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 

 

 In our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, an eight day harvest festival.  It is the final year of Christ's earthly life.  On this last, great day of the feast, Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  He has healed a man blind from birth, the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel, something unheard of in the Scriptures.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders 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.  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.  In today's reading, Jesus continues His conversation with the Pharisees.  Once again, we know that all of this is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Here Jesus begins to contrast their leadership with is own.  My study Bible comments that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" being from the Latin word meaning "shepherd).  It says their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  On the other hand, Christ's fulfills all virtue.  In these verses, we are to understand that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of each person, so also true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name, that is, personally, according to my study Bible.  These pastors, it teaches, 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 that such a person is a follower of Christ.  My study Bible quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  In fact, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (see John 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."  My study Bible explains that the phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or to genuine prophets, but rather to people who claim to be the Messiah -- both before and after Christ -- such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (see Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, it notes, 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 speaks of the Kingdom to come.  Jesus says, "I am the door."  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible comments, the door is God's Word, which means 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 Christ's words openly, the false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls.  In contrast, the pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life.  

 

 "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."  Here Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd.  My study Bible says that this role is fulfilled in the following ways:  First, Christ enters by the door; that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Second, He knows and is known by the Father.  Third, He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them.  Finally, 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."  Other sheep, my study Bible explains, are the Gentiles.  They will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, therefore, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  My study Bible comments that it has been the Orthodox teaching from the beginning that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in every generation.  It quotes a letter from St. Ignatius written in the early second century to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians.  In this letter 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 says, "I lay down My life . . ."  Here He makes clear that His life-giving death will be voluntary, my study Bible says.  He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  Moreover, as He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

 

 Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd, and my study Bible gives us several ways in which this title and role is fulfilled in His life.  Moreover, He remains the Good Shepherd for us, as He also lives with us and among us, albeit in a mystical presence.  How do we know this?  He has said so.  He speaks of the kingdom of God in this way when asked by the Pharisees:  "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  In Matthew 18:20, Jesus tells the disciples, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  He is also our Good Shepherd because He is the light; He is the light by which we need to see in a darkened world, and sometimes one in which we can see nothing at all to show us the way through.  In John 8:12, Jesus has taught, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Perhaps it is Jesus as the Light which plays the most significant role in our own lives, so many centuries after His earthly life.  Of course, John's Gospel is the Gospel of the Light, emphasizing in so many ways how Christ is the light of the world.  Right from the beginning of this Gospel, in introducing to us the Logos, the Word, John writes, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  As the Door, and as the Good Shepherd, Jesus warns us that the way to life is narrow, and particular.  In Matthew 7:13-14, He tells us, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  Again, He is the Door, just as He is also the Gate -- He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to the place of pasture that is proper to us, just as He is the One who is the bread of heaven, the Bread of Life with which we need to be fed for the everlasting life He offers, the life more abundantly we read about in today's reading.  All of these things point to the ways in which Jesus is active in our lives, and remains so as our Good Shepherd.  And He will not leave us alone, for He has said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  When we pray, when we worship, when we read the Scriptures, let us remember the ways that He remains active in our lives, close by, teaching us the things we need, showing us the way through our lives.  In John's 14th chapter, Jesus promises, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. . . . If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (see John 14).  Through all of these means, through the faithful, and the communion of saints, in the Church, and in all the ways we may participate in the life of the Body of Christ, He is with us as the Good Shepherd, who sees us through our lives.  He knows all our names.  Now the question is, how do we live as His sheep?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

And He was numbered with the transgressors

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one of His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. 

 

- Mark 15:22–32 

 

 Yesterday we read that, as the crowd demanded the prisoner Barabbas be released to them, Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.  Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

 

And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:  THE KING OF THE JEWS.  My study Bible comments here on the inscription of His accusation that what was intended as an accusation and a mockery became instead a triumphant symbol.  Pilate's act is, in fact, prophetic, showing that those who rejected Him had risen against their own King, and the cross was the means by which Christ established His Kingdom.  The third hour is about 9:00 in the morning.

 

 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one of His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  My study Bible notes that Christ being crucified between two robbers is not only a fulfillment of the Scripture (verse 28; Isaiah 53:12), but it shows also that He is completely identifying with sinful humanity.

