Easter 4, Year B, 4-29-12
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10: 11-16
Jesus Knows Us by Name
This chapter in the Gospel of John is a wonderful chapter rightly beloved by
Christians everywhere. The reason lies in the striking portrait of Jesus as the Good
Shepherd and of us as His sheep. The image of the Shepherd is found throughout the Old
Testament. In psalm 23 we read: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He
makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my
soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his names’ sake. Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your
rod and your staff they comfort me” (vv. 1-4). In psalm 100 we read: “We are his people,
the sheep of his pasture” (v. 3). The prophet Isaiah declares: “He tends his flock like a
shepherd: He gathered the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently
leads those that have young” (Is. 40:11).
In his book, ‘A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23,’ Phillip Keller describes a danger
that is unique to sheep. Shepherds call it “cast down” or simply “cast.” It has to do with
a sheep that cannot regain its feet. Keller writes: “Even the largest, strongest and
sometimes healthiest sheep can become “cast” and be a casualty. They way it happens is
this. A heavy, fat, or long-fleeced sheep will lie down comfortably in some little hollow
or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side slightly to stretch out or relax.
Suddenly the center of gravity in the body shifts so that it turns on its back far enough
that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of panic and start to paw
frantically. Frequently this only makes things worse. It rolls over even further. Now it is
quite impossible for it to regain its feet.” If not taken care of they become easy prey for
predators.
Keller then continues to discuss some problems that are unique to sheep. The
overall thrust of his book is how utterly helpless sheep are! From all accounts they have
limited intelligence. When it comes to finding food, they are definitely uncreative. As
creatures of habit, they will follow paths through desolate places even though not far
away is excellent forage. Sheep are given to listless wandering. Sheep can be timid and
stubborn. They are defenseless. Sheep will blindly, habitually and stupidly follow one
another along the same little trails until they become ruts that erode into gigantic gullies.
If sheep are thirsty and there is a stream, they don’t know well enough to go to the stream
to drink. The shepherd has to lead them to the stream. When sheep are grazing they
won’t move to fresh grass. The shepherd has to lead them to fresh pasture.
In the gospel of John there are three images which describe our relationship with
Christ. The first is the voice of familiarity. Jesus said, “The watchman opens the gate for
him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep
follow him because they know his voice” (Jn. 10:3-4). Jesus knows us in profound ways.
He knows our past with its failures, its hurts. He knows our present, our unrealized
longings. He knows our idiosyncrasies. It is encouraging to think that not only does he
know us, but we know him. We know Jesus’ voice. We know what it sounds like. We
probably know it better than we think we do. When I was in Israel we were traveling
from the northern Israel down through the Jordan Valley. We came upon a Palestinian
shepherd with his flock. The tour guide asked the driver to pull the bus over. He got out
and spoke to the shepherd. The shepherd then gave a command and the flock of sheep
stopped. The shepherd came down to the bus. We were able to take pictures of him.
When we were finished, the shepherd went back to his flock. He gave a command and
the sheep continued to follow him. Each of those sheep knew the shepherds voice.
Secondly, we see the Shepherd’s provision for his sheep. Therefore Jesus said
again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters
through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full” (vv. 7-10). Sir George Adam Smith, a famous Old Testament scholar who lived in
the late 19th and early 20th century, told a story of one of his trips to the Middle East: “He
was one day traveling with a guide, and came across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell
into conversation with him. The man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led
at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Sir George said to him, ‘That is where
they go at night?’ ‘Yes,’ said the shepherd, ‘and when they are in there, they are
perfectly safe.’ ‘But there is no door,’ said Sir George. ‘I am the door,’ said the
shepherd. He was not a Christian man; he was not speaking in the language of the New
Testament. He was speaking from the Arab shepherd’s standpoint. Sir George looked at
him and said, ‘What do you mean by the door?’ Said the shepherd, ‘When light has
gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in the open space, and no sheep ever goes out but
across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.’” This
is the meaning in the passage. Jesus is our protector and provider. He provides us with
the deeper spiritual reality of knowing the peace and grace of God in our lives.
Finally, we see the Shepherd’s heart for his sheep. Jesus said, “I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd says down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the
shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep
and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away
because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I
know my sheep and my sheep know me – just the Father knows me and I know the
Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep” (vv. 11-15). In the gospel of Mark we
read about Jesus having compassion because he saw his sheep scattered and cast down.
The world translated “compassion” conveys the idea that he felt it in his stomach. His
stomach turned with compassion. Our Lord is no hireling. His heart was full of
sacrificial love. He laid down his life for the sheep. He ultimately gave his life for us on
the cross. He brought peace between God and the human race. Jesus became the door of
salvation and the door of abundant life for us.