I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own

"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 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

Yesterday's reading continues on the events in the reading of the day before, in which Jesus healed a man who was blind from birth.  This is the sixth of seven signs in John's Gospel.  This is now the eighth (and last) day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the last year of Jesus' life.  He taught, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  Yesterday we read that the leadership (Pharisees with whom Jesus had been disputing) did not believe concerning healed man, 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.  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.  Jesus begins to contrast His leadership with that of the religious leaders of His time.  We remember that He is continuing His dialogue with the Pharisees.  They have failed, says my study bible, as pastors of God's people ("pastor" being from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership is marked, as illustrated in the Gospels, by deceit and pride.  It has lacked compassion.  Jesus, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  Here Jesus teaches that as Son He has intimate knowledge of every person; therefore also true pastors in the Church strive to know people by name, says my study bible.  That is, personally.  Good pastors are those who endeavor to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and thereby possess Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, the people will respond to a true leader, trusting they are a follower of Christ.   My study bible quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch, who writes, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  It is often thought that the response of the people 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.  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."   St. John Chrysostom writes that the door is God's Word, meaning both the Scriptures and also our Lord Himself, since the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  Someone 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.  Instead of using this door so all can see His works openly, the false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls.  On the contrary, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life.   When Jesus says here, all who ever came before Me, He is not referring to Moses or genuine prophets, but to those who claimed to be the Messiah both before and after Him, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).  But 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, says my study bible, 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 says that here Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd:  First, He enters by the door -- that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Secondly, He knows and is known by the Father.  Third, He knows His people personally and is there known by them.  Finally, He gives His life for the sake of His people, a direct prophecy of His coming Passion.  Note again the emphasis on the relationship to the Father:  in His love for and depth of knowledge of the sheep, He expresses the loving depth of relationship to the Father.

"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 other sheep here are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under one shepherd.  The Church, says my study bible, transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning of the Church, it was understood that there is one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle affirmed in each generation.  My study bible also notes that 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 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."  Jesus makes it clear here that His life-giving death will be voluntary, when He says, I lay down My life.  He does absolutely nothing apart from the will of His Father.  My study bible says that as He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

In teaching us that He is the Good Shepherd, Jesus once more emphasizes the depth of relationship and intimacy that He has with the Father.  He teaches us here that because of His love for the sheep, His true knowledge of them, and His dedication to them, the depth of relationship to the Father is absolute.  In earlier teachings, He emphasized His closeness to the Father, repeatedly throughout John's Gospel.  Here, He takes it one step further.  His love for the sheep, His identity as the Good Shepherd, His willingness to lay His life down for the sheep, all indicate and are inextricably bound to His relationship with the Father.  The love between Father, Son, and their sheep is a bond so close that it is unbreakable.  It is the sheep, those who believe in Him and are given to Him by the Father, whom He will raise up with Himself at the last day (John 6:27-29).  And here we also get closer to the meanings of "raise up" when He indicates His voluntary death on the Cross that is coming.  He will lay down His life for the sheep; this is the picture of what it is to truly be our Good Shepherd, an expression of love and care that is without restriction and returns life in abundance.  Whatever else we know of Jesus' Passion, death, and Resurrection, this we know from His own explicit words:  that it is an act of the deepest love.  This love extends not only as does the love we know as human love (without its imperfections), but to the depth of intimate knowledge of each one of us.  He knows us by name, He calls us by name.  We who are the sheep respond to this call and this depth of knowing us.  He knows us better than we know ourselves, and His name for us is our true name.  All those who would follow Him, including other pastors, must turn to this example as His Way.  He is the Door, our Light, our Good Shepherd.  This is a depth of love that teaches us all that love really is, in which we can abide and grow.  In that we put our trust and faith.