Sheep or Not Sheep
John 10:22-33
It was close to our Christmas season, when you look at the calendar. The Jews call it Hanukkah, the Festival of light. This festival celebrates the cleansing of the temple in 164 BC. by Judas Maccabeus.
He was a Jewish country boy that took Jerusalem back from the Greek Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes. Who had desecrated the temple and Judas led the revolt. The Hanukkah celebration celebrated a miracle where was only enough oil to burn the lights for one day, but the light continued for 8 days without being refilled.
Jesus is walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. That is the entrance on the East end of the temple, that was made up of rows of tall columns. It overlooked the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. A priest stood on a spot on its roof watching for sunrise and would signal when the new worship day could begin.
The Jews, presumably leadership in the temple. Asked Jesus a direct question, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
The Jews are looking for another military leader like Judas Maccabus. They are looking for the man that God would send to kick the Romans out of Israel.
When these Jews ask their question, do you really think they need an answer? Could it be a trick? Is their mind made up?
Jesus answers their question, "I did tell you, but you do not believe.”
If you look back over what John records in scripture, we really don’t find Jesus answering that question in simple clear words. What we find is him talking with certain Jews and them wanting to stone him for their interpretation of their questions. We also find that Jesus does miracles that convince many Jews that Jesus is from God. They call him Lord and worship him.
What Jesus does not say with words He says with actions.
He continues, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me”
Read between the lines people. Who else has healed physical and spiritual problems in the name of God the father?
Folks, look at the signs, think about what you know about scripture…..
Who do you think I am? Come on it is as plain as the nose on your face.
He tells them that they don’t believe because they aren’t His sheep.
Jesus jumps to a sheep metaphor. But basically, He is telling them that they really don’t want to know the answer to the question. They have not been willing to accept the physical signs and they are unlikely to accept the verbal answer either.
Our world, the modern world hears what it wants to here, doesn’t it?
White people are scared of or at least look down on black people.
If you look like an Arab, I doubt that some one would pick you up if your car broke down.
Their minds are made up. They rarely take into account a persons actions and often don’t even ask the question. If they did how likely are they to believe the answer over their personal view?
Our nation has its mind made up about Christians either really good or really really bad and often are not interested in changing their opinion regardless of who might be talking.
Are Christians any different when it comes to an open mind, to listening?
This passage and many others describe our relationship with Christ as a shepherd and sheep relationship.
My question is, Do we act like sheep?
Do we even want to be sheep?
Come on, Sheep are pretty dumb and defenseless.
I hear they wonder away and get lost sometimes.
But, there is one thing that Jesus says they do pretty well. They listen to His voice.
We listen to the things we want to listen to don’t we?
Renee says I am selectively deaf. I can’t deny it, because I can think of several times where the first words I hear her, she is saying, “Are you listening to me?”
Yes dear, of course….”Well tell me what I said?” …..Uh ,
"Two men were walking along a crowded city sidewalk. Suddenly, one of the men remarked, "Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket," But the other man could not hear the sound. He asked his friend how he could hear the sound of a cricket amid the roar of the traffic and the sound of the people.
The first man, who was a zoologist, had trained himself to hear the sounds of nature.
He didn’t explain to his friend in words how he could hear the sound of the cricket, but instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a half-dollar coin, dropped it onto the sidewalk, and watch intently as a dozen people began to look for the coin as they heard it clanking around amid the sounds of the traffic and the sounds of the crowded city living.
He turned to his friend and said, "We hear what we listen for."
The people that have a relationship with Jesus train them selves to listen for and to the voice of Jesus.
They listen for his voice in the noise and struggle of their daily walk.
If we are listening we actually respond to what we hear.
Jesus says he knows his sheep and they follow him.
“Follow him” indicates that Jesus is moving, He is going some place.
He is not sitting still. In reality, He never stays still for very long. He calls his sheep to join him in his journey.
-- When ever we are satisfied with sitting still and doing little or nothing we have failed to listen to the voice of the shepherd.
Whenever we resist the journey or the call of the shepherd, we become less and less one of his sheep.
As one of his sheep, he explains that he gives us eternal life that we will never perish….
Perish - To be destroyed; to pass away; to become nothing; to be lost…
While our bodies may die, our souls are eternal and those that belong to the shepherd can not be snatched away.
