The Shepherd And His Flock
Preaching
Preaching the Parables
Series II, Cycle A
Object:
"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
Not many people today are very familiar with shepherding as it was done in the first century. They are familiar with the frequent use of the image of sheep and the shepherd if they have a background in the scriptures. Many pictures portray Jesus as a shepherd. It is embodied often in stain glass windows or in children's Sunday school materials.
Still, it is difficult to conceive of any other image today which would as satisfactorily communicate the caring and sacrificial nature of Jesus' ministry. What would convey the ideas as fully in the largely urbanized and industrialized culture of western civilization as a whole? Perhaps it would be the care that some people give their pets, though that would lack the sense of a flock that needs the care of a shepherd.
Perhaps it would be the doctor who looks after the health of a community. Even that lacks something of the personal attention and care, especially with our high-tech medical system and the tendency for detached specialization. Often the doctor is seen only briefly and other personnel are the primary contact for the patient.
So we need to continue to revert to the customs and practices of the shepherd and the meaning of sheep in the Near Eastern culture of Jesus' time. We need to fill it with the kind of meaning it would have had for Jesus' early companions and others who would have heard his teachings.
Context
Context of the Church Year
This reading of the Lectionary comes in the Easter season. It is the time when the church is most conscious of the sacrificial meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection. His care for his disciples and for his mother even in the midst of his suffering and agony in confronting the cross reinforce the image of him as a shepherd concerned for his flock.
Context of the Scripture
The scripture has many references to the shepherd and the sheep. In the Old Testament period, both for Israel and for countries around them, the king was considered a shepherd. You find the transfer of this to God in the Old Testament in passages such as Psalms 78:70-72, 118:20. The shepherd comes to be identified with God in Psalm 23 and 80, and Isaiah 40. The intruder into the flock or the sheepfold is alluded to in Jeremiah 23:1-4. Jesus certainly must have had Ezekiel 34 in mind when delivering John 10. In that passage a clear identification of the shepherd with a messiah king of David's type is given. While Jesus reinterprets the kind of messiah he is, somewhat different from the David type, the hearers familiar with Ezekiel 34 would most likely have made the connection between Jesus as the shepherd and the expectation of the shepherd messiah.
In Israel and later in Judaism, the sheep was the sacrificial animal acceptable to God. Jesus himself replaces it and thus the need for the use of a sheep as a substitute for human or animal sacrifice no longer is needed. The sacrifice of Jesus and the identification of his followers with his death and resurrection creates a new religious relationship for them. This is expressed in Hebrews 13:20 which describes Jesus as "the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant."
Context of John 9 and 10
Some would contend that the events of John 9 finally convinced Jesus that he could not expect to reform the system of Judaism as an institution. The decision of the leaders to excommunicate from the synagogue any who would follow him led Jesus to conclude that some institutional form was needed to gather his followers together in community. They would consider the images of the sheep and the shepherd in chapter 10 the beginning of the church. The events in Acts where the church formally gathered and eventually became separate from Judaism have their origins here in the life of Jesus.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Acts 2:42-47) This reading gives us the picture of the early church as it still gathered and attempted to stay within Judaism. While it continued in temple worship, it instituted other forms of communal worship and sharing to bring together and maintain the flock which followed Jesus as the shepherd.
The Second Lesson. (1 Peter 2:19-25) This passage is rich in the symbolism of the shepherd and the sheep. The example of Jesus who gave his life to save his sheep is the basic thought at the beginning of the lesson. It moves on to the continuing purpose of Jesus as the shepherd who saves the souls of those who follow him. Without following the shepherd, they are like sheep who go astray and fall victims to the dangers of the world.
Gospel. (John 10:1-10) The reading contains the familiar parable of the good shepherd. It portrays the type of ministry that Jesus exercises in gathering his followers after the decision in John 9 to expel from the synagogue those who confessed him as the Messiah.
