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"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 who ever 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 does 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 if 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 these recent several chapters in John's Gospel, Jesus has been in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day feast celebrating the coming kingdom, commemorating the time when Israel lived in tents, or tabernacles. It's also a harvest festival. On the last, great day of the feast, Jesus began a dialogue with the leadership; upon leaving the temple He happened on a man blind from birth, and healed him (see As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world). Yesterday, we read the continuation of this story of the sixth sign in John's Gospel: The leadership did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 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." They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. And 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." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "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." My study bible has several notes on today's important text, this teaching by Jesus. Of the entire reading, it notes: "Jesus' conversation with the Pharisees continues, as there is no break between 9:41 [the end of yesterday's reading, above] and 10:1. All of this is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles. Christ is contrasting their leadership with His own. They have failed as pastors of God's people ('pastor' comes from the Latin word for 'shepherd'). Their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion. Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue. According to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, meaning both the Scriptures and our Lord Himself, since the Scriptures reveal God the Word. The one who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber. Rather than using this door so all can see His works openly, these false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls. In contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life."
"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. Here, my study bible notes, "As Christ has intimate knowledge of every person, so also true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name, that is, personally. These pastors endeavor to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, possessing Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15). In return, the people will respond to a true leader, trusting he is a follower of Christ. 'Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather' (St. Ignatius of Antioch). Indeed, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (7:47-49)."
Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them." My study bible explains that the phrase all who ever came before Me doesn't refer to Moses or genuine prophets, but to people claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (see Acts 5:36-37).
"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." My study bible says here: "The ultimate thief is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, luring away both leaders and people. Life means living in God's grace here on earth, while the more abundant life indicates the Kingdom to come."
"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 does 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." My study bible tells us of this passage: "Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd: (1) He enters by the door, that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself; (2) He knows and is known by the Father; (3) He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them; and (4) He gives His life for the sake of His people, which is a direct prophecy of His coming passion."
"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." A note tells us that "other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd. Thus, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines. It has been the Orthodox teaching from the beginning that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle affirmed in every generation. Writing in the early second century to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians, St. Ignatius taught, 'Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of his Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there is one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes if 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." The words I lay down my life tell us (says my study bible) that the Lord is clear His life-giving death will be voluntary. He does nothing apart from the will of His Father. As He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others."
If we think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, it brings to mind many qualities for us to think about. A good shepherd protects the flock. Certainly, Jesus places great emphasis on the fact that He loses none of His flock. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus speaks about leaving a flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to seek out the one stray (Luke 15:4; Matthew 18:12). Such an illustration may have been quite vivid to audiences familiar with sheep herding -- it's unlikely a real shepherd would leave the ninety-nine unprotected, but our Lord gives this illustration of His love for the sheep. A good shepherd is therefore a protector, one that will not bear to lose even one of the sheep in His care. This goes back to what my study bible points out here, that this Good Shepherd knows each sheep by his own name, and so must His pastors do the same. This is a highly personal faith. And our Good Shepherd gives us and establishes in His Church personal relations. We speak of the Holy Trinity as Three Persons, not three entities. It is not an abstract faith, but an experiential one: Christ Incarnate brings this home to us in all ways as human being in this world experiencing what we do, so that He can truly be the Good Shepherd who is with us. The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the "one who comes by when called" is with us and in us and in all things in our world. Each one of our names is known and precious! And as His sheep, we are to be like Him, and held in that love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- so that we may also share it with other sheep. Let us remember our true Good Shepherd and His teaching that we are one flock. We are all in this together, whatever our nominal differences, and our congregations should strive to recognize this, at least to honor our Good Shepherd in doing so. Each one of us is named, and we take our identities in His Name. Can we try to understand this, as we turn to His care and guidance?
