10 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! ² But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

⁶ Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, ⁷ so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. ¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, ¹⁵ just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

¹⁷ “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. ¹⁸ No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

¹⁹ When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. ²⁰ Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” ²¹ Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

John 10:1-21

Dear God, once again, this story gets taken out of context because of a chapter break. It actually appears to be a continuation of his conversation with the Pharisees in chapter 9 after they had gotten made at him for healing the blind man on the Sabbath. And once again I’m going to say that if I had been there I don’t think I would have believed.

One thing I like about John’s telling of the story is that Jesus is not a benign character. As C.S. Lewis put it, we are left with only one of three opinions about who Jesus was: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.

John’s thesis for the book is in the opening verses of the book:

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ⁸ John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ⁹ The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 1:1-14

If I don’t believe these first 14 verses then my only choices are that he is a liar or a lunatic, but he cannot be Lord. But if I believe the first 14 verses then Lord is the only option.

So why do I believe these first 14 verses now, but I wouldn’t have believed them then? Well, there are a few reasons that I think are fairly objective, although I know I am influenced by what I’ve been taught over my lifetime.

• This story has endured even though Christians have failed to live up to it.
• It stands to reason you would reach out to us and proactively find a way to reconcile us to yourself.
• When I follow you and let the Spirit work in me my life is better.
• I’ve literally experienced you miraculously answering prayer.
• But the most objective one that I think I can argue is that none of Jesus’s disciples recanted their testimony that Jesus rose again from the dead. They went through a lot of suffering for a lie with no upside for them if they were lying about it.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, you are my shepherd. I am dumb as a sheep, but I will follow you. I can do that. But please help me to do that. Love others through me. Help me to love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength and love my neighbor as myself. Give me this day my daily bread. Forgive me, and help me to forgive others. Come into this world through my life and the life of the Church body. And please help me through my temptations.

For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever,

Amen