Psalm 23. Persons who are ill, who face death, who are aware of the frailty of human life on this earth probably look to this psalm more frequently than any other. Pastors are asked to read this for persons seeking solace and comfort in such situations. For Christians, the image of Jesus as the shepherd would help them to personalize the care and support of God.
Putting it all Together
The sheep is a very vulnerable animal. It has no weapons to defend itself. It is also not a very bright animal. If it is separated from the flock and on its own, it can get lost. In the hilly country of Palestine, it could easily get into a situation where it would be stuck. It could fall over a precipice or its wool might get caught in brambles and it would not be able to extricate itself. In either case the sheep on its own would eventually die.
Jesus sees his followers as persons in need of help in order to be saved. In the midst of a world with all its allures and dangers, they need protection and aid. He offers that as the Good Shepherd and as the sacrificial lamb willing to bring them into the care and protection of God.
He also warns them against those who would exploit the human need for religious support and certainty. Such persons are the ones against whom he pronounced his harshest words. Because religion provides the transcendent meaning to human life, those who lead persons astray are the most dangerous. The blindness of the religious leaders who could not accept the healing of the blind man and his further response to Jesus is a model for all persons who may be rejected by those who are false religious leaders.
Content
Content of the Pericope
The pericope has two sections to it. The first is found in John 10:1-6 and the second in John 10:6-10.
In the first part the emphasis is on the persons who would prey on the sheep, who lack qualifications as the true shepherd. They are contrasted with the true shepherd who puts his very life at stake for the good of the sheep. The disciples do not yet understand the full import of the statement prior to the crucifixion and resurrection. They do not see the contrast between Jesus as the good shepherd and the religious leaders who had just prosecuted and rejected the man who would follow Jesus and find salvation in him.
The second part makes much more explicit Jesus' claim to be the messianic shepherd. The passage contains one of the "I am" claims of Jesus so frequently found in John and only in the gospel according to John. Jesus states, "I am the gate for the sheep." This reinforces another of his claims, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Jesus is the way people can enter into the kingdom and know salvation, the consequence is the discovery of the real meaning of life. Jesus' way is the way of life as contrasted with the way of death.
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Very Truly." (v. 1) For Jesus, truth is not propositional. It is real being; it is life. He emphasizes the point he is about to make by claiming that it reveals what is the reality, not the appearance of real existence.
2. "Sheepfold." (v. 1) The image here is of the typical enclosure for the sheep in Palestine. It was a courtyard surrounded by a stone wall. It was the entry way to the house as well as for the animals. It would provide a secure place for the sheep, protecting them from weather, predatory animals and thieves.
3. "Thieves/Bandits." (vv. 1, 8) A person's chief wealth often would consist of his sheep. They provided wool for clothing, milk to drink, meat for food, and even covering for a tent as shelter. Sheep also sometimes served as a medium for exchange. They also would provide the sacrificial animal for religious observances, both in the temple and in the passover meal in the home. They might serve as a burnt offering, a guilt offering or a peace offering. Thieves or bandits would seek to steal the animals for their own use. They might climb over the stone wall and take the animals if no one was standing guard over them.
4. "Gate." (vv. 2, 7) An opening in the stone wall allowed both persons and the animals to enter and leave in the normal way. Often no obstruction prevented either the animals or persons from entering and leaving freely. A shepherd would sleep across the entrance so that no bandits or wolves would enter easily or the sheep wander out from the security of the sheepfold.
5. "Hear his voice." (v. 3) Often a shepherd would be responsible for many sheep. Shepherds would be hired by owners to care for a few animals when someone did not have enough to make it worth spending full time caring for them. In a mixed flock it would be hard to separate the sheep belonging to different owners. An owner would be able to call his sheep and they would come to him. As sheep, we are to recognize the call that comes to us from a leader who is the authentic shepherd, the one to whom we should belong.
6. "Calls his own." (v. 3) The man born blind had recognized the validity of Jesus' claim. Just as sheep respond to the call of the one to whom they belong, those who belong to Jesus will recognize his voice and respond to him.
