“I Am the Good Shepherd," Notes on John 7–10, CFM study for April 29-May 5

Unbelief among Christ's siblings, John 7:1-9

• Christ's brethren, or his half-siblings, did not believe in him, though it appears that at least some were converted later (the Epistle of James was written by one of them).  Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-56 give us their names as well as note unnamed sisters.  It would be so interesting to know more about that and what home life was like for them.  Many think that Mary was likely a widow by the time of Christ's ministry.  Did her status as a widow have some effect on her family and how they related to Jesus?  As oldest son, he would have been expected to be her caretaker.   
• Why was it so hard to believe?  Was it their own jealousy and resentment?  Did Mary "keep all these things in her heart" her whole life and not share what she knew even with her children?  I think that is probably likely, at least for a time.  It would have been extremely difficult for the family had their neighbors known of the miraculous story of Christ's birth.  And I know from experience that once you tell kids something, it's only a matter of time before everyone knows.  That's why we never told our kids about a pregnancy until we were ready for everyone to know.
•  It states several times that Nazareth didn't experience the miracles that other places did because of their own hard-heartedness.  It would be interesting to know how that affected Christ's half-brothers.
• It seems that when his brothers insist He go up to the feast and do His works in public, they are taunting or challenging him.

Teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles, Christ is the Living Water, John 7:10-24, 7:37-39, 8:12

• Christ goes quietly to the Feast of Tabernacles instead of going with his brothers.  This was a big gathering and a happy one.  Everyone gathered to Jerusalem in the fall to celebrate the harvest.  They stayed in booths, which is also translated tabernacles, to help them commemorate their forty years wandering in the wilderness.  Basically, they were huts made out of palm and myrtle.  I picture this as a huge, chaotic, happy camping trip to Jerusalem.  Naturally, the talk revolved around all the miraculous things done by this man called Jesus.  There were a lot of heated discussions and opinions about it.
• Much of the rest of the chapter seems to be organized around Jesus saying something and the people misunderstanding it and arguing over who and what He is.  Remember, this is taking place just after John 6, where Christ declares himself to be the bread of life and people consider it to be a hard saying and some wonder how they can eat a person's flesh.    
• Christ, who had come quietly to the feast, likely to avoid arrest, appears in the temple and begins to teach.  The people are astonished because He teaches so powerfully and yet they know He has not studied under their masters.  Christ's reply shows how He gives all the glory to God.  He speaks in such a way throughout these next chapters as could be understood in multiple ways.  "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)"
• With this declaration, Christ gives everyone the way to discover for their own selves if what He says is true.  Again, like with the miracles, it takes faith and action before confirmation comes.  I have had that confirmation come in my life many times as I have acted on what I believe.
• Sometimes people approach the gospel primarily with their rational minds.  They want to study and study until they know everything before they act.  But we have hearts as well as minds and both need to be engaged.  If we want to understand Christ, we first need to follow Him.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says, "For some, the act of believing is difficult. Sometimes our pride gets in the way. Perhaps we think that because we are intelligent, educated, or experienced, we simply cannot believe in God. And we begin to look at religion as foolish tradition.  In my experience, belief is not so much like a painting we look at and admire and about which we discuss and theorize. It is more like a plow that we take into the fields and, by the sweat of our brow, create furrows in the earth that accept seeds and bear fruit that shall remain.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. This is the promise to all who seek to believe."  Believing involves being engaged.
• Christ teaches that he did right in healing on the Sabbath day, which we know from John 5:16 is one justification they have for trying to kill him.  He points out that they circumcise on the Sabbath when the 8th day falls on that day. 
• On the last day of the feast, Christ declares Himself to be the living water.  Just as he is the bread of life, He also is living water.  He declared the same to the Samaritan woman at the well.  Right during the feast where they remembered their wandering in the wilderness and rejoiced in the harvest that grew with the rains and water, so Christ declared how to receive that living water for themselves.
• The living water represents life and purity.  We who pull on a tap and have instant access to clean water and have the luxury of taking long showers probably cannot fathom what the symbol of "living water" meant for a people who had to draw their water from deep wells if there was not a spring, carry it home every day and ration carefully its use.  Clean, pure water means less disease.  It means life to needed seeds and crops.  
• This article puts it beautifully:  My employment takes me to communities all over the world where people do not have access to clean water. . . Even in communities with numerous and wide-ranging problems, people always say that clean water is what they would like most.

