(Audio)
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
Even if Jesus explains things to us plainly we are still free to believe him or not. Yet we do not encounter propositions about which we can make determinations with our own reason. We encounter a voice. We can be among the sheep of Jesus who hear his voice and recognize it even prior to anything it says. Sheep are able to trust because they know the one who speaks. This is the level of trust we need to move from abstraction and debate which are mere distractions to the substance of the truth that sets us free (see John 8:32).
The Father and I are one.
We may be smart. We may be clever. But often this works to our detriment. We are able to rationalize the convenient and dismiss the truth. We are sheep that are prone to wander. In the hands of Jesus we find security. We eventually do learn wisdom, but it is not wisdom as we knew it before, as the world recognizes it.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away (see First Corinthians 2:6).
Isn't this the very opposite of what we would prefer, of the way in which we would normally approach the truth? We would probably want to hear valid arguments again and again and only gradually trust the one who makes them, more and more perhaps, but only to the degree that he earns that trust and never absolutely. We would remain the ultimate arbiters of that truth. Such is our nature as fallen creatures. It is characteristic of the sin of Adam and of all sin ever since.
When Jesus speaks to us, revealing truth, he offers an invitation. He stands at the doors of our hearts and knocks (see Revelation 3:20). Our response can't simply be, 'Yes, I believe this is accurate data.' It must begin as a recognition that the one who reveals is supremely trustworthy, for he himself is what he first reveals. From that point we can accept anything he tells us, even hard truths which are difficult to accept. This is when we say, 'You have the words of everlasting life' (see John 6:68).
The message of Jesus is an invitation. It is for this reason that it is able to captivate hearts that have been neglected and ignored. It is an invitation that is utterly compelling to lost sheep, without a shepherd. In it they feel seen and known. In it they experience compassion for which they have always longed.
The hand of the Lord was with them
and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The message reveals that the shepherd cares about the sheep long before any doctrine is transmitted. The very fact that the shepherd is inviting is enough to give hope to hearts that had long ceased to hope.
Are we following the voice of the shepherd? Or do we spend more time reasoning on the basis of the flesh, apart from him? If we return to the shepherd and guardian of our souls (see 1 Peter 2:25) we can experience once more the joy of having a shepherd who cares for us. And we can encourage others to remain faithful to him as well.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
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