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 leave 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 the 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 reading, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and attending the Feast of Tabernacles.  This is an autumn harvest festival commemorating the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and dwelt in tents or "tabernacles."  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  The religious leaders have sought to arrest Him and even stone Him, but unsuccessfully.  We have just read the sixth of seven "signs" in John's Gospel, the miraculous healing of a man blind from birth.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His dialogue with them, and they have been grilling the formerly blind man.  We read that the Jews 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."  Of today's entire passage, my study Bible explains that Christ's conversation with the Pharisees continues, as there is no break between the final verses of the last chapter (above) and today's reading.  All of this is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles (readings since the beginning of chapter 7 cover this events of this festival).  Here Christ contrasts the religious leadership in Jerusalem with His own.  My study Bible comments that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  It notes that their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  But Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  My study Bible says that according to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, meaning both the Scriptures and Christ our Lord Himself (verses 7, 9), 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.  Instead of using this door so that all can see Christ's works openly, these false shepherds are using underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls (verse 10).  By 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 explains that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of every person, so also true pastors in the Church seek to know their people by name; that is, personally.  These pastors, it says, seek to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and having Christ-like compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, people will respond to a true leader, whom they trust to be a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch is quoted as saying, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  My study Bible adds that 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).  

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 notes that the phrase all whoever came before Me doesn't refer to Moses or to genuine prophets, but to people who claimed to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, it says, is Satan.  Satan spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, and lures away both leaders and people.  Life in this context means living in God's grace here on earth, and life more abundantly is that of 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 leave 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 lists those characteristics as follows:  He enters by the door; that is, He fulfills. the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Secondly, Christ knows and is known by the Father (verse 15).  He also knows His people personally, and therefore He is known by them (verses 3, 14).  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 the 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, my study Bible says, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, for instance, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning centuries of the Church, it has been the Orthodox teaching that there be 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 which held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians; he 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 i 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 clearly, I lay down My life.  His life-giving death will be voluntary, and He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  As He laid down His life for us, my study Bible says, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

Christ is the good shepherd; He is our good shepherd.  And in today's reading, He gives a number of reasons why He is that good shepherd.  Strongly, Jesus affirms that "My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."  These words indicate, in the context of John's Epistle that declares to us that God is love (1 John 4:8), that the good shepherd is beloved of the Father because of the great love Christ shows for the sheep -- that He is willing to lay down His life for the sheep.  Within the embrace of Father and Son there is a union of love that includes the faithful, the sheep.  As Jesus' words seem to indicate the more that love is shared, the more love results; He is beloved because He loves -- and the Father loves in turn because the Son loves the sheep; so much so that the Son will even lay down His life out of love.  So, in this, Christ is the good shepherd.  He shows His love of and loyalty to the Father by loving the sheep to the greatest extent possible, making the greatest sacrifice because of that love.  This Jesus contrasts with the hireling, the one to whom the sheep do not truly belong, the one who presumably works simply for a wage, and not for love:  "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leave 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."   Moreover, here is the great characteristic of love, it is personal, it makes all things personal:  "To [the good shepherd] 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."  We the faithful are these sheep; we are those who are called by name: called by name out of the love so great on the part of the shepherd that He would lay down His life for us.  It's in that love that we hear His voice; we know Him and He knows us.  So where do you hear this call of love?  Can we forget that this tremendous, exalted love begins with the Father, circles through us and is once again reciprocated by the Father?  It's a great kind of dance of limitless potential and unending process, and perhaps that is also part and parcel of what makes the kind of life Christ offers "everlasting."  Moreover we must consider that it is this great circulating love that gives us life, and even life more abundantly.  If there is ever any doubt about what and Whom we follow, let us look to the heart, to this love, to its deeply personal call and voice that comes to us.  The One who loves us so much He would lay down His life, because the Father asks it, for the purpose of our life, so that we may have life more abundantly.  The one thing we need to know most assuredly is that love and that it runs through us.  This is where we know and are known.  For this, He is the One in whom we trust.

 

 

 

 

What is truth?

 

 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  

 

Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  

 

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king them?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  

 

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.  But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover.  Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!"  Now Barabbas was a robber.