No wolves, or coyotes, or foxes can snatch the sheep.
That means no mistakes or bad choices or accidents will suddenly take us away from our savior…our shepherd.
Not just because Jesus holds them but because God gives us to him.
To snatch or steal a person from Jesus’ hand, the thief would have to get them from the father first.
At this point in Jesus discussion he adds that, He and the Father are one.
The Jews respond by picking up stones. They plan to kill him.
They have been looking for generations for the leader that God would send.
They have before them a man that does miraculous things in the name of God. And now has described direct relationship with God.
Their reaction is to want to kill this blasphemer.
A blasphemer is a person that speaks badly of God. In Jesus case he claimed that God and He were the same.
In the Jews minds, he was bringing God down to the level of a normal man.
Jesus asks a question of them.
"I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
Which one of the miraculous signs, which of the supernatural proofs have made you want to kill me?
When people listen for Jesus to speak just to have a reason to reject his message as being wrong, they are rejecting truth.
When ever we reject a project of plan or a suggestion for our own personal agenda we are making it clear that we are not a person that follows Jesus.
The Jews response was not acting against the signs it was for Jesus’ claim that he and God were one.
Blasphemy – that he Claimed to be GOD!
They were just trying to be good Jews. They were just trying to follow the law, to be good stewards.
They asked the question and did not like the answer. They did not want the military leader that looked like a man.
They had already made up their mind about Jesus and saw him as a threat to what was right in their eyes. They had no intention of listening to some Galeain with crazy ideas.
In our lesson today the players are pretty simple; either we are sheep or not sheep.
If we are sheep, we may or may not know that we are defenseless and limited in knowledge. We will know that we don’t own or control our resources we must depend on the shepherd. We will however know the voice of our shepherd.
When we hear it we will respond. We will follow as he moves in our church and community and even in the bigger world.
As a sheep, we look forward to each new day and the next journey where ever Jesus may lead because we trust the shepherd. We are willing to go as a group and limit our progress to the weakest member of the flock. We welcome more sheep because we know we have a good shepherd that will care for all of us equally.
If we are not sheep, then we will want to do everything our way. We will worry that our resources aren’t enough to keep us happy and safe.
We think we know what is best. We may even think that we are better that those around us.
We won’t worry about the hurting and weak.
We may claim to be sheep but our concerns for others will be very limited.
We won’t go far from home and we won’t be worried about making more sheep. If we are not sheep we think that we are smart enough to make it on our own.
There was a guy that came by here yesterday. He admitted that he was drunk.
I thought he just wanted money, in my mind I thought about the 9 dollars I had in my wallet.
I wondered how I could tell him no?
When he started to cry and mentioned loosing his mother. I half-way doubted his sincerity.
He asked if we could talk. I said yes and invited him into the sanctuary.
He has resisted coming in to the office, then the sanctuary and he looked like he did not want to sit down.
After a few seconds of apparent resistance, he fell …fell on his knees and started pouring out his heart to God.
It was there that I realized that he wanted something much more valuable that my 9 dollars.
He wanted to stop the pain, the pain of loss, the pain of addiction, the pain of letting his family down.
He wanted to hear the voice of God.
By the time he left he had poured out his heart not just to God, but to me.
He shared his pain and struggle.
He shared his love of his wife and children.
He left something here at God’s alter.
It came out with his tears and confessions as we prayed.
I walked him to the door and I watched as he practically skipped down the street.
I looked out the door later to seem him raking the yard and his girls playing around him.
Church family, he heard or felt something yesterday. He came in to this place as a lost sheep. And was reminded what the shepherd’s voice sounded like.
God is willing to speak to all of us too.
He looks forward to finding and celebrating with every one of the flock.
He looks forward to seeing you spiritually skip out of this place excited because you heard the familiar voice and renewed your commitment to follow and respond to the shepherd.
There is only one catch. You have to be willing to live like a sheep. You have to be willing to be obedient. You have to trust the shepherd. You have to we willing to listen to his voice and follow him.
Our Alter is always open. I know from personal experience and from what I have witnessed, if you move toward God he will run to meet you and help you with your burdens.
All Glory be to God!