I will always be grateful to a woman in Kenya, Africa, who taught me about willingness to work to obtain water. I met her at a celebration following the installation of a well in her community. With gratitude she told me that the new well would cut her daily nine-mile (14 km) trip to get water to a one-mile (1.6 km) trip. She was overjoyed at the opportunities that would now be hers.

I couldn’t help but think how I would feel if I had to walk a mile to get water. I was impressed that she put everything—from housework to gardening—aside while she made her journey to fetch water. She knew she couldn’t complete the other tasks without that water. I thought about how heavy her burden was. Carrying water takes strength and endurance. Yet, for the sake of her family, she was willing to walk nine miles every day to get it.

I wonder if we who get clean water from taps in our homes sometimes expect to come unto Christ with the same ease as turning a knob to get a glass of water. Or are we willing to put aside other tasks, even important ones, to seek to know Jesus Christ and His Father?
• The New Testament student manual explains the context for these remarks and for Christ's later declaration to be the light of the world.

Water and light were used as important symbols during the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Savior used these symbols to call the people to believe in Him as the Messiah. On the temple mount, four large golden candelabras (also called menorahs or candlesticks) illuminated the temple grounds during dances and other festivities held late into the night and early morning. The golden candelabras, which were 50 cubits tall (approximately 73 feet or 22.25 meters), not only provided light for the celebrations, but they symbolized that Israel was to be a light to those who walked in darkness. The most renowned and anticipated ceremony of the feast was the daily procession, during which an appointed priest drew water from the pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher and poured the water into the silver basin at the base of the temple altar, along with the morning wine offering.

During “the last day, that great day of the feast,” after the crowds had celebrated the final pouring of the water, “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). His words are a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 14:8 that when the Messiah comes, “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.” Early in the morning of the next day, which would have been the Sabbath, the Savior again returned to the temple. As He taught near where the large golden candelabras stood during the feast, He declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). It is Jesus Christ who gives light to all.

• The pool of Siloam, which will also play a part in the healing of the blind man in chapter 9, has an interesting part in the feast.  This video explains it well:

Conflict about Christ's Identity, an Attempted Arrest, and Increasing Persecution, John 7:25-36, 7:40-52, John 10:19-21, John 10:31-42

• John notes at multiple points the reaction to Christ.  While some believe, others, including the Jewish leaders and the Pharisees, seek to kill him.  They even sent officers (also translated as servants) to take him into custody, but John tells us multiple times that they were thwarted because "his hour was not yet come," (John 7:30, 8:20).  It seems that something prevented them from carrying out their plans.  Verse 44 says that "some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him" The servants return to the Pharisees empty-handed, saying, "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). In John 7:59, we have an echo of what happened in Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry when they tried to throw him off a cliff.  This time, "they took up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."  And then again in John 10:31-39, Christ escapes from those who pick up stones to throw at him.  
• It seems like John is bringing great attention to the miraculous protection Christ received during this time in His ministry, perhaps to point out the truth of what Christ says about His death in John 10:18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."
• I have so much respect for what Nicodemus does in these passages (See my post here for more thoughts on Nicodemus)   When the Pharisees are gathered to accuse Christ, Nicodemus argues for fairness. "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" He receives mocking for it, but he says it nonetheless.  We all have similar opportunities to stand up for what is right even when it isn't popular.  We might similarly receive mocking words, but we have the power to make a difference and the call to do so.
• It's interesting to study the arguments the Pharisees and others use to oppose Christ.  Some of them are used today by critics of the Church and of Christianity in general.  It seems that some of the arguments might have been sincere but others were used to try to confuse and lead astray those who did follow Jesus. Some seemed to be grasping at straws.  They had already decided against Christ and now they were just trying to come up with a reason.  Here are some of the arguments included in this week's reading.  Do you see any parallels to today?

