Dealing with Delays

Psalm 13                              Isaiah 40:29-31                             John 11:1-16

Dealing with Delays

How do you deal with delays? Something you ordered doesn’t arrive on time and you show up at the birthday party without a gift…or the trains aren’t running on schedule, and you miss the performance…or the traffic stops completely, and you can’t make your appointment. How do you deal with delays? Are you disappointed? Frustrated? Angry? Or are you a “whatever will be will be” type of person?  

But what about when the delay concerns a desperately anticipated answer to a desperately urgent prayer? And I’m not talking about an urgent prayer for a parking space or for help to pass an exam. I’m talking about an urgent prayer such as when you are praying for the end of a war…or for the healing of a loved one, especially one who is dying. Like when David fasted and prayed to God night and day for a week that the child conceived in his murderous and adulterous affair with Bathsheba would not die. (2 Samuel 12:16-24 – that’s a sermon Logan still needs to preach sometime!) 

But then the war drags on indefinitely…or the loved one is not healed…or they die despite all your fervent prayers…how do you deal with that?

Do you launch into a kind of theological monologue in your head arguing against your own doubts and fears? Yes, God is good, and he hears and answers prayers…the Scriptures teach that. So then, why does he not hear and answer my prayer? Is there something wrong with me? Is there some sin in my life? Am I asking for the wrong things? God answers the prayers of others…does he not love me like he loves others? Does he love me at all? Am I even a believer or is there perhaps not a God out there after all? Or, at least, not a God who is loving and kind and compassionate and who cares about the affairs of his Creation…

Have you ever been there?

Of course, there is the convenient loophole we call God’s will. In 1 John 5:14-15 we are told, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” Ah, but there’s the rub…just what exactly is God’s will and how is it connected to any delays in his answering our prayers?

This question is echoed throughout Scripture. Think of Israel in bondage, crying out to God year after year after year. Think of Israel delivered from bondage plodding around in the wilderness for years and years because, as Moses told them later, God wanted to humble them, letting them hunger, feeding them with manna, so that he might teach them that humans do not live by bread alone, but they live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. But they didn’t know that for forty years, did they? The question “How long oh Lord?” is repeated often by many…even by kings (Psalm 13) and by holy martyrs (Revelation 6:10).

Does God hear? And if he hears, when will he answer? 

I think this struggle is illustrated perfectly in our Gospel lesson for today.

Now, it might be helpful to backtrack a little bit to set the stage for the drama about to unfold. Remember in the previous account, Jesus left Judea and went to Bethany beyond the Jordan because the leaders of the Jews wanted to arrest him. So, for the sake of safety, it was best for him to remain where he was until the dust of his previous confrontation with the Jewish leaders had settled. And while he stayed in that area where John the Baptist had been active, many of the Baptist’s former disciples believed in Jesus. He had quite a ministry right where he was. 

In this context, the message arrived from Bethany in Judea…from Martha and Mary concerning the plight of their brother Lazarus (Eleazar in Hebrew). Now, it might be helpful for you to think of this message as a prayer for intervention…a prayer asking for healing. We must assume that Lazarus was gravely ill, otherwise, the sisters would not have sent for Jesus. Theirs was a closely-knit friendship and so they would have known that it would be dangerous for Jesus to return, but again we must assume that they were desperate. 

You might think that John stole a bit of his thunder here in these opening verses in telling us something that would only happen chronologically in the next chapter of his Gospel…that it was this Mary who anointed Jesus' feet with costly ointment…but as John never wrote anything without a good reason, I believe this bit of anticipatory information was to show that the love shared between Jesus and this family was deeply mutual. In fact, he added in verse 5 that Jesus loved this family. 

Now, I believe John was giving his first-time readers something to hold on to as they navigated the emotional account that followed. Jesus loved them, he wrote. It is as if John was saying to his readers, ‘Hold onto that thought as you plunge into the depths of grief and loss and bewilderment…as you hear the sister's painful struggle with what looked like Jesus’ lack of care or his apparent indifference: “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Hold on to that thought as you ask the same question raised by the crowd “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”’

Indeed, it is that same thought we must hold on to as we face the ups and downs of life. God loves us…we must hold onto that truth through whatever may follow…it is this truth that will carry us when all else fails.

Johannine scholars all believe that the raising of Lazarus is the seventh and final sign in this Gospel. If you remember, the first sign was performed at a wedding. This last sign is performed at a funeral…perhaps this is significant as the greatest sign of all is surely the death and resurrection of Jesus…an event that ushered in the wedding feast of the Lamb.

But I couldn’t help wondering if the signs in John's Gospel were not designed to indicate a flipped or reversed image of the Exodus plagues. John often employed images taken from Creation and from the Exodus, so it would not be surprising if there is some indication of reverse imagery here. For example, Jesus’ first sign was water turned to drinkable wine versus the first plague which was water turned to undrinkable blood. His final sign here was possibly the reversal of the death of the firstborn. 

Now, as with the plagues, there was also an escalation in the intensity of the signs coupled with an escalation in the violent response of the enemies. In the Exodus, this led to the total religious and socioeconomic collapse of Egypt and ultimately the destruction of Pharoah’s army in the Red Sea. In the Gospels, it led to the rejection and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, an event foreshadowed by the tearing of the veil, as well as the total disarmament of Satan and his forces of darkness (Colossians 2:15). 

But let's get back to the story. Considering the mutual love between Jesus and this family and the receipt of this desperate request for an immediate reaction, Jesus' delayed response comes as a major surprise. The obvious expectation of the sisters was that he would realise the urgent and serious nature of the situation and come as soon as possible. 

But instead, Jesus deliberately decided to wait, apparently reassuring his disciples that this illness would not lead to death…adding somewhat enigmatically that it was for the glory of God so that the Son of Man might be glorified through it.

So, at this point, the disciples knew as much as what the first readers would have known. Whatever happened, God and the mysterious Son of Man would be glorified…whatever that may mean. Not too different from what we know when facing an unknown future, is it? 