Homily Hints
1. What's in a Name. The name of Jesus is not just some magical mantra or term. It refers to his real character, both in his humanity and in his divinity. What then do we see in Jesus when we call upon his name?
A. Jesus shows the true meaning of humanity.
B. Jesus is the role model.
C. Following Jesus fulfills our humanity.
2. Life Abundant. A life centered in self is not a big enough meaning for life. Persons need to give themselves to something bigger, more meaningful, and with a larger purpose.
A. Losing life is finding it.
B. Self-preservation versus self-sacrificing.
C. True happiness is not the end, but the by-product.
3. Pastoral Leadership. In the church, the definition of leadership is different from the world. In the world it is self-assertion and self-seeking. In the church it is by servanthood, following the model of Jesus.
A. A Pastor leads by attraction, not force.
B. A Pastor leads by gaining trust of his followers.
C. A Pastor leads the flock by self-giving.
4. The Church as a Sheepfold. People need the care and support of community. The church can serve for those who are wounded in spirit and need time for support and protection.
A. Enter by Christ's call.
B. Find real community.
C. Welcomed and belong because of need.
D. Mutual support offered and received.
5. Know His Voice. (v. 4) False prophets appear from time to time. They claim to have a message from God and may attract a following. Persons need help in recognizing the false prophets from the genuine call of Jesus as the good Shepherd.
A. Voice accords with scripture
B. Voice does not serve self-interest
C. Voice and life authentically relates to Christ
Points of Contact
1. Listen to Him. Jesus did not so much call people to believe him, but to follow him. Of course, one cannot follow a person very long unless one believes in him. In another sense, one cannot really test the reality of a person unless you follow closely enough to test whether his life and message is genuine. The final proof of a person's convictions about Jesus is the readiness to accept discipleship, to learn from him and to follow him so that the person's life shows that the character and nature of Christ has become a part of self. Just as sheep follow the good shepherd in implicit trust, the life of discipleship calls for following Jesus' teachings and commands in complete trust that it is conforming to the meaning of life.
2. Salvation by Jesus Alone. Salvation comes by a change of life. It is not enough to give some intellectual consent or to use some magic formula which guarantees salvation. Salvation comes by presenting oneself to the God whom Jesus revealed in his life and by accepting his saving grace. One then proceeds to show in life that the presence of his Holy Spirit has entered into one's life and renewed it, enabling one to live in obedience. Salvation is not simply a claim but becomes a reality. Life becomes like Jesus. Even those who may not have heard the story of Jesus but whose life manifests their response to the light of God given to them have understood something about Jesus without having the name to give to it. In this sense, salvation may be possible by grace because they have understood the reality which gives the full meaning to life as God intends it to be.
3. The Shepherd as a Model for Leadership. Jesus in the parable of the good shepherd gives another indication of the model for leadership in the kingdom and therefore in the church. It is not a leadership characterized by domination for the leader's privilege and power. Rather leadership is intended as servanthood. The good shepherd serves the interest of the sheep. Leadership in the church should not be a struggle for power and privilege for fulfillment of personal ambitions. It should be as an opportunity to serve the flock of God and manifest God's love even to those in the world not part of God's flock.
4. The Church under Persecution. In many parts of the world the church is in danger. In some countries with a large Moslem population, such as Egypt, Christians may be the target of terrorist attacks. It is often the leaders of the church who are particularly vulnerable. When Ethiopia was under a Marxist government, the Christian churches were suppressed. Their buildings were confiscated. Leaders were imprisoned. But the members met in homes and the church grew despite the persecution. A good shepherd will recognize the risk and will seek to provide for the flock; so in situations such as Ethiopia, the leaders continued to serve the congregations despite the dangers. Some Ethiopian churches grew despite the oppression and danger. When the Marxist rule collapsed with the end of the cold war, the churches proved to be larger than before and grew rapidly.
