Hearing the Shepherd's Voice

(And following it, too.)

There’s a lot going on in chapter 10, and a lot within this particular passage itself.

This is the fourth of the seven I AM statements in John - I am the good shepherd - where Jesus explicitly defines his identity and mission through an image. It’s one of the better known ones and a comfort to many Christians. Jesus is good. He is a shepherd. He cares. He protects. He loves. (We’ll see this even more explicitly in the last chapter.)

Jesus could have used other images to self-describe his role. He could have chosen a warrior, a captain, or an athlete—symbols of power and conquest. Instead, he chose a shepherd, an image of care, sacrifice, and personal investment in his flock. (He actually never even calls himself a king - others do, and he affirms it, but he never showed up and declared himself king.)

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The gospel of Matthew often emphasizes Jesus’ mission to the whole world, but here in John, we see a similar reality: Jesus declares that he has sheep beyond this flock.

The identifying marker as to who is a sheep of Christ is this: they listen to my voice.

“Christian” is not a label inherited, bought, or assumed. It is not a status to be claimed, but a voice to be followed.

John 10:11-21

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd.

“This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.”

There was another division among the Jews because of Jesus’ words. Many of them said, “He has a demon and has lost his mind. Why listen to him?” Others said, “These aren’t the words of someone who has a demon. Can a demon heal the eyes of people who are blind?”

Psalm 100

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy! Know that the Lord is God—he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture. Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

Prayer

God,

Help me to hear your voice. Actually, not just to hear it, but to follow it. I’m just being honest here, God: I’m so dissatisfied with so much of what the world is experiencing of your church and people who claim you. It’s tiring, it’s frustrating, and it’s disheartening. And I’m not saying that I have it all figured out.

But I know that you, in Christ, are not dominating. You are not destructive. You are not flippant, crude, or misleading. You care for those who are poor and otherwise unpowerful. In fact, I dare say you favor them. So much of this world does not align with this picture. Help me hear your voice.

I also know that you called me to pray for my enemies. So help me, God.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.