Easter 4 John 10:22-30, The Good Shepherd

 Acts 20:17-35 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30

When I was in high school, in addition to taking a regular physics class, I was placed in an advanced physics experiment class. We would look at scientific oddities. We would determine through experiments what people thought were true Laws of science but were actually false. One of the experiments we did proved that hot water freezes faster than cold water.

This phenomenon is counter to what you would expect, and it is surprising even to most scientists, but it is in fact real.  It has been studied and proven in numerous experiments.  When compared to cold water, hot water drops in temperature so fast its momentum carries it down to the freezing point faster.  It’s sort of like dropping a ball from a high building dropping another ball just above the ground. When they hit the ground the higher ball will hit with more momentum than the lower ball.  But falling temperatures have little or nothing to do with obeying the laws of gravity.

The observable fact that hot water freezes faster than cold water has been known for centuries. It was described by Aristotle, Bacon, and Descartes, but it has always been overlooked in science classes because no one is really certain as to why hot water freezes faster than cold water. But it provides a dramatic parable against making snap judgments about what is possible and impossible.

Shortly after I graduated from high school I was working for a small company.  One morning it was extremely cold; well below zero and there was a very heavy frost on all of the delivery trucks.  The drivers tried scraping off the ice, but their scrapers were ‘not cutting it.’ Our boss told them to get buckets of hot water and throw the water on the windshield.  I told the boss that cold water would work better because hot water would freeze on the windshield and that the windshields could actually crack if they became hot and then cold so quickly.  My intentions were good, but I soon discovered that telling my boss these facts was not such a good idea.

He lashed out with a tirade of name calling against me, letting me know that he was a lot older and wiser than some young kid just out of high school.

Finally, when he finished his verbal assault on me, he ordered the drivers to stop standing there and start defrosting the windshields with hot water. They did as instructed and from what I can recall, the windshields did not crack. The water however, did freeze on the glass and the layers of ice that formed were so thick that it seemed to take forever to thaw out. 

A few days later I was fired for no apparent reason. Of course the reason soon became apparent to me--I was fired for telling the truth. Among the many lessons I have learned since that time I discovered persecution of truth takes many forms. But I have also learned to listen to others and to discern the truth though careful observation.

A few years later, that company went out of business.  The owner who did not listen to me did not listen to what others were telling him either and he ended up losing everything he had. Because he could not face those He had berated, he and his family moved away and I never heard what happened to them.

In our Gospel lesson Jesus was telling the truth, but there were some among then crowd who did not believe Him. He was not the Messiah they had expected. For that reason, Jesus never said He was the Messiah, nor did he call Himself the Son of God, because the people had the wrong idea of who the Messiah would be. The Messiah they expected would be a worldly conqueror, a destroyer of all earthly enemies and a King who would set up His kingdom on earth.

But Jesus had not come to set up a kingdom on Earth. He came to conquer sin, death and the devil. He came preaching repentance and teaching about the life to come. He came to die on the cross to pay for the sins of the world.

Earlier He had said to the crowds, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) He did not say that he was a Shepherd but ‘The Shepherd.’ Many in the crowd understood that Jesus was the Messiah and they believed in Him. They had heard His word and seen His miracles and listened to the truth.

But many refused to believe.  Even after all the things that Jesus had said and done, they still asked him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?”

They didn’t want to hear the answer that Jesus had to give. They wanted him to deny that He was the Messiah. They wanted Him to say something that would prove He was just another person like themselves.

The fault in their unbelief lies not with Jesus.  His assertion of who He is two-fold and He has proven who He is by word and by deed. They cannot blame Jesus. Their fault lies within their own stubborn unbelief. Convincing evidence has been presented. It is not believed. The problem lies not with the evidence; it rests with the evaders of truth. But Jesus is not a young teenager devoid of wisdom and experience.  He is God incarnate and His words ring true and carry great authority.   Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about Me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.”

Unbelief does not receive the word of truth eagerly or willingly.  Jesus, the true shepherd, spoke the truth plainly. And to further prove His divinity, Jesus verified the truth through His miracles. He healed the blind, made the lame walk and even raised the dead.  

Unbelief does not accept the truth of any miracles whether they are spiritual or physical. No matter what Jesus does, they use their own faulty logic to say, “There must be some other explanation for the man born blind receiving his sight or the woman’s daughter coming back to life. These things are impossible for a man to do.”

Jesus explained that He had already given them the answer in word and in deed. For them to accept his answer, they needed to accept His authority. They needed to see that One who is more powerful was standing before them. That would mean that they would have to humble themselves and become obedient to Him and His word.  That was something they refused to do.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” He said, “I give them eternal life.”  Eternal life is given to us as a gift by God. Eternal life comes from the great “I Am,” the one who stands alone, the One who alone has the power to make such an offer to the world. Eternal life is His alone to give. God Himself was standing before them. Anyone who truly sees Jesus sees that He and the Father are one and the same. Anyone who hears the voice of Jesus hears the voice of God.

Unfortunately, these people did not recognize his voice. Therefore they could not understand His answer. You cannot teach something to someone who already knows everything! Like the owner of that failing business, they refused to listen. You cannot teach anything to those who are unwilling to listen to the truth. They wanted Him to change to agree with them, to admit that he was just a man like them. But Jesus cannot lie.  Jesus tells them again. Once more He speaks a very clear message, “The Father and I are one.” How can He be any clearer, how can He call them to Himself any more gently?

Jesus and the Father are one, not only in essence, but also in purpose. Jesus has been sent by the Father as the true shepherd who soon would lay down his life for the sheep. Soon He would be raised again from the dead. Sin, death and the devil would have no power over Him or over those who listen, believe and obey His voice. They are truly His sheep and He is their Shepherd.  No one can snatch them out of His hand.

When Christ returns in all of His power and glory, those who would not listen to His truth will hang their heads in shame.  They will leave His presence never to be seen or heard from again. Even though we have nothing to be proud of because we are all sinful beings, those of you who believe in Jesus, who have heeded His call will be able to hold your heads high. You can look upon God as forgiven children, because you are people of His pasture and sheep of His hand. We are His and we are saved because we have believed in the Good Shepherd and not in ourselves. This is most certainly true.

So I leave you today with these words from Proverbs (3:5), “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. In the name of Jesus, Amen.