In Indonesia during the '60s, a group of Marxists tried to take over the government by revolution. They were opposed by a Moslem dominated government. A bloodbath resulted. Some Christian leaders were martyred because they did not identify with either party in the conflict and were then suspect by both. After the revolution was suppressed, many persons were attracted to the Christian church because of its stance during the war and its readiness to serve the needs of the people regardless of religious persuasion or political affiliation.
In China during the so-called Cultural Revolution, Christian leaders were arrested or forced into hard labor. They remained steadfast, nevertheless. When the Cultural Revolution was past and more toleration of diversity was permitted, the church emerged again and some of the leaders led a revival in the churches. Recently contacts which had remained essentially ruptured since World War II were renewed and a faithful remnant was discovered to be present yet. A church independent of a mission or missionaries survived under local leadership.
5. Gang Membership. People get their identity in part from community. A problem with our urban and mass society is the loss of community. Young people seeking identity form gangs to recover a sense of identity and a support community. Usually the gangs have been males. More recently accounts are told of young women who want to be members of the gang. A roll of the dice tells how many members of the gang they must sleep with to be initiated into the gang.
Gang membership is not a true community. It does not point the way to life. It often leads to death, either from contracting AIDS from the sexual relationships or in the gang warfare over turf, with the almost random drive-by shootings.
Some young people in the church have found their identity by the challenge of voluntary service. They have participated in such projects as Habitat for Humanity or helping in flood relief following the floods in the midwest in 1993, or in cleaning up after earthquakes in California. Young people who have challenges such as these do not need gangs to give them a sense of identity. They find a true community in the church and in reaching out in service.
True shepherds will provide leadership where persons can find a real sense of identity, a challenge to service, and a community of support that reaches beyond their own interests and needs.
6. Who is in the Sheepfold? While the sheepfold is a shelter for security for the sheep, it is in danger of becoming a barrier to others to enter. How does the church provide a place of shelter and security for its members without engendering an "us" versus "them" mentality? A good shepherd will be constantly alert to bring any who are willing into the sheepfold.
Illustrative Material
1. Respond to the Voice. An ambassador from a South American country was visiting a church-related college. On the way from the airport, he began to inquire of his host what the nature of the church was that supported the college. He asked about the beliefs of the college community. He became intrigued by what he was told. He asked for some literature about the college and its denomination. The host gave him a book about the history and beliefs of the college's supporting denomination.
The next morning the ambassador was very excited. He had found the book so interesting that he had stayed up all night reading it. His reaction to it was that it said what he had always believed but he had never had terms to express it fully. This book gave him the name for what he really believed.
2. In His Steps. A pastor in Kansas needed stories to tell a youth group to have them understand what Christianity is about. In each session, he told them a story to take them through a process of understanding. A reporter from a Chicago newspaper heard about the success he was having and the enthusiasm of the young people in response. He obtained permission to publish these stories as a serial in the newspaper. Eventually they were gathered into a book titled In His Steps. It became the most popular best-seller of its time, only exceeded by the Bible itself.
3. Leadership. Two five-year-old boys were playing together. They decided they were going to play parade. They got into a big argument about who was going to head the parade. The argument went on for some time. Finally, one of the boys said in exasperation, "Okay, you be the leader. Get behind me and let's go!" And the other boy did!
4. Power of the Name. Certain primitive people understood that the name of the person told something of the person's real nature. Thus you had in biblical times changes of names when persons changed character. Abram became Abraham; Jacob became Israel; Simon became Peter; and Saul became Paul. If you knew the name of the persons, you could have some power over them. Some people were reluctant to give persons their names for fear they would exercise some power over them and it might not be good.
____________
In modern times people sometimes change their names because they want to project a different image of themselves than they had before. This frequently happens when persons go from grade school to high school, or high school to college. One way to do it is to switch to using the middle name from the first name. Others want to abandon a nickname which identified them with some characteristic which they hope they have outgrown or moved beyond.
