One Flock

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ONE FLOCK

John 10:14-18

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. 16 I 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." 

NIV

That is us; we are the sheep that are not of this sheep pen. Jesus was telling the Jews, the chosen people of God, that he was laying down his life for all the Gentiles as well as the Jews. He was telling them the whole world is the creation of God and that Jesus came to bring salvation to all mankind, not just them. We know all of that, it is not news to us, but it sure was to them. They must have thought they had a monopoly on their God, that he was their God, and nobodies else’s. But then this Jesus is telling them that he and the Father know each other and that he has the authority to lay down his life and take it up again. They just had to be fuming on the inside. They were sure they had the truth about God, and they were the only ones who did, but Jesus was telling them they were wrong about their beliefs, and he was telling the honest to God truth. It would seem we denominational indoctrinated people might fall into the same trap those Pharisees did, thinking we have the truth and all the others are wrong, that is if we actually believe that one denomination has the truth and the others have some sort of truth but have been led astray. Jesus is the shepherd not just of one sheep pen but he has other pens which he is the shepherd of. We are all one flock and have one shepherd. It is true that some people simply do not believe in Jesus. There are religions all over the world that do not include Jesus. There are people within the realm of Christianity who do not believe in Jesus. They live in the cultural of Christianity but refuse to accept him as their Lord and Savior, yet all those people still are a part of the one flock, with one shepherd. There is no other way for any person in the world to gain eternal life except through Jesus. Now the truth of this is still about faith. Those who believe will be saved and those who do not will perish, so in some sense the sheep that are in the flock are those who listen to the voice of their shepherd. Whoever listens to his voice will be in his flock, no matter what pen they once were in. We have to make sure we are not distracted by any other voice, including our own. Jesus is the only one who has the authority over death and life. As he said it about his own, he also has it over ours. No one else can take our life and give it back to us. No one else has that kind of authority. We are his sheep. He has the authority. 

Owner or Hireling

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

OWNER OR HIRELING

John 10:11-13

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.

NIV

It is tempting to either jump ahead or include the next words of Jesus with these, but perhaps it is best to leave them for their own truth, and focus on the truth in these words alone. We are seeing the difference between a hired hand and a good shepherd here. There is no question about Jesus being the good shepherd and that he did in fact lay down his life for us, his sheep. But who are the hired hands? Certainly the people of that day understood the shepherd and sheep relationship and that those who owned sheep had a keener interest in the flock than an extra hand employed as a shepherd would, but as Jesus used this relationship in that physical sense, he was applying it to him and all of us in a spiritual sense. Within every form of religion, every denomination there are hireling shepherds, or priests, pastors, ministers, or whatever other titles they prefer to be called by. Their interest in the flock is based on how profitable it is for them, when it no longer profits them they leave the flock to be destroyed by its spiritual foes.  The Good shepherd looks upon his flock as his, so long as he can be profitable to them. The lesson we can learn for us normal everyday believers, that is non-paid staff of some church, not having some title that would infer we are shepherds of some sort, is that we still have the responsibility of both knowing the difference between the Good Shepherd, and the hireling as well as what our attitudes should be toward those God has entrusted in our care. God has given the gift of discernment so that we can tell a hireling when we see one and to stay clear, keep our distance, being aware of who he is, and what he is capable of doing in our hour of need. We have to be on our guard to make sure we do not act as a hireling toward those God has entrusted in our care. Husbands and fathers are the shepherd of their families, mothers are also shepherds of their children, but we also have that responsibility to our extended families, as well as those individuals who God leads to us for mentoring. Yes we are humankind, and we could never be the Good Shepherd Jesus is, but nevertheless we should make every effort to avoid being as a hireling would be, fleeing at the first sight of trouble because ultimately we care more for ourselves than we do for those entrusted in our care. This is the truth of self-sacrifice, that which Jesus did, and what we should be able to do. Are we an owner or a hireling?