1. They know where Jesus is from (Nazareth), and they think that the Messiah will come from a place unknown.  (John 7:27).  So their expectations of what Christ should be got in the way of recognizing the actual Christ when He was among them.  What expectations do people carry today that keep them from recognizing truth?
2. They know that the prophecy says Christ will be born in Bethlehem.  Since Jesus is from Nazareth, He can't be the Christ. (John 7:41-42).  In this case, they thought they had the right facts, but had they done some research or asked the right people, they would have known that they were wrong and Christ was actually born in Bethlehem.  What false narratives exist in our world that cause people to fall away from the truth?
3. The Pharisees criticize, mock, and sneer at those who are sympathetic to Jesus, and claim that only the uneducated could believe in Him.  In one passage, they respond to the servants sent to arrest him who instead bring back word of his amazing teaching with, Are ye also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. (John 7:47-49).  Then to the blind man who was healed by Christ, "they heaped abuse on him" (John 9:28).  When they can't win on truth -- a blind man was healed! -- they resort to attacking the believer.  What kinds of criticisms do believers endure today?  
4. They accused Jesus of having no other witnesses to prove what He was saying, (John 8:13).  What kinds of additional witnesses do people demand today before they are willing to believe?  
5. They say He is a Samaritan and possessed by a demon (John 8:48, John 10:20).  We don't use the words "Samaritan" as an insult now, but "bigot" and "brainwashed" might be modern substitutes.  What other insults are used to dismiss believers?
6. They say Jesus is not of God because he healed on the Sabbath Day.  In this case, they have created a strange-to-us litmus test based on their oral tradition and understanding of the Sabbath.  What are the litmus tests that people use today?
7. They accuse Him of blasphemy because He makes himself equal with God (John 10:33).  This is one I don't see with as much of a modern parallel.  In our secular age, many simply deny God exists at all.  Do you see a modern parallel here?

The Woman Caught in Adultery, John 8:1-11

• Since this story is left out of some early manuscripts and appears in different places in others, it is thought not to be originally part of John's record.  But there are not a lot of early manuscripts with these chapters in John in the first place and this is a story referenced in the 200s and 300s, so it is likely a well-known part of the record.  It also fits with other stories where the authorities try to trick Christ, such as when they ask him about paying tribute to Ceasar.  
• The Pharisees think they have a perfect catch-22 for Christ.  It isn't really about the woman at all for them.  They just want a pretext to accuse Jesus.  If he refuses to stone the woman, they can say He doesn't follow the law of Moses and therefore can't be the Christ.  If he condemns the woman to be stoned, He will both be going against the current tradition (stoning for adultery was abandoned by the Jews long before this) and against Roman authorities, who forbade such a punishment.  Either way, they think they will have caught him.
• Had the Pharisees really been concerned with following the law of Moses, they would have brought the man as well as the woman.
• I would love to know what it was that Christ wrote on the ground.  I am intrigued by some who say that the word in Greek used for "write" can also mean to "list."  It is possible Christ was listing the sins of the accusers as He wrote on the ground.  He could also have written a scripture verse that condemned the men.  When he tells the men that he who is without sin should cast the first stone, they realize their plot didn't work.  Beginning at the eldest, they depart.  Were they convicted of their sins?  Embarrassed?  The record doesn't say.
• Beautiful compassion is shown to the woman, but also the injunction to "go, and sin no more."  He did not forgive or absolve her of her sins -- as He had done to many of those He encountered in life -- but He also didn't "condemn" her.  She was worth redeeming and she needed to start by abandoning her sin.  The JST of this verse adds, "And the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name."  Here was one of the lost sheep who was brought home through the compassion and encouragement of Jesus.