Not many people today are very familiar with shepherding as it was done in the first century. They are familiar with the frequent use of the image of sheep and the shepherd if they have a background in the scriptures. Many pictures portray Jesus as a shepherd. It is embodied often in stain glass windows or in children's Sunday school materials.
Still, it is difficult to conceive of any other image today which would as satisfactorily communicate the caring and sacrificial nature of Jesus' ministry. What would convey the ideas as fully in the largely urbanized and industrialized culture of western civilization as a whole? Perhaps it would be the care that some people give their pets, though that would lack the sense of a flock that needs the care of a shepherd.
Perhaps it would be the doctor who looks after the health of a community. Even that lacks something of the personal attention and care, especially with our high-tech medical system and the tendency for detached specialization. Often the doctor is seen only briefly and other personnel are the primary contact for the patient.
So we need to continue to revert to the customs and practices of the shepherd and the meaning of sheep in the Near Eastern culture of Jesus' time. We need to fill it with the kind of meaning it would have had for Jesus' early companions and others who would have heard his teachings.
Context
Context of the Church Year
This reading of the Lectionary comes in the Easter season. It is the time when the church is most conscious of the sacrificial meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection. His care for his disciples and for his mother even in the midst of his suffering and agony in confronting the cross reinforce the image of him as a shepherd concerned for his flock.
Context of the Scripture
The scripture has many references to the shepherd and the sheep. In the Old Testament period, both for Israel and for countries around them, the king was considered a shepherd. You find the transfer of this to God in the Old Testament in passages such as Psalms 78:70-72, 118:20. The shepherd comes to be identified with God in Psalm 23 and 80, and Isaiah 40. The intruder into the flock or the sheepfold is alluded to in Jeremiah 23:1-4. Jesus certainly must have had Ezekiel 34 in mind when delivering John 10. In that passage a clear identification of the shepherd with a messiah king of David's type is given. While Jesus reinterprets the kind of messiah he is, somewhat different from the David type, the hearers familiar with Ezekiel 34 would most likely have made the connection between Jesus as the shepherd and the expectation of the shepherd messiah.
In Israel and later in Judaism, the sheep was the sacrificial animal acceptable to God. Jesus himself replaces it and thus the need for the use of a sheep as a substitute for human or animal sacrifice no longer is needed. The sacrifice of Jesus and the identification of his followers with his death and resurrection creates a new religious relationship for them. This is expressed in Hebrews 13:20 which describes Jesus as "the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant."
Context of John 9 and 10
Some would contend that the events of John 9 finally convinced Jesus that he could not expect to reform the system of Judaism as an institution. The decision of the leaders to excommunicate from the synagogue any who would follow him led Jesus to conclude that some institutional form was needed to gather his followers together in community. They would consider the images of the sheep and the shepherd in chapter 10 the beginning of the church. The events in Acts where the church formally gathered and eventually became separate from Judaism have their origins here in the life of Jesus.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Acts 2:42-47) This reading gives us the picture of the early church as it still gathered and attempted to stay within Judaism. While it continued in temple worship, it instituted other forms of communal worship and sharing to bring together and maintain the flock which followed Jesus as the shepherd.
The Second Lesson. (1 Peter 2:19-25) This passage is rich in the symbolism of the shepherd and the sheep. The example of Jesus who gave his life to save his sheep is the basic thought at the beginning of the lesson. It moves on to the continuing purpose of Jesus as the shepherd who saves the souls of those who follow him. Without following the shepherd, they are like sheep who go astray and fall victims to the dangers of the world.
Gospel. (John 10:1-10) The reading contains the familiar parable of the good shepherd. It portrays the type of ministry that Jesus exercises in gathering his followers after the decision in John 9 to expel from the synagogue those who confessed him as the Messiah.
