Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer based on Psalm 67:1-2:
Lord, be gracious to me and bless me,
and make Your face shine on me,
so that I may make Your ways known on earth,
and spread Your love and salvation among all nations. Amen.
Reading
When we read the Gospels, it’s natural to identify with the people to whom Jesus spoke and ministered. We tend to forget that we are nothing like them and would most likely have been completely and utterly scorned and rejected by them. We would not have been allowed into many of the homes where Jesus ate and taught, and we certainly would not have made it past a very limited, tightly-controlled space on the fringes of the synagogue or the Temple. We would have endured the pain of having people cross the road when they saw us coming. We are, after all, Gentiles!
By the time of Jesus, after many centuries of being attacked, defeated, exiled, and ruled over by Gentile nations, Israel had long forgotten God’s call for them to be “a light to the gentiles/nations” (e.g. Isaiah 42:6 / 49:6). Gentiles were generally hated and avoided as far as possible, especially by the orthodox Jews and their religious authorities in Jerusalem.
But Jesus changed all that. Jesus came as the ultimate Light to the Nations.
So, as Jesus drew His “Shepherd and sheep” metaphor to a close for His Jewish audience, He made an incredible statement. It must have evoked great shock among the Jews, and it offers unspeakable hope and joy to us Gentiles:
“16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Never forget: We Gentiles are those “sheep not of this sheepfold”.
Best of all, Jesus loves Jews and Gentiles with identical love – love that took Him to the Cross to lay down His life for us (v.17-18). As Gentiles we should also remember that one of the main reasons for the religious establishment’s animosity towards Jesus was His openness to outcasts like us. He loved and reached out to those whom society cast aside, like notorious sinners, tax collectors, women, lepers, lame people, blind people, Samaritans, and even Gentiles.
The challenge we face is to share the heart of Jesus. In your world, who is your “sheep from another fold”? Who is that person you really don’t want to have in the same room as you? Who do you look down on simply because of their ethnicity, language or culture? Know this: When Jesus looks at them He sees someone worth dying for! Will you allow Him to open your eyes to what He sees, and to change your heart?
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will make every effort to see people with Jesus’ eyes, as recipients of His self-sacrificial love.
- I will emulate His heart, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, please impart to me the same love and compassion You have for those who are very different to me, and even for those I have come to despise and dislike. Change my heart, Holy Spirit, and infuse me with the love of Jesus towards them. Amen.
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