Wandering Sheep VII: Others

The Parable of the Lost Sheep: The Others

John 10:14-16: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. [emphasis added]

Don: The metaphor of the parable of the lost sheep may be richer than it seems. It accurately describes the relationship between God and his people, the intimacy of that relationship, the nature of the voice of God, and God’s persistence in communicating with us.  Now we consider another relationship within this rich metaphor: That between God and “other” people.

How, if at all, does the relationship between God and those “others” differ from that between God and his own people?

Inside Westminster Abbey, the tomb of David Livingstone is inscribed thus:

Brought by faithful hands over land and sea here rests David Livingstone, missionary, traveller, philanthropist, born March 19. 1813 at Blantyre, Lanarkshire, died May 1, 1873 at Chitambo’s village, Ulala. For 30 years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races, to explore the undiscovered secrets, to abolish the desolating slave trade, of central Africa, where with his last words he wrote, “All I can add in my solitude, is, may Heaven’s rich blessing come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who will help to heal this open sore of the world” [emphasis added]

A quote on side of the main inscription is from the Authorised Version of the Bible, John 10 v.16:

“Other sheep I have, which are not of this Fold: Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my Voice” [emphasis added]

To Livingstone, the “others” were everyone. But “other” implies someone different or something distinguishing, physically or spiritually. The Biblical Greek now translated as “sheep pen” or “fold” or “flock” actually meant “court.” A court was an enclosed space without a roof. The temple in Jerusalem had an inner and an outer court. The inner court was for Jews, the outer for Gentiles.

In John 10:16, as emphasized in the quoted passages, Jesus says “I must bring them” (the others). This suggests a more active intervention than he employs for those who are already God’s people.

Matthew 13 talks about why Jesus speaks in parables. He says that unlike the disciples, the masses are not privy to the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, then says he will reveal the mystery through parables. Ecclesiastes 3 says the mystery is that God is the God of everyone – Gentiles as well as Jews.

So, the lost sheep parable shows that God is for everyone and that God actively intervenes to bring the others into the fold—because he must.

Again, then: How are the sheep in the known fold different from those outside it?

Harry: There has to be DNA from God inside all of us. All humans have thought, and reason. We are all the same, even though we cluster ourselves, in society and in religion. I chose to believe in a God who loves all of mankind. if God exists for me, if he is intimately involved in my life, then he must be intimately involved in your life and in everyone’s life, no matter your or their religion. Similarity on fundamental issues, such as that God is within us all and that we are all expected to be Good, can be found in the scriptures of all the major religions. So it’s not a matter of external beliefs imposed on us by, or derived by us from, religion; it is a matter of God’s DNA in us.

Don noted that the “eternity” placed in the heart of man (Ecclesiastes 3) corroborates what Harry said.

Robin wondered whether the parable killed two birds with one stone: It addressed the specific culture and beliefs of Judaism, but the concept within it was addressed to all cultures. Jesus’ statement that “Nobody comes to the Father but through me” does not mean that one has to be a Christian to enter the Kingdom of God; another culture may have another name for their savior, but if they demonstrate love, kindness, mercy, and goodness then they are going to the Father through their own version of Jesus. We, in our petty religious clusters, don’t decide who goes to Heaven: God does.

Don: Timothy 1:10: “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” [emphasis added] You don’t have to know who your savior is to be saved, but if you do, it makes it even more special.

Eb: When Jesus’ birth was announced (Luke 2:10-11), it says the good tidings are for all the people, not just the Jews. It’s for the whole world:

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. [emphasis added]

David Livingstone was not an Adventist but surely he deserved to go to Heaven. A founder of the Adventist church pointed out that a third of the angels in Heaven had yet to be recruited from Earth, but it was unthinkable that only Adventists could fill these vacancies, or would be the only inhabitants of Heaven. As long as people employ the golden rule, and are Good, that is enough. An many people are that way. It is not enough just to subscribe to the rituals of any given church.

Pastor Ariel: Adventists do not believe that they are the only people who can get into Heaven. There is a YouTube video about a high-caste Hindu who spends time helping the Untouchables and who asserts that everyone is the same—practically a heretical statement for a Hindu. His example helps to reconcile some of the tensions Christians have about who is saved and who is not. By the Grace of god we will see that Hindu man in Heaven even if he never ever steps into a Christian church, because he shows the spirit of God, something that transcends even his own religious believes. The Book of Acts talks abut the church’s mission as to be the voice of Jesus, to issue the invitation to the Kingdom. It is not a condescending invitation begrudged to a few; rather, it is a hope-filled invitation joyously extended to everyone no matter what they appear to worship. God invites his people—his sheep—to work alongside him to reach these other sheep that he already has but which are not part of his fold; and it is a fold that still needs to be defined. [The recording is garbled here; I caught a reference to Revelation; was it this from Revelation 5 (it would seem fitting):

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.” [emphasis added]

God has people who belong to him and a remnant who do not belong to him. Within Judaism, the priests refused to believe, to belong. The prostitutes and tax collectors and other lowly orders, however, did believe and did belong. Religious leaders have tended to create walls of assumed superiority. Those walls can be broken down if we recognize that it is our mission and our privilege to be God’s mouthpiece to the whole of humanity, not just to the few.

Robin: The reason anyone should choose to fellowship in any spiritual group should be because of its example, of how its members treat one another regardless of background, income, education. We tend to surround ourselves with people like ourselves, and we want to find people worse off than we are so we can feel superior. We shy away from “inferiors” because we think they must have done something to deserve their position. Ramesh said he used to be a believer but was now an agnostic; that he does good things not because God tells him to but because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. Robin thinks human nature is to not do good – we tend to want to be better than we really are, and to look down on the other.

Kiran: 1 Romans 18-20:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

What may be known of god is manifest. The more his invisible attributes are revealed or understood, the closer we get to him. God tells everybody who he is and what ought to be done. Each of us knows it, but tries to ignore it.

Harry: Religion generally has been a plague on humanity. Twenty years ago, the feeling among young Adventists was that you had to be an Adventist to go to Heaven.

Don reminded us of Pastor Ariel’s earlier comment that this had never been the position of the church, but it is a common human tendency in people and religions to hold it.

Pastor Ariel: But let it be noted that religions did not arise out of a vacuum. There were reasons, and those reasons—our spiritual heritage—are something to be treasured. In the time of Christ the priests built walls to maintain a high level of spirituality. But God says he is for tearing down the walls, and said that is what we should have been doing all along. We missed the boat.

Harry: Yes, all religions have this defect. Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

And Matthew 25:31-46:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

David: This group gathers because we are all of a like mind. We all seem to agree that every human being has the inner light, the eternity, within him or her. So when the parable talks about “others” is it may simply be aimed at the Judaic hierarchy of the time, to tell them they were not as superior as they liked to think. If, as Harry said, God is intimately involved in our lives, and given Don’s 1 Timothy reference to God’s being the savior of all mankind, the question is when does that salvation take place: at birth? at death? Much misunderstanding may hinge on this point. The parable seems simple in its intent and meaning: God is inside all of us. But the question is: How much is he involved in our lives? Is he involved actively, as Harry implies? Or only passively? Or neither—he is involved only after our deaths?

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