We look at this scene of Christ crucified, and we cannot bear to see Him suffer.  We want to turn away from the mocking and the derision, from the taunts of those who pass by and blaspheme, and from even the chief priests and scribes.  They continue to demand proofs, even as Christ is on the Cross:  "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  So low has Christ been made, the text tells us, that even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  Christ is now taunted even by the others who are crucified with Him.  This is in a certain sense the great scandal.  For how can God be brought this low in human terms?  How can God be so humiliated, driven in pain and torture on the Cross, and reviled by all, even challenged by those who yet taunt Him by demanding proofs about Him?  At the same time, this scandal is the uniqueness of the Christian faith, for by observing His suffering, on all these levels of pain and humiliation, we also observe what my study Bible notes, that He has completely identified with sinful humanity.  Whatever we go through, He experiences here.  He has done nothing worthy of such treatment, but He experiences all of it, and with us.  For that is, ultimately, our God.  If we suffer in this world from effects of evil, so God also suffers with us, and has chosen to do so voluntarily.  So, we're left with the question, how can God suffer like us?  Or perhaps, why would God suffer like us, and with us?  Aside from these questions, we are given a conundrum:  why would God tolerate evil and suffering to exist at all?  In John's Gospel, we are given one clear answer written in Scripture for us, given as the word of Jesus Himself:  "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:14-17).  If we neither know nor understand anything else, we are to understand God's love, that through Christ's suffering God calls us into communion with God, for an "everlasting" life with God.  This everlasting description is meant to describe a quality of life, not a quantity or a time-period.  It teaches us about the life that remains after all else has passed, of a substance that outweighs all else, like Christ's words that will remain even though heaven and earth may pass away.  God calls us to a communion of life that is unsurpassed by anything else, because in suffering with us, so He also calls us to live fully in Him, to participate in Christ's life, even as He is also risen.  In His suffering, death, and eternal life, Christ is truly the Alpha and the Omega of all things, and there He calls us to be with Him as well.  In Revelation 22:13, Christ says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."  For as He suffers with us, He also calls us to live with Him.  If the story of our first ancestors tell us that, without proper preparation, they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so suffer -- then the story of Christ is the call toward the fullness of this knowledge in Him and shared with us in that sense of the eternal, that which surpasses all things, a kind of final proper destiny which Christ, our Door, opens to us.  For He is the King of all who would be saved, the One who shares life with us even to the Cross, and offers us everything in return.  For He is, above all, the God who is love.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

 

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13 

 

 On Monday, we read that, as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible comments that the demand, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible comments here that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ who is the Son of God, grants us teh privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  It further notes that God is not our Father simply because God is our Creator.  God is only Father, it says, to those in a saving and personal relationship God, a communion that only comes through the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  The word daily as used here is a misleading translation of the Greek word ἐπιούσιος/epiousios.   This compound word literally means "above the essence," or "super substantial."  So, my study Bible comments, the expression daily bread is meant to indicate not merely bread for this day, for earthly nourishment; it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, super-substantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we aren't asking only for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."   My study Bible points out to us that this request to be forgiven is plural.  Therefore we're directed always to pray for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts (everyone who is indebted to us) refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35).  

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study Bible comments that god tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), and that temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  It notes that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  It explains that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study Bible remarks that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  In patristic literature, there is a common interpretation of midnight as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides everything we need.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"   My study Bible notes that in Greek, these verbs which are rendered ask, seek, and knock are in a form that implies continuous action.  They are better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life -- here, they symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

 

