John 10:22-30
May 8, 2022
I have been feeling some exasperation lately. And frustration. And irritation. For a variety of reasons that I won’t bore you with. Totally legitimate reasons, of course! But whether my exasperation is legitimate or not, it’s not a great feeling! Or one that I particularly enjoy. OR one that I’m necessarily proud of.
However, I do take some comfort in knowing that Jesus, too, felt that way on occasion!
Sometimes he seemed to feel frustrated with his disciples, at their lack of comprehension or their lack of faith. I suspect we all know the phrase, “O ye of little faith!” which Jesus is reported to have said to them several times. And there’s the time he called them “faithless and perverse,” followed by what I can only believe was an exasperated outburst: “How much longer do I have to put up with you?” (Matt. 17:17, The Message). And there were other moments of frustration–both recorded and–I’m sure–left out.
At other times, of course–and apparently more often–he was irritated with the religious leaders. I imagine that was the case in the situation we read about in today’s passage.
Jesus had been teaching and preaching and healing and feeding and, well, being Jesus, for a couple of years by this point, give or take. And in doing that, as we know, he had already made quite a few enemies among the Jewish leaders, as his message of grace and forgiveness as the fulfillment of the Law was extremely threatening to them.
In fact, right before the story we hear in today’s passage, he had done something that upset them greatly. He had broken the Law. He had broken one of God’s commandments, one of the TEN commandments that God had given Moses! He had not observed the Sabbath. How could he possibly be a man of God–let alone a man FROM God, as he had claimed–if he did not observe the Sabbath?
And it wasn’t the first time. This time he had healed a man blind from birth. And on another Sabbath day he had healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. And there had been other things he had done, and things he had said, that made no sense. That didn’t go along with the Law. That seemed to contradict what they had been learning and teaching their whole lives, laws that had kept God’s people set apart and holy, laws that had kept God’s people in order. So much of what Jesus had been saying and doing seemed to fly in the face of the Law as they knew it, and as it had been passed down to them for thousands of years!
And yet he made these statements–about God and who God is, and about himself and who he was, and about being the Son of God, and the bread of life, and the light of the world…
It was crazy-making! Not to mention, the people seemed to love him. And listen to him. So many people seemed drawn to him. Drawn to HIM and away from them, away from the Law, away from God’s Law!
Was he really a man of God? Was he really a man FROM God? Or was he crazy? Was he possessed by some sort of evil spirit?
Well, so, that day, the day we read about, they asked him. The text says, “The Jews [meaning some of the Jewish leaders] gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’” (John 10:24) Just tell us already. Come on. Make it easy for us!
And here is where I imagine Jesus’s exasperation. “Really?? You have to ask me that? You call yourselves men of God and you still have to ask me that?? Are you kidding?? Where have you been? Have you been around me at all? Do you really know God at all?? Have you been paying attention at all?? Good grief…”
“If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly,” they said to him.
“I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me…” (John 10:25b).
Can’t you imagine his exasperation?
I have told you with my words, but you’re not listening. I have shown you with my works, but you don’t see. I have told you with my words more about who God is than the Law can ever tell you. I have revealed to you by my works more of what God desires than the Law will ever be able to teach you. I’ve healed diseased bodies and offered wholeness to broken spirits; I’ve fed bellies and nourished souls; I’ve called out injustice and denounced false religion; I’ve forgiven with abandon and loved with extravagance. I have told you plainly who I am, and I have shown you plainly who God is–and you.do.not.believe…
He says, “You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:26-27)
When I first read that last week, and other times when I’ve read it, it struck me as a little unfair. When Jesus says, “You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep,” that seemed a little exclusive to me! Or exclusionary. A little like, “You don’t believe, because you’re not one of us.” It felt to me like he was saying, “You can’t believe, because you’re not among my sheep. Sorry.” As if it were a done deal.
Which, given his level of exasperation and anger with the religious leaders, would almost seem understandable. 🙂
But not quite!
So as I kept thinking about it, it struck me that there’s another way to read it. Listen to that part again: “You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:26-27)
Here’s what I suddenly heard: “you do not belong to my sheep, because my sheep hear my voice.”
My sheep–the people who belong to me–hear my voice, and they listen. They hear my words and they hear the voice of God.
My sheep–the people who belong to me–hear my voice, and they know that I know them, and they know that God knows them.
My sheep–the people who belong to me–hear my words, and they follow me, doing what I do and living as I live and loving as I love, and they find that they’re following God, and they find fullness of life.
You so-called religious leaders hear my voice, but you don’t listen to my words. And so you don’t belong to me. You hear my words, but you don’t hear the voice of God. And so you don’t belong to me.
You so-called religious leaders hear my voice, but you don’t know me nor do you want to be known by me. You hear my words, but you don’t love me and won’t let yourselves be loved by me.
You hear my words, but you don’t hear God. You see my works, but you don’t see God. You don’t want to hear what I’m trying to tell you; you don’t want to see what I’m trying to show you.
So no, you don’t belong to my sheep. You could. But you don’t.
And you are missing out on Life. You are missing out on forgiveness and mercy, healing and wholeness, abundance and grace, and wild, extravagant, deep, relentless Love. You are missing out.
So what about us? When we hear the voice of Jesus, do we hear the voice of God? When we see the works of Jesus, do we see the desire of God?
The answer may seem easy, and even automatic–but I would urge us to consider it carefully. Because if we say yes, then we are among his sheep, and God is our shepherd. And if we are among his sheep and God is our shepherd, then we will be known and loved by God. And if we are known and loved by God, then we will not be able to NOT follow that One who knows and loves us more deeply and intimately and care-fully than we know and love ourselves.
And if we follow God, if we follow Jesus in whom and through whom we know God, we will be asked to do what he did and live as he lived and love as he loved.
So again, I ask us to consider: When we hear the voice of Jesus, do we hear the voice of God? When we see the works of Jesus, do we see the desire of God? Are we ready to both receive and then share God’s forgiveness and mercy, healing and wholeness, abundance and grace, and wild, extravagant, deep, relentless Love?
Are we willing to claim our place among his sheep, with God as our shepherd?
We should consider it carefully, because it will change our lives.
We should consider it today, because it will bring us Life!
Amen.
Rev. Deborah Beloved Church (aka "Pastor Deb") 