Today’s Reading, John 9-10
Focal Scripture: John 10:16 “But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
Changing culture and expectations is never an easy task. I have been in several environments that when you start to make changes you get push back. The surprising part is that people get upset over very small changes that you believe are insignificant. For instance, one time as I served as a head coach for a sport and I implemented a standard that I believed was common sense. It was the expectation that players behave appropriately on the field. I got tremendous push back from players and parents. You see the culture before allowed the players to act and behave however they pleased, with no consequences.
In today’s reading Jesus tells the religious people that he is the true shepherd. He wants the people to know that he is the gatekeeper. He is the one who allows people into the sheep pen. However, Jesus changes the expectations with his statement. He lets all of the religious people know that he has sheep who are not from the Jewish sheep pen. He is going to bring them in to the same pen. Everyone who is a true sheep will follow the true shepherd. Both Jews and Gentiles will be together. This was a change in cultural expectations.
What we need to know about this biblical narrative is that God wants everyone to come to a saving faith. At this moment in time, salvation was only for the Jews. Rarely did Gentiles come to a saving faith. However, now Jesus was letting everyone know that Gentiles were going to be invited into the family of God. Think about how culturally shocking this was to the Jewish people. Jesus is claiming to be God and allowing others to experience his presence.
What about you? Do you believe that salvation is for everybody? Do you have a heart for people who look and act different than you? If not, you miss the power of the Gospel. Jesus purposefully crossed every line there was to reach people. He crossed religious lines, he crossed political lines, he crossed racial and ethnic lines. He did this because he knew that he could bring people together by the power of his name.
I challenge you to examine how you view those who are different than you. Do you have any prejudice that can limit the reach of the gospel? Our goal is to point everyone to Jesus because he is the one true shepherd. He calls all of his sheep to him and they know his voice. Our mission in life is to share this truth and let the Holy Spirit work in the lives of individuals.
Reach everyone with the gospel and let the true shepherds voice touch their hearts.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading John 11-12
