On Yesterdays blog I talked about John chapter ten, in which Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd and the sheep will hear his voice. It’s an exciting and comforting chapter if you consider yourself drawn to Christ and want to follow Him.
In the same chapter, though, He talks to a group of people who do not hear His voice, even though they are sitting right in front of Him talking to Him. It’s sobering. Here’s the exchange:
“So the Jews gathered around him and said to him “how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 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. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they fllow me. I give them eternal life and they wull never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
There are, of course, all sorts of people who do not hear the voice of Jesus. We can’t infer from this chapter that this is the only kind of person. But it might be helpful to note some characteristics so we can better recognize them in ourselves when they show their heads. Here are a few characteristics I see:
1. They have a strong pre-conceived notion as to what the Christ will look and sound like, and Jesus isn’t fitting that notion at all. Jesus didn’t come out of their schools, He likely does not dress like them. He knows the ancient text just like they do, but He does not interpret it the way they’ve been taught to interpret it, which is likely through a self-serving agenda.
2. He threatens their power. To believe this is the Christ, they are going to have to give up everything they’ve been building all these years. They are powerful men, they rule over people, people come to them for guidance and wisdom. If Jesus is the Christ, they’re livelihood is likely gone. Paul would have this same struggle, but Jesus would confront Him personally. The issue is that if they follow Christ, they are no longer important people in their communities.
3. These are zealous men. They are willing to kill Jesus because He is claiming to be the Messiah. They are not a people of grace, they are a people of the law.
4. And as such, they would likely be threatened with physical retribution from their own community if they followed Christ.
5. They are people who want clarity. They don’t like all this vague hippie talk coming from Jesus. How are they supposed to judge right from wrong, or moreover, who is important and who isn’t with all this silly talk about sheep and shepherds?
6. Jesus likes their enemies. These are people who have very clear enemies and very clear lines about who is lesser than they are. Jesus befriends these enemies and even says they are the ones who hear His voice. These guys probably interpret this to mean that their enemies are right and they are wrong (not an accurate interpretation. the idea is that “the wrong” are loved and will receive grace and protection.)
To be sure, some people in this same predicament did follow Christ. Nicodemus is a good example. But in all, this is a group that is not ready to believe this strange, liberal guy from Nazareth is the great God of the universe.
The tough question to grapple with is would you? I mean if believing in Christ would cost you your importance, would you follow Him? If it would shame you amongst your friends, would you follow Him all the same? If it meant you could no longer be an expert judge in your field of influence, would you follow Him? And the big one, if Jesus loved your enemies, would you still side with Jesus? And this speaks nothing of the financial problems following Christ would entail.
So we see here that following Christ involves a bit of sacrifice. Good stuff to consider. I think the reward of knowing Him outweighs the sacrifice, for sure. There is freedom when we submit ourselves to Him, no matter how that disrupts our lives. I’d rather trust in the security He offers than the security I’ve created out of false and temporal systems.
Very good post about following Jesus and all that entails. What is costs us how it can seem to hurt us or set us back. It was written in a very biases style though. What exactly made Jesus a hippie? I found his interpretation of Scripture to be deeply conservative rejecting the built up liberal laws of man added to the Scriptures over the centuries.
Anyway don’t need to quibble over stuff like that. Anytime we can call people to more deeply reflect on the true sacrificial nature of following Christ we are doing a good job. Your post does that Mr. Miller so I thank you for it.
A sense of entitlement seems to have held these people in their struggle against Jesus, don’t you think? They had worked so hard for so long to be right, and didn’t expect to be told they were getting it wrong!
The Oswald Chambers reading this morning pointed to this type of self-justification and how it masks our wrongs. Jesus being so subversive – ultimately – would help these guys (us) to wriggle free of their laws/defence mechanisms, because he is of course their shepherd, and loves them even though they wield rocks.
Thanks, valuable few posts.
I’m thankful for this and your other recent writings from the gospels. And, I’m praying for you as you continue to seek and proclaim the truth. There’s a world who needs to learn about Jesus, and who He really is! They will either be drawn to Him or hate Him.
I can’t see myself doing what Peter and the other apostles who had wives and children did, dropping my blue collar job (with its relatively unstable wages, what with unpredictable fish stocks, lack of advanced refrigeration technologies, and capricious markets) to follow Christ. Of course, it is my marriage and parenting that qualifies to be a leader in the church, at least according to 1 Timothy 3. But right now, that feels totally like a rationalization.
Wow. As a single, female, childless leader of a Christian faith-based ministry, you do *not* want to get me started on that interpretation of I Timothy 3. Love you, though!
I wasn’t thinking at all about you. I speculate that Timothy was single and childless, yet extremely effective.
You are probably a 1 Cor 7 leader–free from concern, like Paul–and my life is the ultimate set of distractions, where I’m barely keeping up, squeezing ministry in and around diapers, homework, discipline, love languages at home, and a job outside the home as well.