But I think it is important for us to note that the sisters were not around to hear Jesus’ statement. They were about 20 miles or 32 kilometres west of where Jesus was at that time, trapped within the blind reality of their own hand-wringing anxiety. No doubt their eyes scanned the horizon moment by moment searching for the familiar figure of the only one who could help them. Anything…just an indication that he might be on his way…but the horizon remained devoid of any such promise. Can you imagine the difficult internal turmoil they must have been struggling with? Didn’t he care? Could he not simply speak a word to heal their brother? And as they watched their beloved brother slowly slip away from them, their hearts must have been battlefields of strong opposing emotions. 

And still, no reply…no response…nothing…

This is why John’s timely reminder is so important to us. Jesus loved this family. In a similar manner, the Scriptures tell us page after page that God loves us and that his love is based, not on our performance, but on his unchanging character. This is the rock we cling to when the storms of life threaten to pull us into the depths of despair. God loves us and whatever he does is because of that love.

Of course, the statement that Jesus loved this family seems to be contradicted by his lack of action on their behalf. John tells us that he deliberately waited two more days after having received the petition from the sisters. We know that he knew that this delay of two days would prove to be fatal as he never did anything arbitrarily, but he also must have known how devastatingly painful his apparent absence would have been for his friends. For all we know, Lazarus may have died thinking that his friend did not care about him. 

Perhaps, as John recorded Jesus’ deep emotional response at the grave later in the chapter, this delay may have been every bit as painful for Jesus as it was for the family, but as we already know, Jesus never did anything except what he heard from the Father…and therefore he knew what the result would be. But they did not. And herein lies the greatest lesson of trust we need to learn as children of God. Our Father knows what is best for us in all situations and he always does what is best for us because he loves us.

When we struggle with the overwhelming pain brought on by the apparent silence of Heaven, we need to rehearse stories such as this one so that we might be reminded that God does answer, but in a way that may be far beyond the reach of our finite capacity for comprehension. Paul wrote that God is well able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we may ask or think according to his power at work within us. At those times when we have reached the end of our own limited strength and our poor, empty hearts seek vainly for a straw of hope to hold on to, remember Mary and Martha during their time of waiting. 

But then, Jesus’ determination to return to Judea raised another dilemma. His own safety. Besides this, his sudden decision to go after a delay of two days must have seemed odd to his disciples. Why now? “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”

Jesus’ reply was short and to the point. He was not operating in the darkness as were his opponents. He knew God’s will. He knew the mind of God on this matter, and he was following his clear leading. No doubt, as was his custom, Jesus had spent the two days praying…asking his Father for wisdom and guidance. His time was in the hands of the Father, not his enemies. So, his return was no fatalistic jump from the pinnacle of the temple. No, the way forward was as clear as day…and so he went.

But if they thought his decision to return to Judea after two days was strange, what he said next must have been really confusing. Not only was he willing to risk his life by returning to a dangerous area (remember Bethany was only about 2 miles/3 kilometres from Jerusalem), but it seemed he was going for nothing. Lazarus was dead. 

Can you imagine the perplexed look on the disciples’ faces? And what were they to make of Jesus’ vague indication that somehow this was for their benefit? How could this dangerous visit to a tomb be to anyone’s benefit except perhaps consoling the sisters? 

Little did they know that they were about to witness the most amazing miracle ever performed by Jesus. Yes, they already knew that he could heal various kinds of diseases…that he could even restore senses which had never been present…they even knew that he could raise the dead as in the case of Jairus’s daughter or the son of the widow of Nain. But no one would have imagined that he could raise a four-day-old rotting corpse to life. Perhaps in their minds, if the body remained intact, there might still be a glimmer of hope, but once the body had begun to succumb to the process of decay, everyone was resigned to the finality of the situation.

No one could have anticipated such an event, so the statement of Thomas no doubt reflected the mood of the whole group. “Let us also go, that we may die with him,” a statement of resignation, if ever there was one. What made him say something like this? I think it is for the same reason we get discouraged when we face a delay in receiving an answer to prayer. He, like us, could not grasp the full reality of God’s Person and the certainty of his promises. 

Did Jesus promise to be with us until the end of the age? Did he promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against us? Did he promise that even though we may face trials and tribulations in this world, he has overcome the world? Did he promise to be with us in the deepest darkest valleys? Did he promise that he would work all things together for the good of those who love him and who are called according to his purpose? 

Why then do we allow the circumstances of life to rob us of the assurance we have in him? Is he not an altogether good God? An Almighty, sovereign, loving, kind, and generous God? It is not as if we have no example of his power…we have the testimony of the Scriptures as well as the lives of countless witnesses down through the ages…as well as the witness of our own lives. If God was with you then or there, why would he fail you now? 

I believe the main reason we are so prone to doubt and despair when we feel pressed up against a wall of impossibilities, is that our focus is either on ourselves and our weaknesses and inabilities, or on others…on their power or their lack of power, or on the situation or circumstance, such as a rotting corpse. Like Mary, Martha, and the disciples, we too look past the Person of Jesus and fix our eyes on the seemingly insurmountable problem.

George Müller, a Christian evangelist in the mid to late 1800s, the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, and co-founder of the Plymouth Brethren Movement, wrote about a time when he was faced with a similar desperate situation in his orphan ministry. In his autobiography, he wrote, “The funds were exhausted. We had been reduced so low as to be at the point of selling those things which could be spared.” Then a woman, who had been travelling for four days, arrived with sufficient funds for the orphanage. Müller and his co-workers had prayed those four days for something God had already supplied. 

Under these circumstances, Müller made the following observation. “That the money had been so near to the orphan house for several days without being given, is a plain proof that it was from the beginning in the heart of God to help us; but because he delights in the prayers of his children, he had allowed us to pray so long; also to try our faith, and to make the answer so much sweeter.” (Müller, George, The Life of Trust, Compass Circle, 2019.)

God’s response to our prayers may not always come within four days…they might never come at all, at least not on this side of eternity. But the answering of our prayers is not the point. Our relationship with a trustworthy God is. If we cannot trust him who has proved himself faithful from generation to generation since the dawn of time, then we are in trouble at the very centre of our lives as believers. 

Study the Scriptures…study Church History…see if God has ever proved to be a broken cistern. Study your own life…even a cursory glance at your past will reveal his constant presence with you, especially in your darkest moments. Now, evaluate any present or future difficulty in the light of your findings. 

