“‘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. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. 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. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” [1]
Jesus, quoted in VERSE FIVE, makes the strongest possible statement that His sheep will not ever follow a stranger’s voice. There lies resident within each child of God a capacity that resonates with the Word of truth. That which is false and errant causes red flags to be raised and the child of God cannot find peace in following that which is errant. The Spirit of Christ is always at work in the life of the redeemed soul, guarding that individual and pointing that one to the truth. God’s Spirit is not present in the life of one who is lost, but He lives in and jealously guards the one who is born from above. This is the reason James has written, “Do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’” [JAMES 4:5]?
Under the most extreme pressure of seduction one could ever imagine, the child of God is kept from embracing error. Listen to the Master as He instructs His disciples. “If those days [Jesus spoke of the days of the Great Tribulation] had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” [MATTHEW 24:22-25]. Focus on the TWENTY-FOURTH VERSE. The great signs and miracles that will be performed are capable of deceiving the very elect—if that were possible!
Warning Christians to beware the seducing power of Satan, especially in the last days, the Apostle Paul instructs all who are willing to hear what he says, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-6]. The teaching of Satan’s seducing power is not some novel teaching—it has been presented from earliest days of the Faith!
Paul continues by warning those who are willing to receive his teaching, “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-10].
Did you catch what the Apostle said concerning those who serve evil? He warned that such people are capable of deceiving the unwary through “false signs and wonders.” Listen to and heed the Apostle’s warning: Not every miracle is from God! Some dramatic signs are designed to deceive—and people who are religious, people who appear to be Christians, can be persuaded to follow deceiving spirits.
JESUS WAS ADDRESSING RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS — Jesus our Master was interacting with religious scholars, men who had studied the written text for years and who were recognised as students of the Scriptures. They knew every nuance of the written Word; they could dissect each word without whetting their knife. However, we must not forget that Jesus knew something about Scripture Himself. After all, He was the Author of the Word, and that counted for far more than merely knowing the words that had been recorded. Jesus didn’t merely know what was written, He had given the Word!
The Spirit of Christ communicated the Word to those whom He chose to provide a written record revealing the mind of the Lord. And those who penned Scripture wrote what the Spirit gave them to write. We do well to remember the words Peter delivered as he recalled how he came to his understanding of what God was doing. Peter testified, “We did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ; no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur. For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.’ When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. You do well if you pay attention to this as you would to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. You do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” [2 PETER 1:16-21 NET BIBLE 2nd].
At this point, it will aid our understanding, adding a bit more clarity, if we read from another of Peter’s missives. Introducing his first letter, Peter is speaking of the salvation we Christians receive and which we share with all who follow Christ Jesus as Lord. Then, having established the thrust of what he will be addressing, the Apostle to the Jews writes, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look” [1 PETER 1:10-12].
Did you note that the prophets wrote what has been received concerning the grace offered in Christ, and they wrote the truth that has been given by “the Spirit of Christ.” In the previous passage that I cited from Peter’s second letter, you will note that he states that it was the Holy Spirit that carried along those who were writing. It is reasonable to understand that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, it was Christ Who gave the Word. The scholars were no match for Him since the Word they studied so diligently was the Word that He had given.
Here is something of significance that will prove to be a great encouragement for us if we permit ourselves to understand it. The same Spirit that empowered the prophets to record the mind of God, the writings that we have received as the sacred Scriptures, is the same Spirit Who lives in each of us when we come to faith in the Son of God. The Spirit of Christ living in you as one who is born from above is the same Spirit Who directed the prophets and apostles to pen the Scriptures that reveal God to us in this day.
Allow me to show you this by referring to a wonderful passage Paul includes in his letter to the saints in Rome. Paul writes, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” [ROMANS 8:1-11]. If you have believed the message of life, and you have received Christ as Master of life, the Spirit of Christ lives in you!
In order to get a thorough grasp on what is being said in the pericope that serves as our text this day, I suggest that we consider the setting. Look back at what is written in the preceding chapter. There, you will find the account of what took place after Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. Now grown to adult years, the man was compelled to beg so he could support himself. There was no social safety net available to citizens in that day, so care for those unable to provide for themselves was the responsibility of family members, or those in need would be reduced to begging.
On one particular day, Jesus and his disciples happened to be passing by the place where this man was begging, and the disciples, thinking themselves to be capable of deep theological discussions, questioned whether the man or his parents were the cause of his blindness. Jesus, ever practical, dismissed the discussion and simply healed the man. With that, He and the disciples continued on with their day. But this was not the end of the matter, for people soon realised that the man who had been blind for the entirety of his life was now able to see. Something miraculous had happened.
This is an amazing story, one that we know so well that we often quickly pass by because we are certain that we know what is happening. Nevertheless, let’s read the account of the disturbing events after Jesus had shown this man compassion, healing him. “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.
“The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’
“So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ And they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?’ And they cast him out.
“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him. Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, “We see,” your guilt remains’” [JOHN 9:13-41].