 Today's reading comes "out of order," so to speak, in the recent daily readings in Luke.  We assume that this is because the lectionary is preparing us for the Feast of the Ascension, which is celebrated tomorrow in the Western Churches (and also in the Armenian Apostolic Church).  The passage above was in yesterday's reading, but it is a preparation for tomorrow's celebration of Christ's Ascension.  It is fitting that we look closely at this passage following Monday's reading, because both ask us to think about the kingdom of God.  In Monday's commentary, we drew upon the notes in my study Bible regarding the last verse, But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.  My study Bible commented that this applies to those in each generation who experience the presence of God.  Today's great emphasis on prayer, with its centerpiece of Christ giving us what we call the Lord's Prayer, greatly empowers us to seek that experience of the presence of God.  When we pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," what else are we doing besides praying for that presence of the kingdom of God?  In some sense, we are acknowledging that by living and doing Christ's commands, in praying commensurately for God the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are accepting to bear that Kingdom within ourselves and among ourselves, for it is in the living out of that will, given through Christ's commandments, that we accept to participate in that Kingdom, securing it in the world.  This is the whole basis of the Church.  In Luke's 17th chapter, Jesus tells the Pharisees, in answer to their demand to know when the kingdom of God would come, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).  That "within you" can also mean "among you" in Greek.  One presumes we are meant to understand both meanings at once, as is so often the case in the Gospels.  Furthermore, let us note carefully Christ's emphasis on the giving of the Holy Spirit as something for which we pray and plead to God.  This is the reality of the presence of the kingdom of God, for where one Person of the Trinity is present, so is the fullness of the Trinity.  If we read John's 14th chapter, Jesus tells us all about this gift of the Holy Spirit, assuring us of the link between doing Christ's commandments, and receiving this Helper.  Jesus tells the disciples, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:15-17).  And He says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:23-26).  Keeping His word is linked to the love and presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching us and dwelling with us, in the words of Christ, making Their home with us.  Let us consider, in this light, the power of prayer, and especially the power of this prayer.  For this prayer says it all.  It is the one given to us by Christ.  We need now and at all times, and in every generation, the power of the presence of the Kingdom, of Father, Son, and Spirit.  We have been given this tool and gift of prayer, of discipleship, the commandments of Christ, and most powerfully of all, the love of God.  

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 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 is 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 

 

Our recent readings take place at the Feast of Tabernacles, during the final year of Christ's life.  He has healed a man blind from birth, giving us the sixth sign of seven in the Gospel of John.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders 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.  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.   As we begin chapter 10, there is really no break in the conversation carried over from yesterday's reading which ended chapter 9:  Christ's conversation with the Pharisees continues.  As noted above, all takes place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the autumn of Christ's final year of earthly life.  My study Bible comments that Jesus here contrasts the leadership of the Pharisees with HIs own.  It says that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" coming from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  But Jesus, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  Here in these verses, my study Bible points out, Christ speaks of His intimate knowledge of every person, showing therefore that true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name, that is, personally.  Such 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, my study Bible continues, the people will respond to a true leader, trusting that he is a follower of Christ.  It quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  It is the response of the faithful which is the best indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 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 comments that, according to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, indicating both the Scriptures and the Lord Himself, as 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.  My study Bible says that the phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or genuine prophets, but rather to people claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (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."   Rather than using this door so all can see Christ's works openly, my study Bible says, false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls.  By contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life.  The ultimate thief, it says, 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."  Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd in the following ways, according to my study Bible:  First, He enters by the door; that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Second, He knows and is known by the Father.   Third, He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them.  Finally, He gives His life for the sake of His people, a direct prophesy of Christ's 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."  Other sheep, my study Bible explains, are the Gentiles.  They will be brought into one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  Therefore, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, my study Bible continues, it has been the teaching that there can be one bishop serving a  city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle which is 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 is 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 ("I lay down My life") that His life-giving death will be voluntary.  Once again, an iteration that He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  My study Bible adds that as He laid down His life for us, we lay own our lives for Him and for the sake of others.  

Jesus casts Himself here, repeatedly, in the role of the Good Shepherd.  As my study Bible pointed out, the word "pastor" comes from the Latin word for shepherd, and we should consider deeply what this means.  Christ is the Son who tends the flock of His Father.  He is not a hireling who will run when there is trouble, but He is rather the door, the gate that guards the sheepfold -- the enemy must come through Him to get to the sheep.  He is at once protector and guide.  He says that "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."  Moreover, Christ emphasizes repeatedly that He will lay down His life for 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."  There is this deep connection of knowing:   The sheep know His voice, just as the Father and the Son know one another.  In this knowing is a connection of love, for Christ will lay down His life for the sheep beloved of the Father, and given to the Son that He should not lose one of them (John 6:39).   And, more deeply powerful is the hidden context of all of this:  "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."  The love of the Father is all-encompassing; it reaches to the Son who will lay down His life and take it up again, and that love reaches to the sheep, who, in that love, will all be made one flock, no matter who we are, where we come from, when we live in this world, when we come to faith.  We are His sheep, and our gratitude must be felt that we belong to this loving Shepherd, for "greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  To be a part of His flock is to know and to be known, to be embraced and held in a kind of protective love that surpasses what we understand of love, for it is absolute and it reaches to the infinite mystery that is God.  This love embraces us and fills us, and it heals us, and it will keep on teaching us how to live by its laws and guidance.  Let us consider this Good Shepherd, and be grateful He remains so, even to the end of the age, for us.