What makes you so great or so small that God is rendered unable or unwilling to help you? What makes your problems so different from those faced by countless saints through the ages who have proved God to be faithful that it causes you to believe your God to be impotent or untrue to his nature and his character? 

Learn from the disciples…learn from the sisters. Don’t limit God in any way. While his answer may not be the one you wanted, if he can raise a four-day-old rotting corpse, he can turn your apparent disadvantage into a testimony to his greatness and his glory.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas Newsletter

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in the Netherlands

Thanksgiving. The Oxford Dictionary defines this word as the expression of gratitude, especially to God…or as an annual national holiday in North America marked by religious observances and a traditional meal. In many ways, the second definition symbolises the first definition. It is a meal of thanksgiving…of gratitude. It began with a need…hunger and famine and starvation…and became an expression of abundant blessing. There is another meal that began with a need…a spiritual hunger and famine and starvation…that became an expression of abundant blessing too. This is, of course, the Eucharist…the Great Thanksgiving…the Lord’s Supper…the Sacrament of Holy Communion…all words indicating a meal that celebrates our wondrous unity with Jesus by means of his self-sacrifice on our behalf. Every time we gather to share in the symbols of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood, we give thanks. But there is another meal…an ominous meal that made this Sacrament necessary. A meal that is the exact opposite of that represented in the Eucharist. It is a meal that began with abundance, that took place in the Garden of Eden, where the host was not God, but the serpent…where the participation was not in thankful obedience to a holy command, but in thankless disobedience birthed in ingratitude and lust for independence. It is a meal of absence rather than presence…isolation rather than intimacy…individuality rather than interdependence…secular rather than sacred. This is the meal that is celebrated most in Europe. A meal that creates a restless search for meaning and purpose…a search that invariably continues endlessly without achieving any form of lasting satisfaction or contentment. As continual excessive salt intake produces an unquenchable thirst, this prideful attempt at self-realisation leads to need, famine, and starvation…and, indeed, to the opposite of thanksgiving. More and more and more never seems to fill the void…because it cannot. Looking at the rising number of strikes, riots, demonstrations, and right-wing political resentment one cannot help but wonder if this is not the new “Winter of Discontent”. The greedy and the needy are once more at a standoff. Not very different from the time when Jesus lived among us. This is why the Christmas message is as important now as it was then. Our beleaguered and polarised planet cries out for deliverance…but deliverance does not come through violence or war…if history teaches us anything it is that strife and struggle produces nothing but more strife and struggle. No, deliverance comes through not wanting more but wanting less.  Deliverance comes through sacrifice. The first meal recorded in Scripture did not bring happiness…the desire to be “gods” brings chaos and calamity as it is not in sync with our design. Lust does not lead to love. Christmas is also the time when people are generally quite open to hearing the Gospel. “Tradition” will often attract those who sense a need for something more than temporal. So, during this Advent and Christmas season at Christ Church, Heiloo, we plan to host several events that may hopefully serve to stir an ancient memory of a time when God and his Creation lived in harmony. Please do pray that those who attend will, like the Bethlehem Shepherds, be filled with awe and amazement and a desire to go and tell others about Jesus. But to return to the theme of thanksgiving. Louise and I are so thankful for everyone who partners with us in making Jesus known. It is your sacrificial giving and your unceasing prayers that make it possible for us to tell his story to those who have largely forgotten him. The other day, we saw a sign outside an old church building that now serves as a cultural centre that invited passers-by to come in to meet a “spiritual guide” who would tell them all they needed to know about the future. There is a fear here…a very real fear…too many around us have access to weapons of mass destruction. Please continue to help us lead the bewildered and the frightened to the only one who holds their future in his hands. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you celebrate the Reason for the Season. May our gracious King grant you peace and contentment throughout this Advent and Christmas Season. Love, cyber-hugs, and blessings Johann and Louise Support Us Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. They then worked in Southern Africa, serving in seven southern African countries, while continuing to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are now serving in Heiloo, the Netherlands. We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Support SAMS

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Never Give Up

Psalm 68:1-4, 28, 32-35                            Romans 8:34-39                             John 10:22-42

Never Give Up

Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the most infamous successors of Alexander the Great, banned Jews from practising their religion and tried to make them worship the Greek god, Zeus. During his oppressive reign, there was a dispute over the leadership of the Temple and a power struggle for the High Priesthood. As a result, Antiochus personally entered the Holy of Holies in 169 BC, stole the temple's precious gold and silver vessels, and appointed his own High Priest, a man by the name of Menelaus. 

He then decided to Hellenize Judea, which led to the end of the sacrificial system, the prohibition of circumcision, and the construction of a Greek altar to Zeus inside the Temple on December 25, 167 BC. There, Antiochus sacrificed pigs, sprinkling the altar with the blood of the sacrifice. He also commanded that the Jewish scrolls be sprinkled with a broth made of the pig's flesh, forced the priests to eat the flesh, and had the Menorah, the lamp signifying the presence of God in the Temple, extinguished. According to the Jewish 1st Century historian, Josephus, those Jews who refused to comply with his demands were crucified along with their circumcised children hanging around their necks. 

A while later, when an erroneous report of the death of Antiochus was circulating, the deposed High Priest recaptured Jerusalem, causing Menelaus to flee for his life. But, according to 2 Maccabees 5:11–14, when Antiochus, who was not dead as supposed, heard about this, “he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.”

After restoring Menelaus as High Priest, Antiochus then helped the Hellenised Jews by issuing decrees against the traditionalists. He made Jewish rituals and traditions illegal and transformed the Temple in Jerusalem into a hybrid pagan-Jewish sect that worshipped Zeus. Antiochus then built a Greek citadel called the Acra in Jerusalem for Hellenized Jews and Greek soldiers. 

A while later, a priest by the name of Mattathias of the house of Hasmon led a revolt against this tyranny. Unfortunately, within only one year, Mattathias died, but his son, Judas Maccabaeus, continued the struggle and subsequently led the Jews to victory over the forces of Antiochus. 