I look back at my twenties, when I was single, as a more focused and fruitful time of ministry. But I’m a better elder now than I was then. Until my kids disqualify me with their lack of proper respect, of course.
Thanks for the fuller thinking, in response to my initial comment.
Sarcasm much?
Ohhh…sarcasm. You’d think I’d recognize my native tongue. Never mind.
I have been thinking about how we describe Jesus as the friend of “sinners.” No doubt these church leaders were sinners, but we are not referring to them in the statement. What made them not “sinners?” It seems that maybe it was how they viewed themselves. It is striking because many of us in the church do not view ourselves as sinners.
Good point. I would say that when we say that Jesus hung out with sinners, it means he spent time with those who were thought of as people of questionable character, whereas the Pharisees positioned themselves as being without sin.
In answer to your last sentence, I’m not a sinner. I’m a former sinner.
“following Christ involves a bit of sacrifice”
Whoaahh! Doesn’t this conflict with what they’re telling me on that TV station, that Jesus wants to give me my best life now? That He’s all about making this life a smooth, trouble-free existence? Are you telling me that preacher wearing all the gold might not be right on this?
I wrestle with this question all the time–would I follow Jesus? Without the Bible, without knowing the end of the story, would I follow Jesus? I’m not so sure I have that faith, or the humility to let the spirit of God move me so much that I would trust a stranger when he says, “Follow me.”
If a man I didn’t know walked by me on my lunch break today and said, “Leave your job right now and follow me,” I’d probably think he was crazy. What made those disciples leave?
They must have had faith in God that far exceeds mine.
Great blog again today. The last couple have been exceptional.
I had a dream last night that Blue Like Jazz, the movie, came out. It was the strangest film ever. There was no narrative arc and no real characters. It was just you and Steve going around and talking to people with a Flip camera. But I cried anyway.
Nathan
So here’s what I’m loving about this series, and the conversations we’re having around it: we’re talking about Jesus again.
Am I the only one who felt, for a time, that it had sorta gone out of style to talk about him? For awhile now, it seems, we’ve all been kinda looking sideways at the Bible, drawing ideas out of it but refashioning them into less religious-sounding terms so that we could share the love without having to field the offense that being specific would bring.
Maybe we had to go through that, to refocus our own hearts and drop the religiosity within ourselves, so that when we started talking about Jesus again we’d do him justice.
Bless you Lori, with you there and your comment above!
I do think it’s important we learn to lose the jargon though, because it has the shutters slamming down on all sides. Freestyling outside the conventional discourse is totally Jesus!
Call me simple, but I love that Miller is talking straightforward about Jesus again too–maybe he was before and I just didn’t have the intellect to pick up on it. Side note, did anyone read about the amputee who recently finished walking the perimeter of the country in nine years? She planted crosses all along the way. Very inspiring.
“I’d rather trust in the security He offers than the security I’ve created out of false and temporal systems.”
For a girl who overthinks and has dealt with all sorts of fears and anxieties, this statement has been so true in my own life.
After my world completely fell apart and God showed me His strength and faithfulness and grace through it all, I trust so much more in Him and so much less in anything of this world. It has been a very freeing experience in my life. In fact, 180 degree difference.
Of course, now I fear going back to my false and temporal systems…think that’s why I am so tempted to stay single now…keeps things simple for me. Life and being human, I tell ya!
“There is freedom when we submit ourselves to Him, no matter how that disrupts our lives.” This is good stuff! It’s certainly something we need to hear in our culture today, where so many people believe the only true freedom is from a lack of submission. Freedom in Christ has certainly disrupted my life in many ways, but I would never trade that for a life without Him! Thanks for sharing this with us!
[...] Life – Howard S. Friedman, Huffington Post Jonah’s Twist Ending – Trevin Wax The Sheep Who Did Not Hear Jesus’ Voice – Don Miller ‘Glee’ is Not About Tolerance – John W. Kennedy, Beliefnet A [...]
If believing in Christ would cost you your job, would you follow Him? (especially those who work in the church)
Jesus wasn’t very ‘seeker’ friendly by today’s standards.
I’m not sure about your reference to Jesus as a “strange, liberal guy”. To me, calling Him a liberal guy doesn’t seem right for two reasons. One, a “strange, liberal guy” doesn’t do the the eternal son of God justice. I’m in full 100% belief that Jesus yearns for intimate fellowship with His followers, but to refer to Him as a “strange, liberal guy” doesn’t hold Him, the One who fills our lungs with air, in proper reverence. Secondly, and more controversially, who’s to say Jesus was liberal? A liberal, as defined by the Oxford American Dictionary is one who is “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.” Even though Jesus came to earth with teachings unheard of to the ears of man, you said yourself in your post a few days ago that all He was doing was relaying information from His Father, and fulfilling the will of His father set in stone before the foundations of the earth. Just a thought.
