Coffee With God

Reflection: John 10:22-30

“If you really are the Messiah, tell us so in plain words!” Here the Jews were facing difficulty accepting Jesus because he did not correspond to the Messiah or the Christ of their understanding and imagination. They were aware of the extraordinary powers that Jesus had, and that ordinary people flocked to him to listen to him. And now, Jesus is identifying himself as a shepherd, and this raises concern for the religious leaders. With their understanding of the scripture, the religious leadership expected a king who would shepherd his people after the model of David. King David, who had been a shepherd before being anointed the king, was lovingly regarded as the greatest Shepherd-King. The Jewish leadership who questioned Jesus had a good knowledge of the Prophets and the Psalms, and therefore, they indeed suspected the claim of Jesus to be the shepherd: Would he be the Messiah the scriptures have foretold? But the problem was that they were unwilling to accept a messiah who did not conform to their imagination and understanding. Misconceptions about Jesus could be a massive hindrance to people’s faith in God. How often do we hear people complain that they do not want to believe in a God who does not answer their prayers or in a God who allowed misfortunes and tragedies to happen? They would prefer to believe in a God who conforms to their idea of God. Once again, Jesus emphasises the requirement of listening: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” Listening to the voice of God – the Word of God – seems to be the paramount requirement to belong to Jesus. In the Gospels, the term “hear” means to listen, understand, assimilate, and carry out what is heard. Who are the people who listened to this voice of the shepherd and followed? His chosen disciples and the people who accompanied him … listened to his voice and allowed his words to make amends in their lives. And to them, Jesus assures their reward: they are already in eternal life with God, and that they will not perish to eternity. Safe in the hand of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the disciples are safe in the Father’s hand, the original shepherd of Israel [Ezekiel 34:15]. Remember, Jesus had given a similar assurance when he talked about the bread of life [Jn 6:37, 39]: “Whoever eats this bread will never die.” As always, the Words of Jesus evoke two types of reactions – some believe, and others do not. Faith comes from listening… when you don’t listen, there cannot have faith in Jesus.