In December 164 BC, exactly three years after Antiochus had defiled the Temple, Judas recaptured Jerusalem, all except the Acra. He then had “righteous priests” cleanse the Holy Place and erect a new altar of unhewn stones. They then rededicated the sanctuary on December 24 (Kislev 25 in the Hebrew calendar), offering sacrifices as prescribed in the Law. He commanded a celebration of eight days, a festival that became known as “Hanukkah” or, as it is in the English translation, the “Festival of Dedication” or the “Festival of Lights” that commemorates the defeat of Antiochus as well as the renewal of proper worship. The outcome of this victory was the rise of the priestly kings known as the Hasmoneans, a dynasty that lasted until the Romans took over Judea in 63 BC.

This is the background to the Gospel passage we read today. Freedom from the tyranny of those who would seek to impose false worship and the renewal of true worship through the intervention of a deliver. 

The tragedy of it all is that those who were responsible for the maintenance of the Temple in the 1st Century AD were descendants of the Maccabees/Hasmoneans. They were known as the Sadducees, upper-class wealthy aristocrats and members of the high priestly family, who served on the Sanhedrin together with the Pharisees. 

But unfortunately, they were largely conciliatory toward their Roman overlords, often cooperating with the authorities and the Herodian rulers, so that they might maintain stability and protect their positions of authority. The Romans, through their political authority, often manipulated the selection of the High Priest by approving candidates who were favourable or accommodating to Roman interests. This meant that, indirectly, the Romans had a hand in the appointment of the High Priest, a rather important religious position.

The Sadducees' cooperation with the Roman powers was multifaceted. They had a vested interest in maintaining the functioning of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was not only a religious centre but also a significant economic and social institution…remember Jesus' attempt to drive out the money changers and merchants from the Temple precincts in John 2:13-17? If history teaches us anything it is that nothing is quite so lucrative as a religion. So, because they feared that disruption or interference in Temple activities might provoke a harsh response from Rome, potentially leading to severe consequences such as the closure of the Temple or other punitive actions, they endeavoured to keep the peace at all costs. 

This is one of the reasons why they opposed Jesus. In John 11:47-48, we read: “Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man (Jesus) is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

This political collaboration for the sake of maintaining the Temple's operation was viewed negatively by the other Jewish sects, like the Pharisees and the Zealots, and was one of the reasons for the establishment of the Essene community at Qumran. Many thought that the Sadducees compromised Jewish individuality and Jewish religious principles by aligning with foreign powers for their own benefit. The accusation of being collaborators with Rome was a significant point of contention and opposition against the Sadducees.

But the sad truth of this was that the Temple was once more a place of compromise, a hybrid pagan-Jewish sect just as it had been under Antiochus Epiphanes. One can then hardly miss the irony of the question then: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah (or the deliverer), tell us plainly.” 

It has often been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Israel had a long history of would-be deliverers. Moses delivered the people from slavery in Egypt, and look at what happened to them in the wilderness! Joshua delivered them from defeat during the period of the conquest, and look at what happened to them after they had settled in nicely! Various judges delivered them from different oppressors, only for them to be oppressed again later because of their ongoing sin. Saul and David delivered them from the Philistines, and Solomon brought in a period of peace and prosperity only to lose it all through temptation and false worship. And the Maccabees delivered them from Antiochus, only to lose it all to the Romans…up and down they went all the way through to the time of the New Testament. One would have thought that by now they would have realised that any human deliverer was useless. 

And yet, their idea of the Messiah was all too human. They were expecting some conquering hero like Joshua or David or Judas Maccabeus…perhaps that was the reason they asked this question during this particular festival commemorating the deliverance of Judea and the rededication of the Temple. 

But it is difficult for anyone to adopt a different view once they have formed a definite opinion on something. That’s why opinions are such dangerous things…they can not only blind you to opposite points of view, but they can also rob you of the truth. 

And that was certainly true here. “I did tell you,” Jesus insisted, “but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.” 

Obviously, Jesus did not fit their bill…he was not the hero they wanted…and so even though his works and his words testified to the truth about his identity, they simply could not see it. Judging by their reaction in verse 31, they had pretty much made up their minds about their Messiah, so it doesn’t seem as if they were expecting an answer that would have changed their opinions…rather they seem to have been wanting a reason to denounce him and get rid of him.

Even so, Jesus did not shrink from answering their enquiry. He maintained that his words and his works had already given them the answer to their question. But then he added the stinger. He said the reason they missed the obvious was because they were not his sheep…that’s why they could not hear the voice of the Shepherd. Ouch! These were the leaders in Israel…these were the teachers of the law, and the maintainers of the Temple. 

In this brief discourse, Jesus underlined some basic principles. 

Firstly, he stated without excuse or elaboration that only his sheep hear his voice. Those who are not of his sheep do not respond because they do not hear. 

Secondly, as we saw last week, he declared that he knows his sheep and his sheep know him as intimately as the members of the Trinity know each other. “My sheep listen to my voice,” Jesus said, “I know them, and they follow me.” Or as Paul later wrote to Timothy, “…the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are his…” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Thirdly, Jesus affirmed that eternal life is a gift, not something to be earned by merit. The biblical presupposition is clearly that man cannot and will not seek after God as sin prevents him from doing so. (See Psalm 14:2–3, Isaiah 59, and Romans 3:11) That is the main problem with all human deliverers too…they cannot deliver because they themselves need to be delivered. Although humans will generally tend to search for something higher or more powerful than them, they will never reach an understanding of the one true God without the enlightening and regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. 

Fourthly, Jesus made it very clear that the life he would give to those who believed in him was guaranteed by both him and his Father. Nothing could ever snatch his sheep from his hand. As Paul said in Romans 8:38-39, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

The reason Jesus gave for this bold statement was that God is the greatest power and authority there is and he is subject to none but himself. He is greater than all by virtue of who he is…he is God the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of all things. Everything in the entire universe has reference to his will and his command and therefore his declaration cannot be overturned by anything or anyone. The sheep of his pasture are secure by the desire and decree of him who upholds all things by the word of his power.

But it was Jesus’ final statement that brought about the violent reaction. “I and my Father,” Jesus said, “are one.” 

Now, if you stop and think about their reaction to this statement one cannot help but marvel at their blindness. After everything Jesus had said and done, who else could he possibly be? This is why he said, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” Jesus' works mirrored his Father's works…and therefore his works testified to their oneness. 

