Speaking of Life 5023 | Empty Tomb and Open Gate
Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYKIzDGWwXQ
Program Transcript
Speaking of Life 5023 | Empty Tomb and Open Gate
Jeff Broadnax
A few weeks ago, we celebrated Easter Sunday, one of the most significant days in the Christian calendar. Many of us likely spent a lot of time hearing about and meditating on the Empty Tomb. This is good because the Christian faith is based on the fact that Jesus is not dead — his tomb is, indeed, empty. Jesus is alive and we are reconciled to God and each other because of it.
The Empty Tomb means that our sins have been forgiven and that humanity has been made new in Christ. As Christians, we should give a lot of our attention to the empty tomb. The empty tomb helps us understand Jesus referring to himself as the open gate.
In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus describes himself as the gate by which the sheep can find pasture. In the parable, those who follow Christ are his beloved sheep. The passage says:
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:7-10
In this season of Easter, let’s focus on what it means to live in the reality of Christ’s resurrection. In other words, we have an opportunity to give our attention to why we were saved, and how we are being invited to respond to God’s gift of grace. According to this passage, part of the reason that Jesus rescued and redeemed us is so we can experience a full, abundant life in him.
Jesus is depicted as the gate that leads to life and because of his sacrifice, the gate is wide open to all. No matter our current circumstances, abundant life is available to us in Jesus. This does not mean that our lives will be perfect once we start following him, however, it does mean that in every situation, Jesus will be with us and our relationship with him is the richest of blessings.
It also means that one day believers will experience eternal life — an existence where there will be no more pain or suffering and there will be rejoicing without end. We have been saved by Jesus to live an abundant, full life in Christ — a life where Jesus fills all our moments with his life-giving presence. The gate to this life has been opened wide by Christ when he left that tomb, so what are we waiting for? Let us not hesitate to run away from things trying to steal our joy and into Christ’s wide-open arms. There he is offering us an abundance of forgiveness and love.
I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking of Life 5023 | Empty Tomb and Open Gate
Jeff Broadnax
A few weeks ago, we celebrated Easter Sunday, one of the most significant days in the Christian calendar. Many of us likely spent a lot of time hearing about and meditating on the Empty Tomb. This is good because the Christian faith is based on the fact that Jesus is not dead — his tomb is, indeed, empty. Jesus is alive and we are reconciled to God and each other because of it.
The Empty Tomb means that our sins have been forgiven and that humanity has been made new in Christ. As Christians, we should give a lot of our attention to the empty tomb. The empty tomb helps us understand Jesus referring to himself as the open gate.
In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus describes himself as the gate by which the sheep can find pasture. In the parable, those who follow Christ are his beloved sheep. The passage says:
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:7-10
In this season of Easter, let’s focus on what it means to live in the reality of Christ’s resurrection. In other words, we have an opportunity to give our attention to why we were saved, and how we are being invited to respond to God’s gift of grace. According to this passage, part of the reason that Jesus rescued and redeemed us is so we can experience a full, abundant life in him.
Jesus is depicted as the gate that leads to life and because of his sacrifice, the gate is wide open to all. No matter our current circumstances, abundant life is available to us in Jesus. This does not mean that our lives will be perfect once we start following him, however, it does mean that in every situation, Jesus will be with us and our relationship with him is the richest of blessings.
It also means that one day believers will experience eternal life — an existence where there will be no more pain or suffering and there will be rejoicing without end. We have been saved by Jesus to live an abundant, full life in Christ — a life where Jesus fills all our moments with his life-giving presence. The gate to this life has been opened wide by Christ when he left that tomb, so what are we waiting for? Let us not hesitate to run away from things trying to steal our joy and into Christ’s wide-open arms. There he is offering us an abundance of forgiveness and love.
I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.
Psalm 23:1–6 • Acts 2:42–47 • 1 Peter 2:19–25 • John 10:1–10
The theme for today is The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives. In our call to worship, we rehearse one of the most memorized passages in Scripture, the Shepherd’s Psalm. In Acts we see the brethren functioning beautifully together, almost like a well shepherded flock. In 1 Peter we are called to return to the shepherd that guards and restores our souls. And in our gospel reading today Jesus will picture himself as both the gate to the sheepfold, and the shepherd leading the flock.
Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to sum up the four RCL selections for the week to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.
The Good Shepherd Is Known
by the Life He Gives.
