I Give My Sheep Eternal Life

John 10:27-30

Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. What do you think it means to recognize Jesus’ voice?
2. Where are you hearing Jesus’ voice these days, and how are you responding?
3. Most of us express our faith using the words or faith expressions of others; our doctrines, the saints, and prayers handed down to us. How would you describe the ways you know and follow Jesus in your own words?
4. What about Christianity do you find most helpful and why?

Biblical Context

John 10:27-30
Margaret Nutting Ralph PHD

The passage we read today from John’s Gospel is part of a very contentious conversation that Jesus is having with some Jews. Immediately preceding today’s reading John tells us that Jesus was walking around the temple area when some Jews said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep’ ” (John 10:24b-26). Today’s reading picks up the story at this point and contrasts Jesus’ sheep with those to whom he is speaking.

In order to understand John’s intent in describing this conversation we should remember the situation in which John is writing. The first followers of Jesus did not have to choose between being a Jew and being a follower of Jesus Christ. There were both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. As we mentioned earlier, however, by the time John is writing at the end of the first century AD, those Jews who believed in the divinity of Jesus were being expelled from the synagogues by their fellow Jews. As long as individuals belonged to the synagogue, they did not have to participate in emperor worship, an abomination to all Jews, whether believers in Christ or not. Once expelled, however, they no longer had that protection and so would be expected to offer worship to the emperor. Those who refused were subject to persecution and death.

As John writes his Gospel he insists on the divinity of Christ, the very belief that his contemporary Jews might be tempted to deny. We see this in today’s reading when Jesus says, “The Father and I are one.” John does not want any of his fellow Jews to deny the divinity of Christ for the purpose of avoiding persecution.

So, when Jesus tells these Jews, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” he is contrasting his sheep to the people to whom he is speaking. They do not know Jesus, hear Jesus’ voice, or follow him. Rather, they fail to understand what Jesus is saying. As Jesus continues, John pictures him emphasizing the point that John is trying to teach his audience. Jesus says, “I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.” In other words, John’s audience need not fear persecution. Those who remain faithful to Christ will be safe in Christ’s hands, in God’s hands.

This passage recalls to our mind Jesus’ description of the good shepherd that appears earlier in chapter 10. In that discourse Jesus drew an analogy between his relationship with the sheep and the Father’s relationship with him: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…” (John 10:14). This relationship is the reason no one can snatch the sheep out of Jesus’ hand. The sheep whom Jesus has been given have been given him by the Father, and no one can snatch anything from the Father. It is at this point that Jesus once again identifies himself with the Father. “The Father and I are one”

When Jesus says, “The Father and I are one,” he has answered the original question that the Jews had asked regarding whether or not Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah. Our Gospel selection does not tell us their reaction. Jesus’ answer so angers his listeners that they “picked up rocks to stone him” (John 10:31). When asked why they are stoning him they say, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.  You, a man, are making yourself God” (John10:33). Here John states very clearly, as a charge against Jesus, the10:33), the truth that he is emphasizing Jesus is God.

We read this Gospel from John during the Easter season because it does insist on Jesus’ divinity. Jesus rose from the dead, thus revealing his true identity to his followers. Jesus will take care of his sheep. One need have no fear, even of martyrdom. Jesus gives his sheep “eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

Hearing the Voice of Our Shepherd

Spiritual Commentary
Fr. George Smiga STD 

An American was traveling in the Middle East. As he was driving through the countryside, he ran across two shepherds whose sheep had become intermingled as they drank from a brook. He watched as the two shepherds talked with one another, concluded their conversation then bid one another farewell and began to walk off in two different directions. As they did so, the one shepherd called out, “Mannah, Mannah,” which in Arabic means, “follow me.” At the same time, the other shepherd called out the same words. The sheep lifted their heads and then divided precisely into two groups, each recognizing the voice of their shepherd.

Jesus uses this shepherding image in today’s gospel to describe his relationship with us. If he is the shepherd, then we must be the ones who recognize his voice and follow him. But what does it mean to recognize the voice of Jesus? There is more than poetry here. Christians believe that at times in our life Christ speaks to us, calls to us, asks us to do something quite specific. What Christ asks us to do can be both dramatic and life changing.

Here is an example: It is the example of the Salwen family, a suburban family from Atlanta. A number of years ago Kevin, the father, was driving with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Hannah, through the downtown section of the city. They stopped at a traffic light. Hannah, looking out of the window, saw a man on the sidewalk holding a sign: “Homeless, please help!” At the same time, she saw a man in a luxurious Mercedes waiting with them at the traffic light. She said to her father, “You know dad, if that man in the Mercedes had a little less nice a car, the man on the sidewalk could have a meal.” Kevin thought for a moment about his daughter’s comment and then said, “You know Hannah, if we had a little less nice a car, that man could have a meal.”

That interchange between father and daughter set the Salwen family on a spiritual journey, a journey that they have recounted in their book, The Power of Half. It is called The Power of Half because after a considerable number of months of family discussion, the Salwens decided that they did not need as big a house. They agreed to sell their house and give half of the proceeds away. Now they had a big house, six thousand square feet, and the market was better for housing in those days. They down sized and were able to give $800,000 to a hunger effort in the African country of Ghana.

Why half? Kevin Salwen would say that half is measurable. So many times, we run into a situation of real need and we say to ourselves, “I should do something.” But “something” is vague, and vagueness means that often we often end up doing nothing at all. But half is a precise metric. It is a standard that can push us into action. The other advantage of half is that it is not connected to size. It does not have to be half of your house like it was for the Salwens. It could be half of a pay check or half of an evening out or half of an unexpected gift. What was important for the Salwens was their conclusion that Christ was asking them to do something. By doing it, they were indicating that they belonged to the good shepherd.

Now, I share this example with you, not because I am recommending that you give half of something away—although if you decide to do that it could be wonderful. I only want to offer a concrete example of someone who heard the voice of Christ speaking in the circumstances of their own life and chose to follow it. If you and I have a real relationship with Jesus, we should not be surprised if occasionally Christ asks us to do something. It could be giving money to the poor. It might be reconciling with an enemy. It might be spending more time with the family, seeking out counseling, or entering a specific career.

Christ can speak to us in many ways. But if we come to church every Sunday, if we pray, if we call ourselves Christians and we never hear Christ asking us to do anything, something is wrong. And it is unlikely that we hear nothing because Christ is not speaking. It is much more likely that we are not listening. Not listening is a serious flaw, because if Christ is truly our shepherd, he is calling. So, the important question for each of us here today is what is Christ calling me to do? What is Christ asking me to do? It is a question that is essential to our relationship, because we cannot follow him if we do not recognize his voice.

Selections from Breaking Open the Lectionary: Lectionary Readings in Their Biblical Context for RCIA, Faith Sharing Groups, and Lectors—Cycle C, by Margaret Nutting Ralph, Copyright © 2006 by Margaret Nutting Ralph. Paulist Press, Inc., New York/Mahwah, NJ. Reprinted by permission of Paulist Press, Inc. www.paulistpress.com.

Reflection by Fr. George Smiga STD. Building on the Word: A Resource for Scripture, Culture, and Faith