One becomes even more acutely aware of the nature of their blindness in their answer to his challenge. Let’s backtrack a bit to catch the flow of the discussion. In verse 24 they asked him to reveal whether or not he was the Messiah. Jesus told them that his words and works had already supplied the answer to their question, but since they wanted a direct answer, he gave them one. Yes, I am the Messiah…but not your idea of the Messiah, as any human messiah would simply not be able to fulfil what God had promised…no human messiah could fulfil Genesis 3:15…no human messiah could reverse the effect of the fall. So yes, I am the Messiah. I am God, the only possible eternal deliverer.

For this direct reply, they wanted to stone him to death. In a moment of amazing patience, Jesus once more revealed to them the ludicrous nature of their reasoning. Every one of his words and works supported his statement…which one of these warranted the death penalty? Who else but God could have said and done what he had said and done?

But they could not see the wood for the trees.  To them, he was a mere human…and not one with a good pedigree at that… even though they could not explain how a mere human, a demon-possessed human, or a mad human could do the works he did. They would much rather attribute his works to the devil…as if the devil could do what he had done! That is blind, indeed! 

But why? Why could they not acknowledge him to be who he said he was? Well because that would blow the whole warp and woof of their theological worldview to pieces. Everything they believed, everything they taught, everything they lived for…everything would be overturned…and that meant they stood to lose all they ever held to be true and all they ever held dear, especially their life that was so bound up with all that happened in and around the Temple. If the Lord himself had, indeed, suddenly returned in person to his Temple, they were in deep, deep trouble.

So, Jesus once again calmly brushed aside their objection by citing Psalm 82:6 where the judges of Israel were called gods by virtue of their position as representatives of God. If mere human representatives could be called ‘gods’, how much more would the title not fit the divine representative of God on earth?

Yet, even here, when the spiritual blindness and deadness of his hearers is as plain as day, Jesus still graciously extended a word of appeal. “Do not believe me,” Jesus said, “unless I do the works of the Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” This merciful and persistent call of the shepherd even to those who appeared not to hear serves as an example to us. If the one who knew the mind of God could still lovingly reach out to those who refused him and who rejected his gift of life, how much more should we not persist in presenting the Gospel to those who reject it time after time? We don’t know the mind of God as far as the salvation of others is concerned. If Jesus never gave up on anyone, neither should we. 

Sadly, this new appeal was once again violently opposed and Jesus left the volatile situation and went to an area beyond the Jordan where John the Baptist had once ministered. It was the memory of John’s faithful preaching and teaching that now led many to believe in Jesus. Although John never lived to see this renewed swell of faith, he had planted the seeds which now germinated and grew. 

And, as such, the faith of John’s one-time disciples serves as a stark contrast to the lack of faith of the Jews in Jerusalem. Both had heard John’s preaching. Both had heard Jesus’ words and both had seen his works. Yet, only one group believed…

“My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus said, “and I know them, and they follow me.” There is no if or but in this sentence. There are no ifs and buts with God. He knows his own and he holds them in the palm of his hand…no power in all creation, things visible or invisible, can ever snatch us from his hand.

This is the word of the Lord. Believe it, receive it, accept it, apply it, and thank God for it. 

But there is a sad parallel between this passage and the Church today. Just as the Sadducees were the descendants of the Maccabees/Hasmoneans, so we, dearest beloved brethren, are the descendants of the Reformers! We are the children of those who died for the Word! But what is being done even now in the modern Church? Are we not fast becoming a hybrid pagan-Christian sect? 

God’s Word is once more being ignored or swept aside to give way to man’s thoughts and traditions as we bow to the demands of a self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-gratifying, self-centred, hedonistic society. God’s Word is being cast aside for the opinions of the world.

The Lord Jesus once more walks in the midst of those who dare to call themselves by his name and he is once more rejected and ridiculed by those who ought to know better. Like Judas Maccabaeus, the Reformers fought and died to deliver us from empty religion…and like the Sadducees and Pharisees our Church leaders fear that living out the holy otherness we are called to might provoke a harsh response from the world, and so they endeavour to keep a peace that will cost us dearly. We cannot say we love God and walk in darkness…we cannot, and we must not. There can be no collaboration with the world.

Those of us who remain faithful and true to our Shepherd are equally in danger of being stoned, literally or figuratively, but we have his witness and the witness of the great cloud of witnesses and more witnesses down throughout the ages and the witness of his constant presence with us to keep and guide us through these perilous times. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you his kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

These accusers have been faced before…they have been overcome before…and, by his grace, we will overcome them once more. It has been decreed by the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

Many may say that it seems foolish to continue to pursue purity and holiness…why not throw in the towel and give in to the revisionists, they ask?  True…“the disciples of Jesus will be made to look and feel like a fool. Yet, fools for Christ formed the Early Church. And as that tiny band of believers grew, the world witnessed the power in such foolishness.” (Brennan Manning, The Signature of Jesus (Multnomah, 1996), p. 87)

We should not give up as long as he does not give up. He will cleanse and purify his church as he has done before. 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023

Comfort and Courage

Psalm 118:19-21                         Ezekiel 34:11-15                            John 10:7-21

Comfort and Courage

Someone once said in jest that he was glad God had chosen him before he was born because he surely would not have chosen him afterwards. Of course, this was meant as a joke…but it may reflect what some believe about faith and salvation…that God chooses the good only and not the bad. However, the Scriptures teach us that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for the ungodly. In other words, Jesus died for you in full knowledge of your every weakness, your wickedness, your self-centredness, and your sinfulness. 

The parable of the Good Shepherd emphasises the sovereignty of God over all things. Throughout the parable, nothing is left to chance. God guarantees everything from beginning to end, even the reaction of his sheep. When they are called, they cannot but respond to the voice of their shepherd.

The imagery should have been very clear to all who heard it because Jesus used well-known images from the Scriptures in his parable. John 10 is a masterfully woven tapestry, full and rich with many layers.

For example: the imagery of an entrance to the presence of God comes from as far back as Genesis 3:23-24 where the gateway or the door to Paradise/Eden was closed to prevent fallen man from partaking of the fruit of the tree of life.