John 10:1–10 ESV
[Read or ask someone to read the passage now or during the “scripture reading” portion of your service.]
1“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Anyone who has grown up around sheep or has been brave enough to raise the woolly beasties, knows that sheep are not the brightest creatures. If one runs, even without knowing why, the rest of the flock will begin running. The slightest loud sound can startle them to the point of heart failure and death.
Sheep may not be guided by maps or expert plans. But sheep will follow a voice they trust. They move toward what sounds familiar, safe, and life-giving.
That is the image Jesus gives us in John 10. But this passage is not primarily about how good sheep behave. It is about who the Good Shepherd is — and what kind of world he brings with him.
The sheep are not the main characters; Jesus is. A good way to read the Bible is to ask, “What is God doing here?” because God is always the main character.
Jesus begins with an image his listeners would recognize immediately. Sometimes the Bible seems confusing because we do not understand life at the time it was written. This might be one example because most modern readers have not spent time around flocks of sheep. But let’s say you live in a big city; you might try to get your point across by making comparisons to riding the metro train. You would use an example your listeners would easily understand and relate with.
So, Jesus is making a point by using an example of everyday life. But it goes deeper than shepherds and sheep, we also learn about God’s kingdom. We recognize the Good Shepherd not only by his voice, but by the life of his kingdom.
Jesus announced at the very beginning of his ministry that the kingdom of God is here or near. So, “change your heart and mind.”
That word kingdom does not mean a place in the clouds. It means rule, reign, way of life.
Today, when we hear the word kingdom, we probably get a different idea than Jesus’ listeners did. You might think of kingdoms that have colonized other countries, oppressed people, and extracted their resources. And when you hear the word “rule,” you might only picture negative actions, like control or dominate.
But from the creation story in Genesis 1, we get the idea that rule is to exercise power and authority. God’s kingdom, his reign or rule, is where God’s power and authority are exercised. And if God is good then his kingdom is good. God’s rule is good! God’s kingdom is marked by love, healing, peace, and restoration.
Another way of asking, “Do you hear the Good Shepherd’s voice?” is “Do you recognize his kingdom?”
The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
So, let’s talk about the Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who comes with a kingdom.
Jesus begins:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. John 10:1–2 ESV
Jesus talks about a sheepfold, a protected enclosure where sheep are kept safe. Someone who tries to climb in without using the door clearly does not belong there. That person comes with bad intentions — to steal, to harm, to take what is not theirs. By contrast, the one who enters through the door is the real shepherd. He belongs with the sheep. His presence is legitimate, open, and trustworthy.
Jesus is speaking into a world full of competing voices — religious voices, political voices, violent voices, anxious voices. Voices promising safety, control, success, or purity. Voices that rule by fear or force.
That part is the same as our world today.
Jesus is not speaking in the abstract. This comes right after a confrontation with religious leaders who had expelled a man Jesus healed. They believed they were the shepherds of God’s people. Jesus says, gently but firmly, you are not.
Thief and robber. The use of these words reminds us that not every voice that sounds spiritual or claim to speak for God has our good in mind. Have you been hurt by religious leaders or organizations? Have you followed a voice that produced distrust and fear?
You will know the true shepherd not just by what he says, but by what his rule produces.
A thief or a robber sneaks and hides. They use deception to harm. They enter unrightfully. They are imposters.
But who can use the door, enter the gate? The rightful owner. The one with authority to enter. The true Shepherd comes through the gate — openly and honestly.
This is the Incarnation. God became flesh in Jesus. God — the only One with authority and power to do so — entered our world, our humanity. Not to steal, but to give himself.
The Father sends the Son into the world not to dominate it, but to save it.
The Son comes among us, not as a tyrant, but as a shepherd.
And the Spirit opens our hearts to recognize this kind of rule.
Recognizing the Good Shepherd’s Voice — and His Kingdom
Jesus says:
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. John 10:3–4 ESV
We often hear this as a very personal image. And it is. Jesus knows us by name.
But there is more here. The sheep follow him.
During World War I, some soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep from a hillside near Jerusalem. The sleeping shepherd awoke to find his flock being driven off. He could not recapture them by force, so he called out to his flock with his distinctive call. The sheep listened and returned to their rightful owner. The soldiers could not stop the sheep from returning to their shepherd’s voice.
We do not only recognize a voice by sound. We can recognize it by where it leads.
A shepherd’s voice always leads somewhere:
-
- toward water or toward cliffs
- toward safety or toward danger
- toward life or toward death
So, when Jesus says, “My sheep know my voice,” he is also saying, “My sheep recognize that I will lead them to life.”
The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
The Kingdom the Good Shepherd Brings
So where does the Good Shepherd’s voice lead? We learn a lot about his kingdom in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. You can read it in Matthew chapters 5–7. Why not meditate on it this week? Consider how Jesus’ teachings here are more than a moral checklist. He describes a way of living that only make sense because God’s kingdom has come near.
The Good Shepherd’s voice leads to fruit like the Beatitudes, found in the Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
In other words, the Good Shepherd’s kingdom looks like:
-
- Life, not death
- Love, not hate
- Healing, not harm
- Restoration, not violence
- Generosity, not greed
- Truth, not deception
These are not ideals we strive to achieve on our own. They are signs that the Good Shepherd is present and at work. The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
Where you see these things active and this fruit growing, you are near the Good Shepherd’s voice. You are experiencing God’s kingdom.
Where you see their opposites — fear, exclusion, cruelty, destruction — you are hearing another voice. You are seeing another worldly system.
The Good Shepherd Who Is Also the Gate
Jesus goes on:
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:7–9 ESV
This can sound exclusive or abstract if we’re not careful. But Jesus is not talking about keeping people out. He is talking about keeping life in.
In Jesus’ time, a shepherd would lie down across the entrance of the sheepfold at night. He became the gate. Predators could not reach the sheep without going through him first.
That image tells us something profound about God.
The Father does not protect us by distance.
The Son protects us by self-giving love.
Jesus places himself between the sheep and the danger.
This is where John 10 points us toward the cross. The Good Shepherd does not simply guide us. He lays down his life.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (verse 11)
Jesus takes into himself the violence, the sin, the death of the world — and stops it with his own body. He took it for us in our place. This is vicarious grace. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
He absorbs what would destroy us.
He carries what we cannot carry.
He goes through death — and comes out alive.
And because his work is finished, the life he now lives is shared with us.
“I Came That They May Have Life”
Jesus says it plainly:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV
This abundance is not about more possessions. It is about fullness of life.
Life where fear does not rule.
Life where relationships are healed.
Life where peace is stronger than violence.
Life where scarcity is replaced with more than enough — enough that we joyfully share.
The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
The life that the Good Shepherd gives goes deeper than being alive physically. And deeper than experiencing, during our lifetime, all the good things we just mentioned. He shares with us the very life he shares with his Father and the Spirit.
Joining the Good Shepherd’s Mission
So how do we recognize and join God’s mission in the world?
We can ask, “Where is the Good Shepherd already at work?” We find it:
-
-
- Where life is being protected instead of discarded
- Where enemies are being reconciled instead of crushed
- Where the wounded are being healed instead of blamed
- Where the poor are being lifted instead of ignored
- Where the different are included instead of scapegoated
-
That is where the Good Shepherd’s voice is sounding. The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
The Spirit is the one who opens our ears to hear it.
The Spirit trains us to recognize the Good Shepherd’s kingdom by its fruit.
God has established his kingdom.
We recognize it and join it.
One Flock, One Shepherd
Later in this chapter, Jesus says:
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:16 ESV
The Good Shepherd’s kingdom is always larger than we expect.
It breaks down walls.
It crosses boundaries.
It gathers people we do not think belong together.
This is the mission of the Good Shepherd — to seek all. And he invites us to echo that call. The same voice that comforts us also sends us, so that others might come to know his care and abundant life.
The Father gathers.
The Son gives his life.
The Spirit sends us out to live as signposts and citizens of this kingdom.
Conclusion: Learning the Shape of the Good Shepherd’s Rule
We recognize the Good Shepherd not only by his voice, but by the life of his kingdom — life marked by love, healing, peace, and restoration.
So how do we know if we are sharing life with a flock of sheep who are following the Good Shepherd?
Because their communal life takes on the shape of his kingdom:
Where there was hatred, love grows.
Where there was harm, healing begins.
Where there was greed, generosity appears.
Where there was death, life breaks in.
This is not our achievement. It is the result of being led by the Shepherd who gave his life for us.
The Good Shepherd’s rule does not kill; it gives life.
The Good Shepherd’s rule does not steal; it provides redemption.
The Good Shepherd’s rule does not destroy; it restores and recreates.
And wherever that restoration is happening, the kingdom of God has come near.
Thanks be to the Father who sends the Son,
to the Son who lays down his life,
and to the Spirit who leads us into life.
The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.
Amen.
Catherine Toon—Year A Easter 4
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/MiscVid/.mp3
Sunday, April 26, 2026 — Fourth Sunday of Easter
John 10:1-10 NRSVUE
This week’s Gospel Reverb is coming soon. We apologize for the delay.
Check back Friday, March 6. Or listen to this week on the full podcast here, beginning at 51:34.
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Program Transcript
Catherine Toon—Year A Easter 4
Anthony: We’re into the home stretch. We’ll pivot to our final pericope of the month. It’s John 10:1–10. It is Revised Common Lectionary passage for the fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26. Catherine, do the honors for us please.
Catherine: I would love to.
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Anthony: Whew. That’s some good news.
Catherine: Yes.
Anthony: He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And I’m thinking back to our previous passage of Jesus saying, “Mary.” And leading her out of her distress and grief. Hallelujah.
Catherine: Yeah.
Anthony: So, I’m going to invite you to contrast the shepherd and the thief.
Catherine: Yeah.
Anthony: The contrast is distinctive and it’s real. But I’m curious, in what ways might we, I don’t know, unwittingly walk in step with a thief instead of the good shepherd.
Catherine: Yeah. And I think this is part of our malady, right? When we operate from a place of separation — the Word says that we’re alienated in our minds — and there are places in our minds that are truly broken, right? Our minds, our wills, our emotions, and in those places, we can want what is destructive and reject what is life-giving.
And so, God has this ministry that he does in us in healing this, healing our will, so we want what is good. We don’t want the thief. A thief steals, right? A thief kills. A thief destroys. A thief is after what they can get at the expense of the sheep, …
Anthony: Come on.
Catherine: … at the expense of us. And the Good Shepherd is there for our wellbeing. He’s the one who loves us in our denseness. He loves us in our brilliance. He loves us on our good hair days, our bad hair days, our good behavior days, our crappy behavior days. He is wild about us and he’s not leaving us. He’s the gate through which we experience everything that is already ours in him.
So, we have intrinsic ownership to everything restored to us in Christ. And so, we’re not having to convince God to be good, to be gracious, to meet our needs and the desires of our hearts. God is personal and God is universal. He calls us by name and attunes us to his voice. And so, this is the voice from the inside out that our hearts start to resonate with as the fog starts to lift.
As we start to be able to recognize that thing that I thought would bring me life is an idol, is a thief that will sap life from me, and I can start to listen to the voice of the one who loved me and gave him himself up for me and follow that voice personally as he leads me out in wholeness, right?
The religious voices, which were the thieves. This, the context of this is the voices of religion. The people that came, the people that were false, that were posers, that were liars, condemners, and thieves. Christ is the entry point for an objective and subjective relationship with Trinity, where all life, light, truth, and love dwell, right? Where peace dwells.
Religion is like plastic fruit at best, right? It promises something. It may look good, but it destroys. There’s death in it. It steals. It’s deadly at worst. And so, this is why God hates that spirit of religion, because it harms his sheep, right? So, as we partake of Christ in all things, we partake of everything according to life and godliness and the divine nature, which is ours by partaking of him. And we can do that in abundance because we’re following the shepherd that we can trust with everything that we are.
Anthony: And I think that’s one of the reasons John the Apostle in his gospel account repeatedly talks about belief, which is translated trust. Just trust me. I am good. I am for you. I am the good shepherd.
And guess what? I came, to give you life. Matter of fact, I am your life. And in me you have abundance. So, as we close our time together, Catherine, I want to give you an opportunity to simply riff on this gospel declaration. Let’s hear some good news. Preach, preacher.
Catherine: Yay. Jesus said that I have come, I came. This is past tense, that you may have life and have it abundantly. So, God is life. You are one with the Person who is life. He. Is your life. And a little dab doesn’t do. He’s abundant in all his goodness and what he brings to us. And the more we partake of him, the more we partake of his gracious nature, the happier he is.
He wanted us to eat the entire lamb. He wanted, wants us to feed off of him. He is our source. He is the vine. We’re the branches. This is where we get to suck his goodness, partake of his goodness and fullness so that everything comes to life. What looks like it was dead is deceitful. Okay. Because the God of life is there in abundance and he also, he not only promises that, but he empowers what he promises, our ability to connect with that in a subjective thing that we just, if you’re not seeing it, just go deeper. Just go deeper. Just go deeper, because that’s where this God of life is unstoppable.
