scope of this parable is not limited to the monetary "talents" we invest or the creative "talents" we cultivate. What Jesus illustrated in this parable was of a spiritual nature. He wanted us to focus on our spiritual life, our spiritual gifts, our spiritual abilities, our spiritual works.
God wants us to cultivate our spiritual talents and put them to good use. If we do, God's pleasure will bring an increase to our spiritual gifts. It is foolish to hide our spiritual talents for whatever reason. This would displease God as He sees no productive results in our spiritual life.
Faith (also known as trusting and obeying God) is a spiritual gift. The more we use it, the more it increases. The more we trust and obey God, the greater our capacity to trust and obey God. This also holds true for all the other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, praying, worshipping, doing good works, etc. Jesus also taught that we accumulate "treasures in Heaven" as we use our gifts to the pleasure of God.
But there is a statement in this parable that must be tackled more clearly. It is, "To him who has, more will be given; to him who has not, the little that he has will be taken away." Many humanists would find this quite unjust. Many would argue that those who have none should be given more, and not those who already have. Many might even conclude that Jesus is espousing an injustice.
However, what Jesus was saying is not an injustice when it pertains to spiritual realities. Our Lord wanted to stress that any person who cultivates his spiritual life and uses his spiritual gifts would receive a commensurate reward. His spiritual gifts will be increased to allow him greater participation in spiritual life.
Another way of saying it is: the more we listen to God, the more we are allowed to hear Him; the more we seek His presence, the more we are allowed to experience Him in life's unfolding events.
Once there was a very old prophetess named Anna. She had been a widow for many decades. She spent all her time on the temple grounds where she worshipped, fasted, and prayed. Anna's life was filled with spiritual activity.
God blessed her unceasing spirituality by allowing her to see the Baby Jesus when He was presented in the temple. Anna was allowed to recognize God's Son when He came; and she was even empowered by God to prophecy about the salvation that Jesus would bring.
On the other hand, the reverse is also true. A person who neglects his spiritual gifts will not see any spiritual profit. His spiritual activities will continually decrease and his spiritual awareness will dwindle. He will become more insensitive to God’s voice and more doubtful of His presence in daily events. He may lose whatever little is left of his spiritual life.
But his losses do not end there. Today's parable says that Jesus will finally command, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is an unmistakable statement that a spiritually neglectful person will end up in hell.
God bless us all.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
JESUS, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD *
Among the many ways that Jesus used to describe Himself, one of the most poignant is that of a shepherd. Not only was it a description of His role, it also illustrated the attitude He had in caring for us and bringing us into eternal life. Let us recall His exact words about this by reading John 10:1-6:
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. ( NIV )
Jesus told this very short story to the Jews. The people and things in the story were quite familiar to the Jews of that day.
He starts out the story by emphasizing it as truth. Then He starts to describe the ways of a THIEF who enters the sheep pen. The usual and accepted way of entering a sheep pen was by the gate of the pen. And anyone who entered it by devious ways would have the bad intentions of a thief and a robber.
Then Jesus describes the way the REAL SHEPHERD of the sheep enters the sheep pen. He says that the shepherd enters via the gate and that the watchman would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for him. As he enters the pen, the shepherd would call the sheep by the individual names that he had given them. He would then proceed to lead them out of the pen. The shepherd had an interesting, unique way of directing the movement of the sheep. It was very different from the way cattle or mules were moved. Cows, oxen, mules, and horses were driven or pushed to move, often with the use of whips and ropes. But the sheep were not driven or pushed; they were LED by the shepherd. The shepherd would go ahead of the sheep and as he walked, he would speak to the sheep. The sheep would then hear the voice of their beloved shepherd and they would move towards the direction of his voice.
Jesus pointed out that the sheep will run away from a stranger that would try to lead them because they would not recognize the unfamiliar voice of the stranger. The sheep would feel uneasy and they would be "spooked" into running away from the direction of the stranger’s voice.
Now the Jews who listened to Jesus tell this short story were all too familiar with these things. Thus they could not figure out why Jesus would narrate to them something that was common knowledge to them. So Jesus explained it to them in the succeeding verses of John 10:7-10.
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ( NIV )
Again Jesus prefaced his statement by saying that what He was about to say could be relied upon as the truth. Jesus identified Himself as the gate where the sheep would go through to enter eternal life. Verse 9 says that whoever enters through Jesus will be saved. Wherever life brings them, the sheep who pass through Jesus will be sustained by Him. Verse 10 specifically says that Jesus came that the sheep may have a full spiritual life through Him.
Also within verses 7-10, Jesus mentioned that all the sorcerers of the false gods and all who had previously enticed the Jews with false promises of eternal happiness were plain thieves and robbers. Their only intentions were to "steal and kill and destroy".
