Eastertide
April 26, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 10:11-16

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. –John 10:16 

This verse has always intrigued me. Who are these sheep that do not belong to this fold? I have heard some say it refers to the gentiles and that essentially includes everyone who is not Jewish. Does it include people of other faiths who are monotheistic? How do we understand this verse in conjunction with John 14:6, Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’?

The verse most likely is a reference to Ezekiel 34:31, You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, says the Lord God. Clearly cloaking Jesus in the tenets of the Hebrew Bible, which also describes people like Melchizedek and the mysterious man in Daniel that have characteristics like the Christ. I tend to err on the side of caution and not assume that I understand all the works of God throughout history and that brings me to being receptive to dialogue with persons of other faiths trying to understand their concepts of the divine.

I do believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and life for all and am called to share that good news with everyone, but I must let God take it from there. None of us drew the assignment to judge anyone else’s relationship with God except Jesus because we do not know what he knows.

 Prayer: Lord, enable me to tell your story with all my mind, my heart, and my strength and with my life and love the ones with whom I share the story without regard to their response. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.