Well, of course the religious leaders would want to weigh in on this event! You could always count on them to boost their own agenda whenever possible. And if they could sully Jesus’ reputation while exalting themselves, all the better! In the estimate of the religious leaders, there were simply too many people listening to this Galilean who would not give the religious elite the respect that they alone deserved. Many people who were listening to this Jesus of Nazareth had already ceased listening to the Pharisees.
The religious elite had appointed themselves as arbiters of all things religious, and so quite naturally they were aggrieved when the people did not accord them the respect that they assumed was their right. The rabble, as the religious leaders viewed them, were listening to this carpenter’s son, a man who didn’t have the education they had! According to the attitude of the Pharisees, if some benighted soul such as this beggar was somehow injured—or as was the case with this man, if one was born blind, that was just too bad. There would be a price to pay for this insolence; he should have thought about the consequences before he began to speak well of the Galilean.
Here is a point that must not be overlooked—scholars can become so focused on minutiae that they fail to see the big picture. No one questions that the men confronting this one who was healed were scholars of the written Word. They had invested years studying what was written, carefully considering the most minute nuances of what had been written. However, versed though they were with what was written, they didn’t know the One Who had given what had been written.
I invite you to recall the account of one particularly combative interaction between Jesus and religious leaders—including Jews who believed Him. Here is the account as John recorded it. “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” [JOHN 8:31-32]. The Master’s assertion appears to have irritated them, so they responded heatedly to His statement, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’” [JOHN 8:33]?
They asked, and Jesus answered, though they weren’t going to like the answer He gave. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father” [JOHN 8:34-38].
Well, this bold assertion certainly got their attention. Ignoring the agreement Jesus had acknowledged, they arrogantly responded, “Abraham is our father,” to which Jesus replied, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did” [JOHN 8:39-41a]. And that is when the fight began.
Stung by Jesus’ warning that they were doing evil works, implying that they were in the grip of satanic power, these pious Jews, some of whom we are told had believed Jesus, resorted to the coward’s argument—to slander. They blustered, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God” [JOHN 8:41b].
Their claim that God was their Father could not go unanswered, so we see Jesus responding, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me” [JOHN 8:42-46]?
The Master has hit them with a series of thought-provoking questions, questions they either could not answer or questions they were unwilling to answer. Their failure to answer elicited this clear statement of character that applies even to us in this day. Mark carefully Jesus’ response: “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not of God” [JOHN 8:47].
Jesus’ interlocutors were now aroused to a white heat; anger began to take control of their mouths. They heatedly responded, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon” [JOHN 8:48]?
Listen carefully to Jesus’ response to what they intended to be the ultimate insult, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” [JOHN 8:49-51].
The Jews, truly enraged and determined to hurt Jesus, raged, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be” [JOHN 8:52-53]?
Listen to Jesus’ calm response to their attempted insult: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” [JOHN 8:54-56].
Wait a minute! Did you hear what Jesus said? He claimed that Abraham had seen the day of Jesus. You would understand why these religious people would respond, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham” [JOHN 8:57].
And their incredulity brought this stinging indictment of their unbelief from Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” [JOHN 8:58].
Jesus’ response was an affirmation that He was God—He appropriated the divine title for Himself. He claimed to be the “Great I Am!” And this is the point that needs to be driven home: though these Jews knew the words written in the Scriptures, they were ignorant of the One Who gave those words. They were blind to the presence of the One who had stood patiently before Abraham as the patriarch was pleading for Sodom! Though they knew about God, they didn’t recognise God when He presented Himself.
THIEVES, ROBBERS, AND SHEEP — “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. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. 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. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” [JOHN 10:1-5].
Sheep know their shepherd; they react differently to the presence of the shepherd than they do to a stranger. A stranger may drive the sheep, but the shepherd leads his sheep. You may have seen the pictures of a shepherd in the Middle East as he walks in front of his sheep. He doesn’t linger behind to drive the sheep; he walks before them and they follow him. His guidance is accepted because the sheep know him and have learned to trust him to lead them to pasture and to water and to places where they can rest.
Here, Jesus makes a sweeping statement concerning sheep, and His statement should be concerning to those who function as under shepherds of Christ’s flock today. Even a casual understanding of Scripture will demonstrate that when we speak of sheep in this context, we are referring to those who follow Jesus as Saviour. We will recognise that Jesus refers to those who are twice born as His flock. This pictures our relationship to the Master, continuing a theme introduced in the Old Covenant, where we witness the Psalmist use this imagery when he writes,
“Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
[PSALM 100:3]
We witness the same imagery when the LORD God speaking through Jeremiah warns those who are responsible for the spiritual welfare of His people, “‘Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: ‘You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD” [JEREMIAH 23:1-4].
Speaking through Ezekiel, we witness the Lord GOD promising, “I will make with [My flock] a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD” [EZEKIEL 34:25-31].
And we will understand that those who gather and guide the sheep are referred to as shepherds, or in New Testament parlance, as pastor. Did you notice in the two passages just cited that God exposes and excoriates those whom He appointed to be shepherds because they did not fulfill the responsibilities with what they were charged—they scattered the flock, driving them away from the fold where they would be prey to the wild beasts and suffer reproach from the nations? The shepherds were not only to feed the sheep and to provide refreshment through providing nourishment and clean water, but they were to protect the flock from being attacked by wild beasts. The sheep would be susceptible to destruction and ruin if the shepherds did not care for them.
