BIBLE STUDY #42
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 15, 2011


Gospel Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

A sheepfold is a low stone wall open to the sky. This sheepfold helps protect the sheep from predators that would kill the sheep. There is a gate in this sheepfold that provides easy access in and out for the sheep. At the end of the day, the shepherd would bring all his sheep through the gate, close the gate, and lie down next to the gate. Any intruder would need to get by the shepherd first before any harm could be done to the sheep.

This image of a shepherd is an ancient one in Israel and would be very familiar to the people. In the book of Exodus, for example, Moses would be seen as one who shepherded Israel from the slavery of sin and death to the promise of the new life in the Promised Land. King David would also be seen as a shepherd since he did what a shepherd does: he guided, protected and fed the people. This image of shepherd was also applied to the kings of Israel whose job it was to shepherd the people.

We call Jesus the Good Shepherd because he shepherded the people from the slavery of sin and death and brought them to new and eternal life. This kind of shepherding shows the love and care that God has for his people in general, and each of us in particular. God not only loves humanity in general, but each individual person in particular.

The image of shepherd appears in all the gospels. The difference in John’s gospel is the importance of a mutual relationship between Jesus and the individual disciple. He calls each by name. As the sheep will follow a shepherd, so we follow Jesus. Only those who hear Jesus’ voice are part of the sheepfold; others are not. We are not forced to follow the call of the shepherd; the voices of false shepherds are strong and may entice us with false promises. The more we grow in our faith, the stronger our bond with the shepherd and the better we resist the call of false shepherds, such as the shepherds of materialism, greed, and self indulgence.

The more we follow the shepherd, the more we hear his voice, the more we are taking on the responsibility of living like the shepherd; the duties of shepherd also fall on us. We are called to shepherd other people, another way of saying we are evangelizers and motivators of other people so they can responds to God’s call.

Jesus, as shepherd, is the leader of the people; he is the ‘gate’ by which one enters the sheepfold. When we hear “whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber” may refer to those false shepherds described in Ezekiel 34:1-16; that is, those who did not serve the needs of the people but were using their position for themselves. Ezekiel does hold out hope for the future when a shepherd will come that will be a true shepherd of the people. We believe that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. It also refers to those people in Jesus’ day who are the messianic, political revolutionaries rather than religious leaders.

Jesus is that gate that leads to salvation. He gives us a share in the divine life of God; through Jesus we participate in the special relationship that Jesus has with the Father. We do this when we are in communion with Jesus. The goal of salvation is attained through faith in Jesus.

Jesus also says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” As a shepherd, Jesus does what any good shepherd would do. First, he feeds us though word and sacrament. In reading God’s Word, we find out something about God, something about ourselves, and something about our relationship with others. God’s word helps to grow into maturity as a person, and as a person of faith. The more we are fed by God’s word, the more we grow in these three ways.

We are also fed by sacrament. Being a good disciple can be very trying and it would be easy to give up if left on our own. Jesus gives us the sacrament of his body and blood to strengthen us on our journey of faith.

Secondly, Jesus protects us. Growing in grace protects us from the false shepherds of society, the ones that try to convince us that they have a better way. Having been touched by the Spirit, we should know better.

Thirdly, faith in Jesus offers salvation. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus conquers sin and death. He is the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus sacrifices his life so we may live. His resurrection to new life offers us a resurrection to new and abundant life now, and eternal life I the future

As we follow the shepherd we are blessed with peace, meaning, and happiness in this life, and, eventually with eternal life.

The mission of the church is to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus. How can we be good shepherds?


Fr. Phil