HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 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. I and the Father are one.”
Jesus, in this passage, talks to the Jewish leaders about “His sheep.” His statements here have caused some confusion and even false teaching. In reality, however, they are fairly straight-forward and easy to understand. He tells the Jewish leaders that they are not of His sheep and then adds, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Some have used these statements to support the doctrine of predestination, but is that what Jesus is teaching? Why are the Jewish leaders not of His sheep? Simply because they have not heard His voice and followed Him, for that is who Jesus says His sheep are. The “knowing them” that Jesus speaks of is an experiential knowing—He knows them because they have followed Him and obeyed His word (see Matthew 7:21-23). The sheepfold of Christ is open to all humanity. We each have the opportunity to be His sheep—to hear Him, follow Him, and be known and cared for by Him. But if we desire to be His sheep, we must, through our faith and obedience, come to Him and enter the fold through Him (see John 10:7-9). What a blessing it is to be sheep of the Good Shepherd.
How do we enter the fold of Christ?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
