While Jesus was teaching the crowd with the illustration of the good shepherd, He touches on an idea that has challenged people throughout history. In this illustration, Jesus tells those present that “I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.” (v. 16)

When we look at this verse, we get the picture that Jesus has people who are in God’s family that are not with the group at that point in time. Technically, this includes you and me because we were not alive while Jesus walked the earth, and this literally means that we would have not been a part of God’s family at that point in history.

But since God exists out of time, regardless of when Jesus said these words, I believe God was thinking of everyone who ever lived at any point in the big timeline called history.

A second angle I have heard on this verse is that God has people who are outside of the Christian church that are His. We can see many examples that support Jesus’ words in this verse because anyone living today who has joined a church and accepted Jesus into their hearts supports what Jesus described.

A third angle on this verse focuses on God’s people being united as one group with one Shepherd. This angle says that we must put aside all of our differences and unite as one people. While currently there are more Christian denominations than can be counted well, this third angle suggests we put all the differences aside and simply be one in Christ.

However, part of me wonders if while there is truth to each of these angles, but that Jesus has something else in mind with what He described in this verse. As I read Jesus’ words, the challenge I see for the third angle is that Jesus Himself does the uniting. The only unity that should happen is through hearing Jesus’ voice and coming together. While putting aside our differences and focusing on Jesus are good things to do, our movements must be prompted by Jesus and not by peer or social pressure to conform.

As I read Jesus’ words, I wonder along the lines of the second angle is whether Jesus is describing someone moving between Christian denominations, or if it only means someone placing their trust and belief in Jesus for the first time. Regardless of which way it is, the challenge to this second angle is letting Jesus lead in the person’s life who He is calling. We should not try to rush God. God’s timing and His calling are both much better than we could ever do, and when Jesus has called a person to Him, we should be supportive of this regardless of whether this person comes into 100% of our belief system.

When Jesus says He has sheep in other pastures who He will call together, I believe we should be intentional about being open and willing to accept people who are different, and love them when Jesus brings them our way. While part of love is challenging people regarding sins in their own lives, the much greater part of love includes accepting others without condition and being willing to walk through life together. Jesus left heaven so that He could walk with humanity, and He calls us to walk with those He has called as we prepare for His return.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

Read this article on the web on it's official page: Other Sheep: John 10:1-21

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