 

- John 18:28–40

 

Yesterday we read that, following Christ's arrest and His being taken to the home of the high priest for a night trial, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.  The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.  Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world.  I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and  in secret I have said nothing.  Why do you ask Me?  Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them.  Indeed they know what I said."  And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest like that?"  Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?"  Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.  Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed. 

 

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.    My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom here.  St. Chrysostom notes the irony that Christ's accusers apparently do not fear being defiled by condemning an innocent Man to death -- but at the same time, they would not set foot into a court of justice (they themselves did not go into the Praetorium).   

 

 Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."    Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  My study Bible comments that since the chief priests of the Jews had no actual crime with which to make an accusation against Jesus, Pilate here refuses to pass judgment.  When the chief priests tell him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," they are not referring to the Law of Moses.  Instead, they are referring to the laws of Roman occupation, which Pilate knows well, as the Romans reserved the right to execute people.  So, therefore, the chief priests are relying on Pilate to sentence Jesus to death.  Moreover, under Jewish law, stoning was prescribed as the usual means of execution.  But, my study Bible notes, Jesus has prophesied that He would be killed by being lifted up on the Cross (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33), as He had foreknowledge that He would die, not at the hands of the Jews, but by the Roman method of crucifixion.

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king them?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."   My study Bible comments that it is unheard of that the accused would have to name the charges against himself in any court, as it is the captors who would be the ones to name the crime.  It says that since Pilate has to ask Jesus what the charges are, it shows that the chief priests could not name any crime He might have committed.  More importantly, this shows that Jesus was the Lord over the events of His death (see John 18:4, 8).  Even the governor has to come to Christ in order for His trial to proceed. 

 

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.  But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover.  Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!"  Now Barabbas was a robber.   Today's lectionary reading only extends to verse 38, but I have added on the final two verses of the chapter, as they apply to my study Bible's observation.  It says that although Pilate knows Christ to be innocent of any crime, he here attempts to strike a compromise with the Jews by declaring Christ guilty, but freeing Him on account of the Passover.  In this way, the chief priests would get their official declaration of guilt, and at the same time Christ would not be unjustly punished.  

It's interesting to ponder Pilate's question, "What is truth?"  To the religious Jews of the Council, and in particular to the Pharisees, perhaps notions of truth would already have some historical religious or spiritual context or meaning.  But Pilate here is the voice of a world without the religious background of the Jews and Jewish spiritual history.  His question, perhaps, comes in the context of the classical educational understanding of the Roman and Greek world, in particular, one assumes of the philosophers, logicians, mathematicians, and even the poets and playwrights.  The question of Pilate, "What is truth?" is not something that comes out of what we now would call secular society, but in a sense it is related to our modern popular concepts of secularism.   That is, it doesn't come from the religious understanding we know that Jesus encompasses in His fullness.  However, that does not mean that our every day or "secular" notions of truth are absent from Christ's truth.  Christ embraces a deeper and fuller notion of truth, one that includes the Creator of all and things divine and spiritual -- without leaving out our common understanding of the word.  When Pilate asks, "What is truth?" it seems that we might assume the irony here is not lost at all on the original hearers of this Gospel, nor on St. John (the author of the Gospel) at all.  For Pilate's truth embraces this sort of hopeless compromise, that makes no real internal logical sense, but instead makes sense only in terms of expedience.  In that sense, it's not really a true compromise at all, because there is no internal cohesion to the logic of both condemning Christ and setting Him free.  More importantly, the truth is missing from this compromise, for Christ is neither guilty of the charges made against Him (something Pilate knows already), and neither is He embraced by the people as their King, but rather rejected by this crowd stirred up by the religious rulers.  So neither outcome would be, in fact, "true."  Neither is Christ a king in the secular sense of the Gentiles, or in the sense of those who await a Jewish Messiah in imitation of King David.  He fits none of these things in truth.  So while Pilate is coming from an entirely different perspective and cultural understanding, his own notions of truth are incomplete and even self-contradictory, an indication of something that will not stand forever (see Christ's parable of a kingdom divided against itself here).  From the point of view of the Gentile world, and those of us whose ancestors came from the pagan cultures of the Greco-Roman world and its universal influence, we should understand our early Christian forbears as those for whom the greater truth of Christ made such an astounding and transformational impact on the society, and how these great empires were to eventually become Christian.   When we encounter falsehoods cloaked in expedient solutions, half-truths, partial understanding disguised as truth, and all manner of self-contradictory things professed to us as new ideas and concepts, we, also, should remember this greater fullness of truth that so impacted the ancient world.  Even with its tremendous heritage of culture, education, art, poetry, science, and so much more, Christ became the fullness of the truth they had been reaching toward.  Modern facile assumptions that Christian holidays or celebrations simply supplanted ancient ones in order to wield influence are mistaken, particularly in their underestimation of the intelligence of our ancient peoples.   If the solstice had spiritual meaning for the ancients because of the light growing in the world, it would come to have a fuller and deeper meaning in commemorating the Light who is Christ coming into the world.  If the ancients understood truth as central to logic, truth would take on even greater dimensions in the spiritual reality of Christ as the Word or Logos.  If life was to be cherished, it would become something vastly more wealthy and productive in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life.  Greek philosophy was not abandoned, but instead used to create theology and serve the Church.  Architecture and art became even more splendid in the great cathedrals and iconography of the Church.  The literature of classical culture was preserved in monasteries where notions of heroism, of truth, of goodness, and love were deepened and expanded in the nobility and even humility of Christ -- which was offered not to a few elite, but to all of us, even to slaves.  Let us understand Pilate's question, and how it would come to be answered in Christ.  Let us observe how those of the ancient world did not simply reject the good things of their past, but rejoiced in the greater fullness of truth offered in Christ.   They would come to understand that whatever was true, or good, or beautiful served the Person who was truth.  That is, a greater truth of righteousness and grace, which embraced, enhanced, and uplifted what they knew to be true, and good, and beautiful. 

