Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21
Jesus sits with His apostles and many others on a hill overlooking the residence of a shepherd. The sheep in the valley below are walled in and there is a door which is guarded at the moment by a young man. He does not seem to notice that someone has jumped the wall and is sneaking around among the sheep. The sheep are bleating and bah-ing and seem disorderly. They wander this way and that and are bumping into each other, but they are enclosed so that they will not stray.

Jesus uses the occasion to strike an analogy. "Do you see that?"

"I do!" says Peter, speaking of the fellow who hopped the fence. "That little scoundrel! I'd like to knock his socks off!"

Jesus continues. "Can you see...Oh how true it is!....that if he does not enter through the door, but comes in some other way, he is a thief and a robber?"

Peter answers, "Well, yes, of course, Lord, but....." As they continue to watch, the shepherd comes to the door and the young gatekeeper opens wide for him.

"The shepherd entered through the door!" remarks Jesus excitedly.

"Listen to him!" interjects John. "He knows them each by name. Look how they run to him!"

"Yes! They will not act that way toward strangers.... Oh no!.....They simply won't follow a stranger," Jesus states.

James (brother of John) has a quizzical look on his face and begins to ask of Jesus, "...and so...what are You getting at, Lord?"

"Oh how true it is! Don't you see? I am the Door! The ones who came before me were thieves and robbers, like that one there: only concerned about themselves and what they could take from others. Did you see how the good shepherd came and drove out the one who didn't belong to him?... and how the sheep gathered together and were attentive to the voice of the shepherd? I am the Door!..." Jesus seems on fire with delight. His holy mind is totally wrapped up in His Church. He is envisioning His priests, His apostles, as shepherds caring for His flocks. He wishes to enclose us all in the safety of the Good Shepherd's walls. He is the Door which they must come through leading the sheep safely to pasture lands. But the apostles are not all understanding this analogy.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill...." As Jesus says these words, He catches sight of Judas, who slowly turns toward Him but quickly turns his face away, not able to make eye contact with Jesus. "I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly," Jesus adds. " Did you take note of the hired hand?" He questions the apostles.

"I did," says John, pensively. "I saw that he was not looking at the sheep. He did not even notice the thief hop the wall, or the disturbed rustle of the sheep when the scoundrel was crawling around among them." The hired hand that he speaks of appears to be slightly younger than John. I see a very serious look on John's face. He, among all the disciples, seems to be taking this all in very contemplatively.

Jesus tries another analogy: "I am the Good Shepherd!" He points down toward the scene as the apostles observe and says, "He would lay his life down for those sheep!" All watch as the shepherd laughs and stoops down to greet his sheep. He is calling their names and they are moving closer as one solid mass. He sits down among them, still laughing, and hugs his sheep. Meanwhile, Jesus sits smiling widely and I hear Him chuckle with glee. "Yes! I am the Good Shepherd!" He leans from side to side, drawing His friends into a big group hug. "I know My own...." He catches the eye of Judas, who sits at a distance, and who again blinks and turns away. "....and My own know Me!"

As He says this, some little children are sneaking up and crawling into Jesus' lap, like I have seen them do before. "....even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father....." He is smiling still and looking straight at the children as He now gathers them closer to Himself. One little urchin has come right up to Jesus' face as He is still talking, while some others mischievously surround Him and all at once begin to mall Him, gigglingly. And just as Jesus is trying to finish His point, "I lay down My life for My sheep..... Whoa!......" they have pulled Him down and are all on top of Him, tickling Him, kissing Him and laughing.

Some of the adults in the crowd are irritated. They think Jesus is speaking arrogantly.

Jesus is lying on the ground now and the children have settled down. He props His head up on His fisted hand and scrutinizes His apostles until His eyes stop on Peter. "I have others not of this fold," He says as He waves His hand toward the crowd on the hill. " I must bring them also and they will hear My voice...and..." His gaze becomes distant. "....and they will become one flock with one shepherd. This is why the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life freely- so that I can take it up again." He now focuses His gaze on John. "No one can take it away from Me. I, Myself lay it down and take it up again. I received from My Father the command to do this."

These words have disturbed the crowd and some rise to leave, but not without saying, "He's crazy! He's full of the devil! Why do you even believe him?"

Jude and James, the cousins of Jesus, come to His defense. "No!....No!...He's not possessed! Can a demon perform loving miracles as these? He has given sight to the blind!"