Christ Declares He is the Light of the World and He Comes from Above, John 8:12-59

• Christ declares, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12) and "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23)
• All of these bold statements about who He is and Who sent Him remind me of C.S. Lewis' quote from Mere Christianity, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
• I find it ironic that many who don't believe in Christ and don't think of Him as the Son of God nevertheless quote Him, often out of context, when it suits their purpose.  
• My favorite verse in this section is where Christ says, "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him. (John 8:29-30)"  Christ has qualified for the presence of His Father.  He does the Father's will and the Father is with Him.  We, too, can work to do God's will and please Him.  
• I also love how Christ teaches those who believed Him that they needed to "continue in my word . . . and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."  (John 8:31-32).  Again, this shows that it isn't enough to believe.  We have to act on that belief and as we do so, we will know the truth.
• While making pretty bold (but still veiled) references to His Father, Christ is also pretty bold in condemning the Pharisees by telling them, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father" and "Ye are of your father the devil."  Pretty hard words, but it is confirmed by the words of William Law, " If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead." 

A Question about a Blind Man and His Healing, John 9:1-7

• It is common today as it was anciently for some to assume that when something horrible happens to someone, it is because of sin.  Like Job's friends, Jesus' disciples ask, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?"
• This verse implies that the disciples believed that sin was present in some form in our pre-mortal lives; otherwise, how could the man be responsible for a sin that caused him to be born blind?
• Before my oldest was born, I taught Seminary to special education students for a year and a half.  During that time, these verses became precious to me.  "Why me?" is such an easy question for parents to ask when children are born with severe disabilities.  Here, Christ makes it clear that "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."  
• Elder Faust says this about these verses, 

How are the works of God manifest in these, our handicapped brothers and sisters? Surely they are manifested greatly in the loving care and attention given by parents, other family members, friends, and associates. The handicapped are not on trial. Those of us who live free of such limitations are the ones who are on trial. While those with handicaps cannot be measured in the same way as others, many of the handicapped benefit immensely from each accomplishment, no matter how small.

The handiwork of God is manifest with respect to the handicapped in many ways. It is demonstrated in the miraculous way in which many individuals with mental and physical impediments are able to adjust and compensate for their limitations. Occasionally, other senses become more functional and substitute for the impaired senses in a remarkable way. A young friend greatly retarded in speech and movement repaired a complicated clock although she had had no previous training or experience in watch or clock making. 

Many of the special ones are superior in many ways. They, too, are in a life of progression, and new things unfold for them each day as with us all. They can be extraordinary in their faith and spirit. Some are able, through their prayers, to communicate with the infinite in a most remarkable way. Many have a pure faith in others and a powerful belief in God. They can give their spiritual strength to others around them.

• In my daily interactions with those special education students, I felt powerfully the love that God had for them and I often felt that I was in the presence of powerful souls that had much to teach me.
• All sorts of bad things happen to good people, not because of sin but because it is part of mortality and the purposes of God.  I think sometimes we want to find a reason that other people experience tragedy so that we can reassure ourselves that we are not vulnerable to the same thing.  Perhaps that's why people are so quick to blame parents when children die in unexpected ways.  "Where was the mom?  That child wasn't being watched closely enough," some smugly say, as if nothing bad could ever happen to a child of an attentive parent.  Or "That's what you get for (insert some parenting decision or practice they don't do)."  Instead of mourning with those who experience tragedy, they seek to explain why it happened in an easy "this will never happen to me" fashion.  
• I wonder why the man was anointed with spit and mud and then told to wash in the pool of Siloam.  Christ had the power to heal him in any way he chose.  Using this way could have been for many reasons, such as:

