Acts 2: 42 – 47; Psalm 23; I Peter 2: 19 – 25; John 10: 1 – 18
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker (read by Mr. Barney Bruce, Licensed Lay Worship Leader) and given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL on Sunday, April 13th, 2008
“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading.
Those words are so important to hear that the assigned lectionary reading for this Sunday has been expanded to include them….If you look at your preprinted lectionary insert, it gives you verses 1 – 10. But stopping at verse 10 chops up what is a closely constructed unit, Jesus’ teaching on His leadership as the Shepherd of His flock, which we know today as the Church.
In John’s typical writing style, Jesus’ words unfold, gathering meaning and importance as His discourse goes forward. It’s critical that we hear all of Jesus’ teaching about His role as Shepherd and our role as members of His flock, the Church. Hence, the addition of these eight verses, made today.
Chapter 10 of John is a turning point in John’s writing….themes that will be expanded upon later on in the Gospel are introduced here, themes we will look at briefly today.
Jesus’ argument advances by means of the two-fold use of the phrase “Truly, truly, I say to you.” Notice how the themes in this passage are advanced by the addition of new thought, each time, marked by these words, “Truly, truly.” The phrase we used in seminary to describe what Jesus is doing by His careful unfolding of what it means to be a good shepherd is to “turn the crystal”. “Turning the crystal” is an image that comes from looking at a fine piece of glass crystal, in which the light which is refracted through the glass offers varied glimpses of the aspects of the crystal itself. So Jesus, ever the “Master Storyteller”, unfolds this understanding of shepherding.
Before we begin with a closer look at today’s Gospel, let’s set the context for Jesus’ discourse. (It’s always a good idea to “set the scene”, if you will, in order to understand why Jesus says the things He does, and, in some cases, to whom - or against whom – He is speaking.)
The immediate cause of Jesus’ teaching is the refusal of the Pharisees to be good shepherds of God’s people, the Jews. Chapter nine of John’s Gospel account is entirely taken up with the healing of the man born blind. Again and again, the Pharisees ignore the great good work that Jesus accomplished by restoring the man’s sight, for these Pharisees can only see that Jesus did this marvelous thing on the Sabbath. “The Rules have been broken!” they seem to say.
In response, at chapter nine, verse 41, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of being blind themselves, saying, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”
So, the stage is now set for Jesus to contrast His leadership, His care for God’s people, with the dishonest and self-serving actions of the Pharisees.
Alas, such dishonest and self-serving leadership had often been the model that God’s people had experienced in times past….The Old Testament is full of references to these bad leaders of the past whose main interest was themselves, their positions and their power. As such, these sorts of leaders were “thieves and robbers.”
(These Old Testament passages which describe wicked and perverse leadership, when it is contrasted with God, who is described in the Old Testament as being the Shepherd of His people, seems to form the backdrop for Jesus’ discourse in chapter 10.)
It is into this category, “thieves and robbers”, that Jesus casts the Pharisees. Their main interest is themselves, their authority and their powerful position in Jewish society.
But Jesus makes it clear that they are without authority, for they do not enter by the authorized place, the door to the sheepfold. (Notice the narrator’s comment, at verse six, in which Jesus’ comments are explicitly assigned to the Pharisees.)
Jesus contrasts His proper position and authority by citing His straightforward and honest entry into the sheepfold, that is, by the door.
But He goes on to say the He, himself, has not only entered by the door, but is Himself the door. This is a thread that Jesus will pick up in greater detail in chapter 14 (which we will hear next Sunday), when we hear Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
In the process of being the shepherd, and also the door, Jesus signals the creation of a new flock. This new flock is made up of those who have heard the voice of the Shepherd.
Hearing the voice of the Shepherd is critical not only to their survival (in order to avoid thieves and robbers), but in order to be able to follow the Shepherd out into pasture, where the food which will sustain them is to be found.
Again, this thread, hearing the voice of the Shepherd (which implies being in constant contact with Him), will be taken up by Jesus in chapter 15, verse seven, where He says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” Abiding in Christ ensures that we are able to hear His voice, and are able to bear fruit as a result of that continuing relationship (chapter 15, verses 1 – 6).
Jesus now expands our understanding of His role as the Good Shepherd by the introduction of a new facet of His identity and work: He is the protector of the flock. In verse 11, we read, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
The image is of the shepherd who risks his own life in order to protect the sheep from predators and enemies.
By contrast, the imposter shepherds place their own welfare and safety above that of the flock, fleeing at the first sign of danger.
As part of the good shepherd’s “laying down his life,” Jesus makes it clear that He does the “laying down” willingly, not by the overpowering force of some external power. He continues, “No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.” (verse 18)
Jesus’ description of His death and resurrection, just heard, describes in a nutshell the understanding we have in John’s Gospel account of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection: Jesus is most in command, most in control during the events of Good Friday and Easter morning.
Now, what are we to make of Jesus’ teaching about the Good Shepherd?
Perhaps the following applications might be made:
Jesus as Shepherd exists for our benefit: Obviously, without a flock, there is no need for a shepherd. That’s the part that the Pharisees forgot: they were to serve God’s people, not the other way around.
Jesus has our welfare at heart: Notice the self-giving leadership that Jesus offers. (Contrast it with the Pharisees’ leadership.) Jesus’ commitment to the welfare of the flock extends even to the extreme of His own death.
Jesus makes some exclusive claims: “I am the door to the sheepfold,” He says, as He continues, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (verse 9). No other way is authorized for entry into the flock.
Unity in the flock is dependent on a continuous and intimate relationship with Christ: Jesus tells us that “there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (verse 16). Unity in the body of Christ is a theme that Jesus will pick up again in chapter 17, when He prays that all who believe in Him “will be one, as I and the Father are one.” (John 17: 11 paraphrased)
Many voices command the Church’s attention these days.
- Today’s Gospel asks us to consider: “are the voices that call out to us consistent with the words and message of Christ?”
- Today’s Gospel demands that we assess our faithfulness to the Gospel as we have received it in Jesus’ words, recorded in Holy Scripture.
- Today’s Gospel calls us to a deeper and more abiding relationship with Christ, the Good Shepherd, in order that we might “go in and out, and find pasture” for the nourishment of our souls and for the welfare of the flock.
May the Holy Spirit enable us to be members of God’s flock, and followers of the Good Shepherd of His people.
AMEN.