The Gate

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE GATE

John 10:7-10

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

NIV

Who were or are those thieves and robbers? Jesus could have been referring to a some men such as those who were mentioned in the book of Acts, that claimed to be somebody and gathered followers onto themselves, but were killed along with all their followers. But since Jesus was speaking directly to the Pharisees he most likely was speaking about how they dressed themselves up in righteousness pretending to be spiritual, having the way to salvation which they imposed on the common people. He may have used the distinct words thieves and robbers because of how different both exact their pain and suffering on their victims. While the thief simple steals, perhaps even when we are not aware, the robber uses force to unlawfully take what is ours. The Pharisees may have been both and we might also have some ministers today who act much in the same manner, exacting our tithes, in the name of God, but for their own benefits. Jesus simple states it is he who has the keys to heaven; he is the gate, the only way in, the only way to have life and have it to the full. If Jesus is not preached as the only source of salvation then all is to be heard are methods which thieves and robbers use. It cannot be any clearer then these words of Jesus. We cannot be forced into concentration camps of denominationalism when we have Jesus as our gatekeeper; we are free to come in and go out and find pasture. What denomination was Jesus? The Sanhedrin even had denominations, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, as well as a few other less know political, religious groups. They were supposed to be the leading body of the people, but they were thieves and robbers, taking people away from God for their own purpose, much as some, not all but some denominations do today. We cannot afford to be adherence to some form of Christianity, we must listen only to Jesus, he is our gate, he is the only way to enter in and go out and find pasture. Do we want to be killed and destroyed or do we want to have life and have it to the full? The answer is a resounding, have life and have it to the full. We enter only through the gate. 

Only One Voice

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ONLY ONE VOICE

John 10:1-6

10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."  6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

NIV

There is no need to try to explain what Jesus was actually saying because he will explain it more clearly in his next words, but there is a truth we should be careful to note. Are we hearing the voice of our shepherd or are we hearing the voice of some stranger? We have been told all throughout scripture about false teachers, and here Jesus is making the point that he is the only teacher we should listen to, because he is the only true teacher. But it just might be possible for some of us to be tricked into thinking some of these false teachers are true, but they are not. They have entered the sheep pen by some other method other than the gate. There can be only one reason a person would come into the pen other than through the gate, and that would be for personal gain. There would attempt to steal some of the sheep for their own flock, or to take them to slaughter, both for their own gain. We cannot afford to listen to them, in fact, we should know that we do not recognize their voice. We only now the voice of our beloved shepherd, and he is the only shepherd we will follow. It may be true some sheep have certainly left the pen following after someone who is trying to imitate the voice of Jesus. They might sound pretty good, but their voice is not real, it is but an attempt of imitating Jesus’s voice. Jesus is clear here, that if we are believers, we should only hear his voice. 

Keeping Our Sight

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

KEEPING OUR SIGHT

John 9:35-41

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."  38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" 41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

NIV

The conclusion of the narrative is here and what a conclusion it is.  We can see the blind man does in fact believe and understand that Jesus is the Son of God, although he calls himself the Son of Man. But the astonishing conclusion is with what the Lord says to the Pharisees that heard him tell this man who he was. Jesus is certainly talking about spiritual sight as opposed to spiritual blindness although he healed the man of physical blindness. All of us were once spiritually blind, born blind, unable to see the truth of God. It was not a good way to live, perhaps some of us received our sight earlier in our lives, while others of us spend many years being blind, stumbling around in our own darkness. We may have thought we were having fun in those blind years, but in actually we were simply dead men walking. Although Jesus uses the words, “For Judgment I have come”, he does not judge, but judgment is the result of his words. Those of us who were blind can now see and it appears some that thought they could see will be blind. This statement most likely is directed right at the Pharisees, even all of Israel. They once saw God, but now they have become blind and all we Gentiles were once blind, but now Jesus is giving sight to us. But this is truth for each individual as well. Just as Jesus was telling those Pharisees who suppose they see, who were proud, self-confident, but actually despised the truth. Those kinds of people were actually exasperated by the teachings of Jesus. Their pride and opposition to him would confirm them more and more in their erroneous views. This is always the effect of truth. Where it does not soften, it hardens the heart: where it does not convert, it sinks into deeper blindness and condemnation. This is the lesson we must make sure sinks deep within our spirits. We cannot allow ourselves to think more highly of ourselves then we should. We cannot allow denominationalism to overshadow the truth of God, the teachings of Jesus. Once we received our sight, once we became born again, we need continue to focus our sight on the truth of God. The Pharisees once had the truth but became blinded by their own brand of truth. We must never allow this to happen to us. If we begin to think we live a holy and righteous life based on our religious activities, our good deeds, our sin free condition, we have become blind. The Word of God declares we are all sinners and that we are saved by grace, and not by works least any of us boast. How we could possible believe for one minute, that when we get to heaven we will all stand around telling each other stories of what we did to get there, one trying to outdo the others good deeds, or how many of the laws, rules we followed correctly, which won us the prize of eternal life. Let us not lose our sight of Jesus by staring at some brand of Christianity. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace. 

