John 10:16 -- And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd.
Thank You, Lord for this new week and the adventures that await each day. Thank You, Lord for the sermon from yesterday morning. Thank You, God in every step of the journey, no matter the circumstances. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
After talking with the Lord in prayer, we moved to our journey in John chapter ten. Now, keep in mind the context of the audience Jesus is speaking to. He is addressing the Jewish religious authorities.
Up to this point Jesus has spoken of a sheepfold which He calls out His own and leads them from it. This is an image of Jesus coming to the community sheep pin, which would be the Jews/Judaism, then calling those that belong to Him out. They will know His voice and follow. Then Jesus tells us He is the door to the sheep. Any who enter through Him as the door will be saved as part of His flock.
So called out of dead religious system ruled by man's selfish wooden interpretation of God's Word, into a living relationship with God, following His voice wherever He leads.
In today's verses Jesus tells the religious authorities there are other sheep that belong to His flock that are not part of this Jewish/Judaism fold.
To clarify there is a difference between a fold and a flock. A fold is a group of sheep in their own enclosure. A flock is the whole group of sheep. So, a shepherd could split his flock up into different folds for various reasons. Fold small groups. Flock whole group.
So, Jesus tells them He's calling His sheep out of this fold, and He has other sheep He's going to pull from elsewhere too. Now to the Jews there were only two groups, there was Jew and there was Gentile. We saw back in John 3 when Jesus talked to Nicodemus the belief was if you were born Jewish and of the right lineage of Abraham you were good. Jesus of course shattered that by stating you must be born again. Now we see He illustrates those who are born again, those who hear His voice, will come out to follow Him, along with people from other places, races, nations, religions. All that are His will come together to form His flock.
What's amazing is there is no outline of how that looks, how do you mesh so many different people, nations, races, etc… The beauty is there is only one binding thing for the entire flock, The Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. It is His voice that calls His sheep out. He is the door to His flock, which moves, lives, breathes, and follows Him.
There is no mention of walls being built or a giant sheepfold where He is going to cram the whole flock into. There is His voice, and His own will follow Him.
Usually, a shepherd would use sheepfolds or pins to protect the sheep at night. Then the shepherd would sleep in the only entrance, so he could keep sheep in and protect from outside enemies. Now with Jesus the Good Shepherd, there is no need for the walls of a sheepfold to protect, there is just staying close to Him and following wherever He goes because He is all the protection needed.
So, there is unity in Jesus Christ. No man-made rules, no interpretations, no specific denomination, no specific rituals, no specific knowledge. It is Jesus which binds together the many different folds He has called us out from.
I came across this quote:
“The unity comes from the fact, not that all the sheep are forced into one fold, but that they all hear, answer and obey one shepherd. It is not ecclesiastical unity; it is a unity of loyalty to Jesus Christ.” - Barclay
Christian, once again, we're seeing straight from Jesus' words that it is His voice we must hear and obey. If you aren't walking with Him regularly, in prayer, in His Word, in praise, in being part of His body, how will you know whose voice it is you hear?
Also, it occurs to me if we struggle to get along with someone in the church, then we'd better quickly get our eyes/ears off the person and get them onto Jesus. He is what binds us together and brings unity.
Don't take my word on anything. I pray you would be a Berean, let whatever I've said drive you into the Bible so you may see and hear God directly.
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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