Psalm 23. Persons who are ill, who face death, who are aware of the frailty of human life on this earth probably look to this psalm more frequently than any other. Pastors are asked to read this for persons seeking solace and comfort in such situations. For Christians, the image of Jesus as the shepherd would help them to personalize the care and support of God.
Putting it all Together
The sheep is a very vulnerable animal. It has no weapons to defend itself. It is also not a very bright animal. If it is separated from the flock and on its own, it can get lost. In the hilly country of Palestine, it could easily get into a situation where it would be stuck. It could fall over a precipice or its wool might get caught in brambles and it would not be able to extricate itself. In either case the sheep on its own would eventually die.
Jesus sees his followers as persons in need of help in order to be saved. In the midst of a world with all its allures and dangers, they need protection and aid. He offers that as the Good Shepherd and as the sacrificial lamb willing to bring them into the care and protection of God.
He also warns them against those who would exploit the human need for religious support and certainty. Such persons are the ones against whom he pronounced his harshest words. Because religion provides the transcendent meaning to human life, those who lead persons astray are the most dangerous. The blindness of the religious leaders who could not accept the healing of the blind man and his further response to Jesus is a model for all persons who may be rejected by those who are false religious leaders.
Content
Content of the Pericope
The pericope has two sections to it. The first is found in John 10:1-6 and the second in John 10:6-10.
In the first part the emphasis is on the persons who would prey on the sheep, who lack qualifications as the true shepherd. They are contrasted with the true shepherd who puts his very life at stake for the good of the sheep. The disciples do not yet understand the full import of the statement prior to the crucifixion and resurrection. They do not see the contrast between Jesus as the good shepherd and the religious leaders who had just prosecuted and rejected the man who would follow Jesus and find salvation in him.
The second part makes much more explicit Jesus' claim to be the messianic shepherd. The passage contains one of the "I am" claims of Jesus so frequently found in John and only in the gospel according to John. Jesus states, "I am the gate for the sheep." This reinforces another of his claims, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Jesus is the way people can enter into the kingdom and know salvation, the consequence is the discovery of the real meaning of life. Jesus' way is the way of life as contrasted with the way of death.
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Very Truly." (v. 1) For Jesus, truth is not propositional. It is real being; it is life. He emphasizes the point he is about to make by claiming that it reveals what is the reality, not the appearance of real existence.
2. "Sheepfold." (v. 1) The image here is of the typical enclosure for the sheep in Palestine. It was a courtyard surrounded by a stone wall. It was the entry way to the house as well as for the animals. It would provide a secure place for the sheep, protecting them from weather, predatory animals and thieves.
3. "Thieves/Bandits." (vv. 1, 8) A person's chief wealth often would consist of his sheep. They provided wool for clothing, milk to drink, meat for food, and even covering for a tent as shelter. Sheep also sometimes served as a medium for exchange. They also would provide the sacrificial animal for religious observances, both in the temple and in the passover meal in the home. They might serve as a burnt offering, a guilt offering or a peace offering. Thieves or bandits would seek to steal the animals for their own use. They might climb over the stone wall and take the animals if no one was standing guard over them.
4. "Gate." (vv. 2, 7) An opening in the stone wall allowed both persons and the animals to enter and leave in the normal way. Often no obstruction prevented either the animals or persons from entering and leaving freely. A shepherd would sleep across the entrance so that no bandits or wolves would enter easily or the sheep wander out from the security of the sheepfold.
5. "Hear his voice." (v. 3) Often a shepherd would be responsible for many sheep. Shepherds would be hired by owners to care for a few animals when someone did not have enough to make it worth spending full time caring for them. In a mixed flock it would be hard to separate the sheep belonging to different owners. An owner would be able to call his sheep and they would come to him. As sheep, we are to recognize the call that comes to us from a leader who is the authentic shepherd, the one to whom we should belong.
6. "Calls his own." (v. 3) The man born blind had recognized the validity of Jesus' claim. Just as sheep respond to the call of the one to whom they belong, those who belong to Jesus will recognize his voice and respond to him.