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

In our present cycle of readings (John 7:1-10:21), Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final day of the Feast.  It is also the final year of Christ's earthly life and ministry.  He has just healed a man who was blind from birth, which is the sixth of seven signs in John's Gospel.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders did not believe concerning the 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."  My study Bible comments on today's entire reading that Jesus' conversation with the Pharisees continues, as there is no break between John 9:41 and 10:1.  This is taking place, as noted above, at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, the "last day, that great day of the feast" (John 7:37).  Jesus is contrasting their leadership with His own.  He characterizes them as failed pastors of God's people ("pastor," my study Bible reminds us, 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.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who explains that the door is God's Word, which indicates both the Scriptures and also our Lord Himself (see verses 7 and 9), as the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  Anyone 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, my study Bible notes, these false shepherds are using underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls (verse 10).  In contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).

"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.   My study Bible comments that 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.  Such pastors try to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and to express Christlike compassion for each (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, people respond to a true leader of this time, trusting that such a person is a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch is quoted:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  Truly, and in Orthodox tradition, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 7:47-49).  Note that these leaders fail to understand the things which He spoke to them (John 8:47).

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."  My study Bible explains that the phrase all who ever came before Me refers not to Moses or to genuine prophets, but rather to those claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, my study Bible says, is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, thus 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."  What does it mean that He is the good shepherd?  My study Bible says He reveals that it means He enters by the door (verse 2) -- that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself; He knows and is known by the Father (verse 15); He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them (verses 3, 14); and finally He gives His life for the sake of His people (verse 11), 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."  My study Bible explains that other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  Therefore, for instance, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, it adds, it has been the teaching of the Church that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea, AD 325), a principle affirmed in every generation.  St. Ignatius, writing to an early second century Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians, 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 states, I lay down My life:  My study Bible says that He makes it clear that 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.  

Who is the Good Shepherd?  Let us consider what a good shepherd does.  In Jesus' words, the first requirement is that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.  Is it any wonder, then, that the Cross becomes the real centerpiece of the Gospels?  It is the first thing Jesus mentions after He calls Himself "the good shepherd."  Why should it be necessary for a good shepherd to lay down His life for the sheep?  To do so is, first of all, a great sign, a manifestation of the total love this particular Shepherd has for His sheep.  Of that we can be utterly assured.  It little matters -- or perhaps we should say, it matters not at all -- to which fold we belong as His sheep.  He has one flock and one flock only.  He cares totally for the sheep, in contrast to the hireling who flees in the face of danger to the flock.  Further on, Jesus teaches, "I know My sheep, and am known by My own."  He recognizes each one of those of His flock and knows them by name, and we who are of His flock know Him.  This is, again, a communication of love.  This kind of recognition is the way that love works, when you meet that rare someone whom you can trust among a whole field of people who vie for attention.  It is a kind of knowing that goes beyond words and beyond the surface, an unfolding of knowing and communion that stretches infinitely into the future.  This kind of love means that one is never through learning more about the other, and revealing more to that other.  It happens in the depth of a marriage or even a deep friendship, but it is mitigated by that infinite love of God, the Source of love and mediator of true communion.  This is what it means to be of one flock, to know to whom you belong, and by Whom you are loved and gathered in.  And Jesus reiterates, for a third time, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."  Not only does Christ love the sheep of His whole flock, and those to come whom we don't know, but His love is tied to the love of the Father -- who gives the command which Christ voluntarily follows to lay down His life for the sheep.  For this is not a heroic soldier, not a man defending his household, a firefighter or police officer or doctor or nurse who gives heroically to save others.  This is the command that guarantees that in this voluntary sacrifice to death, Christ will defeat death for all of us, so that we can follow.  He will lay down His life so that He can take it again, and break down that barrier of death for all of us, so that the flock can follow -- so that we can have life, and have it more abundantly.  Ultimately, we are those who know His voice, even when we know no other, even if we've never known one with this kind of love -- and He has already laid down His life for that love, for you who are of His flock, for when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  He is the door of love, the key to the flock, the way for us to follow forward into life.  Even when it seems all other doors are closed, this is the one door you really need to find for that life, even life more abundantly.

