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11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

3rd May 2009

On a few occasions I have watched "The Slammer" CBBC program with my daughter. It is based in a mock prison and variety acts compete to be released from jail. The winner is decided by who gets the loudest applause. The program is hosted by the governor of the jail. He asks the children, "Who is the guvnor?. They shout back, "You are."

Who is the guvnor when it comes to your life?

Busyness

He told them that the wildebeest, which migrate by the millions across grassy African plains, are not good learners. An entire herd will take flight at the slightest indication of danger. They will run wildly for a short time and then stop, forgetting why they began running in the first place. Meanwhile, lions, who are good learners, simply follow the stampeding wildebeest herd at a leisurely pace and wait for them to stop. When the wildebeest forget why they are running, it's dinner time for the lions. Their guide said that wildebeest are so memory-challenged that they will even walk up to a sleeping lion and sniff at it. The lion wakes up and has breakfast in bed.

Do you feel that life is busy. That you are driven in an almost unthinking way by what you feel you have to do.

A lot of people are like that, running, running, running ...busy, busy, busy. . .and they have long forgotten why they are running and what they are running from. Many are running from facing their inner emptiness and pain. The antidote to this is to be filled with God by His Spirit. To know His unconditional, healing love. Jesus said ( 10:10b ) I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The way to experience these quality of life is to devote time and energy to our relationship with Jesus. We are loved by the most important, most powerful personal being. Nothing that we do can make Him love us any more, or any less.

Feelings

This week Boots launched a new anti-ageing cream that is, allegedly, proven to reduce wrinkles. An editor from Cosmopolitan magazine said that it would also make you feel better. I would actually feel better if I had not spent Ł20 on face cream!

We live in an age driven by feelings.

What is important is how God feels about you.

Jesus cares for you so much he deliberately died for you v.11.

Contra hired hand v13. Watch out for people like that, who don't care for you. Who are in the relationship for what they can get out of it. Jesus was talking about the religious leaders of the day who were interested in maintaining their own position rather than leading people to God.

Jesus cares for his sheep. That's you and me! The shepherd would protect the sheep from robbers and wild animals, provide for them by leading them to water and pasture. Care for them, nurse them when unwell, be a midwife to them.

Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep know him, verse 14. A shepherd would know each sheep by name and would know their individual characteristics. What type of grass they liked, if they liked to walk near the front or the back of the flock and so on. Jesus knows everything about each one of us and, wonder of wonders, he still loves and accepts us! His love is unconditional, we do not have to earn it, although it must make a difference to our lives.

Adam Clarke's commentary paraphrases this, "They ( the sheep ) know me ( Jesus ) as their father, protector, and Saviour; they acknowledge me and my truth before the world; and they approve of me, my word, my ordinances, and my people, and manifest this by their attachment to me, and their zeal for my glory."

Popularity

TV programs like the Apprentice, "Britain's Got Talent", X Factor, Dancing on ice, and even The Slammer foster the idea that the goal of life is to be popular. They also promote the philosophy that we are entitled to judge others, by a phone call or by applauding.

The anti-wrinkle cream and other cosmetics try to make people appear young and, therefore, popular.

Some people try to please others. Leading them to do things they may not want to do. For example recent programme on drinking asked a 14 year old why she drank, she replied it was because others did. She didn't want to be rejected or appear different. Jesus told his followers that, not only are they popular with God, but this will lead to them being differnet and being rejected as he was.

Our goal should be to please God. How do we do this? By knowing and following his son. Making him our personal shepherd. He cares for us so much he died and opened the way to God for us. He will continue to love, value, protect and provide for us in this life and in the life to come.

Jesus loves and cares for you. He came to give you abundant life, verse 10. Busyness, good feelings, popularity, youthful looks, wealth etc will never provide the joy and satisfaction that comes from having a relationship with Jesus, the good shepherd.

Who is the governor?

Jesus is the governor.

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11/5/03 Year B Easter 4 John 10:11-16

At the fish and chip shop in Butt lane there is a sign behind the counter;

(1) The boss is always right.

(2) When the boss is wrong, refer to rule 1.

Perhaps the best example of this was the United States' SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. It was originally called the RS-71. But when President Johnson made the first public announcement of the Blackbird during a national broadcast, he called it the SR-71. So the designation was changed on 30,000 engineering drawings of the aircraft, making it officially the SR-71. If the boss says it's an SR-71, it's an SR-71.

In today's gospel Jesus is comparing the religious bosses of the day with himself. He does this by using the, then familiar, picture of a shepherd and sheep.

At the end of Chapter 9 he had accused the Pharisees of being spiritually blind. Earlier in Chapter 10 he compared the Jewish leaders with robbers and thieves. Now he compares them to a hireling, a shepherd who was only in it for the money, what he could get out of it. Such a shepherd did not care for the sheep and would abandon the sheep if he was confronted by thieves, robbers or a dangerous animal.

Jesus' words pointed to himself as the good shepherd and denounced the Pharisees for failing to fulfil their duty to God. This echoes the words of Ezekiel 34 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

In Jesus' day the Pharisees and teachers of the law were wealthy, often at the expense of the poor. They loved to be seen in their fine clothes, performing their religious duties and looking down on those whom they considered 'sinners'. They took great pride in observing a multitude of rules, but were denounced by Jesus for ignoring justice and compassion. They would have known of Ezekiel 34 and that Jesus' words were an indictment of their leadership.

Twice, in verses 11 and 14, Jesus says "I am the good shepherd." These are one of seven self-descriptions of Jesus introduced by "I am" (see 8:12; 9:5; 10:7,9; 10:11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5).

