Gospel for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 10:11-18
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is one of the several “I Am” statements made by Jesus in the Gospel of John.  Taken alone, it is a wonderful metaphor that Jesus uses to illustrate his care for his “sheep”  and his willingness to die for them.  But as part of the string of “I Am” statements it is also a testimony to his close identification with the great I Am that I Am of Exodus 3:14, the Lord of all.

Considered as a description of his ministry, though, it is also very powerful.  He draws a contrast between the good shepherd and the hired hand — the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep in the face of danger; the hired hand runs away.

So there are two threats to the flock here.

One is external — first, in John 10:10 Jesus references the thief who:

only comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Second, there is the wolf.

And then there is a third threat, the internal threat — those who have been entrusted with the flock who run away when there is danger because they care nothing for the sheep.

Not only does the good shepherd lay down his life for the sheep, there is also a relationship between shepherd and sheep:

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own.

And this relationship between shepherd and sheep is predicated on Jesus’ relationship with the Father:

the Father knows me and I know the Father.

There is an interrelatedness here from Father to Son, Son to Father, and through the Son to God’s people.

However, this is not an exclusive relationship.  Jesus has:

other sheep, which are not of this fold.

They too will hear the voice of the shepherd and follow him.  The image Jesus gives would have been familiar to a culture where sheep herding was common.  A flock of sheep will “imprint” on a shepherd, and recognize his voice when he calls.

And Jesus makes it clear that though he is calling sheep from other places, all will be united in him:

They will become one flock with one shepherd.

Finally, Jesus alludes to the source of his unique relationship with the Father:

Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life,  that I may take it again.

In other words, Jesus is obedient to the Father, and though he be crucified will be raised from the dead.

In as clear a statement as can be made, Jesus declares that he is not a “victim” or a passive player in this drama. He says of his life and death:

No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.

His care for the sheep, even to the point of death, and his obedience to the Father, is completely his choice.

APPLY:  

We see here Jesus declaring to us that he is the Good Shepherd:

• He lays down his life for us.
• In his relationship with the Father is found the grounds for our relationship with the Father.
• Jesus will call people from throughout the world to be a part of his flock.
• We will all be one flock belonging to the one shepherd.

But who are the hirelings who run away when the wolf comes?  Are we best to not focus on their cowardice and/or indifference?  Are they the pastors who teach contrary to God’s Word, or who just don’t show up when the chips are down?

Obviously, those who truly belong to Jesus, according to his own description, are those who know him, follow his voice, and who seek to bring others into the flock that belongs to Jesus.

RESPOND: 

I have always been a little reluctant to call myself “pastor,” which means “shepherd.”  We have one Shepherd, who is Jesus.

Instead, when I was still serving a church, I facetiously told people that I was merely a sheepdog. The sheepdog is the one who tries to run around rounding up the sheep at the behest of the Good Shepherd, and maybe barks at them a little.

But my own personal goal is to know the voice of the Good Shepherd and to follow him at all costs.

Lord, for your willingness to lay down your life for the sheep I am supremely grateful.  Keep my ears sharp for your voice and lead me wherever you would have me go.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Great Pyrenees Sheep Dog Guarding the Flock” by Don DeBold is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 John 3:16-24
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The First Letter of John reminds us of the composition of a fugue, with an evocative interweaving of the themes of love and knowledge.  John brings these themes together in this phrase:

By this we know love

He then illustrates the incarnational and sacrificial nature of love as demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ:

because he laid down his life for us.

If anyone wants to know what love looks like, he’s saying, they need only to look at the crucified Christ.

Therefore, by analogy, believers are to be like Christ as well:

And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Love by its very nature is sacrificial.  But this sacrifice need not be limited to martyrdom.  True sacrificial love means compassion for someone who is in need.

John poses the question:

whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?

Love is action, not words.

John points out that the true assurance that a person belongs to Jesus is found in their obedience to this simple principle:

This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

John also offers reassurance for those who are insecure about their faith:

if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Confidence is not to be found in mere feeling, but in true faith and obedience.

Even more, the believer can know that they are united to God:

He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

There is an echo in this passage of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 17:20-23:

Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.  The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;  I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.

The proofs are all there — believers know God because they follow God’s commands, which means they believe in Jesus, they love their neighbor, and this is made possible by the Spirit that God gives.

APPLY:  

There are two very exciting applications of this passage for us:

• First, that we can know we have a relationship with God based not on how we feel but on how we love.
  Feelings come and go, but the love that follows the example of Christ is grounded in sacrifice and action.
• Second, that we are to show love.
  As Eliza Doolittle sings in the Hollywood musical “My Fair Lady,”
  Don’t talk of love, don’t talk at all, show me.

John says:

 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.

Thus, to follow Jesus doesn’t require literal martyrdom; but it does require faith in Christ, and a robust, active love of others.

John also explores some of what Jesus teaches in John 17:20-23, cited above. He says:

 He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

There is a sense here of what G.K. Chesterton calls the mystery of “coinherence.”  Jesus says that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. From our perspective this is a clear reference to the interrelatedness and relationship of the Trinity.  But this also applies to us! As we become Children of God, God is in us and we are in God!  This is made possible also by the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

RESPOND: 

As with so much of Scripture, I find this passage both inspiring and daunting.  To say I want to be more like Jesus is one thing.  But am I as loving and as generous and as compassionate?  Is my love even .01% as sacrificial as is his love for me?

This is where I must rely on his grace, and see my own Christian life as still a process:

if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Lord, fill my heart with your love, not just by example but as you spiritually fill me with your Spirit.  Only then can I truly live in you and you in me.  Amen. 