In his Gospel, John used multiple metaphors to describe the person and work of Jesus in terms of a light that overcomes the darkness (a re-creation motif), water that quenches spiritual thirst and the bread of life (both possible allusions to the Exodus), the shepherd of God’s people, the gateway to God’s sheepfold, and, in his book on the revelation, the Tree of Life. Jesus is revealed to be not a way but the way, not a truth but the truth, not a life but the life…no one can gain access to the Father…no one can gain access to the sheepfold or to Paradise except through him.

The prayer of the faithful has always been for God to open or, indeed, to reopen to us the gates of righteousness so that we might go through them into the presence of the Lord to worship him. It is a plea for the reversal of the curse of Genesis 3. So, John presents us with an image of Jesus as the gateway to life.

The imagery of God as a shepherd was a frequent one in the Old Testament. Psalm 23 is probably the best known, and there are several references in the prophets, but the one I thought matches well with John 10 is found in Ezekiel: “…I myself,” God said, “will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day…I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down…” 

The meaning of this prophecy seems obvious and those who knew the Scriptures well ought to have understood Jesus’ words in terms of what God had said he would do for his sheep. It seems that in his parable, Jesus applied the prophecy directly to himself: as the shepherd, he would search for his sheep and seek them out, he would gather them and bring them in, he would deliver them, he would lead them to pleasant pastures, he would give them life even at the expense of his own, and he would establish them in one sheepfold. 

So, let’s look at this parable and the reaction to it, shall we? 

In verses 7-10, Jesus likened himself to the gateway or the door to the sheepfold. Some commentators have explained this in terms of the Ancient Near Eastern custom for a shepherd to sleep in the opening of the sheepfold. Anything or anyone wanting to enter the sheepfold would of necessity have to deal first with the shepherd. 

However, Jesus does not portray himself as a shepherd in a gateway. He says that he is the gateway that is opened by God the watchman. He has already said as much in John 6:65: “…no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by my Father.” In other words, the gateway or the door is only opened to those to whom it has been granted…the sheep who enter the sheepfold through the gate are those who have been given to the Shepherd by God the doorkeeper.

Because of this, I believe we ought to think through the implications of this metaphor when it comes to our witnessing to others. It is not us who are responsible for the saving of the sheep. To be sure, it is for us to speak the words of the Shepherd so that they might hear his voice…we must faithfully sow the seeds, to use another metaphor…but it is for God to grant access to the sheepfold through the gate he has provided. I find this comforting when my words seem to fall on deaf ears.

Then in verse 8, Jesus provided a contrast between himself and those who had come before him. Now, as he repeatedly endorsed Moses and the Prophets, it is hardly likely that he meant they were the thieves and robbers…rather, I believe, the thieves and robbers he was referring to here were more than likely the false shepherds denounced in Jeremiah and Ezekiel and elsewhere. 

The context of the passage seems to indicate that the objects of his remarks were the Pharisees and their predecessors…remember in John 8:44 Jesus called them children of the devil…in Matthew 12:34 he said they were a brood of vipers…and in Matthew 23:15 he denounced the teachers of the law and the Pharisees because they would make their converts twice as much a child of hell as they were. Strong words…but what else should one call those who deliberately lead people astray to eternal doom and destruction but thieves and robbers, children of the devil, a brood of snakes, and the spawn of hell? There are and always have been wolves who dress in sheep’s clothing…or clerical clothing, in this case. 

According to this parable, Jesus alone is the gateway or the door for the sheep and he alone is the true shepherd of the sheep. Those who would enter the sheepfold must both follow him and go through him…there is no other way. 

Then the second major contrast in this passage is that of the shepherd and the hireling. In this case, as the shepherd is said to own the sheep, Jesus was probably once more affirming that he and the Father are one. The hireling is portrayed as a person who has been given charge over sheep that belong to someone else. His is a salaried position, without personal investment or ownership and consequently, his commitment is but shallow. When any kind of threat arises, his care for the sheep is half-hearted at best or absent at worst. 

This, of course, raises an interesting question. Should we regard any clergyperson who shrinks away from defending the flock against any form of heresy as an uncaring and cowardly hireling? Are not all true shepherds of the flock of God to mirror the Good Shepherd who defended his sheep with his own life? Surely when it comes to the safety of the sheep, we ought to deplore spinelessness or apathy. 

Down throughout the ages, one major problem in the Church has been the inability or unwillingness of shepherds to confront the wolves…especially the wolves that pretend to be shepherds. Too many shepherds are and have been more concerned with keeping the peace, with maintaining their popularity, or with holding on to their salary and their pension plans than with the safety of the sheep entrusted to their care. 

The Good Shepherd and all true shepherds who have gone before us have set us an example. Running away for whatever reason simply means we don’t care for God’s sheep nor do we fear God, for that matter. “A false sheepfold is easily recognized because it does not exist for the sheep but for the reputation of the false shepherds.” (Commentary on John 10 in the Central and Eastern European Bible Commentary, Langham Publishing, 2022, 1199.)

Verses 14 through 18 can, in many ways, be considered a fundamental truth of the Gospel. Jesus likened the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep to that of his and his Father. The words “just as” and the word “know” indicate the intimate connection between Jesus and his Church. Just as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father so the Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know their shepherd. Think about this for just a moment. The Shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know their shepherd IN THE SAME WAY as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father.

The “knowing” is mutual and reciprocal. This interconnectedness can be seen when Jesus asked Saul on the road to Damascus why he was persecuting him when, in reality, Saul was persecuting the members of the Church. And when we follow this interconnectedness through to its logical conclusion, we must assume that the true Church universal is one despite our many denominational divisions because we are united to and by one Shepherd.

Keeping that in mind, let’s look at verse 16. Here Jesus mentioned other sheep who were not of “this fold”. No doubt, he was referring to the Gentiles and was suggesting that the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 would be fulfilled through him. Remember, God promised Abraham that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. 

Paul developed this thought in Galatians 3:8-9. “The Scripture,” he wrote, “foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” 

Psalm 22:27-28 states: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations.” 

In 7:14 of his book, Daniel said of the Son of Man, “And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” 

Isaiah said in 49:6, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to (only) raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light to the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. The inclusion of these “other sheep” was not something new made up by Jesus or even later by the Church. Israel was chosen to be a light to the world so that other nations would be drawn to God. Bringing the Gentiles into the fold was God’s plan all along. 

