I Am the Good Shepherd
Jesus says that if someone sneaks into the sheepfold they are a thief, but if they go in through the door they are a shepherd. If the sheep know the shepherd's voice they will follow, but they won't follow a stranger. Jesus is using a figure of speech which they don't understand, so he explains further. The people are the sheep and Jesus is a good shepherd. All others who came before are thieves who were not trusted. He also says that he has the authority to lay down his life for his sheep and take it up again, some people don't trust him because of this claim.
I like that after he says something that requires a bit of interpretation he explains it in further detail. I wish he would do that more often. As far as the actual message of this section, Jesus is basically saying everyone like him that came before was a fake but he is real. I personally don't find such declarations to be that convincing.
I and the Father Are One
The Jews gathered around Jesus and asked him to tell them if he is the Christ in plain language. He said he is, they said it was blasphemy and they tried to stone him and then they tried to arrest him. He got away.
Again, he is asked to talk more plainly and he complies. It appears that he was willing to answer plainly so long as he was asked, too bad someone didn't just follow him around constantly asking him to be more clear. I don't really have much else to say here, I guess it is pretty remarkable how barbaric the time seems to be, they want to stone him for saying he is God.
From what I hear, parts of the middle east are still pretty barbaric, at least in comparison to the U.S. I wouldn't say we're blessed, but we're certainly lucky to be born somewhere there is freedom of (and from) religion.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good point. It is easy to forget that we are privileged living in the US compared to some places. Depending on where you live in the US, it is possible you might have trouble getting work if the wrong people know you are atheist, but no one will stone you to death.
ReplyDeleteI Am the Good Shepherd. In verse 16, he talks about the flock becoming one flock with one Sheppard. Is he still talking about people and the Church? I didn't count the number of denominations listed and I am not a mathematician, but it seems like its a lot bigger than one.
ReplyDeleteVerses 17 and 18 almost sound like he's talking about suicide.
I and the Father Are One. In verse 28 he sounds like he's saying no one can here is one explination. “Neither John 10:28 nor Romans 8:38-39 say that God's people cannot fall from grace. Both texts reveal that there is no one or no thing which can cause the Lord's people to fall from grace. John 10 says no one can snatch the elect from the Lord. Romans 8 says no force or power can separate us from the Lord. However, one thing is missing from both texts. Though no one has the power to snatch the Lord's people from His hand, they may choose to walk away. Though nothing is able to separate the Christian from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, he may choose to leave. “
I am glad as well too, when it comes to living here. Not finding a job doesn't really seem like much when compared to an ordered by law death by stoning.
That is a really good point about the "one flock, one shepherd". I didn't even notice that. The number of different denominations seems to show that as being false. I suppose it could be argued that everyone who calls themselves Christians are part of the same "flock", it's not like it is clearly defined. But the fact that some denominations hate each other seems to fly in the face of that defense.
ReplyDeleteActually one interesting thing is that in the past, especially in our country, people would self identify with their own sect, like Baptist, or Presbyterian. It wasn't until Roe v Wade that the Christian right wanted a blanket term which would bring together denominations like Catholic and Protestant against the abortion issue. That was when the term Christian as we know it today started to actually be widely used.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting
ReplyDelete