Continued From Before
The first
story in John 10 is really a continuation of the teaching that Jesus does in
the prior chapter. We know this because
at the end of the chapter people are still arguing over Jesus and one of the
reasons some hold fiercely to Jesus’ claim is because He opened the eyes of the
blind man. That healing story is still
fresh in the minds of those who are questioning themselves and searching for
truth.
The Good Shepherd
As I have
studied this chapter in the past, it has led me to a conclusion that is not
popular among other pastors: I don’t particularly care to be referred to as the
“shepherd” of a congregation. Certainly I
don’t consider it wrong; there are places in the Bible where people like the
priests and the prophets were referred to as shepherds. So it isn’t wrong to refer to one’s pastor as
a shepherd. But I don’t care for
it. I don’t care for it because of the
points that Jesus makes here in this passage.
First,
Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd.
His sheep know Him. His sheep
follow Him. To quote a very popular camp
song among children and youth, “I just want to be a sheep.” Jesus is the one who laid down His life for
our sins; He’s the shepherd. Jesus is
the one who calls people in the world to come to Him; He’s the shepherd. Jesus is the one who leads people forth into
pasture; He’s the shepherd. Sure, I may
be the tool in His hands, but He’s the one doing it. He’s the one setting the agenda. The less I think of myself as a shepherd and
the more I think of myself as a sheep the easier it is for me to remember that
it is about His agenda, His plan, and His Gospel.
Second,
Jesus makes this point immediately after fighting against the Jewish
leaders. He tells them that they are
guilty after insinuating that they are blind.
I think part of what Jesus is saying here is that He is the shepherd,
not these Jewish leaders that are blind and guilty of missing God’s hand at
work in the world. These Jewish leaders
want to focus on themselves and their righteous understanding of the Law, so
Jesus comes to the people and talks about why He is the good shepherd. I think we should pause here and think about
the fact that all human beings are prone to points of life where they are
blind, sinful, and self-centered. Only
Jesus is perfect. Therefore, He is the
shepherd. I just want to be a sheep!
The Door
I also
like the analogy that Jesus uses about being the door. “If anyone enters by me he will be
saved. He will go in and out and find
pasture.” I love this quote because it
makes it clear what Jesus taught. He
alone is the door. There is one way to
pasture: Jesus. In a day full of
pluralism, this is a verse we need to remember.
In a culture that asserts individualism, this is a verse to which we
must cling. It is so easy to listen to
the logic of the world and care most about what I think and what I believe and
what I need. But what is of ultimate
importance is to recognize that Jesus is the door. Life is about what God thinks, what God
teaches as true, and what God wants for us.
Jesus is the door. We enter into
pasture by humbling ourselves to Him and His truth.
More Conflict
In the
second half of this chapter we have more conflict between the Jews – quite
possibly the Jewish leaders, really – and Jesus. You can feel the tension building in the
story. The public is quick to stone Him
now. They are just waiting for any
excuse.
Last time
they tried to stone Jesus it was about eternal life. Now it is about the claim that Jesus is one
with the Father. Yes, Jesus talks about
eternal life and the fact that Jesus’ works are from the Father. But this time the offense increases when
Jesus says that He is one with God.
Jesus claims divinity in their midst.
Now, of
course we believe Jesus in hindsight. All
of us reading this today can look back on this story and we can talk about the
Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. None
of us balk at the idea that Jesus says He is one with God. It is easy for us to judge the Jewish
leaders. But I don’t want to be quite so
quick to judge.
After all,
what if someone came today claiming to be the Son of God? Would we not be equally as quick to want to
stone Him and cast Him out? Sure, we
might believe that the person has to be an imposter because we already know
Jesus as the Son of God, and for the record, I believe we’d be right! But we would be using the same human logic
that the Jewish leaders used against Jesus.
My point is not that we are wrong; my point is that we need to learn the
lesson of the Jewish leaders and not be quite so quick to be close-minded. God works in mysterious ways. If studying the Gospels teaches me anything
it is that God often works and fulfills His Word in ways that make sense only
in hindsight.
In fact,
this is really the point of Jesus’ teaching.
Towards the end Jesus essentially says, “If I am not doing the work of
God, then don’t believe me. But if I am
doing the work of God, then at least consider the work as a testimony to who I
am in God.” So often we as human beings
get so wrapped up in our own belief that we alone understand scripture and we
alone have made it make sense. We have
the tendency to fall into close-mindedness because we would rather believe the
thoughts in our heads than the witness of God in the world around us.
I do
believe we should study God’s Word and I do believe we should have a strong
faith that we proclaim in boldness to the world around us. I absolutely believe that we should have a
sturdy theology built upon that strong faith from God. But I also think that we can learn from
modern engineering. When we look at a
skyscraper, it is actually designed to have a certain amount of
flexibility. If it was completely rigid,
every earthquake and storm with strong winds would be a threat to topple it to
the ground. Although they are built on a
very firm foundation, they are built to be flexible. I think the same should be true about
us. We should be built on a strong
foundation. We should be firm and
confident and strong. But we should also
have some flexibility in us, too. We
should be able to see God’s genuine work in the world and embrace it – even
when it heads into a direction that we might not expect.
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