John 10:1-15: Re-Flocking the Sheep

Krissa Lox

Active Member
[1] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
[2] But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
[3] To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
[4] And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
[5] And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
[6] This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
[7] Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
[8] All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
[9] I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
[10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
[11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
[12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
[13] The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
[14] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
[15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.


Throughout my time of dealing with people who were going off in some really weird and dangerous directions, there was a consistently recurring theme that often was a big influence in driving it - people who considered themselves to be faithful Bible-believers but were also strongly emotionally opposed to wanting to be sheep - which left a big opening for the devil to sow doubts about their faithfulness or understanding or relationship with God, which would lead them to wandering off alone into the wilderness to seek some kind of "enlightenment" to resolve their feelings of insecurity, but instead end up in very real places of actual insecurity where they were without protection from predators and the natural elements of the wild.

Of course, the answer isn't to just tell people, "Shut up and learn to be content with being a sheep." That's not going to win struggling people back to the flock, and according to John 10:6 even the disciples didn't understand what Jesus was talking about with this. And when Jesus went on to explain further, His focus was on the qualities of shepherds rather than of the sheep, which seems to indicate that the biggest concern for sheep is following a bad shepherd, not needing to be a better sheep.

It's perfectly reasonable for people to revolt or run away from bad shepherds rather than blindly following along. In John 10:5 even real sheep are allowed and expected to do that, so the Lord's not going to accord any less grace and understanding to His own people who he dearly loves and died for. However, even if it's reasonable, it's still potentially disastrous if there's not a better shepherd nearby willing to go try and collect up the runaway sheep to lead back to safety or some protected outposts in the wilderness that lost sheep can find in their wandering to help them get out of danger and seek the Lord's direction for where they should go next.

No matter what happens, Jesus always knows every one of His flock and where they are at and what they are dealing with, and will always be doing whatever He can to reach and care for them. However, earthly shepherds are also important in this, because it's very hard for people under a lot of stress to just stay put and wait for Jesus.
 
Good word!!! When passing authoritative judgment always consider maturity. A seed burns whereas it grows. And growth lol is inevitable with a true seed. Hugs!!!
 
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