In John32, the previous extract in this series from John’s first century eye-witness biography of Jesus, we left a born-blind man – seeing – in Jerusalem. His sight had been given to him (not restored) by Jesus on a Sabbath day,
The Pharisees could not conceive that this was an indication that Jesus might be the LORD God made man. Also, they were envious. “They threw him out, outside” of the Jerusalem Temple. Above, Jesus now speaks to them directly, but through a parallel. They are in the sheep fold but how have they got in?
“In fact, the one coming in through the door is shepherd of the sheep. To this one the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and his own sheep he voice-calls with reference to name and he leads them out. When he may out-place everyone his own, he departs in front of them, and the sheep follow him in that they have discerned his voice.”
It is only a“shepherd”, one who really cares about the sheep, who comes in via “the door”. They had “thrown out” the born-blind; “A shepherd” would go out “in front of” the sheep, “lead them” and “call them by name”.
“In fact they will never follow another, but they will flee from him, in that they do not discern the voice of these others.” This parallel Jesus said to them; in fact these did not know what things it was, those things he was speaking to them.
Jesus’ voice should be discerned by them. But it isn’t.
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So Jesus said to them again, “Amen, amen I state to you that I myself am the door of the sheep. Everyone whosoever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I myself am the door. If anyone may comes in through me, he will be saved, and will come in and will come out and will find pasture. The thief never comes except in order that he may steal and he may slaughter and he may destroy. I myself came in order that they may have life, and may have beyond that.”
They need to understand that the “door” of the “fold” is, in fact, Jesus himself. There is no other way in. One in the fold is truly free and fed. “Thieves” (like them) “steal”, “eat” and “cause to perish” the flock. Jesus does the opposite.
“I myself am the good, the shepherd. The good, the shepherd sets down his human-life on behalf of the sheep. And the wage-earner, not being a shepherd and the sheep are not his own, observes the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees—and the wolf seizes them and scatters—in that he is a wage-earner and is not himself anxious concerning the sheep.”
Jesus tells them why “Good” Friday would come into being - for “the sheep”
“I myself am the good, the shepherd and I know my own and my own know me. Just as the Father knows me, I also know the Father and I set down my human-life on behalf of the sheep. And I have other sheep which are not out of this fold. And these it is necessary for me to bring, and my voice they will hear, and they will come to be one flock—one shepherd.”
“This fold” is the fold for the ancient people of God, the Jews, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus, “the good shepherd”, will bring “other sheep”, of Gentile birth, into the “one flock” – into the “one shepherd”.
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“Through this the Father loves me, in that I myself set down my human-life in order that I may lay hold of it again. No one takes it from me, but I myself set it down from myself. I have authority to set it down, and I have authority to lay hold of it again. This command I laid hold of from my Father.”
Do you ever wish that the LORD God would “love-in-action” you? What pleased him about Jesus, his son, is what he did for others on that first “Good” Friday. Richard Syvret could never have done that. The “good shepherd” did what he did that day – and became the “door” by which Richard entered “the flock” and believed into “the shepherd”.
Again, a division came to be in the Judeans through these words. In fact many of them were stating, “He has a demon and he is mad. Why do you hear him?” Others were stating, “These messages are not demon-produced. A demon is not able to open blind eyes.”
Are you undecided?
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