Ah, but to the religious leaders and others who had solidified into their own ideas and interpretations, Jesus (who was and is the ORIGINAL truth) must have *seemed* strange and liberal. Ironic, really. But it’s still the same today.
Jake,
Though I obviously cannot speak for Don, my impression is that the phrase “strange, liberal guy” is Don’s way of describing how Jesus was likely viewed by many people when He walked the earth. And, I would have to agree.
If you think about it, Jesus was relaying/proclaiming what probably seemed like a “strange” message. The idea that he was seen as strange is probably putting it mildly…:)
And, by the definition of “liberal” that you quoted from the dictionary, Jesus really was a “liberal” during His day. He came introducing this new idea that contrasted tradition (that we are saved by grace and not by the law or by attempting to follow the law).
Jesus was odd and strange in His time. If He weren’t, nobody would be talking about Him today.
don, the sweet aroma of christ has been coming through this blog lately my friend. beautiful portraits of christ being painted out of love here.
What amazes me in this passage is how many of the people most likely to recognize God missed Him completely when He came to them. This should be humbling for all of us who claim to follow God.
Also, related to this post, I’ve been thinking this lately: If I can’t point to a few things that I feel Jesus really messed up in my life, can I really say I’m following Him? Am I way off with that kind of thinking?
Jesus said they do not believe because they “are not part of my flock”.
The flock is the elect people of God.
Notice that Jesus did NOT say:
but you are not part of my flock because you do not believe.
I am afraid for most professing Christians, that they have not truly counted the cost of following Christ.
This short video will help you count the cost of following the King of kings…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JQOBMi4QS8
I love this chapter!! The Shepherds heart is exposed, and the everlasting battle for belief revealed! The spiritual antinomy that man tries to understand is once again demonstrated, God has designed the way of salvation not man!! Keep up the good writing!
[...] March 23, Donald Miller blogged the following in a post titled The Sheep Who Did Not Hear His Voice. He says some awesome stuff you should read, but there was one paragraph I saved and emailed [...]
[...] If believing in Christ would cost you your importance, would you follow Him? [...]
Who’s Your Teacher?
Isaiah 30:19-21
For you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again.
He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears, He
will answer you. The Lord will give you meager bread and water during
oppression, but your Teacher will not hide Himself any longer. Your
eyes will see your Teacher, and whenever you turn to the right or to the
left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Matthew 23:10
Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
Job 36:22
Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power. Who is a teacher like Him?
Matthew 23:8
“But as for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher,
and you are all brothers.
John 13:13
You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am.
Galatians 1:11-12
Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is NOT based on a human point of view.
For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ.
John 10:1-6
The Ideal Shepherd
” I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but
climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by
the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens it for him,
and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads
them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them.
The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will never
follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they
don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”
Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand what He was
telling them.
Who’s voice(s) do you follow? Pastor, parent, friend, church, school or Jesus?
Have you asked the Teacher to teach you His Word?
Jeremiah 33:1-3
While he was still confined in the guard’s courtyard, the word of the LORD
came to Jeremiah a second time: “The LORD who made the earth, the LORD
who forms it to establish it, the LORD is His name, says this: Call to Me and
I will answer you and tell you great and wondrous things you do not know.
John 14:25-26
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
1 John 2:27
The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you
don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches
you about all things, and is true and is not a lie; just as it has
taught you, remain in Him.
Proverbs 1:23
If you turn to my discipline,
then I will pour out my spirit on you
and teach you my words.
Do you know that the “religious” leaders in Jesus’ day knew scripture
backwards and forwards and mocked Him because He had no
“formal” training for the very words He gave them?
(In our day that would be no seminary)
Can you believe that? The giver of the words they held so dear stood
in front of them and repeated His own words to them and they
scream “He has a demon!”
You can read about it here:
John 7:14-20
When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple
complex and began to teach. Then the Jews were amazed and said,
“How does He know the Scriptures, since He hasn’t been trained?”
Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One
who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he will understand
whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own.
The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who
seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him. Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none
of you keeps the law! Why do you want to kill Me?”
“You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who wants to kill You?”
Well, hopefully they understood sarcasm…
John 3:1-10
Jesus and Nicodemus
There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man came to Him at night and said, ” Rabbi, we know that You have
come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do
unless God were with him.”
Jesus replied, ” I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God.”
“But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him.
“Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
Jesus answered, ” I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and
whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you
must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound,
but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone
born of the Spirit.”
“How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.
“Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied.
Ouch.
To wrap it up on a good note…
…but your Teacher will not hide Himself any longer. Your eyes
will see your Teacher
John 14:19-20
“In a little while the world will see Me no longer, BUT YOU WILL SEE ME. Because I live, you will live too. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you.
John 14:21
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love
them and show myself to them.”
Revelation 22:3-4
The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
THEY WILL SEE HIS FACE and his name will be on their foreheads.
Ecclesiastes 1:1
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem…