Readings:
Sermon:
We are reading this morning, from John’s gospel chapter 10, verses 1-10: The Shepherd and his flock.
First, let us look at verse 6 which says this;
“Jesus used this figure of speech but they did not understand what He was telling them”
The figure of speech that Jesus used was relating to images of sheep and flocks, shepherds and gates and thieves. So often in the Gospels Jesus used pictures and images to explain heavenly things using earthly ideas.
He used; bread and mustard seeds, sowing seeds. Lamps and coins. A lot of these images are rural or agricultural.
I wonder if Jesus was on earth today He might use images from technology!
But in spite of belonging to an agricultural society the listeners in this passage were very slow to understand what Jesus was telling them.
We must not be like them. We must open our hearts to understand what Gos is saying to us. And what wonderful things Jesus says here.
First of all He says that He is the Gate. He is the way into peace with God. In another place He has said; “ I am the way , the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me”
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain I the temple that barred the way into the very presence of God was torn in two….signifying that Jesus had opened the way for sinful man to approach a holy God by paying for our sins and wrongdoing by giving his own life as a sacrifice.
What a wonderful picture for us. He went before us to open the way to God.
And then He says that He is the shepherd…..the Good Shepherd.
Here He echoes Psalm 23 ( which is another of today’s readings) where David declares:
"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in green pastures, He restores my soul”
Look at the promises that Jesus makes here;
First of all the shepherd provides for the flock, food and nourishment but also quiet and peace, which is certainly needed in our modern society.
Then the shepherd promises an intimate relationship with each one. We read that He calls us all by name and that we know His voice. How comforting to know that God knows us intimately, we are not just one of the flock but we are known to God.
The shepherd provides protection for the sheep and He gives to them/to us abundant life.
So we have before us a wonderful picture of provision, of safety salvation of a relationship and of life…and also protection from those who would take us away from the Shepherd.
Jesus used this figure of speech but they did not understand what He was telling them.
So he goes on the repeat, over and over again throughout this passage that HE is the shepherd and that we are the sheep Perhaps in our modern technological, fast paced digital society these images may seem slightly alien to us but why not let your imagination ponder on the picture of the sheep and the Shepherd.
Let us not be like His listeners but let us seek to understand the things that Gos says to us and to enjoy all of the blessings that He has promised us. Amen.