May 13, 2012

Background Scripture: John 10:1-18

Devotional Reading: Psalms 28

Some people today say the image of the Good Shepherd is no longer very communicative because few of us have ever seen a flock of sheep or a shepherd.

While that is probably true for large numbers of people, I rather believe that when sheep and shepherds are mentioned, most of us conjure a positive image, so when Jesus says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd,” even in this high-tech world in which we live, Jesus’ meaning is easy to grasp.

The images of shepherd and sheep are plentiful throughout the Old Testament. God Himself is often depicted as the shepherd and the people as his flock: Psalms 23:1, 77:20, 80:1, 95:7, and 100:3. The prophets also used this imagery: Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:2; Isaiah 40:11; and Zechariah 9:16, 10:03; 11:17.

References abound in the New Testament and Christ’s last command to Peter was that he should feed his lambs and his sheep: Jn. 21:15-19. You are probably aware the term “pastor” is the Latin word for “shepherd.” Furthermore, Jesus’ flock refers to those who follow him.

And in John, Jesus delivers two of his “I Am” statements: “I am the door of the sheep” (10:7) and “I am the good shepherd” (10:11). Shepherds often slept in the entrance to the fold in order to guard their flocks, and thus became “the door of the sheep.”

Jesus distinguishes himself and his role from that of the shepherd whose labor is simply a matter of money. Jesus protects us, the sheep of his flock, from those who would cheat, steal and lead us astray.

“He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep” (10:1-3). This kind of shepherd does his job not for love, but for the money only. The good shepherd goes so far as to “lay down my life for the sheep” (10:16).

Jesus goes on to say: “… because I lay down my life for the sheep … I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (10:15, 18).

Does this suggest that he wanted to die on a cross? No, he is saying his driving motivation was to keep to his mission, regardless if it took him to a cross. He didn’t go looking for a cross, but neither did he shy away from staying faithful to God, even if it meant a cross.

None of us who pledge ourselves to follow Jesus should seek persecution, ridicule and humiliation. But neither should we strive to escape it when the veracity of God is at stake. His enemies were not in control, Jesus was: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (10:18).

When we hand over to the Lord our lives, our souls, our all, no one can take these away from us.

So we are part of Christ’s flock and he is our shepherd. But this is not like being accepted for membership in the Women’s Assoc. or the country club. The flock is much larger than we might ever have imagined. It is a worldwide flock and those of us who worship and state our faith in a particular manner are only a part of that flock.

Here’s what we often overlook: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (10:16, 17).

Wait a minute! What’s this “other sheep” thing? You mean there’s more to your flock than our church, our denomination and our segment of Christendom? But surely you can’t include people who don’t explain their faith as we do, who worship “weirdly” and believe in lots of things we don’t agree with?

When you travel in other lands and see Christian churches along the way, do you regard the people there as Christian brothers and sisters? Don’t many of us tend to think that Christians are only those who bear some resemblance to our kind of Christianity? But Jesus says “these other sheep” belong to the same fold with us.

Dr. Philip Jenkins is a professor of history and religious studies at Penn State University. According to his research, he confirms there are approximately two billion Christians in the world today. And, by the year 2050, Christianity will still be the most populous religion in the world. 

But at that time, only one Christian in five will be non-Latino and white, and the center of the Christian world will have shifted firmly to the Southern Hemisphere: South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Today, Europe still has the largest block of Christians in the world, but by 2025 Latin America will lead with 640 million, Africa will have, 633 million, Europe will have slipped to third place with 555 million and Asia will be next with 460 million.

So, these “other sheep” we barely recognize today will be major parts of the flock that Jesus gathers around him. If that bothers you just a bit, you can sympathize with Jesus’ fellow Jews who wanted to keep the kingdom of God safely within the bounds of Judaism.

That’s the frightening and glorious fact about the flock of Jesus Christ: he alone owns that flock, he alone leads that flock and, unless we embrace all others in that flock, we will find ourselves outside it.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.