In romans 11:17, Paul speaks of the Gentiles as wild olive branches being grafted into Israel, the domestic olive tree. In other words, the flock of God includes both those Jews and Gentiles who have entered the sheepfold through the gateway provided by the Father… through Jesus, the Good Shepherd who guarantees that he will bring in all his flock into the one sheepfold and they will be one flock with one Shepherd. 

That guarantee, Jesus said, would be sealed with his life. Jesus would lay down his life for his sheep. What is important to note here is that this laying down was orchestrated by the Shepherd himself. In verses 17-18, Jesus categorically stated that no one took his life from him, but he laid it down of his own accord. He said that he had the authority to lay it down and he had the authority to take it up again. As such, this act of self-sacrifice reveals his divine nature.

Why do I say that? Well because Jesus was not sacrificed…he gave his life freely…he had the power and the right to lay it down and the power to and the right to take it back up again. Here we once again see the interconnectedness between the Father and the Son, and, indeed, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave up his Son who gave up himself…the Father resurrected the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the Son had the authority to resurrect himself. And as no mere man can sacrifice himself and resurrect himself, this declaration was a clear reference to his divine nature. 

However, his hearers once more misunderstood him. It appears that they thought that by stating that he would lay down his life he was going to commit suicide. Apparently, in that culture, any person talking about suicide was considered to be demon-possessed. But once more Jesus’ opponents were faced with a conundrum. How on earth could a demon-possessed man or even a madman open the eyes of one born blind?

The problem here seems to be a wilful misunderstanding and a misapplication of the Scriptures rather than a lack of knowledge of the Scriptures.  As we have seen, Jesus was clearly referencing Old Testament passages when he spoke this parable. But the Pharisees had already entrenched themselves in their own interpretation of God’s Word and therefore they were not able to hear his voice even when he addressed them directly. That is what false shepherds do. They uphold falsehood even in the light of the truth. They do so because their reputations or their livelihood depend on it…not because they care for the sheep. 

But for us who do hear and who do respond positively to the voice of the Shepherd, there is great comfort in this teaching. Here Jesus teaches us that the Good Shepherd chooses his sheep, and they are chosen, according to Deuteronomy 7:7-8, not because they are better than others, but simply because he loves them. He shows us that he is the one who initiates this salvific relationship…he is the one who calls…we simply respond. “We love him because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

This shepherd knows his sheep intimately…as intimately as the members of the Trinity know each other. And as we are closely connected to Jesus, so we are closely interconnected with everyone who enters the sheepfold through him as the Gateway. 

And then, I also think this teaching gives us great courage firstly, in reaching out to others in the name of Jesus because we know that if they are his they will respond…but then also, it gives us courage to stand up to those who seek to harm the flock of God by trying to lead them by a different way.  

We must always remember that this Good Shepherd who knows us as closely as he knows the other members of the Trinity,  and, according to Psalm 23, he is always with us, he provides for us even in the presence of our enemies, and he protects us with his rod and his staff.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023

Contrasts

Psalm 80:1-19                       Jeremiah 23:1-4                    John 9:35-10:6

Contrasts

“During World War I, some Turkish soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep from a hillside near Jerusalem. The shepherd, who had been sleeping, suddenly awakened to see his sheep being driven off on the other side of the ravine. He could not hope to recapture his flock by force single-handedly, but he knew how to get the flock to return to him. Standing up on his side of the ravine, he put his hands to his mouth and gave his own special call, which he used each day to gather his sheep to him. When the sheep heard the familiar sound, they turned and rushed down one side of the ravine and up the other toward their shepherd. No one could stop the animals. The shepherd was away with them to a place of safety before the soldiers could make up their minds to pursue them – and all because his sheep knew their master’s voice.” (adapted from Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael P Green, Baker, 2005)

I am told this is a true story, but even if it is not, the illustration still paints a vivid picture of what Jesus tells us about the Good Shepherd and his Flock in our Gospel passage today. The sheep in the story responded to the call of their shepherd even amidst the confusion and anxiety involved in being driven on by sticks and stones and shouting soldiers. Jesus used a similar illustration to show how his followers would always react positively to his voice despite threats and, indeed, years of incorrect teaching...and, in stark contrast, as we have seen in the Gospel of John several times already, how those who were not his followers would not hear nor respond positively to his voice regardless of the multitude of his inexplicable miracles and his Word-centred preaching and teaching.  

But the ultimate contrast in this parable lies in the realm of reality – of what is real versus what is not real – or what is true versus what is not true. In this story, Jesus teaches us that human reasoning does not always accurately correspond with fact. Besides their blundering blindness in their misjudgement of the healing of the blind man, the Pharisees thought that by rejecting Jesus and excommunicating the healed blind man, they were effectively excluding them from the congregation of God’s people, when, in reality, the exact opposite was true. They were, in fact, excluding themselves. In the scheme of things, what humans perceive to be correct often needs to be modified or changed. Our perception of things needs to be refracted through the prism of God’s Word.

The Gospel passage we read from today began with the second meeting of Jesus and the healed blind man. What is interesting in both these meetings is that, while the man played an active role in his defence before his interrogators, with Jesus he was almost completely passive. In both cases, he was a passive recipient of Jesus’ merciful compassion, firstly in his physical healing and then in his spiritual healing. The only time the man ever asked Jesus to do anything for him, was when he asked him to reveal the identity of the Son of Man.

In many ways, this serves as a perfect illustration of any relationship we may have with our Creator God. The initiative is always his. From the moment the first humans were created, it was God who came to us first in fellowship. In his choice of Israel, he made it perfectly clear that they did not choose him, nor did they deserve him…he chose them because he loved them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Jesus said something similar in John 15:16 when he reminded his disciples that they had not chosen him, but he had chosen them and appointed them to bear much fruit. Indeed, the Scriptures teach us plainly that no one seeks after the true God – if he did not reveal himself to us, we would be lost. 

In the case of the healed blind man, it is Jesus who initiates, Jesus who pronounces true judgement, Jesus who draws in what was expelled, and Jesus who regenerates. The narrative reveals the glorious reality that lies beyond our senses of a God who sovereignly calls his people to himself through no effort or work of their own.