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly

 

 "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 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 

 

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  We have recently read about the sixth of seven signs given in John's Gospel, the healing of the man who was blind from birth.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders in the temple did not believe concerning the healed blind 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."  Jesus' conversation with the religious rulers continues from yesterday's reading (above), while we recall that Jesus is still at the Feast of Tabernacles, on the day of its conclusion (see this reading).  My study bible points out that over the course of today's reading, Jesus contrasts these men's leadership with His own.  It says that 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 in compassion.  Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  According to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word -- which indicates 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 in accordance with the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber.    Rather than using this door so that all can see Christ's works openly, the false shepherd use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, which ultimately will destroy their souls (verse 10).   By contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).   

 

"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.  My study bible notes that as Christ has intimate knowledge of each person, so also a true pastor in the Church will seek to know their people by name; that is, personally.  These pastors seek to know each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and to possess Christ-like compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, the people will respond to a true leader, and trust that such a one is a true follower of Christ.  My study bible quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  The response of the faithful may be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 7:47-49).  

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."  My study bible tells us that the phrase all whoever came before Me does not refer to Moses or to genuine prophets, but rather to people who have claimed to be the Messiah, both before and after Christ, 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, and lures away both leaders and people.  Life means living in God's grace here on earth, my study bible tells us, while the more abundant life indicates the Kingdom to come.  

"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."  Christ reveals Himself in today's passage as the good shepherd, and has declared (in verse 2) that He enters by the door.  That is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Here He says that He knows and is known by the Father, but has also said that He knows His people personally and is therefore known by them (known by My own).   Finally, the good shepherd gives His life for the sake of His people (I lay down My life for the sheep), 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."    Other sheep are the Gentiles,  who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  Therefore, for example, my study bible says, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.   From the beginning, it notes, the teaching was that there is one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in every generation.  In the early second century, St. Ignatius wrote to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish  and Gentile Christians:  "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 very clear that His life-giving death will be voluntary.  Also, He does not separate 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.

Once again, we enter into themes of God's Word, which are so central to John's Gospel (see John 1:1).  Jesus declares, "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."    Jesus emphatically repeats, "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."  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who says that the door is God's Word -- which indicates both the Scriptures and our Lord Himself, since the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  We must remember that St. Chrysostom refers not only to the New Testament, but also the Old Testament Scriptures as well.  From the beginning, when the only Scriptures available to the Church were the Old Testament Scriptures, it has been considered so.  In this Gospel, Jesus frequently repeats the Name of God as revealed to Moses when He refers to Himself.  In Greek, this is Ego eimi, or "I Am" from Exodus 3:14.  It is the same phrase, from the Septuagint, that Jesus uses in John's Gospel, when He says, for example, "It is I; do not be afraid" in John 6:20.  The Lord speaks through the Scriptures, both Old and New.   In today's reading, Jesus couples His use of the illustrative term "the door" for Himself together with a clear prophecy of His coming Passion, His sacrificial death for the sheep.  He is at once the door by which the sheep enter and are protected, and at the same time He is the good shepherd, who will lay down His life for the sheep.  And so, a new element of what it is to be the Word is given to us:  as the good shepherd, He not only leads the sheep, but He will lay down His human life for the sheep as well.  As He will explain further on in the Gospel, this is an act of the highest love (John 15:13).  As with everything else Jesus does and is, this act of sacrifice is linked to the Father, for Christ does nothing that is outside of the command of the Father.  Jesus says, "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."   These are possibly the most powerful words in the Gospel, because we are to understand that the Word is transcendent of both life and death.  In effect, it sets the tone for our entire understanding of God:  that God is Resurrectional, and ultimately this is the true character of Jesus' ministry and power at work in the world.  Every sacrifice is meant for resurrection, to renew and to restore, to give life, to care for the sheep.  It is only the false hireling who asks sacrifices in order to steal and to destroy.  But the good shepherd, who lays down His own life for the sheep, is the One who sacrifices so that we might live and have life in abundance.  The power of the Word is not simply one category of life as opposed to death, but rather a resurrectional power.  It is a power over both life and death, and He will lay down His life in order to take it up again, that we might have not simply life, but life in abundance, as expressed in today's reading:  "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).   In effect, the Word comes into this world as a human being, voluntarily experiencing even human death, in order to destroy death for all human beings.  And this is life "more abundantly."  As followers of Christ, we must be assured that it is in the power of this Word that every death we experience (even those small "deaths" that we count as loss or failure or end), every sacrifice, and the cross that we are asked to carry, also holds with it the promise of Resurrection, Christ's power of not only life and death, but also life more abundantly.  We do not carry our crosses alone.  We do not suffer loss alone.  We don't reach "dead ends" all alone.  Our faith connects us to something deeper and greater, and this is despite the work of the hireling and the thief.  So, in today's reading, Christ adds more for us to understand about the Word:  the Word is Logos, the Word is Christ Himself, the Word is the Scriptures, which are also called the Breath of God (again, an image of "word" and spirit; see John 6:63).  But the word is also a door for the sheep, those who would enter in Christ's kingdom and be His followers, and seek God, and protection from the evil one, the thief.  Finally, though, the Word becomes the One who will sacrifice voluntarily out of an abundance of love for the sheep, and the Word is the One who promises life in abundance, even Resurrection in the defeat of death, the ultimate weapon of the thief (see 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, Hebrews 2:14-15).  So let us ask ourselves, what has died in our lives?  What do we need to allow to pass away?  For to take up our crosses and follow Him is to find that life more abundantly, and the promise of the Resurrection given to us through His love.  For these are also the power and truth of the Word.

