Easter 4: Gospel, John 10:1-10

Does it surprise you how many times shepherds and sheep are spoken of in the Bible? Goodness they are everywhere. Almost from the outset. David is a shepherd. The Hebrew word for “king” has connotations of shepherd. The opening of Psalm 23 which we usually read as ‘The LORD is my shepherd,” is actually a compound of the name Yahweh that labels the God of Creation as a shepherd. Then there is Jesus. Announced to the world by shepherds, he takes on their “vocation” at least by name and calls Himself just outside our reading, “the good shepherd.” Can you imagine the thoughts of His hearers. Shepherd! Here we go again.

Our reading begins with Jesus telling His hearers that there are those who enter His sheepfold, His care, His employ, some by valid means and others by trickery and deceit. These are those who will lead His sheep and Jesus characterizes His sheep as those who know the difference between His voice and the prattle of liars. Jesus is the ultimate gatekeeper of the fold and He says about His own, “the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:4b-5). Note: the followers of Jesus will FLEE from false voices. And in Jesus’ day, and today, sheep know security by the very sound of the voice of their shepherd. This whole piece of John’s gospel is about false shepherds. And the sheep with good ears have them precisely because their ears are well-trained.

You hear it all the time these days. Doctrine divides. As long as you believe in Jesus nothing else matters. Really? Tell that to the martyrs of history who were beheaded, flayed or burned alive because right thinking in terms of belief mattered. Oh and wouldn’t you love to be standing next to someone in heaven when they begin to explain to Martin Luther that right teaching really wasn’t that big of a deal. Yikes! I really don’t think that will happen in heaven. :)  Jesus wants sheep with trained ears and that’s why the primary role of leaders in the church is to teach and teach and teach some more. Jesus has some pretty strong labels for pretenders. He calls them thieves and robbers.

The verse that closes our gospel reading this Sunday is one of those you find on little signs in Christian bookstores, usually taken out of context and surrounded by cute little lambs or painted angels. Here it is: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (10:10b). Oh yeah! Now that’s my kind of verse. Bring it on Good Shepherd. I like that talk about abundant living. But just what does Jesus mean? From this context and all of His teaching, He means what He always means by abundant life. Forgiveness, life and salvation. Liberty and joy from hearing and receiving the right message with good ears. Reveling in the truth. The very truth that Jesus would say in just a few chapters, transforms us into His sons and daughters, less all the wool. 

Abundant living comes as a result of faithful shepherds and teachers laboring under the Chief Shepherd who train the sheep to have good ears. Good ears that run to the good news and flee from anything that is not. Good Shepherd Jesus, continue to give faithful shepherds to Your sheep. We need them now more than ever. Amen!