Homily Hints
1. What's in a Name. The name of Jesus is not just some magical mantra or term. It refers to his real character, both in his humanity and in his divinity. What then do we see in Jesus when we call upon his name?
A. Jesus shows the true meaning of humanity.
B. Jesus is the role model.
C. Following Jesus fulfills our humanity.
2. Life Abundant. A life centered in self is not a big enough meaning for life. Persons need to give themselves to something bigger, more meaningful, and with a larger purpose.
A. Losing life is finding it.
B. Self-preservation versus self-sacrificing.
C. True happiness is not the end, but the by-product.
3. Pastoral Leadership. In the church, the definition of leadership is different from the world. In the world it is self-assertion and self-seeking. In the church it is by servanthood, following the model of Jesus.
A. A Pastor leads by attraction, not force.
B. A Pastor leads by gaining trust of his followers.
C. A Pastor leads the flock by self-giving.
4. The Church as a Sheepfold. People need the care and support of community. The church can serve for those who are wounded in spirit and need time for support and protection.
A. Enter by Christ's call.
B. Find real community.
C. Welcomed and belong because of need.
D. Mutual support offered and received.
5. Know His Voice. (v. 4) False prophets appear from time to time. They claim to have a message from God and may attract a following. Persons need help in recognizing the false prophets from the genuine call of Jesus as the good Shepherd.
A. Voice accords with scripture
B. Voice does not serve self-interest
C. Voice and life authentically relates to Christ
Points of Contact
1. Listen to Him. Jesus did not so much call people to believe him, but to follow him. Of course, one cannot follow a person very long unless one believes in him. In another sense, one cannot really test the reality of a person unless you follow closely enough to test whether his life and message is genuine. The final proof of a person's convictions about Jesus is the readiness to accept discipleship, to learn from him and to follow him so that the person's life shows that the character and nature of Christ has become a part of self. Just as sheep follow the good shepherd in implicit trust, the life of discipleship calls for following Jesus' teachings and commands in complete trust that it is conforming to the meaning of life.
2. Salvation by Jesus Alone. Salvation comes by a change of life. It is not enough to give some intellectual consent or to use some magic formula which guarantees salvation. Salvation comes by presenting oneself to the God whom Jesus revealed in his life and by accepting his saving grace. One then proceeds to show in life that the presence of his Holy Spirit has entered into one's life and renewed it, enabling one to live in obedience. Salvation is not simply a claim but becomes a reality. Life becomes like Jesus. Even those who may not have heard the story of Jesus but whose life manifests their response to the light of God given to them have understood something about Jesus without having the name to give to it. In this sense, salvation may be possible by grace because they have understood the reality which gives the full meaning to life as God intends it to be.
3. The Shepherd as a Model for Leadership. Jesus in the parable of the good shepherd gives another indication of the model for leadership in the kingdom and therefore in the church. It is not a leadership characterized by domination for the leader's privilege and power. Rather leadership is intended as servanthood. The good shepherd serves the interest of the sheep. Leadership in the church should not be a struggle for power and privilege for fulfillment of personal ambitions. It should be as an opportunity to serve the flock of God and manifest God's love even to those in the world not part of God's flock.
4. The Church under Persecution. In many parts of the world the church is in danger. In some countries with a large Moslem population, such as Egypt, Christians may be the target of terrorist attacks. It is often the leaders of the church who are particularly vulnerable. When Ethiopia was under a Marxist government, the Christian churches were suppressed. Their buildings were confiscated. Leaders were imprisoned. But the members met in homes and the church grew despite the persecution. A good shepherd will recognize the risk and will seek to provide for the flock; so in situations such as Ethiopia, the leaders continued to serve the congregations despite the dangers. Some Ethiopian churches grew despite the oppression and danger. When the Marxist rule collapsed with the end of the cold war, the churches proved to be larger than before and grew rapidly.
