Text: John 10:22-30
Facebook live: The voice of the shepherd calls his own!
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Many times, in Bible study, the discussion centers around Jesus.
As the class goes on, we hear:
“Wouldn’t it have been great to have walked with Jesus and listened to him, and to have been in his presence?”
I must admit, I would have loved to have heard Jesus too. To have seen his kindness, care, and understanding. To have walked with him.
Today we hear of a special time of the year, in Jerusalem, and a conversation between Jesus and the religious leaders. Let us go there and walk with Jesus together!
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
Known as Solomon's colonnade we’re told it was a cool wintry day – probably a lot like the weather we’ve had this Spring! It’s been pretty cold at times, and here Jesus is confronted with an equally cold reception from the Jewish leaders in the community.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
The question was not a sincere one from those in authority.
The religious leaders were really trying to catch Jesus in a way that they could point him out as the fraud they believed him to be and to make it known to the public so that he might be rejected there too.
A bit earlier in the gospel reading, Jesus had healed a man who was born blind. Even the leaders themselves were confused and divided in their opinions as to how they should understand and address this healing, concerning him.
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. John 9:16
The evidence pointed to something greater.
Jesus had tried to explain the importance of his mission to them. But they would not listen.
So:
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
The real truth was put before them when Jesus said:
26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
Adding this wonderful truth:
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
The Lord’s sheep recognized his voice, and they follow him. That is, his disciples and that is you and as well, friends.
Many times, this text and this truth is proclaimed at funerals so that, those who are gathered to mourn might hear the hope and calling of Christ for them as it was in there dead deceased friend or relative.
You are not here by accident.
The voice of the Lord has called you believe and to follow him and it is the Lord’s desire that all would come to the knowledge of the truth and follow him.
But many, still refuse to hear.
We can hear the truth or we can hear the lies and falsehood. But to know truth we have to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice, and we hear him in the voice of the word of God and by the working of God’s Holy Spirit!
If you are not in the word, you can’t know the joy that heaven promises.
As a child growing up, I had a priest in my Catholic church who was a bit heavy set and when he preached his head got really red because yelled a lot. He somewhat scared me as he talked about the reality of Hell.
Hell, scared me and I didn’t want to go there.
My dad liked the priest because he was fast and church got over quickly.
A Psychiatrist once commented on why the word hell is so commonly used and said that there is something deep in our subconscious that makes us afraid that we might actually go there - and that we use it all the time to remove or dull the fear.
There is plenty of evidence I believe to support that point of view.
What becomes common is less scary.
The Lord’s desire is that all would come to the knowledge of the truth, but the brokenness of sin in our fallen state blinds us to the reality of a world without hope, saying that Heaven and Hell don’t exist.
We know that life and death are real. We joy in the birth of a child and we cling to the blessings of this life daily and grieve deeply at the loss and separation from a loved one, especially a close relative.
God created life and he recreated life as well.
As the wages of sin brought death God the Father sent this only begotten son to recreate what had been lost in the fall.
Having just celebrated Easter and the joy of the resurrection, we know that what had been lost in the fall was restored in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
The devil has been defeated but he still masquerades as an Angel of light, a false god with a false truth and a false hope, and many still fallow him and are led astray.
Jesus doesn't want people to listen to the devil whom he calls the father of lies. He doesn't want people to suffer that second and eternal death which separates us from him for all eternity.
Jesus came that he might give us eternal life with him forever.
To bless us from the brokenness of this life with the unbroken reality of and eternity with him that never ends.
So, the question is, are you listening to Jesus?
Do you hear his voice?
Are you one of his own?
Are you his sheep, and his little lamb?
Jesus says:
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
The question again remains:
Who are you following?
Who are you trusting in?
Are you hanging on the words on Jesus Christ?
Or are you being deceived with lies?
Truth of falsehood. Which will it be?
C.S. Lewis once said:
You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death.
It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong, as long as you are merely using it to [tie] a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a [cliff]. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?
C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed.
Friends, our eternal lives depend on it!
It brings me to the truth of God’s word in Proverbs 3:5-6 this is what I chose as an adult for my confirmation verse.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
At a time in my life that I needed it, God’s word brought me truth, clarity and comfort.
The spirit will turn us and point us to Jesus. And all that he has done.
It is the good news that we cling to, that in Christ we have everything given us by faith in him.
By faith, we commit our lives to Jesus.
By faith, we believe and follow him as a blessed sheep.
By faith, we receive all that is good and necessary from God.
Give yourselves totally to that relationship by faith, and in serving Jesus Christ our Lord, you follow, listen, serve and obey him in love of God and care of neighbor.
That friends, is the good news of being his sheep and hearing his voice, so that we following the Good Shepherd in sincerity and truth.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Modified: Concordia pulpit Rev, David P. Schmidt C 1976
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