Bishop Miller’s Musings: 4th Sunday of Easter

Oftentimes, I struggle to understand the words of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. I find the sayings of Jesus in John 10 to be among the most confounding. In just the first ten verses of this chapter, Jesus is both gate and shepherd. Making sense of this reading is not easy. I have come to believe that it is first directed at those who would exercise authority over others.

In the Old Testament, the shepherd image is often used of kings. Those who would rule must care for their subjects; guard them, feed them, protect them. Bad kings are likened to shepherds who abandon their flocks in the wilderness when danger approaches, who lead them carelessly along perilous paths, who take selfishly for themselves from among the flock: whereas a good king, like a good shepherd, ensures his subjects have nothing to fear: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Jesus speaks to a group of leaders, Pharisees and Scribes, reminding them of what scripture has to say about rulers. The people will not follow someone who does not have God’s approval: they will not recognize the voice of a bad shepherd. Only one appointed by God, who keeps the will of God, can truly lead.

In these few words at the beginning of John 10, Jesus appears to criticize the Roman emperor and all those who rule at his pleasure. These are the “thieves and bandits” of which he speaks. Perhaps he also intends to include the same Pharisees and Scribes in the sweep of his condemnation.

Jesus goes even further in his use of the words “I Am.” “I Am the gate.” “I Am the good shepherd.” Here he reveals himself to those who listen as the one who knows the mind of God because he is God— “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” God, who is known as the great I AM is manifest in this Jesus. Thus, he is the gate through which the righteous enter, while thieves and bandits, those who seek their own benefit to the detriment of the ones they lead, approach stealthily to lead astray.

“Stick to God’s way, Jesus seems to say to the leaders. God’s way means abundant life for all and not just for those who have the means to obtain it. God’s way gives daily bread to any who are hungry and a welcome to those who find themselves estranged. God’s way seeks the commonwealth of all.