He is redeeming all things. He’s a God of abundance. He said all that he has is ours. All that he has is ours as Christ in this world. Co-heirs — that means equal heirs. This is mind-blowing stuff, but this is what the God who loved us and gave himself up for us supplies in abundance so that we get to partake and grow in life. And it is an eternal thing that cannot be taken away from us.
Anthony: The thief speaks scarcity. The good shepherd speaks life and life abundantly. Hallelujah. Praise God.
I want to, as we close up our episode, want to refer back to our good friend and uncle Karl Barth, who said this, “Christ accomplishes the reality of our reconciliation with God, not its possibility.”
So, in the reality of that objective truth, let’s live a reconciled life with our neighbors, our family, our friends, the church itself. It’s such a good life that God has given us. Catherine, I am so grateful that you joined us. You are a beloved daughter of the living God, precious in his sight. I know you know this, but may those words wash over you again.
Thank you for being with us, and I want to thank our team that makes this podcast possible. Michelle Hartman, Elizabeth Mullins, Reuel Enerio. What a wonderful team to work with, and this is our tradition here at Gospel Reverb, we like to close with the word of prayer. So, Catherine, would you pray for us and with us?
Catherine: Yes, absolutely. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I thank you that you are God, that you are Trinity that adores us as your children, and we can receive your adoration in response and respond to that and adore you back, that we can live this life of fullness, this life of abundance, this life that has life multiplied over and over. Enlighten the eyes of our understanding so that we do know the hope of your calling in you, the glories of the riches of the inheritance in us and us as your inheritance and your mighty endless power towards us, that you are the God that doesn’t just promise, but fulfills promise, and allows us to partake of all things in you. And I thank you for blessing the eyes, blessing the ears, blessing the hearts of all of those that are listening to this podcast, that we can receive you in a fresh way. We can receive your goodness and the delight you have over us, and the fullness of what was accomplished and the hope and the peace you bring, and the vibrancy of life, so that our lives are literally being transformed and we are being transfigured from glory to glory in your image. And we thank you for that and we praise you for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Anthony: Amen.
Program Transcript
Catherine Toon—Year A Easter 4
Anthony: We’re into the home stretch. We’ll pivot to our final pericope of the month. It’s John 10:1–10. It is Revised Common Lectionary passage for the fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26. Catherine, do the honors for us please.
Catherine: I would love to.
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Anthony: Whew. That’s some good news.
Catherine: Yes.
Anthony: He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And I’m thinking back to our previous passage of Jesus saying, “Mary.” And leading her out of her distress and grief. Hallelujah.
Catherine: Yeah.
Anthony: So, I’m going to invite you to contrast the shepherd and the thief.
Catherine: Yeah.
Anthony: The contrast is distinctive and it’s real. But I’m curious, in what ways might we, I don’t know, unwittingly walk in step with a thief instead of the good shepherd.
Catherine: Yeah. And I think this is part of our malady, right? When we operate from a place of separation — the Word says that we’re alienated in our minds — and there are places in our minds that are truly broken, right? Our minds, our wills, our emotions, and in those places, we can want what is destructive and reject what is life-giving.
And so, God has this ministry that he does in us in healing this, healing our will, so we want what is good. We don’t want the thief. A thief steals, right? A thief kills. A thief destroys. A thief is after what they can get at the expense of the sheep, …
Anthony: Come on.
Catherine: … at the expense of us. And the Good Shepherd is there for our wellbeing. He’s the one who loves us in our denseness. He loves us in our brilliance. He loves us on our good hair days, our bad hair days, our good behavior days, our crappy behavior days. He is wild about us and he’s not leaving us. He’s the gate through which we experience everything that is already ours in him.
So, we have intrinsic ownership to everything restored to us in Christ. And so, we’re not having to convince God to be good, to be gracious, to meet our needs and the desires of our hearts. God is personal and God is universal. He calls us by name and attunes us to his voice. And so, this is the voice from the inside out that our hearts start to resonate with as the fog starts to lift.
As we start to be able to recognize that thing that I thought would bring me life is an idol, is a thief that will sap life from me, and I can start to listen to the voice of the one who loved me and gave him himself up for me and follow that voice personally as he leads me out in wholeness, right?
The religious voices, which were the thieves. This, the context of this is the voices of religion. The people that came, the people that were false, that were posers, that were liars, condemners, and thieves. Christ is the entry point for an objective and subjective relationship with Trinity, where all life, light, truth, and love dwell, right? Where peace dwells.
Religion is like plastic fruit at best, right? It promises something. It may look good, but it destroys. There’s death in it. It steals. It’s deadly at worst. And so, this is why God hates that spirit of religion, because it harms his sheep, right? So, as we partake of Christ in all things, we partake of everything according to life and godliness and the divine nature, which is ours by partaking of him. And we can do that in abundance because we’re following the shepherd that we can trust with everything that we are.
Anthony: And I think that’s one of the reasons John the Apostle in his gospel account repeatedly talks about belief, which is translated trust. Just trust me. I am good. I am for you. I am the good shepherd.
And guess what? I came, to give you life. Matter of fact, I am your life. And in me you have abundance. So, as we close our time together, Catherine, I want to give you an opportunity to simply riff on this gospel declaration. Let’s hear some good news. Preach, preacher.
Catherine: Yay. Jesus said that I have come, I came. This is past tense, that you may have life and have it abundantly. So, God is life. You are one with the Person who is life. He. Is your life. And a little dab doesn’t do. He’s abundant in all his goodness and what he brings to us. And the more we partake of him, the more we partake of his gracious nature, the happier he is.
He wanted us to eat the entire lamb. He wanted, wants us to feed off of him. He is our source. He is the vine. We’re the branches. This is where we get to suck his goodness, partake of his goodness and fullness so that everything comes to life. What looks like it was dead is deceitful. Okay. Because the God of life is there in abundance and he also, he not only promises that, but he empowers what he promises, our ability to connect with that in a subjective thing that we just, if you’re not seeing it, just go deeper. Just go deeper. Just go deeper, because that’s where this God of life is unstoppable.
He is redeeming all things. He’s a God of abundance. He said all that he has is ours. All that he has is ours as Christ in this world. Co-heirs — that means equal heirs. This is mind-blowing stuff, but this is what the God who loved us and gave himself up for us supplies in abundance so that we get to partake and grow in life. And it is an eternal thing that cannot be taken away from us.
Anthony: The thief speaks scarcity. The good shepherd speaks life and life abundantly. Hallelujah. Praise God.
I want to, as we close up our episode, want to refer back to our good friend and uncle Karl Barth, who said this, “Christ accomplishes the reality of our reconciliation with God, not its possibility.”
So, in the reality of that objective truth, let’s live a reconciled life with our neighbors, our family, our friends, the church itself. It’s such a good life that God has given us. Catherine, I am so grateful that you joined us. You are a beloved daughter of the living God, precious in his sight. I know you know this, but may those words wash over you again.
Thank you for being with us, and I want to thank our team that makes this podcast possible. Michelle Hartman, Elizabeth Mullins, Reuel Enerio. What a wonderful team to work with, and this is our tradition here at Gospel Reverb, we like to close with the word of prayer. So, Catherine, would you pray for us and with us?
Catherine: Yes, absolutely. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I thank you that you are God, that you are Trinity that adores us as your children, and we can receive your adoration in response and respond to that and adore you back, that we can live this life of fullness, this life of abundance, this life that has life multiplied over and over. Enlighten the eyes of our understanding so that we do know the hope of your calling in you, the glories of the riches of the inheritance in us and us as your inheritance and your mighty endless power towards us, that you are the God that doesn’t just promise, but fulfills promise, and allows us to partake of all things in you. And I thank you for blessing the eyes, blessing the ears, blessing the hearts of all of those that are listening to this podcast, that we can receive you in a fresh way. We can receive your goodness and the delight you have over us, and the fullness of what was accomplished and the hope and the peace you bring, and the vibrancy of life, so that our lives are literally being transformed and we are being transfigured from glory to glory in your image. And we thank you for that and we praise you for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Anthony: Amen.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Was there an image, phrase, or idea about Jesus as the Good Shepherd that stayed with you? Discuss.
- When you hear the phrase “the kingdom of God,” what words or pictures come to mind now?
- The sermon said we recognize the Shepherd not just by his voice, but by the life his kingdom brings. What does that mean to you personally?
- Is there one place this week where you might notice — or join — what God is already doing to bring life?
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