LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
His Sheep Hear His Voice
Of shepherds and hired hands
John 10.
John chapter 10 has a primordial importance when assuring one's heart in God.
The Gate
Everything begins with the gate. The allegory of the flock and their shepherd begins with the gate. Only by entering through the gate can one belong to the flock and be considered one of the shepherd's sheep.
The gate is used both for entering, and also for leaving, but in this case, the emphasis is placed on entering. –Whoever enters through me will be saved.
This clearly suggests that there are other forms of entering. You can climb over another part. In such a case, the shepherd will not welcome you, but rather, you will be considered a thief. Without a doubt, there are many other forms of entering Christian circles separate from the gate. What's more, after having entered by this way, you can remain there and prosper. However, although mankind has exploited the requirements of human a organizations, they won't be able to exploit the attentive eye of the good Shepherd.
It is possible to climb over to the flock in many strange ways. Through family ties, for social advantage, for moral conviction, or because of diverse fears. However, none of these, no matter how good the reason, justifies climbing over the fence in another way. Christ is the only true gate, the only way that we can find God and those that really love Him.
The thief
What will we say of the thieves and robbers? These are not those that seek to deceive the shepherd and attempt to pass off as another sheep; but rather, they are those evil individuals that enter to steal sheep, or to kill them.
They are followers and disciples of the great thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy. These intentions are precise and fateful. There is nothing good within him. It may well be that to steal is a lesser crime; but to kill and to destroy has the greatest possible graveness.
Many men are robbed by the work of this murderer, destroyer and thief. Many have gone to hell for his cause.
But the good Shepherd came to give life and life in abundance.
The judgment for the thief is clear and definitive. Jesus, the good Shepherd, defeated him on the cross and decreed a sentence of death on Satan.
The demons that follow him, will also receive a just payment -the severe payment - that is granted to the thieves and robbers.
The good Shepherd
It is interesting to notice in this chapter that it speaks of both the shepherd and of the good Shepherd. In the first verses (2-4) it speaks about the shepherd, and in the later ones (11,14-15) it speaks of the good Shepherd.
The shepherd is identified because: he enters by the gate; he is recognized by the watchman; the sheep recognize his voice; he knows their names; and he goes on ahead of the sheep and they follow him.
The good Shepherd is the one that knows and is known by the sheep, and, most of all, is the one that gives his life for the sheep.
The shepherd (from the first verses) can be taken as a model of the earthly shepherds (pastors); but the good Shepherd is unique, and is celestial. The good Shepherd does what the shepherds do, but also goes further. What distinguishes him is that he gives his life up for the sheep.
In Luke 15 it says that when the shepherd loses a sheep, he leaves the others in the desert and goes after the one that is lost until he finds it. The good Shepherd does this. He did it by coming to look for us and by saving us on the cross, and he continues saving us every day.
In the earth there are no good shepherds; there are only shepherds. The good Shepherd is unique; who shepherds us from the heavens. He is also known as the Chief shepherd. (1 Peter 5:4) He is the one with the greatest rights over the sheep. In fact, he is the only one that is entitled to them.
Some of these rights are: to own them, to claim obedience from them and to be followed by them. When the good Shepherd goes ahead, he must be followed. Yet when a small sheep strays, he goes out in search of it. He is so great that he should be followed by all, but at the same time he is so tender and compassionate that he goes in search of the small ones that get lost.
The hired hand
The hired hand ended up being in charge of the sheep, but it didn't cost him anything for them. His affection arises from the commitment of his labor, and of his daily contact, but it is not the same love of Him who gives his life for them. When there is danger, his limited affection is too small as to overcome the fear of the wolf, so the hired hand abandons the sheep and he runs away.
The hired hand's hope is not that the sheep are well taken care of and fed. He simply hopes for the day in which he receives his pay arrives. If a sheep dies, the loss will be at the owner's expense, he will say that it was not in his hands to save the sheep.
The hired hand is negligent. He doesn't worry too much about strengthening the weak sheep, nor of tending to the sick. He doesn't bind up the broken, nor does he bring the lost sheep back to the fold. He is only diligent when drinking of the milk, and dressing himself in their wool; he only runs to slaughter the sheep and to eat their flesh.
Thus there is a great difference between the shepherd and the hired hand. The hired hand takes care of the sheep with reluctance and he enjoys having the shepherd's to the sheep; on the other hand, the shepherd takes care of them with self-denial and he enjoys them as if he was not entitled to any.
But that is not all. The pastures of the hired hand are very dry; the waters are scare. The sheep cry out in delicate plaintive voices. The hunger and the thirst burden their souls.
Then the good Shepherd hears them, and his heart becomes inflamed with compassion. He runs to them, taking them in his arms, and takes them with him to those delightful mountains.
The hired hand hopes to be followed by the sheep, and he wants to eat of their flesh. But when the sheep hear the good Shepherd's voice, they escape from the grasp of the hired hands to ascend into his arms. Then, the hired hands stay behind meditating on their bitterness and scheming their vengeance.
They don't want to know that their rights cannot exceed their negligent care; that the good Shepherd is the only one that gives his life for them, and that he takes his sheep where he wants.
To be or not to be
Jesus told the Jews: –You do not believe because you are not my sheep.
And he added: –My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Here there are two exclusive groups: one formed by those that are not of his sheep, and another formed by his sheep. The first ones are those that don't believe; the second are those that listen to his voice.
For the first ones there is a sentence set in stone. For that reason the Jews, when feeling identified with those sheep, picked up stones to stone him. For the second, however, there is the most complete security. – ... They shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my father's hand.
The condition of Jesus' sheep cannot be affected by human efforts. It is not by a decision of flesh and blood. Jesus says: –My Father, who has given them to me...
Only the Father can decide if you are among Christ's sheep or not. In order for you to become one of his sheep, the Father had to have thought of you and have decided in your favor. This is the greatest privilege that a man can have on the earth.
So, there are only two options: to be or not to be. Which is your reality? Are you or are you not one of Christ's, the good Shepherd's sheep?
A flock and a shepherd
God's goal is that all the sheep form a single flock and have a single Shepherd. When deciding who this shepherd must be, there is no room for doubt. There is one alone who gave his life for the sheep. There is only one that had the power to lay down his life for them, in order to return and to take them for himself.
Christ is the good Shepherd, and his church is the only flock. Of course, it is not a flock formed by human alliances. God doesn't recognize those arrangements. It is the church that he won by his blood, it is the church that he edifies, it is the flock that he grazes.
How will this flock come to be one? When the shepherd leaves the fold, he calls each one of his sheep by name, and he takes them away. Then, when he has taken all those who belong to him outside, he goes out before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. (10:3-4)
The one flock is formed by those that recognize the only Voice worthy of being heard. They are only similar in this respect: that they recognize the Shepherd's voice and they follow him. Where? How? When? The Shepherd knows where, how and when.
In these days his voice is being heard in many places, in the whole world. And his sheep are hearing his voice and they are following him.
Are you able to hear him? Then, follow him. And, in passing, you will know the other sheep.