I Must Bring Them Also
Interfaith Connections

John 10:11-18

Jesus as the Good Shepherd is one of the most popular images of our Lord.  We see depictions of the serene shepherd gently watching over the flock, a staff in his hand, often cradling a lamb in one arm.  He is also portrayed as the one who has gone after the lost sheep and, after finding the wayward lamb, carries it back to the flock on his broad shoulders.

This image is a continuation of the shepherd figure leading the people of God in the generations before the birth of Jesus.  The kings, particularly, are called shepherds, but then God takes on that title in Ezekiel 34. This pericope is part of a larger section, 10:1-21, often labeled the “Good Shepherd Discourse.”  Our text starts with one of the “I Am” sayings: I am the good shepherd.  These sayings make the link between Jesus and YHWH, as Moses encountered the Lord at the burning bush.  Moses asked who was speaking to him.  The response: God said to Moses, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).

Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd, is an obvious connection to the theme, as are the passages from Hebrews 13: 20 and 1 Peter 2:20 where Jesus is referred to as “the great shepherd of the sheep” and “the shepherd and guardian of your souls,” respectively. John 10:16 introduces a curious thought.  As Jesus confronts the Pharisees, he makes it clear he will not be bound by their standards.  He says, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.  So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”  No more is said about these “other sheep”, and the commentaries seem to agree that Jesus is letting it be known that he is intentionally reaching out to the gentiles.  No one offers any elaboration on the motivation for this warning, or any ideas about whom Jesus might have intended by the phrase “other sheep.”

In the next verse, he states that he is ready to lay down his life for the one flock.  He is alluding to his own impending death, but more than that, he is articulating the level of commitment he has for this flock that includes even the “other sheep” of verse 16.  This can be seen as a demonstration of what was laid out earlier in John 3:16, Jesus being sent for the whole world as an expression of the love of God.

By Rev. David Amidon, St. Philip Lutheran, Raleigh, President, Interfaith Alliance of Wake Co.