1. It allowed the man to exercise his faith as part of the healing.  He didn't have to go to the pool; he could have dismissed the idea and the Man who gave it, but he did his part by obeying the simple instructions.  Reminds me of Naaman, who washed seven times in the Jordon river.
2. It made it so the healing took place away from where Christ was.  The subsequent questioning of the man caused his own courage and faith to be tested and gave the Pharisees the chance to question him without being in Jesus' presence.  This separation was perhaps symbolic and might be the perfect illustration of what Christ said about "doing his will [to] know of the doctrine" in chapter seven.  This man had to both obey the instructions that he had been given in order to be healed and then persist on in his faith in Christ before Christ again "found him."
3. The man might have been a bit hesitant in his faith and the physical act of anointing his eyes and having him wash helped him have more faith.  I think sometimes God answers our prayers in ways that we expect not because that's the only way He can, but because we need an obvious answer that makes sense to us.  He speaks to us according to our language and our culture.  
4. The pool of Siloam, as we discussed above, has symbolic meaning.  It was a pool made of water that sprung out of the ground near the base of the temple.  The Gihon spring that filled the pool after flowing through Hezekiah's Tunnel, was also where Solomon was anointed king. There are multiple allusions and symbolism with living waters flowing from the base of the temple.  This article, for example, explains that the springs of Gihon, which filled Siloam and sustained Jerusalem with a clean source of freshwater, were the same that were referenced in Ezekial 47, where he saw a vision of Jerusalem as a temple in the last days with a spring of water flowing out of it that increased in volume as it went along, though there were no tributaries.    Elder Renlund spoke about Ezekial's vision and said, "Two characteristics of the water are noteworthy. First, though the small stream had no tributaries, it grew into a mighty river, becoming wider and deeper the farther it flowed. Something similar happens with the blessings that flow from the temple as individuals are sealed as families. Meaningful growth occurs going backward and forward through the generations as sealing ordinances weld families together.
   
   Second, the river renewed everything that it touched. The blessings of the temple likewise have a stunning capacity to heal. Temple blessings can heal hearts and lives and families."

Conflict with the Pharisees and the Testimony of the Formerly Blind Man, John 9:8-41

• I love how much "screen time" is given to this man who was blind.  The whole chapter is concerned with him.  
• The man starts out unwilling to condemn the man who healed him but not quite sure what or Who he was.  As he is questioned, his conviction grows.  At first, he says, "A man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes and . . . I went and washed and I received sight" (John 9:11).  Then he is brought to the Pharisees, who tell him Jesus can't be of God because he did the healing on the Sabbath.  He says in response, "He is a prophet."  They call him again after questioning his parents (who weasel their way out of saying anything definitive) and he says, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see," and "Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes . . . If this man were not of God, he could do nothing."  
• His continued faith in what he believed and what had happened, despite opposition, his parents' non-commitment, being rejecting and being cast out, was rewarded when Jesus found him.  I love that we have yet another example of Christ seeking someone out who is ready to believe in him.  The exchange is poignant: 

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. (John 9:35-38)

• The exchange is even more powerful because this is the first time the man has ever seen Jesus.  He was still blind when he walked away from Christ with the mud on his eyes. 
• The final words of the chapter contrast the blindness of the Pharisees who claim to see and know the scriptures and the commandments yet are blind to Jesus the Christ with those who are blind through no fault of their own who will be made to see through Christ.  
• It is both a warning against pride and willful blindness and also a reminder that we will one day be judged according to our own circumstances and knowledge.  If the Pharisee truly were blind, they would have no sin, but because they pridefully claim to see, they are in sin.  They had every opportunity to see.  They had the scriptures, their knowledge, and many witnesses, yet they refused to see.

The Good Shepherd, John 10:1-18, 22-30

• There has been so much written about the imagery of shepherds and how Christ is the good shepherd caring for his flock.  I wrote last week about what I'd learned about the nature of sheep and their need for a shepherd. 
• The first passage, contrasting the real shepherd with the thieves and robbers, comes right after Christ criticized the leaders of the Jews for their willful blindness.  
• Christ first establishes that the shepherd comes in through the door of the sheepfold and not through some other way.  Bandits come in ways that are unauthorized and come with the intent to harm or steal, not to protect and shelter.  It seems that Christ is contrasting his loving care with the brash, rude disregard for the welfare of their flock that the Pharisees demonstrate.  Look at how they treated the blind man.  Instead of rejoicing with him over his miracle, they demand explanations, disbelieve him, mock him, and then cast him out.  Is that the behavior of a shepherd or a bandit?
• The sheep know their shepherd's voice and he "calls them by name."  It isn't just "hey you, get over here."  The sheep are known and have names.  As a mother of a large family, I think sometimes of how to people outside our family, our kids are just a mass of kids, a large number to remark on.  Yet to my husband and I, each one is known, loved, prayed for, instructed, cared for, and nurtured.  I wrote about this feeling ten years ago after my seventh child was born:  
  Recently, a dear friend looked at Harmony and said with a smile, "Well, if you've seen one, you've seen them all." She meant, of course, that my children look alike, that they share common features and facial expressions. She meant it as a compliment. I smiled and said, "yes, they do look alike, don't they?" but inside, my whole soul was rebelling. No, I thought, you haven't seen them all. This one is unique and different and special, and so are all the others. This is Harmony. Not the same song, different verse. A whole new being. A symphony of sound and grace and personality and life. A child with her own unique gifts and talents and mission in life. A child who will bless the world with her presence, who will touch and lift people with her goodness. A child. A child.
  