In the Bible who refers to himself as 'I am'? God. Exodus 3:14. 13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.' "

I AM WHO I AM or I AM is the name by which God wished to be known and worshipped in Israel. Jesus applied the phrase to himself; in so doing he claimed to be God and risked being stoned for blasphemy (see Jn 8:58-59).

This ties up with Ezekiel 34 when, after denouncing the religious leaders for exploiting the sheep, something we looked at earlier, the prophet continues, 11" `For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Isaiah 40: 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Jesus is God the good shepherd. He is the good shepherd because he cares for the sheep, we read of this in Mark 6: 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

A good shepherd would defend his sheep against robbers of wild animals. The 'rod' that Psalm 23 mentions was actually more like a truncheon or small club, and was used when these problems occurred. In rare cases the shepherd might accidentally lose his life.

Jesus is the good shepherd because he cares for the sheep so much he would not abandon them when facing danger, but deliberately and voluntarily gave his own life so his sheep may escape death.

This is a picture of the sacrificial way in which Jesus went to the cross, taking the punishment for the sin of the world so that those who make him their shepherd are not cut off from God.

This was all part of God the Father's plan to redeem sinful humankind. A plan devised outside time. A plan that had the wholehearted support of God the Son who had authority to dispose of his own life as he wished, but was pleased to follow the plan of His heavenly Father. This is what verses 11, 17 and 18 are about. The Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit is of one mind. They have that close a relationship with a shared love and purpose.

This intimacy, closeness, and unity can be experienced between the Christian and his/her Lord.

He knows the sheep and they know him. This mirrors the close relationship that Jesus has with God the Father. 14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father..."

Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep know him.

A shepherd would know each sheep by name and would know their individual characteristics. What type of grass they liked, if they liked to walk near the front or the back of the flock and so on. Jesus knows everything about each one of us and, wonder of wonders, he still loves and accepts us! His love is unconditional, we do not have to earn it, although it must make a difference to our lives.

The sheep knew the voice of the shepherd and they followed him. He would call his sheep out of a pen with a number of flocks in it and they would recognize his voice and come. No-one would be able to imitate his voice and fool the sheep. The shepherd would lead his flock to water and to graze, they would hear his voice, trust and follow him. The shepherd and the sheep would need to spend time together to get to know one another.

Author Danny Cox tells an interesting story in his book, 'Seize the Day'. Danny and his wife took a hot air balloon trip early one morning in Africa. As the balloon rose gracefully, they saw a herd of wildebeest running frantically across the vast expanse below. The herd stopped suddenly and began looking around as if they were confused. Danny asked their pilot why the herd had stopped so suddenly and what they were looking for.
He told them that the wildebeest, which migrate by the millions across grassy African plains, are not good learners. An entire herd will take flight at the slightest indication of danger. They will run wildly for a short time and then stop, forgetting why they began running in the first place.
Meanwhile, lions, who are good learners, simply follow the stampeding wildebeest herd at a leisurely pace and wait for them to stop. When the wildebeest forget why they are running, it's dinner time for the lions. Their guide said that wildebeest are so memory-challenged that they will
even walk up to a sleeping lion and sniff at it. The lion wakes up and has breakfast in bed.
A lot of people are like that, running, running, running ...busy, busy, busy. . .and they have long forgotten why they are running and what they are running from. Many are running from facing their inner emptiness and pain. The antidote to this is to be filled with God by His Spirit. To know His unconditional, healing love. Jesus said ( 10:10b ) I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The way to experience these quality of life is to devote time and energy to our relationship with Jesus. We are loved by the most important, most powerful personal being. Nothing that we do can make Him love us any more, or any less.

Christians need to spend time with Jesus in order that they may know, trust and follow him. We can know his voice through the Bible, leading, guiding, encouraging and building us up. We can know his voice through his Holy Spirit who lives in and empowers every believer. We can know his voice as we listen to other Christians, including those who expound his word.

Before he ascended to heaven Jesus restored Simon Peter to the position of leadership and forgave him for denying him three times. As they walked by the sea of Galilee Jesus told Peter to 'feed his sheep' on three occasions. This echoed the three denials of Christ by peter, and referred to the need for Peter to instruct the early church in accordance with Jesus' teaching. It is a reminder that God forgives people and then calls and equips them to look after his flock. This is a way of sacrifice and spiritual battles and all Christian leaders need to seek to imitate the shepherd, to confess their sins and to be prayed for.

The good shepherd has other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. This sheep pen refers to the Jewish people who were chosen by God in the Old Testament. They were the sheep that Jesus came to save first of all. However, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus opens the way to God for everyone irrespective of race, nationality, colour, sex, age, class, education or any other pigeon hole people can be put into.

God's people are now united through having one shepherd, rather than one ancestor. This is something that we can rejoice in. We are part of a world-wide family of believers united by the blood of Jesus. All over the world today Christians are worshipping the same God, confessing their sins, praising Him in word and song, declaring their faith in the creed, reading these lectionary Bible passages, and so on...

This unity also brings a responsibility. We are to love one another as Jesus has loved us. This involves deliberate sacrifice and commitment. Practically it means that Christians in the rich Western world have a responsibility to help clothe, house, feed and provide water for our poorer brothers and sisters in the two-thirds world. Jesus told the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 about this.

Today, let us be determined to intimately know and follow Jesus. To know his voice, to follow his direction for our lives. Through prayer, Bible study, books, sermons and worship.

Let us rejoice in the fact that he loves us unconditionally and that we are part of his world-wide body of believers.

Let us show that we are truly followers of Jesus by caring for our fellow Christians in the next street and in the farthest continent. Not just materially but by being informed about their situation, praying for them, maybe lobbying governments on their behalf.

PRAY