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 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 we read that the religious leaders the did not believe concerning the healed man who was born blind, 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."   As we begin chapter 10, Jesus is continuing His conversation with the Pharisees.  This is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  My study bible comments that Jesus -- in the entirety of today's reading -- contrasts their leadership with His own.  They have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  It says 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 Christ's works openly, these false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, which ultimately destroys their souls.  By contrast, my study bible says, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (see verses 9-10).  

"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.  My study bible comments here that 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 Christ-like compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, the people will respond to a true leader, it says, trusting he is a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch is quoted as saying, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  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.  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 that the phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or to genuine prophets.  It refers, instead, to people claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).   The ultimate thief is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, in order to lure away both leaders and people.  Life, my study bible explains, means living in God's grace here on earth, and 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."   Here Jesus reveals Himself as the good shepherd."  My study bible comments that the good shepherd 1) enters by the door; in other words, 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, 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."  Other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.   Therefore, for example, the Church from its earliest beginning has transcended ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, it was the teaching that there is one bishop serving a city (I Nicea; see Canon 8), a principle affirmed in each generation.  In the early second century, St. Ignatius wrote to a Church which held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians, "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."   My study bible comments on Christ assertion I lay down My life:  Christ is clear that His life-giving death is going to be voluntary.  He doesn't do anything apart from the will of the Father.  As Christ laid down His life for us, so we also lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

There is quite a bit to unpack and think about in today's reading.  Jesus brings in all kinds of concepts that haven't been put together before.  Not only has He just mentioned that His mission into this world is concerned with judgment (see the final verses in yesterday's reading, above), but here in today's reading He reveals Himself as the good shepherd, the One who will be the shepherd for all.  What characterizes this shepherd, and how do we know Him?  First of all, He is the door.  He's the way for the sheep.  And the sheep know His voice, just as Christ knows the Father.  There is a relationship of love and of care.  He gives the sheep what they need, for them there is the word that leads to eternal life and to abundant life -- not simply in an afterlife, but here in this world, to find that grace which He can give to our lives.  It is in Him that we know and are known.  There is a union of love that characterizes our relationship to the true good shepherd, who is here for all people, Jew and Gentile, so that we are one flock.  He contrasts the good shepherd with the robbers, the thieves, the ones who lie and don't care about truth, who don't know His Father.  This is the choice we're given.  As followers of Jesus, we are asked to keep our eyes open -- even as the blind man has been healed -- to know our Good Shepherd and to truly know our leaders, so that we also identify the false ones, in whatever guise they come (Matthew 7:15).  Finally, the good shepherd is the One who will give His life for His sheep.  He has come into the world in order to so deeply identify with us that He will take on all the responsibility for the sheep, and do whatever it takes to protect them, so they may have this abundant life.  It is His enemies who will simply destroy without a thought.  And in this is cemented in the love between the Father, the Son, and the flock.  Each is inseparable in that love, for the command comes from the Father, and the Son volunteers to follow.  It's a lot to consider, but let us contrast the Good Shepherd with the thieves who don't care about the flock, for that remains pertinent with us to this day, no matter what the setting, nominal group, or nature of relationship we're talking about.  The judgment is here, hidden in these spiritual things that need a spiritual perception on our part to understand.  It needs discernment, to which He very clearly calls all of us in our capacity as rational sheep.  His flock are all those who know His voice.