I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All whoever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who dos not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

- John 10:1-18

In yesterday's reading, we read about the healing of the man who was blind from birth. The authorities of the temple went on to question him (and his parents) about Jesus, and to deny the holiness or righteousness therein. But the formerly blind man stayed with what he knew and understood, that formerly he was blind, and now he sees. For this, he was cast out of the temple. Jesus spoke to him again, and the healed man confessed his faith in Christ. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." The Pharisees asked, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." After speaking to the Pharisees about sin -- that they claim they see, yet still reject -- Jesus goes on to speak about the need for truth and the recognition of the shepherd. It is, I believe, a question of recognition and the willingness to accept what may shake up our lives and our comfortable positions. The holy will come in all sorts of forms we may never expect, and call us to a life we don't expect -- no matter what we think we already see and know. To follow what the heart teaches may be difficult, it may require us to face our own blindness. And it may require personal sacrifice. But only in that truth do we find the way. The "thief" and the "robber," we shall see, is Jesus' way of speaking about the evil one, the one that would lead us astray from the true door -- and all the sophistries and manipulations therein.

"And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. The healed blind man knows who Jesus is, he has come to a confession of faith. Those who are touched by holiness, by God's work in the world, know and recognize their shepherd. They will flee from the voice of strangers. That voice is in our hearts. Can we hear it? Do we know it? The Pharisees fail to understand what He is talking about. He is speaking of His own, whom the Father brings to Him, of whom He has said He will not lose one.

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All whoever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." The loyalty of the sheep for their shepherd is paramount here -- they recognize His voice, although there are many who would mislead them. This is a story about love, and belonging, and loyalty. Who do we follow in relationship? The One who offers us life in abundance, and His love, and not exploitation for some other purpose, to lead astray. My study bible says, "The thief -- the devil -- steals, kills and destroys the virtues of Christian life and lays waste those who follow his heresies. Life more abundantly is the life of God's Kingdom, offered us by Christ Himself." The blind man knows who Christ is, the One who has healed him.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who dos not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Jesus testifies to what is coming, to His own death for the sake of those whom He will not lose, whom He loves and who love Him. He speaks of the hireling: the one who is a false leader (and we know He will also warn us about such that will come in His name, too). But in their hearts the sheep know Him, and He knows His sheep -- for whom He will freely choose to lay down His own life. And the others He will bring into His fold come from everywhere in the world, and continue to flock to Him today. They also will hear His voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." It is in the power and the name of the Father that this love begins and goes forward; He does the will of the Father, and lays down His life within this embrace of love, and will take it up again. We, as the sheep, are embraced by the shepherd who is loved by the Father and knows as He is known. All is a kind of a circle, which we enter through this gate, this door of the shepherd. We must know one thing true in our hearts, and follow that, to be a part of it. The Father links us all.

From what does love and loyalty come? We know what those who would mislead us are like -- they would use and exploit the sheep for their own purposes and standing, their own profit. What is the true shepherd but the One who loves us? He is the One who acts in the true name of the Father who leads us to the shepherd for our own healing, restoration, and life in abundance. And that is where our loyalty lies, in that love and that loving embrace from Creator, from the beginning unto life eternal, and in abundance. We are warned here about false leaders, those who don't really have our best interests at heart -- and we know that it is our job to continue to be aware and watch. Remember that love, the loyalty in our hearts, and what it asks of us. As the healed blind man, we stay with that truth, and follow it where it leads us. Who has the words of truth for you? Who offers you that love? Jesus will stay with us to the end, and see it through.