John 10:11-18 Panzer Liturgical Chapel
In today's gospel lesson, Jesus tells us, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” In other chapters, John has presented Jesus as teacher, finder, healer, feeder, and forgiver. In this reading, Jesus is presented as the Shepherd who will lay down his life for his flock.
I don’t know how many of you have had this experience, but there was a day a few years ago when I looked outside my front door and all I could see, hear, and smell were sheep. Our local shepherd was moving his flock from one field to another and walking down our street seemed to be the straightest path. It was fascinating to watch from a distance the way that the sheep were kept in check by the work of one man and his dog alone.
It was a pantomime – I could not hear what was being said from so far away, but I knew that both the dog and the sheep recognized and followed the shepherd’s voice. You could see it in the way that they moved. For over 30 minutes I sat and watched, transfixed by the coordinated movements of shepherd and dog as they moved the sheep along. It was clear that the dog had his own responsibilities in the process, but also obvious that the sheep knew the shepherd’s voice. When he indicated it was time to leave the inclined orchard where they were grazing, they left the soft, long grass and followed him down the road, the dog encouraging any stragglers to keep moving on.
Jesus' use of sheep imagery has strong Old Testament roots. Psalm 23 is not only the best-known Old Testament passage but also the one to use sheep and shepherd figuratively – that is, for spiritual purposes. But this is not an isolated incidence. In Ezekiel 34, Israel is described as God's flock and the rulers (kings) as its shepherds – but not really good ones. Rather than feeding the sheep, the rulers alternately ignored the flock and preyed upon them instead of protecting them. As a result, the flock is scattered and devoured by the wild animals.
It is God who promises to restore order – he is the shepherd of his people, gathering them and leading them to good pasture.[i] Think about the relationship between the Pharisees and the people. They were the ones given the task of protecting the people, but in the end, they only wanted to protect themselves. And then came Jesus. So, let’s break this passage apart.
Jesus tells us, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The Greek expression is unusual; the word we translate as "lay down" literally means "to put" or "to place." That’s where we get our expression, "putting your life on the line.” But it’s not just about being willing to die. This passage is about more than Jesus risking His life. Jesus as the Good Shepherd is a role model for all who follow him.
Verses 11-13 speak both of Jesus' character as the Good Shepherd and of the care that we receive as His flock. Whether we admit it or not, we need someone who will be ultimately concerned with us. Remember, sheep are not created for autonomy. They cannot order their own lives r survive alone. And truth be told, neither can we. Our faith or trust in Christ is dependent on our confidence that the Shepherd is looking out for us – that he is more concerned for us than for his own welfare. Verses 9-10 suggest that his care includes salvation, nurture, and abundant life. These benefits are not just one-time, past gifts of a savior who died for us, but the ongoing, present blessings and concern of one who rose again,[ii] provided not by miraculous decree, but by the care given to one another in a love-based community.
In verses 12-13 Jesus talks about a hireling – this person is not attempting to harm or steal the sheep. He is a protector, caring for the sheep, but with a different level of commitment than the shepherd. When push comes to shove, he is more interested in protecting himself than the sheep. In contrast, for the shepherd, there is nothing more important than caring for and protecting the sheep.
In verses 14 – 16, Jesus talks about knowing one another. I’m glad that our relationship with Jesus is deeper than being sheep to our shepherd. We are reminded that it’s not enough to be known by Jesus – we must know him, too. This connectedness extends to the rest of the flock. We are connected to one another. This gets lived out with the life and mission of the church. Even more so, it must be reflected in the way we treat other people and the world in which we live.
Jesus doesn’t draw people to himself alone. If Jesus is the good shepherd, the model shepherd, he is also the one who models for us what it means to care for others. That includes drawing people into the flock, even those who had not been included before. Everyone is a potential brother or sister. Everyone falls under the care and compassion of the Good Shepherd. We cannot simply absorb the care of the Good Shepherd directed toward us; we must share in His concerns and participate in His mission in the world. When we are in relationship with Christ, we are to pursue his agenda of one flock, one shepherd.[iii] This is, of course, connected to the summary of the law we open worship with each week – Love God and love neighbor is all we do.