Let’s read the next verses of John 10:11-13,
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." ( NIV )
This time Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd; actually refering to the best type of shepherd —— one who gives His life for the sake of the sheep. It reminds us of King David who as a shepherd boy, risked his life for the sake of his flock of sheep by fighting a lion and a bear that had grabbed sheep from David’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).
Jesus contrasted His being a good shepherd with the hired hand or hireling who had no affection for the sheep. A hireling will not place the safety of the sheep above his own. At the sign of impending trouble or an attack from predators, the hireling would abandon the flock. The sheep would then freak out and be scattered, therefore becoming easy prey for the predators.
Let’s read more of the verses in John 10:14-21,
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" ( NIV )
Jesus once again emphasized that He was the good shepherd and that He was ready to give up His life for the sake of the sheep. This is an essential point in understanding His love for us —— a love that Jesus valued more than His earthly life. Indeed, our Lord eventually died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus !
Jesus went on to say that it is for this reason that the Father loves Him: because He lays down His life for the sheep. No man had the power to take the earthly life of Jesus; but Jesus voluntarily laid down His life. Our Lord had the sole authority to give His life and also the authority to take up His life again. His authority came in the form of a command from the Father. As the obedient Son, Jesus obeyed the command of the Father: He gave up His life by dying on the cross and He took up His life again by rising from the dead.
Jesus also mentioned that He had other sheep that were not part of "this sheep pen"; meaning to say that our Lord had other sheep who were not Jews. He also would bring these other sheep with Him. These other sheep will also recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and they will follow Him. It will be just like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus; that when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized the voice as the one that gave him his eyesight. And then he believed in all that Jesus said ( John 9:35 ).
All the sheep will heed His voice and be one flock: one body of believers joyfully following the voice of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.
What about us ?
Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus ? Can we recognize it among the many "voices" we hear ? Verse 4 says that "his sheep follow Him because they know His voice". If we do not know His voice, we cannot move towards the direction of His voice; and thus it would not be possible to follow Him. God’s voice does not necessarily have to be an audible sound; or a sound that the human ear might perceive. It is more of a sound perceived by our spirits. God communicates with us through our spirits, and it is also in the inner recesses of our spirits that we can truly communicate with God. Thus we have to listen with our spirits to hear His voice.
Psalms 46:10 says : "Be still, and know that I am God".This is a clue for us on how we can hear and know the voice of Jesus our Shepherd. We have to learn to withdraw our spirits from all the earthly noises and worldly agitation. We even have to command the voices of our own thoughts to be quiet in order for our spirits to listen well. As we completely surrender to Jesus the THRONE of our innermost hearts, we shall learn to know His reassuring voice."He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets"(Isaiah 42:2).
Now, how determined are we in following Jesus, our Good Shepherd ? Jesus lived His life on earth as a pattern for us to follow. Since we are his followers, He would reasonably expect us to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Jesus faced the situations that we would similarly face.
Jesus leads us by example so that we can follow His footsteps. Having studied His life on earth, we know that the things He underwent were not always easy or pleasant. In view of the difficulties, Jesus instructed His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me ".
Indeed, some of us will be absolutely determined to follow Jesus no matter where it will lead. Jesus was obedient even unto the point of death. Likewise, those who are truly faithful and obedient to God’s leading will readily lay down their own lives just like their Master. In the same way that Jesus loved the sheep more than His earthly life, these believers also love Jesus more than their own earthly lives.
However they will draw comfort in what Psalms 23 says :
" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ....
............ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ".
Also, they will take courage from the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd who continually speaks to them, calling each one of them by name. May God bless us with such faith and obedience !
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. ( NIV )
Jesus told this very short story to the Jews. The people and things in the story were quite familiar to the Jews of that day.
He starts out the story by emphasizing it as truth. Then He starts to describe the ways of a THIEF who enters the sheep pen. The usual and accepted way of entering a sheep pen was by the gate of the pen. And anyone who entered it by devious ways would have the bad intentions of a thief and a robber.
Then Jesus describes the way the REAL SHEPHERD of the sheep enters the sheep pen. He says that the shepherd enters via the gate and that the watchman would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for him. As he enters the pen, the shepherd would call the sheep by the individual names that he had given them. He would then proceed to lead them out of the pen. The shepherd had an interesting, unique way of directing the movement of the sheep. It was very different from the way cattle or mules were moved. Cows, oxen, mules, and horses were driven or pushed to move, often with the use of whips and ropes. But the sheep were not driven or pushed; they were LED by the shepherd. The shepherd would go ahead of the sheep and as he walked, he would speak to the sheep. The sheep would then hear the voice of their beloved shepherd and they would move towards the direction of his voice.
