DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

St. John 10:9-16       (1/25)           Gospel for Holy Hierarchs (Gregory the Theologian, et. al.

 

Three Images: St. John 10:9-17, especially vss. 9, 11, 17:“I Am the door....I Am the good shepherd....My Father loves Me....”  In today’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus presents Himself not in abstract words nor convoluted phrases but in three simple, earthly images, easily understood by thoughtful people in every culture and society.  The images are at once profound invitations and solemn warnings.  They convey all the essential elements of the life-giving Gospel of our Faith, the great good that is in Christ, and the clear and present dangers of turning away from Him.

When the Lord Jesus declares, “I Am the door” (vs. 9), He indicates that He is the  exclusive gateway for reaching God.  In traveling to earthly destinations, we may pass through many gateways or doors onto various roads or paths by which to cross a city or to reach another part of the country; but to enter any space walled off from entrance, only a door provides access.  In today’s passage, the enclosure to which the Lord refers is a sheepfold, a pen for holding and protecting a flock (Jn. 10:1).  With this image, our Lord Jesus discloses that entrance into Divine safety, shelter, and care is through Him: whoever “enters by Me, he will be saved, and...find pasture” (Jn. 10:9).

A century ago, a traveler in the Middle East reported meeting a shepherd with a flock.  As the two men talked, the shepherd indicated the fold where he kept his flock during the night - an enclosure where his sheep were safe from predators.  It consisted of four walls with one opening, for passing in and out.  The traveler noted that there was no door or gate across the opening, the shepherd answered, “I am the door; I lay down across the opening after I have brought in my flock.”  Furthermore, the shepherd declared that none of his sheep crossed over him during the night, and no wolf would come in, being deterred by his body lying across the entry way.

The prevailing image throughout today’s passage is the Good Shepherd.  The Lord even names Himself thus twice (vss. 11,14).  St. John Chrysostom points out that by this image our Lord “speaketh concerning the Passion,” thereby especially underscoring His Self-sacrifice for “the salvation of the world.”  In addition through this image, the Lord Jesus calls on you and me to consider the bond between Himself and us - His flock, the Church.  Each of our relationships with Him is very personal and special to Him.  You are His own.  He will not flee when you or any of us are under duress (vs. 12), something demonstrated repeatedly throughout history.  He is continuously present: “lo, I Am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20).

This presence of the Lord is reassuring: He always “sees the wolf coming,” long before we are aware of the enemy’s advance (Jn. 10:12).  Knowing us intimately (vs. 14), He is able to awaken us early to the spiritual dangers coming upon us and rouse us to prayer – if we will.  Thus He prepares us for Satan’s assaults, so that we may be ready.  How is it that He is able to have such foresight and to communicate with us when danger lurks?  Do not forget that in Christ Jesus we are touching God Who created and ever protects us, in the past, now, and forever.

In the closing verses of the passage, our Lord Jesus directs attention to His Divine nature: “as the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father....” (vs. 15).  The Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ Who is ever with us - through Whom we have access to God the Father - sees and understands our condition better than we do ourselves.  He is our guarantee that there is nothing to “hinder us from being saved....Nothing, unless we ourselves revolt from Him...,” as St. John Chrysostom says.  What better assurance do we need than to know that we belong to God Who even laid “down [His] life for the sheep” (vs. 15), and took “it again” (vs. 17), and watches over us?

O Thou, Good Shepherd of Thy People, grant us to hear Thy voice and to follow where Thou dost lead, for with Thy Father and the Holy Spirit, Thou art our God unto all ages.

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