SUNDAY- 4^TH WEEK OF EASTER -A

I Reading: Acts 2:14.36-41:  God has made him both Lord and Christ.

II Reading: 1Peter 2:20-25: You have come back to the shepherd of your souls.

Gospel: John 10:1-10: I am the gate of the sheepfold.

The Shepherd and His Sheep: False vs. True Teachers, 10,1-6

This passage begins the great revelation of Jesus as the Shepherd of Life. Jesus is pictured as the true Shepherd of the sheep. Peter tells us that Jesus is for us Lord and Christ, Saviour; who is the good shepherd care for us and protect us from all sin and dangers of life and finally gives us life which is eternal. Jesus appointed Peter and the apostles shepherds of his flock to lead his church in his name. So the Christian community must take care and look after the shepherds of the Church and they must pray for more vocations to become good shepherds for the mission of Jesus Christ the Lord.

1. The sheep pen (v.1)

2. The false shepherd (v.1)

a. Enters the wrong way

b. Is a thief and robber: Seizes by false entry and force

3. The true shepherd (v.2-3)

a. Enters the appointed door

b. Is known by the watchman (God)

c. Knows sheep by name

d. leads and shepherds the sheep

4. The sheep (v.4-5)

a. Know the shepherd’s voice

b. Follow the shepherd who goes before them

c. Flee from strange voices

5. The parable or figure or speech: was not understood (v.6)

The Gate of the Sheep: The only Way to God, 10:7-10

Jesus claims to be the gate of the sheep. Jesus is probably referring to the gate of the community sheep pen or a community pasture which housed all the flocks of an area. There is however, descriptive picture of Jesus as the gate.

1. Jesus is the only gate of the sheep (v.7-8)

a. All others are thieves and robbers

b. Proof: The sheep did not listen to them

2. Jesus is the only gate that leads to salvation (v.9)

a. “In and out” : security

b. “Pasture”: provision

3. Jesus is the only gate that leads to abundant life (v.10)

a. All others come to take and to steal

b. Jesus comes to give life

Thought: Jesus answered “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6)

The strange voice can be the voice of false religion, false science, false psychology, false philosophy, humanism, materialism, worldliness, fame …etc.

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