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 current reading, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  As we began chapter 9 of John's Gospel, Jesus healed a man blind from birth, something unprecedented in the Scriptures.  But 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."  Here, as we begin chapter 10 in John's Gospel, the conversation with the Pharisees continues; there is no break between the final verses of chapter 9, and this beginning of 10.  All of this takes place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn festival commemorating the time Israel wandered in the wilderness, and the people lived in tabernacles (or tents).  My study Bible comments that here Jesus contrasts the leadership of the Pharisees with His own.  They have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and lacks compassion.  Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  My study Bible adds that, according to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, indicating both the Scriptures and Christ Himself (see verses 7, 9), as the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  One who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber.  Rather than using this door so all can see His works openly, these false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, which ultimately destroys their souls (verse 10).  In contrast, the 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 explains that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of each person, so also a true pastor in the Church will strive to know God's people by name, that is, personally.  Such pastors strive to know each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, expressing Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return people will respond to a true leader, trusting that such a leader is a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch writes, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  My study Bible comments further that indeed, 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).  

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 phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or genuine prophets, my study Bible explains, 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). 

 "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 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, and the more abundant life, my study Bible says, 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 Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd, and He teaches what that means.  He enters by the door (see verse 2, above), meaning that He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  He knows and is known by the Father.  He knows His people personally, and is known by them (verses 3, 14).  Finally, 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."  My study Bible says that the other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, it adds, it has been the Orthodox teaching that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in each 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 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."  Here, my study Bible says, Christ is clear that His life-giving death is voluntary.  He does nothing apart from the will of the Father.  As He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives  for Him and for the sake of others.

In the final verses of today's reading, Jesus says, "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."  It seems that these verses, coming together, indicate very clearly that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross will bring all together -- all the sheep should become one fold.  While we have many denominations of those who claim to follow Christ, and disagreements among them, it is clear that the Door is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.  In writing this blog, I endeavor to address as many of that one flock as possible, because I believe that is important.  In the following chapter of John's Gospel, we will read that Caiaphas, as high priest that year, exhorts his fellow rulers to do away with Christ, saying, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (John 11:49-50).  This is seen as an unwitting prophecy, made for one purpose by a man, but prophetic of Christ's "lifting up" on the Cross, from the chair of the high priest.  This is one profound part of the meaning of the Cross, as it becomes a part of the reality of the Door for the sheep, that door by which all of us must go to the abundant life Christ promises.  It is, for this reason, a symbol of salvation, and remains so.  It also symbolizes the defeat of the thief who does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  Under the Cross, the sheep are united in a mystical reality, that pervades all things, places, peoples, walks of life.  This is not to say that it is some magical formula in which all are made one; rather, those with faith, who perceive in His words "spirit and life" and who know they have found the Door, are of one flock.  Let us live as His sheep, hearing His voice and not that of strangers, in faith following His words, as we are known by Him and may be known by one another.  