Finally, verses 17-18 remind us that Jesus’ ministry and relationship with God did not end at his death. Through the Resurrection, we see the depth of love expressed through a series of related and necessary events. Ministry will go on. People will be brought into the fold. These verses make it clear that teaching about the good shepherd is part of our ongoing task between Jesus' resurrection and ours.[iv]
Many preachers end their sermons on this passage by asking the people in the pews if they are willing to lay down their lives for Jesus. But I’m not going to ask that today. Instead, I’m going to reframe the conversation, and ask a bigger question. What it means to live sacrificial lives? What does it mean to give up ourselves to others, even those we may not know, we may not agree with, even people we may not like?
I spent some time this week following the trial of the officer who murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. I breathed a sigh of relief at the guilty verdicts. It was good to know that a jury of 12 people saw what I saw… undeserved cruelty and disregard for another human being. This officer was immediately remanded into custody and will live a substantial part of his life in prison.
At the end of the proceeding, the judge thanked the jury for serving, shouldering the extra burden of participating in a trial watched around the world. These people gave over three weeks of their lives to listen, watch, discuss and decide. They represented their community in determining what justice would look like for Mr Floyd and for his family.
But those were not the only people who gave up something to participate in that trial. I was especially struck by the witnesses to the crime, those who filmed the encounter, those who called out to the police while begging for the life of George Floyd… a teenage girl and her little sister… an off-duty EMT who narrated the care that Mr Floyd should have been receiving… a 911 operator who called the police leadership herself as she watched the proceeding on steaming footage nearby.
They gave up a lot to speak up for George Floyd – at the scene, in the police and lawyer interviews afterward, and in court – where their faces were broadcast for the world to see. And do you know what many of these said in their testimony? That they wished they had done more. That they should have physically intervened. That they felt guilty because what they had done wasn’t enough. The clerk who called the police wished he had done less… all of this tragedy for the possibility of a counterfeit $20 bill.
We don’t know for sure what would have happened if any of those bystanders had tried to help George Floyd, but we intuit that it would not have gone well. As it was, no one else was arrested or injured among those who were witnesses. There was not riot at the scene. But the people who stood up and said what they saw under oath – even when they thought it wasn’t enough – they did something very remarkable… something sacrificial and very sacred.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when Brooke talked about people who had their 15-minutes of fame? I do. And I thought at the time, and again this week, that sometimes our actions are remembered for a moment, and sometimes they are remembered forever. Maybe you don’t know the names of those people who stood up for George Floyd, and maybe you do. But even if we don’t remember their names, Darnella Frazier – 17 years old, Judeah Reynolds – 9 years old, Jena Scurry and Christopher Martin, among many, went above and beyond what many of us might have done.[v] It was a sacrificial act of great importance, and the kind of thing Jesus was talking about.
There are several comparisons going on here – We see Jesus as the Good Shepherd calling to and looking after his flock – that’s us – that’s everyone - trying to keep us on the path. But we are also called to take on that role, putting the needs of those who journey with us above our own needs – protecting them from danger, and caring for them as more than someone who is merely paid to care.
In the beginning of our Christ journey, we have to think about how to employ the lessons that Jesus taught. We weigh the differences between what’s best for us as individuals and what’s best for the people we interact with, making both good and bad choices. As we grow in faith and love, caring for others becomes second nature. We still consider our own needs, but often the needs of others take precedence. Think of the parent/children relationship, or the those between lifelong partners or long-term friendships. Our reading from 1 John asks us to consider the call that Jesus has on our lives, and how we are to serve others, not to fulfill a commandment or rule alone, but out of the abundance of love that Christ gave for us. The 23rd Psalm reminds us that by following this shepherd’s way, goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. How nice it would be just to be sheep. Then Jesus could take care of us and we would not have to do anything hard. But that is not the plan. "Send us as shepherds to rescue the lost, to heal the injured, and to feed one another with knowledge and understanding." That is our prayer, and that is God's plan. Jesus is the cornerstone of our salvation. There is no other name by which we can be saved. So, it only follows that as Jesus has laid down his life for his sheep, so we are to follow his lead and make our lives available to others who are in need.[vi]
Peace, Deb
(c) Deb Luther Teagan, April 2021
[ii] http://www.cresourcei.org/biblestudy/bbjohn13.html
[iii] http://www.cresourcei.org/biblestudy/bbjohn13.html
[iv] http://www.cresourcei.org/biblestudy/bbjohn13.html
[v] https://www.startribune.com/who-are-the-witnesses-in-the-derek-chauvin-trial-for-the-killing-of-george-floyd-in-minneapolis/600042794/
[vi] http://sio.midco.net/danelson9/yearb/easter4.htm
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