  I feel the same way about each of my children. Lillian. Joseph. Michael. Allison. Sarah. Eliza. Harmony [and I could add now, Katie, Cami, Benji and Gideon]. Even the two who grew together in my womb and gasped for their first breath in the same sacred moment -- the two who share the same genes, the same DNA. They are each precious, unique, and special. A child. A child. They came together in the special miracle that is twinship, but they are each beloved, each unique and distinct. Every member of our family knows them as separate individuals, despite their look-alike faces." 

They might look alike, but they are unique and cherished!

• As much as I love and honor and know each of my children by name, I know that God knows them even better and loves us all on an infinitely higher level.  

• Christ declares that He is the door of the sheep.  I want to ponder a lot more on what this might mean.  President Ezra Taft Benson said, "In Jesus’ time, the Palestinian shepherd was noted for his protection of his sheep. Unlike modern sheepherders, the shepherd always walked ahead of his flock. He led them. The shepherd knew each of the sheep and usually had a name for each. The sheep knew his voice and trusted him and would not follow a stranger. Thus, when called, the sheep would come to him. (See John 10:14, 16.)
  
  At night shepherds would bring their sheep to a corral called a sheepfold. High walls surrounded the sheepfold, and thorns were placed on top of these walls to prevent wild animals and thieves from climbing over.
  
  Sometimes, however, a wild animal driven by hunger would leap over the walls into the midst of the sheep, frightening them. Such a situation separated the true shepherd—one who loved his sheep—from the hireling—one who worked only for pay and duty.
  
  The true shepherd was willing to give his life for the sheep. He would go in amongst the sheep and fight for their welfare. The hireling, on the other hand, valued his own personal safety above the sheep and would usually flee from the danger.
  
  Jesus used this common illustration of his day to declare that He was the Good Shepherd, the True Shepherd. Because of His love for His brothers and sisters, He would willingly and voluntarily lay down His life for them. (See John 10:17–18.)"
• Verse 10 warns about the motives of thieves versus the good shepherd, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  This is another example of Christ reminding us that there are many who would deceive, hurt, and destroy.  How do we recognize these destroyers for what they are?  How do we keep them from influencing us?
• In contrast to the good shepherd, who stays and will give his life to protect the sheep, a hireling will flee at danger.  Elder Bruce C. Hafen related this passage to marriage, "Marriage is by nature a covenant, not just a private contract one may cancel at will. Jesus taught about contractual attitudes when he described the “hireling,” who performs his conditional promise of care only when he receives something in return. When the hireling “seeth the wolf coming,” he “leaveth the sheep, and fleeth … because he … careth not for the sheep.” By contrast, the Savior said, “I am the good shepherd, … and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Many people today marry as hirelings. And when the wolf comes, they flee. This idea is wrong. It curses the earth, turning parents’ hearts away from their children and from each other."
• Verses 14-15 says, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep." This reminds me of the Great Intercessory Prayer, where Christ pleads for the At-One-Ment of all of us, that we might come to be One with Him as He is One with His Father.  It is only through His redeeming act of laying down His life for us that we have the possibility of entering through the gate and into that great unity.
• At the feast of Dedication, Christ continues the shepherd theme by saying that the Jews do not understand or believe "because ye are not of my sheep."  His sheep know His voice and He knows them and they follow him (John 10:22-27).  How is it that we can come to be one of His sheep and to know the voice of our shepherd?  How do we become more in tune with his voice?

Videos to Watch this week: