Devotion 4.25.26

John 10

"4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

John, the writer of the gospel, connects Christ with God the Father He has linked him to creation starting at the very beginning of his gospel:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:1 - 3)

John also records Jesus' "I am..." remarks. Today's is, "I am the Good Shepherd," which takes the hearer to two places in the Old Testament:

 "13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations." (Exodus 3)

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1 - see devotion for April 21 of this week on the Hope app)

Jesus further solidifies his role as God, separate from the Father, but with the Father and Spirit to form the Trinity. John records this, but what did the hearer of these words hear or think as they heard? The answer was, "It depends." 

Clearly, Jesus' followers were confused. John records that. The pharisees, always in or near Christ as he moved about, were not confused by the message. While they were not connecting the dots and recognizing Christ as the messiah, they were fully aware of the comparison and its links to the Old Testament.

What the pharisees do with Christ and his message we know at Easter. Today we have the privilege of having access to the scripture in its entirety, both Old and New Testaments combined. We know Christ is the messiah, the fulfillment of God's promise in the Old Testament, the covenant set by Yahweh, and delivered to us. His words are recorded for us to share in the New Testament with our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our communities.

Christ is our Good Shepherd who is with us. He is, was and ever will be (I am). He guides us with his staff as we go through the valleys of life. He leads us to still waters to calm us in turmoil and restore us. He delivers us from evil.

Pray with me: Thanks be to you, O Lord, for fulfilling your promise to us of a savior. Your Son guides us, shepherds us in life, and for that, we give thanks. Amen.