Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
The language of today’s text, John 10:22-30, is relatively uncomplicated, yet it places before us not only several bracing, positive themes, but also long-standing, divisive theological issues. Preachers will need to decide which of several messages their particular listeners most need to hear.
Two issues embedded in these verses have generated long-standing division and careless language. First, the troubling, anti-Semitic ring of the term, “the Jews” (v 24), used by the writer of John to designate the Jewish religious elites who opposed Jesus, continues to plague Christian rhetoric. Also thorny is Jesus’ statement that his opponents “do not believe, because [they] do not belong to [his] sheep” (v 26). Coupled with certain translations of the syntactically complex v 29—e.g. “that which the Father has given me”—this text has been used to support predestination. Some 16th century Reformers embraced the idea that God destines some to believe and others to resist faith in Jesus. In contexts influenced by these concepts, an entire sermon exploring John’s language may be in order.
Another theologically freighted sentence stands as v 30 of our text. Jesus declares, “My Father and I are one.” This statement has generated fierce theological debate and an array of finely tuned creedal formulations. One might consider reflecting on the fact that “one” in this sentence is neuter, not masculine. Might this suggest a “oneness” of purpose or action, not oneness of “personhood”?
Unfortunately, preoccupation with these issues has sometimes left this text’s strongly positive themes underexplored. These include: 1) Jesus’ clarity about his actions’ clear testimony to his messiahship (v 25b); 2) characteristic behaviors of Jesus’ “flock” (vv 26b-27); 3) the promise of a quality of life, here and now, that is eternal and imperishable; and 4) the promise that Jesus’ “sheep” shall never be “snatched away” from the trustworthy hands of Jesus and the Father (vv 28-29).
The first of these themes, the powerful testimony of Jesus’ actions as the most obvious evidence for his messiahship, can generate a compelling sermon. One might begin by reviewing the actions of Jesus in John, what they reveal, and the mixed response of ordinary people vs. the religious elites. For us, the text poses a pressing question: What if the most powerful testimony we can bear into the world consists of deeds, not words? Our creeds and sermons will ring hollow unless they are coupled with strategic, Spirit-animated, public action that embodies God’s compassion, liberation, and justice.
Theme 2 above can also give rise to a complete sermon. What does it look like to choose to “belong” to Jesus’ flock, to listen for the shepherd’s voice, and to follow? A flock is not an immovable aggregate of pew-sitters. A thriving flock is constantly on the move, following its shepherd without fear. Themes 3 and 4 suggest a sermon that is apt in Eastertide. Late 1st century Christians did not think in terms of a heavenly “hereafter.” The terms “eternal” and “imperishable” referred, for them, to a transformed quality of life, inaugurated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here and now, body and spirit together are caught up into a new creation begun in Christ. We live in a changed cosmos. Fearlessly, we follow a Shepherd with wounded hands. Undaunted by threats on every side, we testify through daring, Spirit-animated action, to God’s fierce love for those that others vilify and drive out. These, forever God’s beloved, shall never be snatched from Jesus’ trustworthy hands.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 