But there is a tragedy in this narrative as well. Three groups of people very actively rejected the gift extended to them. They did not listen or respond positively to the voice of the Shepherd…a voice heard in the sheer impossibility of the miraculous healing. The healed blind man, on the one hand, concluded that Jesus was not who the Pharisees judged him to be based on his biblical knowledge of how God works…even though he may not have had a clear understanding of who Jesus was, he knew that the miracle could not have been performed by one who was not from God. 

On the other hand, we have those who observed the miracle…admittedly theirs was a second-hand type of observation, but still, since they heard the testimony of the parents who affirmed that he was indeed their son who had been born blind, they were witnesses…but because what they perceived to be true did not match what was true, they could not come to the correct conclusion. 

The parents themselves also missed the opportunity of a lifetime. They knew this man was their son. They knew he had been born blind. They knew that what had happened to him was miraculous. They should have been able to make the connection…but they did not because of fear. Fear can render us blind to even the most obvious truth. It is not just the young who fear the sneers of their peers. 

And then there are those who ought to have known better. Those who knew the Scriptures well. Those who taught the Scriptures to others. These are perhaps the most tragic figures of all…the shepherds who were meant to tend and care for the flock of God were destroying them and driving them away. Throughout history, we have seen shepherds destroying the Church because of their arrogant refusal to obey what God commands in his Word. I believe there is a special punishment reserved for those who wilfully mislead people…as James says, those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). But, as Jeremiah reminds us, and as we see in the case of this healed blind man, God himself will gather his flock and bring them back to his pasture where they will be fruitful and multiply. 

The marginalised and disenfranchised beggar was sought out by Jesus and his physical sight was enhanced and augmented by spiritual sight. 

At this point, Jesus introduced himself as a crossroads. “For judgment I have come into this world,” he said, “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” There is, and always has been, so much to be observed that testifies to the truth, both natural and supernatural, and yet, like the Pharisees, some repeatedly reject the obvious because they have already decided not to accept any alternative to whatever view they may hold to. They do not believe because they will not believe. They cannot see because they will not see. 

Some Pharisees who were with Jesus at the time (who, by the way, could have been from the group who had interrogated the healed blind man) naturally reacted to this statement. The contrast between their question and the one just asked by the healed blind man is glaring. On the one hand, the healed blind man asked, “Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him.” It is almost a confession of spiritual need: “No, I don’t see, but I want to so please help me see.” 

Whereas, in a damning question, the Pharisees asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Clearly, they felt Jesus was referring to them in his statement, otherwise, they would not have asked such a personal question, and clearly, they expected him to either retract his comment or explain it in such a way as to exonerate them. But rather, in his reply, Jesus revealed them to be the blindest of all.

You cannot cure someone who refuses to acknowledge that they are ill, can you? You cannot change those who don’t think there’s anything wrong with them. They must acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy before they can admit their need for God’s gracious gift and payment in full for sin. They must admit that they are blind before they can see. 

The Pharisees believed that they were right…they believed that they could see clearly. But when they looked at the law they saw only the sins of others, not their own, and therefore they saw no need for spiritual deliverance. Indeed, they congratulated themselves that they were righteous and not like other sinful people.

In the parable that followed, Jesus took the contrast even further. There is only one way to enter the sheepfold of God and that is through the door God has provided. It is only the true shepherd who can gain access through that door because he is the door. Those who seek to gain access to the sheepfold via a different way are exposed as thieves and robbers…blind guides, if you will, who wish to create a doorway of their own. 

The shepherd who enters by the door and who also is, in truth, the door, leads the sheep in and out of the sheepfold and the sheep follow him because they recognise his voice. Despite the voices of those attempting to clamber over the walls of the enclosure or the voices of those who try to steal them away, the sheep respond only to the voice of their shepherd. 

The imagery is simple. Jesus’ first-century listeners would have recalled many stories about sheep and shepherds from the Old Testament. They would have understood that the sheep represented the people of God and that the enclosure represented the covenant relationship they enjoyed with God. But Jesus used this well-known image to create a new image in which he was both the entrance to the covenant relationship as well as the one who led them into that covenant relationship. God the doorkeeper or the watchman opened the gateway through Jesus, but only through Jesus…no one else. 

But perhaps the most important thing to note at this point is that Jesus says it is impossible for true believers to follow imposters. “They will never follow a stranger,” Jesus said, “in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” The healed blind man could not dismiss or denounce Jesus even though the voices of all those around him…his neighbours, his leaders, and his parents…all demanded that he do just that. 

The Pharisees mistakenly believed that by excommunicating the healed blind man they had expelled him from the sheepfold…but in this parable, Jesus revealed that the exact opposite was the truth…the reality. Like the hungry Turkish soldiers, the leaders of Israel were attempting to steal the sheep away from the shepherd, but like the Jerusalem shepherd in our opening story, Jesus, both at once the only true shepherd as well as the only true entrance to the sheepfold, called his own to himself. And they followed him…

The healed blind man, no doubt, had no idea at first why he was defending Jesus at the risk of his own expulsion…but he did…despite the pressure from his peers, his superiors, and even his own parents. He could have agreed with their assessment simply for the sake of keeping the peace. After all, he had what he wanted. For the first time in his life, he could see! So, he could have simply shrugged and said, “Whatever”, and walked away. 

But he could not follow the voice of strangers as he had heard the call of his shepherd. The entrance had been flung open…the only step he had to take was to say “Lord, I believe!” and with that confession, he stepped into the sheepfold, not out of it! 

There are many false shepherds today as there have been throughout history…thieves and robbers…who attempt to steal the sheep out of the sheepfold. But there is only one true gateway and one true shepherd and one true fold. And because the sheep only listen to the voice of the true shepherd, nothing and no one in all of creation can ever separate us from the love of God that is ours in Jesus. 

Out of the barrenness of our spiritual deadness, Jesus brings us to new life in him, giving us a new meaning and a new future. He leads us out of captivity into true freedom. 

So, today, as you partake of the symbols of the greatest gift ever given to humankind, remember where he found you and where he is taking you. And, above all, remember why he took you! Like the healed blind man, we too must stand firm and defend the truth!

Shall we pray? 

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023