14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.
John 10:14-16, 27-30
Jesus pursues us.
Perhaps you’ve heard another parable where there are 100 sheep. One strays off, and in love and concern, the shepherd pursues the one. This shows us something of God’s heart for us.
In verse 16, he says, “I have other sheep that are not of his fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”
Jesus is here speaking to an entirely Jewish audience. He foretells the ingathering of the gentile nations. I did not just come for the sheep that are already in the pen; physical descendants of Abraham, but I came to draw more sheep into the pasture of the Almighty.
It has always been God’s will for all the nations of the world to be blessed. Even God’s promises to Abraham had the nations in view. We are the ends of the earth; we are the outsiders who have been brought into the fold. Jesus is a good shepherd who pursues wandering sheep.
And he brings them into one flock. The covenant community of faith is so very important. Jesus gathers his sheep into one flock. There is one Lord, one faith, and one church. Part of my ministry is helping us see this and love this. At Resurrection Church, we don’t want to really stress how different we are from other churches; we want to really emphasize the ways we’re similar. We have the same gospel, the same sacraments, the same Bible, the same Spirit, the same Father, the same Savior, the same gifts expressed in different ways.
Jesus is gathering the nations into one flock, the Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against her. We confess this twice per month, at least, when we say we believe in one holy catholic church in the Apostle’s Creed. There is one Lord. one faith, and one church.
Jesus has pursued you; he has brought you into his pasture–the church, and he will keep you forever. He will protect you to the end.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:28
No one will snatch them out of my hand. Oh, have sweeter words ever been spoken? Why will you stay in the faith? Because the one who found you has promised he’d never lose you.
I am not confident in my ability to not get lost. Every pastor always makes a point about how sheep are dumb. Hardy har har. But, it’s true. I am supremely confident in my shepherd’s ability to keep me–to find me and keep finding me, to nourish me and keep nourishing me.
Are you tired today? The shepherd who found you keeps on caring for you through the Spirit and the Word.
When danger comes, the hired hand leaves. These ain’t my sheep! When danger comes to the people of God, it’s gotta get through Jesus first. In fact, Jesus says repeatedly that, unlike the hired guns, he lays down his life for the sheep.