Being From God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BEING FROM GOD

John 9:28-34

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

NIV

The conversation is turning a little ugly between the Pharisees and this man Jesus had healed of blindness. It certainly was a negative, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, to be a disciple of Jesus. They made sure this man knew they wanted nothing to do with Jesus, they were disciples of Moses. There is no question that God spoke through Moses to the people of Israel, that he gave them the ten commandments, that he gave them further laws, strict laws they could not hope to obey one hundred percent, to show them their need for his provision of salvation, Jesus. But they were so steeped in their own brand of religion they could not see the truth. This man who was not educated in the Law, as the Pharisees were, had a far better handle on the truth then they did. He knew quite well that God does not listen to sinners, except of course when they repent and come to Jesus, but then they are no longer sinners, in the sense this man was using. For this man to know that God only listens to a godly man who does his will is remarkable. First we should take note that because someone may not be highly educated with a wall full of degrees from various bible colleges or seminaries; it does not mean he cannot have spiritual insight. We should also note that because someone has an infirmity should as being blind their whole life; it does not mean they cannot have spiritual insight. It does not require earning degrees to be a man of God and to do his will, in fact we might take a lesson from the Pharisees in that they thought they were educated in the Law of Moses but certainly were not godly men doing the will of the Father. This man knew for certain that Jesus was from God, for only someone from God can do what he did. His argument made so much sense, it rang so true, and the Pharisees knew it, but could in no way agree, so they had to insult him even more. They accused him; they judged him as being steeped in sin from birth, not like them, not like their self-righteous highly educated legalistic selves. Of course we already saw how Jesus’s disciples had made that judgment in the question they asked about who had sinned, this man or his parents. So are we any surprised the Pharisees concerned someone born blind to have been steeped in sin from birth? It is always amazing to see those who think themselves more educated, more spiritual then others, and how they interact with those they consider less than themselves. We should learn that lesson about how we interact with others. We are no better, no worse than any other person, we are all sinners save by grace. It does not matter how much we know, except that we know we are saved because of Jesus and that we need to be godly and do the will of the Father. This is our evidence of being from God. 

It's A Miracle

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

IT’S A MIRACLE

John 9:24-27

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." 25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" 26 Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

NIV

We still have not come to the conclusion of this dialog between the Pharisees and this man and his family about his being healed from his blindness from birth.  It still is amazing that the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being a sinner, when in fact they are the real sinners. Perhaps this sort of attitude exists today in some churches. Perhaps there are some church goers who actually believe they are not sinners, yet they judge the spiritual condition of others. This healed man was in a far better place spiritually then those Pharisees as he was not willing to make any judgment about the spiritual condition of Jesus. He told them he did not know if Jesus was a sinner or not, but what he know was that once he was blind and now he can see. Jesus has that kind of effect on a whole lot of people. As one who has had a personal experience, I can testify that once I was blind but now I can see. Many of us were spiritually blind, unable to the truth even if it were staring us right in the face. Could there be spiritually blindness even among church goers? Could some who called themselves Christians be more like the Pharisees, rule followers, then like this blind man? We certainly have to make sure we do not loss our healing, and become blind once again to the truth of God by all this denominationalism including all those “Laws”. We were blind, but now we surely should be able to see because of Jesus. Once we were slaves to sin, but we have been set free, let us not put ourselves back in bondage, back in slavery, back to being blind. We also should note that the Holy Spirit has brought us the gift of discernment so that we can know when people are asking about our faith, if they are actually sincere or they are trying to trap us in an endeavor to prove us wrong or dumb for believing. But the point we should take away from this portion of the dialog is about once being blind and now being able to see as well as not being concerned whether someone else is a sinner or not. Our life is about our relationship with Jesus. Sure we love others, sure we should, like God, desire that all be saved, but it is not for us to judge anyone’s relationship with God, we need to see ours, the rest is conjecture, for all we know for sure is that once we were blind but now we can see.