Nor should there be any argument against Jesus being identified in Scripture as “the Great Shepherd of the sheep.” Recall as the writer is drawing the Letter to Hebrew Christians to a close, he pens a brilliant benediction in which he identifies Jesus as “the Great Shepherd of the sheep.” This is the passage in question as the writer petitions God, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” [HEBREWS 13:20-21]. Amen, indeed! Surely there is no disagreement among the faithful about the accuracy of Jesus’ title as “the Great Shepherd of the sheep.”
Contrasted with this imagery of Jesus as our Shepherd is the fact that anyone else claiming the position of mastery over the sheep is a charlatan. And in many instances that person will be revealed to be a thief or a robber attempting to build his private kingdom on the backs of Christ’s sheep. If the one who occupies the sacred desk fails to point the flock to “the Great Shepherd of the sheep,” that one is functioning as a robber and a thief, stealing glory that rightly belongs to the Lord Jesus. The true shepherd appointed by Christ will always direct the sheep to look to the Master, urging the sheep to listen for the Master’s voice. And the sheep will recognise the validity of the message they are hearing because the message will be verified by what is written in the Word that God has given and verified again by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in His sheep.
Jesus assures those who heard Him speak at that time that His sheep know Him, and they hear His voice. Listen again to what the Master said about His sheep. “The sheep hear [the Shepherd’s] 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” [JOHN 10:3-4]. This is comforting to the child of God, to the one who is truly Christ’s sheep. We may not always understand the nuances of what the Master has said, but we know His voice. And we know that He will not lead us astray! He will lead us to rich pastures, to refreshing waters, and to secure environments. He will guard against hurt and harm from ferocious beasts.
There is another worrisome thought found in the Master’s assertion that His sheep will not follow a stranger; rather, they will flee from him. Hear what the Master says! “A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” [JOHN 10:5]. What does this say about those who are enmeshed in the cults—Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, United Pentecostal, and so forth? And this doesn’t address the major cults such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so forth. Christ’s sheep will flee from strangers. The speech of the cultists may be ever so alluring, sound ever so reasonable, but when one who belongs to Christ’s flock hears the voice of such a stranger, they will be uneasy because the voice cannot be identified.
IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE — “This figure of speech Jesus used with [the Jews], but they did not understand what he was saying to them” [JOHN 10:6]. Jesus used parables and employed figures of speech that should have been readily understood in an agrarian society such as the one in which He ministered while He was in the flesh. However, with but few exceptions the religious leaders were deliberately obtuse. It wasn’t so much that they couldn’t understand what Jesus was saying—they didn’t want to lend credence to what He was saying by even appearing to understand His words.
It is important to recognise that though the religious leaders understood what Jesus was saying, they refused to accept what was said. Though they heard the words, they didn’t realise that through their refusal to even try to understand Jesus they were fulfilling prophecy against themselves. In an exchange with His disciples, Jesus demonstrated this to be the case. Here is the passage in question. “The disciples came and said to [Jesus], ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it’” [MATTHEW 13:10-17].
Long before the angel told Mary God had chosen her to bear the Messiah in her womb, long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, long before Jesus called His disciples and ministered in Judea and Galilee, the court prophet Isaiah prophesied of the religious conditions that would prevail in Israel.
I find the words that Jesus spoke against those who will not believe to be terrifying. Understand that I’m not speaking of those who have not heard, rather, I am speaking of those living in the western world, people who have access to the written Word of God. I am speaking of people who have heard the message of life and have not believed the message that was preached; I am speaking of those who have refused to receive the gift of life offered in Christ the Lord—these people have reason to be fearful!
Jesus has taught those who will receive Him, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also” [JOHN 15:18-23].
To reject Jesus as the Shepherd over your life is to position yourself as being in opposition to God Himself. To refuse the offer of forgiveness that is yours when you allow Jesus, the Son of God, to be Master over your life is to identify yourself as an enemy of the Living God. And to be identified as an enemy of God is to ensure that there can be no forgiveness for your rebellion. Nothing remains for God’s enemies but a fearful expectation of judgement.
This doesn’t need to be your situation. Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered His life as a sacrifice because of your inability to make yourself acceptable to God. The Good News which we Christians proclaim is that Jesus did not remain dead and in the tomb. He broke the bonds of death, rising from the dead. Now, God promises all who will accept this Risen Saviour as Lord will be forgiven all sin and adopted into the Family of God’s redeemed people. God promises, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10].
You, too, can be born from above and into the Family of God as you believe this Good News, receiving the Risen Son of God as Master over your life. If you do this, in the quietness of your heart asking Jesus to come into your life, taking control over your brokenness, He will do so. You will be set free from condemnation, set free from guilt, and set free to be all that God meant for you to be. You will then be able to celebrate the birth of Christ, knowing that He was born to set you free. Salvation will become a reality for you in God promises, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. Amen. Amen, indeed.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
