Breaking the Word

The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep… (Jn 10:22-30)

Jesus is walking in the Temple area during the Festival of Hanukkah. This festival was a reminder about God and liberation. This festival was to thank God for having given the Temple back to the people and also to think how the leaders became kings.

This festival, Hanukkah (= dedication) is to celebrate the solemn purification, re-dedication, offering of proper sacrifices and prayed to God that they might never again suffer such a disaster. The disaster was that the enemies had trampled the sacred place; offered sacrifices to their own gods. 

The year was 167 BC; the tyrant was Antiochus Epiphanus; the hero was Judas Maccabaeus.  Judas and his family, because of their religious devotion and courage, liberated the Temple and re-consecrated it. Their work was similar to that of David and Solomon.  

So the Jews celebrated this event as a festival to thank God and also honour the leaders. They expect a similar leadership role from Jesus. Jesus clarifies his role well. He is a shepherd who has come to lay down his life for the sheep He has come to tend them, care for them and feed them.   

"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." …

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (Jn 10:1-10)

Familiarity between the shepherd and the sheep is the underlying factor. The shepherd spends most hours of most days in their company. The shepherd knows their individual characters, markings, likes and dislikes. The sheep, in turn, know him. They know his voice.  They trust his voice. They will not listen to others (thieves). Familiarity, constant and continuous presence with the sheep, makes the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.

Those who are not familiar and those who do not spend time with the sheep are thieves. They are time bound. They come for their own advantage. They come to steal, slaughter and destroy. They do not come through the gate. They climb over.

Those who are concerned about the sheep and care for the sheep and available for the sheep and approachable by the sheep are shepherds. But those who are selfish and concerned about their own advantage and gain are thieves.