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand

 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  

 

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."

 

- John 10:19-30 

 

In our current cycle of readings (John 7:1-10:21), Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles.  It is the final year of His earthly life and ministry.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking to the Pharisees, who now seek to seize Him:   "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." 

 

Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"   We end Jesus' time at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21) with division among the leadership regarding Him.  My study Bible asks us to observe that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by signs, but perceive the holiness of His words.  

 

 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."   John's Gospel turns to another feast in Jerusalem, the Feast of Dedication, which is also known as the "Festival of Lights" (or Hanukkah).  The Feast of Tabernacles is an autumn festival; we are now in winter, and it is approximately three months later.  The Feast of Dedication commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1 - 4).  At this festival, my study Bible explains, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, may of whom were themselves shepherds.  Here once again, we remember that the term the Jews is used as a political term in John's Gospel, and it most frequently designates those in the religious leadership who are hostile to Him, not the people.  Jesus and His disciples, including the author of this Gospel, are all Jews.

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me."  My study Bible comments that both what Christ told them and the works He had done have already answered their question.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (as prophesied in Isaiah 35:5, 42:7), a prerogative which belongs only to God (Psalm 146:8), or perform the miracles (the works that I do) that bear witness to Him.  Additionally, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as had Christ (John 7:46, 9:21).  

"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  My study Bible points out Christ's words, as I said to you, which indicate that these are the same Pharisees whom He addressed three months earlier at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 10:1-5; see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus once again returns to the theme He so often emphasizes and which underlies both His words and works, His communion with the Father, which links Christ to His sheep who hear His voice.

 

Jesus returns repeatedly in John's Gospel, and especially as we have progressed through His various signs and teachings, to Christ's relationship to the Father.  It's very important that we understand the repeated emphasis not only on Christ's relationship with God the Father, but also how that communion includes Christ's sheep.  There is a connection between the Father, Christ, and the sheep who "hear Christ's voice" and respond to it.  This is also linked to Peter's confession and Jesus' response to him in Matthew's Gospel, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven" (see Matthew 16:17-18).   It is upon this faith that Christ's church is built -- this communion that runs between Father, Son, and those who are capable of hearing His voice, for whom His words have meaning and impact.  Let us look more closely at Christ's words and the fullness of meaning in today's reading, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  The level of absolute confidence that Christ expresses here seems to be extraordinary:  His sheep hear His voice, He knows them and they follow Him.  He gives them eternal life -- an no one will take them away from Him, because no one can take them from the Father who is greater than all.  These are statements of unshakeable confidence; there is no hesitation nor wavering nor guessing, but total faith in what He is saying.  Moreover, one cannot help but feel awe at the confidence expressed in us, the sheep who follow Him, that we are not going to be lost.  He is clearly speaking of future generations to come, the generations of the Church, of the faithful, the sheep who continue today to come to Him even two millennia later.  We should be blessed by this absolute confidence, because these words include all of us.  They should not only give us pause, but also give us the confidence of His love, that we will never be let go, and that whatever forces seek to snatch us away from the love of God will not prevail, because, as Jesus declares here, "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand" and "I and My Father are one."  The rest of us, we sheep who follow, cannot speak with such confidence.  We know that we are not perfect, that we are always in need of humility and of our own vigilance in seeking to deepen, strengthen, shore up our faith, and help one another to do so.  But Christ speaks with confidence for all of us, because this confidence that we need is in Him, and it is in the Father who is greater than all.  We might not be able to put this kind of confidence into ourselves and our own potential for fallibility, but our trust and confidence may be placed in Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and there we stand in faith, for they shall not fail.