In John 10:1-13 Jesus tells the parable of the sheep pen. When this was portrayed on The Chosen, it was unfamiliar to me. It’s been great to study it.
I’ve often wondered about other religions besides Christianity; I’m really interested in other cultures and find value in them. I think God leads them too, to some extent. But I’ve never known exactly what to make of it.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)
“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved“ (Acts 4:12)
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5)
So we do know that salvation comes through Jesus only.
Some times I have mused, is it possible to follow Christ (follow your conscience, seek forgiveness from God, live with humility and selflessness), basically follow the Light He put in you, without knowing His name or his book? Maybe. Something to ponder.
But in this parable of the sheep pen, he goes after all these other religious leaders, Christian or otherwise, who claim to be leading people to heaven (or Nirvana, even Maslow’s self actualization, etc.) but come “only to steal, kill, or destroy” (v.10).
In a different teaching, Jesus called them “ravening wolves” (Matt 7:15) who gather no good fruit.
But what caught my attention was verses 12-13. I can really relate to this! A hired hand whom I trusted, but only ran away as soon as the wolf (Covid; globalism) showed up. The LDS completely abandoned us in 2020 with no revelation from God and no Godly fruit, and nothing consistent with scriptural prophets, whatsoever. Then in 2021 we saw that they were actually completely aligned with the wolf! The parable doesn’t even take it that far!
What a major betrayal.
What a major shock and wake up call to anyone who thought these men were of God.
But now, let’s go back to the beginning of John 10. Jesus is the only shepherd. His sheep know His voice and do not listen to any imposter! (See Alma 5:37-42 in the BOM)
Then in John 10:4, we are told Jesus “goes on ahead of [us].”
He goes before us.
He entered the full depravity of sin. Condescended to a place He didn’t need to be. Just so He could go before us.
He personally came in mortality, to a society being led astray by false shepherds, false doctrines, and abject shame for any person in humble circumstance. He subjected Himself to their culture and their teachings for most of His life before calling them out.
And they falsely accused and murdered Him.
That is what it means to go before us.
Are we being led astray by thieves? Or is someone we love? He has been there. He can handle it.
We may not understand His timing, when He manifests Himself to people and calls them out of their cult, or their drugs, or their pride.
We may not understand why He seems to come to one person and not another.
But I put my trust in Jesus! The Lord is at the helm.
If you’re reading this now, and you haven’t put your trust in Jesus, I invite you to make Him your firm foundation. Build your life on Jesus!
Rain came, wind blew; My house was built on you. I’m safe with you; I’m gonna make it through.
All I Possess 