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1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; 2 but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 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 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 heed them. 9 I am the door; if any one 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. (John 10:1-10 RSV)
Happy Monday! Yes, that's a tough thing to say, and for some, a tough thing to hear; but we rejoice in the Lord and His presence with us! I pray for you, dear Friend, you have been blessed and enjoyed time worshiping God yesterday.
As we grow older, we tend to lose friends and loved ones. In my senior year of high school, I lost my best friend in a drowning accident. He was a member of my church in Kingsville and moved to Houston with his family some years before us, and once we moved there, we started our friendship again. I will never forget the afternoon my dad got the call from his family that he had drowned. We drove over to his house and all the way there I kept asking if he truly had died. That was almost exactly fifty years ago. What I mourn to this day is that I cannot remember his voice. I remember our conversations but the voice I hear is me talking to me. The same is not yet true for my mother or father; I have a memory of their voices, but I fear that with age I may not quite remember how they sounded. What comforts me is that I know the voice of my shepherd. It was His voice that called me into ministry and it has been His voice that has consoled and strengthened me throughout my life. Jesus says that the voice of the shepherd is important as He describes in the passage in verse 3; "The sheep hear his voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice."
We've come to one of my most favorite passages from the Bible. This passage is closely tied to the 23rd Psalm and the common thread connection of the importance of shepherding and sheep. The images of the psalm are the same of this passage. Jesus, like most of the persons in his audience at that time, could relate to the powerful references of the relationship between a good shepherd and his sheep. In this passage Jesus addresses that relationship. The Shepherd has full access to His sheep. As I mentioned above, the sheep know His voice and are comforted by that voice, and are lovingly guided by that voice. As the writer noted, some people did not fully understand this illustration so Jesus had to say, "I am the door of the sheep (as well as earlier having said "I am the Good Shepherd"); if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." Then, my favorite verse of this passage,"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The promises of this one verse could, and have, filled many a sermon. The first is the reality of who and what our enemy is capable of doing against us. There is no sugarcoating; steal, kill, and destroy; all negative, destructive things. If you remember the lists that the Apostle Paul uses in describing the things of the flesh versus the things of the Spirit, you see a list of negative, destructive things; the things that Jesus brings are those of life, namely, life in abundance, way before mere existence.
Our God is a God of life, not death. Our God is a God who sent His Son, Jesus, our Lord, so that we might have life, but not just life, life in abundance. I take that to mean a life filled with joy, hope, compassion, all the things of the Spirit, which allow us to run away from the things of the enemy. Our comfort is knowing that Jesus knows us by name, and we know His voice. Be open to His leading and comfort.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Jesus and His love and mercy for us. As we pray, guide our ears to listen more closely and deeply to You. We need Your peace and Your strength. We pray You continue to guide us; this we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share with someone, that Jesus is our shepherd!
Receive my blessings of comfort and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
