The Lord’s my shepherd
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—”
John 10:14 (NIV)
Chapter 10 of John’s gospel begins innocently enough, with Jesus telling the Pharisees what is, on the face of it, a charming pastoral tale. After 20 verses they are accusing him of being raving mad and demon possessed. And by verse 31, his Jewish opponents are fit to stone him! What was it about Jesus’s sheeply parable that really got his audience’s goat?
By claiming he was the good shepherd (v.11) he was claiming to be a king of the Davidic line. Psalms 78:70-72 tells us that God ‘…chose David his servant and took him from…tending the sheep…to be the shepherd of his people Jacob…’
By calling himself the good shepherd he was also calling himself God: “ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep…’ ” (Ezekiel 34:11-12).
By saying, “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7) he was saying that salvation could only come through him: “…whoever enters through me will be saved…” (v.9).
By stating that he would bring in “…other sheep that are not of this sheep pen…” (v.16), he was announcing that salvation was not just for the Jews, but for all peoples, everywhere.
And by alleging he had the power to give his sheep eternal life (v.28) he was affirming his oneness with the Father (v.30).
So, they accused him of blasphemy, to which he replied, “Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (vv. 37-38).
At that, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
Thankfully, the chapter has a happy ending. Verses 41-42 tell us that later, ‘many people came to him…and many believed in Jesus.’ In other words, the sheep flocked to their shepherd!
Prayer
Almighty Father, thank you that we have a good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. Help us to listen to his voice, and follow him as he leads us to abundant life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Peter Mill
About the writer:
Peter Mill is a minister in Grace Communion International and Co-Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England.
Local congregation:
Grace Communion International Central Glasgow
Garnethill Room
Conference Suite
St Andrews West
260 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4JP
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:15 am
Local congregational contact:
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church