In Indonesia during the '60s, a group of Marxists tried to take over the government by revolution. They were opposed by a Moslem dominated government. A bloodbath resulted. Some Christian leaders were martyred because they did not identify with either party in the conflict and were then suspect by both. After the revolution was suppressed, many persons were attracted to the Christian church because of its stance during the war and its readiness to serve the needs of the people regardless of religious persuasion or political affiliation.
In China during the so-called Cultural Revolution, Christian leaders were arrested or forced into hard labor. They remained steadfast, nevertheless. When the Cultural Revolution was past and more toleration of diversity was permitted, the church emerged again and some of the leaders led a revival in the churches. Recently contacts which had remained essentially ruptured since World War II were renewed and a faithful remnant was discovered to be present yet. A church independent of a mission or missionaries survived under local leadership.
5. Gang Membership. People get their identity in part from community. A problem with our urban and mass society is the loss of community. Young people seeking identity form gangs to recover a sense of identity and a support community. Usually the gangs have been males. More recently accounts are told of young women who want to be members of the gang. A roll of the dice tells how many members of the gang they must sleep with to be initiated into the gang.
Gang membership is not a true community. It does not point the way to life. It often leads to death, either from contracting AIDS from the sexual relationships or in the gang warfare over turf, with the almost random drive-by shootings.
Some young people in the church have found their identity by the challenge of voluntary service. They have participated in such projects as Habitat for Humanity or helping in flood relief following the floods in the midwest in 1993, or in cleaning up after earthquakes in California. Young people who have challenges such as these do not need gangs to give them a sense of identity. They find a true community in the church and in reaching out in service.
True shepherds will provide leadership where persons can find a real sense of identity, a challenge to service, and a community of support that reaches beyond their own interests and needs.
6. Who is in the Sheepfold? While the sheepfold is a shelter for security for the sheep, it is in danger of becoming a barrier to others to enter. How does the church provide a place of shelter and security for its members without engendering an "us" versus "them" mentality? A good shepherd will be constantly alert to bring any who are willing into the sheepfold.
Illustrative Material
1. Respond to the Voice. An ambassador from a South American country was visiting a church-related college. On the way from the airport, he began to inquire of his host what the nature of the church was that supported the college. He asked about the beliefs of the college community. He became intrigued by what he was told. He asked for some literature about the college and its denomination. The host gave him a book about the history and beliefs of the college's supporting denomination.
The next morning the ambassador was very excited. He had found the book so interesting that he had stayed up all night reading it. His reaction to it was that it said what he had always believed but he had never had terms to express it fully. This book gave him the name for what he really believed.
2. In His Steps. A pastor in Kansas needed stories to tell a youth group to have them understand what Christianity is about. In each session, he told them a story to take them through a process of understanding. A reporter from a Chicago newspaper heard about the success he was having and the enthusiasm of the young people in response. He obtained permission to publish these stories as a serial in the newspaper. Eventually they were gathered into a book titled In His Steps. It became the most popular best-seller of its time, only exceeded by the Bible itself.
3. Leadership. Two five-year-old boys were playing together. They decided they were going to play parade. They got into a big argument about who was going to head the parade. The argument went on for some time. Finally, one of the boys said in exasperation, "Okay, you be the leader. Get behind me and let's go!" And the other boy did!
4. Power of the Name. Certain primitive people understood that the name of the person told something of the person's real nature. Thus you had in biblical times changes of names when persons changed character. Abram became Abraham; Jacob became Israel; Simon became Peter; and Saul became Paul. If you knew the name of the persons, you could have some power over them. Some people were reluctant to give persons their names for fear they would exercise some power over them and it might not be good.
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In modern times people sometimes change their names because they want to project a different image of themselves than they had before. This frequently happens when persons go from grade school to high school, or high school to college. One way to do it is to switch to using the middle name from the first name. Others want to abandon a nickname which identified them with some characteristic which they hope they have outgrown or moved beyond.