Jesus pointed out that the sheep will run away from a stranger that would try to lead them because they would not recognize the unfamiliar voice of the stranger. The sheep would feel uneasy and they would be "spooked" into running away from the direction of the stranger’s voice.
Now the Jews who listened to Jesus tell this short story were all too familiar with these things. Thus they could not figure out why Jesus would narrate to them something that was common knowledge to them. So Jesus explained it to them in the succeeding verses of John 10:7-10.
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ( NIV )
Again Jesus prefaced his statement by saying that what He was about to say could be relied upon as the truth. Jesus identified Himself as the gate where the sheep would go through to enter eternal life. Verse 9 says that whoever enters through Jesus will be saved. Wherever life brings them, the sheep who pass through Jesus will be sustained by Him. Verse 10 specifically says that Jesus came that the sheep may have a full spiritual life through Him.
Also within verses 7-10, Jesus mentioned that all the sorcerers of the false gods and all who had previously enticed the Jews with false promises of eternal happiness were plain thieves and robbers. Their only intentions were to "steal and kill and destroy".
Let’s read the next verses of John 10:11-13,
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." ( NIV )
This time Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd; actually refering to the best type of shepherd —— one who gives His life for the sake of the sheep. It reminds us of King David who as a shepherd boy, risked his life for the sake of his flock of sheep by fighting a lion and a bear that had grabbed sheep from David’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).
Jesus contrasted His being a good shepherd with the hired hand or hireling who had no affection for the sheep. A hireling will not place the safety of the sheep above his own. At the sign of impending trouble or an attack from predators, the hireling would abandon the flock. The sheep would then freak out and be scattered, therefore becoming easy prey for the predators.
Let’s read more of the verses in John 10:14-21,
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" ( NIV )
Jesus once again emphasized that He was the good shepherd and that He was ready to give up His life for the sake of the sheep. This is an essential point in understanding His love for us —— a love that Jesus valued more than His earthly life. Indeed, our Lord eventually died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus !
Jesus went on to say that it is for this reason that the Father loves Him: because He lays down His life for the sheep. No man had the power to take the earthly life of Jesus; but Jesus voluntarily laid down His life. Our Lord had the sole authority to give His life and also the authority to take up His life again. His authority came in the form of a command from the Father. As the obedient Son, Jesus obeyed the command of the Father: He gave up His life by dying on the cross and He took up His life again by rising from the dead.
Jesus also mentioned that He had other sheep that were not part of "this sheep pen"; meaning to say that our Lord had other sheep who were not Jews. He also would bring these other sheep with Him. These other sheep will also recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and they will follow Him. It will be just like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus; that when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized the voice as the one that gave him his eyesight. And then he believed in all that Jesus said ( John 9:35 ).
All the sheep will heed His voice and be one flock: one body of believers joyfully following the voice of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.
What about us ?
Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus ? Can we recognize it among the many "voices" we hear ? Verse 4 says that "his sheep follow Him because they know His voice". If we do not know His voice, we cannot move towards the direction of His voice; and thus it would not be possible to follow Him. God’s voice does not necessarily have to be an audible sound; or a sound that the human ear might perceive. It is more of a sound perceived by our spirits. God communicates with us through our spirits, and it is also in the inner recesses of our spirits that we can truly communicate with God. Thus we have to listen with our spirits to hear His voice.
Psalms 46:10 says : "Be still, and know that I am God".This is a clue for us on how we can hear and know the voice of Jesus our Shepherd. We have to learn to withdraw our spirits from all the earthly noises and worldly agitation. We even have to command the voices of our own thoughts to be quiet in order for our spirits to listen well. As we completely surrender to Jesus the THRONE of our innermost hearts, we shall learn to know His reassuring voice."He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets"(Isaiah 42:2).
Now, how determined are we in following Jesus, our Good Shepherd ? Jesus lived His life on earth as a pattern for us to follow. Since we are his followers, He would reasonably expect us to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Jesus faced the situations that we would similarly face.
Jesus leads us by example so that we can follow His footsteps. Having studied His life on earth, we know that the things He underwent were not always easy or pleasant. In view of the difficulties, Jesus instructed His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me ".
Indeed, some of us will be absolutely determined to follow Jesus no matter where it will lead. Jesus was obedient even unto the point of death. Likewise, those who are truly faithful and obedient to God’s leading will readily lay down their own lives just like their Master. In the same way that Jesus loved the sheep more than His earthly life, these believers also love Jesus more than their own earthly lives.
However they will draw comfort in what Psalms 23 says :
" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ....
............ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ".
Also, they will take courage from the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd who continually speaks to them, calling each one of them by name. May God bless us with such faith and obedience !
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