PHOTOS: “This Is Love” by Rene Yoshi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 23
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Before David was a king, he was a shepherd.  This Psalm is a shepherd’s song.  We can imagine David the shepherd, gazing out over his grazing flock as the sun is setting, with a deep sense of serenity. The parallels between a shepherd’s watchful care of his flock and the Lord’s care for his people are obvious.

But for our purposes, we find a Psalm that begins as a kind of lyrical hymn that develops the metaphor of God as Shepherd.  The Shepherd guides his flock along paths of righteousness to peaceful, safe, green pasture, and to still waters. This is an important detail.  Sheep tend to be shy of drinking from swift brooks.  Placid pools or ponds are more inviting to them.

This metaphor of water prevails when David says his relationship with Yahweh is like drinking the still waters:

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Then in verses 4 & 5 the Psalm becomes a prayer to God.  The third person becomes second person — no longer “He” but “You.” This more intimate voice occurs as the Psalmist describes God’s presence with him in the valley of the shadow of death, and also as he describes God’s protection and provision in the very presence of his enemies:

Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.

The rod and staff are used to discipline and guide the sheep, but also to protect them from predators.

Obviously there is the comfort of provision, protection, and God’s presence in this Psalm.  But we also notice that he speaks of his head being anointed with oil. Anointing with oil was used for healing and for cleansing in the ancient world, but in a Biblical context it was used to signify a holy office, such as a prophet, a priest or a king.

David sums up his supreme confidence in Yahweh that will endure in this life and forever:

Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

APPLY:  

Our most familiar acquaintance with Psalm 23 occurs at funerals. The reasons are self-evident — language that describes a comforting Shepherd who guides us through the valley of the shadow of death where we fear no evil, and then finally assures us that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever is indeed reassuring in the face of death.

But we do well to notice that the Psalm also offers promises for this life:

goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life

God’s provision, guidance, and protection are not postponed until death.  We need the Good Shepherd now and at the hour of our death.

RESPOND: 

This is a Psalm that I can recite by heart, but it is also frequently my prayer — that the Lord will be my Shepherd, provide for my needs, restore my soul, protect me in the midst of danger, and be with me to the end of my life, and beyond.

Lord, I trust in You as the sheep trust their shepherd. Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"Image Number 5198728" by Jason de los Santos is from Pixabay.

Reading from Acts for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 4:5-12
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

What has gotten into Peter? The frightened fisherman who denied even knowing who Jesus was, and huddled in terror among his friends in the Upper Room after the crucifixion, is now boldly declaring his faith openly before a council of the elders in Jerusalem.

Although he knows that his message is unwelcome and unpopular with them, he declares to their face that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified by them, and that God raised him from the dead!

What are the circumstances that prompted such boldness, and what has empowered and inspired Peter so?

The context for this “hearing” before the rulers and elders and teachers of the law is the recent healing of the lame beggar near the gate called Beautiful.  Peter makes it clear to the startled onlookers that the power to heal this man has come from God through faith in the risen Christ.  And Peter has spared no one in his honest assessment of responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus.  He accused the people who were in attendance that day of their complicity in the death of Jesus, but also has promised them remission of their sins!

So, the current hearing is an attempt by the Sanhedrin to “get to the bottom” of things.  They ask the question of Peter and John:

By what power, or in what name, have you done this?

This gives Peter a “preachable moment” to make his witness about the power of the risen Christ in this official hearing as well.  And once again he lays the blame for the crucifixion of Jesus squarely at their feet!  Moreover, he makes it perfectly clear that this is totally consistent with the Hebrew scriptures from Psalm 118:22:

the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.

This image of reversal is a central theme in the New Testament — the stone once rejected by the builders is now exalted to the vital role as cornerstone. Christ, rejected by both religious and political authorities, is the exalted Lord.

And finally Peter makes an audacious claim to these gathered religious leaders:

There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!

Peter is making the claim that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus, and from no other source. Not the law, not the temple sacrifices, not religious status.

So we ask again — what has gotten into Peter that has given him this boldness? The text itself tells us:

he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

APPLY:  

We can only marvel at the dramatic, even radical change in character that we see in Peter.  This is attributed completely to his infilling with the Holy Spirit.

His witness is direct and confrontational. He sums up the kernel of the Gospel in a trice.  Jesus has been crucified and raised to life and by the power in his name we may be saved.

Are we so bold to proclaim our faith in the face of hostility today?  Peter did not back down from this “august assembly” although these were the same people who had been responsible for starting the process that led to the cross!

When we hear of Christians beheaded for their faith, or their churches burned, or any number of persecutions, we in the Western church should be grateful for how “safe” our profession of Christ is.  Protected by the First Amendment, for example, American Christians can still worship as we please and speak as we please.

How bold are we to share our faith with the non-Christian neighbor, or the skeptical secularist, or the sad sinner looking for hope?

RESPOND: 

I have been blessed in my Christian ministry over the years.  Since I began preaching the Gospel in 1980, I have usually spoken to polite and even receptive audiences.  Only occasionally have I been confronted about a message that someone found controversial.

I wonder how I would fare as a pastor or Christian in ISIS occupied Syria, or in Egypt, or Communist China, or Indonesia?  Would I have the same boldness that Peter had? The same faith that so many Christians in that part of the world have?

I would hope to say yes, but only if I have the same source that Peter had — the power of the Holy Spirit.  Left to myself, I would be terrified and curled up in a fetal position.

I daresay, Peter experienced that sense of terror — until he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I pray for those who are modern martyrs. There are those where Christianity is not the religion of the majority, and where civil rights are not respected, whose families, livelihood, and even their very lives are at risk.  May I be bold in preaching the Gospel.  Amen. 

 
PHOTOS:
Background texture for “Bold Faith”: “Texture 157” by Thanasis Anastasiou is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.