4 Easter, Year C

“THE TRUE SHEPHERD AND THE TRUE SHEEP”
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at St. John’s Church, Centralia, Illinois; Sunday, April 25, 2010
Acts 13:15–16, 26–39; Psalm 100; Revelation 7:9–17; John 10:22–30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” 1

Today, we hear a portion of Jesus’ final encounter with the religious authorities of His day (that is, the final encounter before His passion and death).

For in chapter eleven of John’s gospel account, the story will now begin to turn to Jesus’ final days, to His suffering, death and resurrection.

But here, the authorities of Jesus’ day ask Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?”2

For, you see, during the Feast of Tabernacles some three months earlier,3 these same authorities had heard Jesus’ discourse about being the “Good Shepherd”.

Jesus has apparently continued to be in Jerusalem, for it is now winter, at the time of the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple (known today as the feast of Chanukah), which was/is celebrated in December each year. Jesus is walking in the part of the temple complex which was known as Solomon’s Portico.4

Now, Jesus picks up His earlier comments, and concludes them in today’s passage.

“My sheep know my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,” He says, adding, “And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall 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 the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”5

As we consider this passage, we would do well to be sure about the meaning of some of the terms we hear today. Let’s turn our attention to them:

The Jews: Many readers of the Fourth Gospel assume that the use of the phrase “The Jews” is meant to be an anti-Semitic remark, directed against all Jews. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As the writer of the Fourth Gospel makes clear all throughout his narrative, the use of this phrase clearly makes it applicable only to the religious leadership of Jesus’ day. It is this corrupt and self-serving leadership that is the target of the harshest words Jesus ever utters, and not the Jewish people as a whole.

Sheep/shepherd: Jesus uses a common image to contrast His leadership and His concern for the welfare of those who follow Him with the lack of leadership and lack of concern that the religious authorities have for their own people. For a glimpse into this connection, we turn to Matthew 9: 36, where we read, “When He (Jesus) saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus will refer to this general theme in His earlier discourse about being the “Good Shepherd”,6 when He contrasts His self-giving leadership with the self-serving leadership of the false shepherd.

Works: Found in verse 25, Jesus says this, “The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness to me.” This word is sometimes translated as “miracles” (the New International Version – NIV) translates the Greek word erga that way. But the clear indication of the Greek seems to convey the meaning of “works”, and if so, then the implication is that all that Jesus says and does, His teaching and His miraculous works, constitute the witness to His unity with the Father.

Now that we’ve clarified some of the aspects of today’s pericope, let’s turn our attention to the meaning and application of Jesus’ remarks, both in its original context, and in our context today.

We begin with the original context.

Jesus seems to be telling the powers-that-were 2,000 years ago that a new day was dawning, in terms of the relationship between God and humankind. He will be the new leader, the new shepherd, whose leadership will be of the servant variety. Contrasting His leadership with that of the corrupt leadership of God’s people in His day, we see an image of the good shepherd vs. the false shepherds emerging.

Next, we notice that lack of believing forms the barrier to being able to become a part of this new flock. Notice how Jesus tells His hearers that they have seen the proof of His unity with the Father in the works He has done, but those who have seen and heard “do not believe” (verse 26), adding that the reason they do not believe is because they “do not belong to my sheep.” Moving a few verses later on, we see that Jesus says that those who are part of the flock have their membership in that flock precisely because the Father has chosen and given them to the Good Shepherd. Here, we see evidence of God’s grace in action. Theologians would later come to call this sort of God’s grace prevenient grace.7 That is to say that, God has chosen and has made it possible for those who will come to believe to come to faith in Jesus before the act of faith ever takes place. Put a more simply and directly, we can say that God moves first to identify and to put the ability to believe in a person’s heart, before the person ever comes to the point of believing.

Next, we notice that the selection of the sheep is permanent. “No one is able to snatch them (the sheep) out of the Father’s hand,” Jesus says.

Now, what are the implications for us today?

Using the same pattern that we observed from the reading, we can affirm that Jesus’ servant-leadership is faithful and true. Moreover, if we return to some of His comments in the earlier discourse (John 10: 1 – 21), we see that Jesus makes it clear that His coming to earth is precisely because of the existence of the sheep. It is the presence of the sheep that makes His arrival necessary. It is the welfare of the sheep that gives His mission meaning. What was true 2,000 years ago remains true today. God the Father puts our welfare foremost in the plan to send His Son into the world, to redeem the world. (See John 3: 16 - 17.)

Next, we turn to the issue of God’s prevenient grace. Christians have debated the nature of God’s action and our acting/reacting down through the centuries. Some have felt that when we come to faith, it is only because we have been chosen and have been predestined to be among God’s elect. According to this view, we are merely spiritual pawns in God’s great plan of salvation. Certainly, I think it is fair to characterize the 16th century theologian John Calvin’s teaching in this regard. On the other side of the theological spectrum, there are other Christians who maintain that, residing within us, is a small spark of an awareness of God. We can respond to God because of the presence of this small spark, and so we do so. As we do, then God comes into the picture and assists us to become part of the flock. Whatever the exact nature of the relationship between God’s acting and our acting/reacting, which may well remain a mystery, we can say with assurance that as we become a part of the flock, we are doing so because of God’s great and eternal plan for the salvation of human beings. This would be true regardless of the sequence that takes place to establish the faith relationship, and regardless of the proportions that exist between God’s acting and our acting/reacting.

Finally, notice the permanence of the bond between God and us. I use this verse to assure persons that I counsel who are worried about their status with God….Listen to this, I say, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10: 27 – 28). Our life in God, granted to us through Jesus Christ, is permanent. If we have come to faith genuinely, then we are the Lord’s forever!

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.

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1) John 10: 27
2) The Greek in this verse is difficult to translate. Literally, what the Jews say is, “How long will you vex/annoy us?”
3) The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths, or Sukkoth in Hebrew) is a major pilgrimage feast, and is celebrated in September – October each year. It commemorates the Israelites’ wandering in the Wilderness.
4) The first century Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Solomon’s Portico was on the eastern side of the temple complex. Thus, it would have offered better protection against wintry weather than other parts of the area. It’s possible that this portion of the temple complex was the last remaining part of Solomon’s original temple, which was constructed nearly 1,000 years earlier.
5) John 10: 27 - 30
6) See John 10: 1 – 21.
7) This term requires some definition. Coming from the Latin, it literally means grace that “comes before” (prae = before, venio = to come).