June 15, 2025

The Gospel of John (Ch. 10, 14):

Jesus, the good shepherd

Jesus says: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

Dear Readers,

you certainly know the two people on the stamp of German Mail! They are Mary and Jesus, mother and child. This world-famous painting was created by famous Italian painter Raphael. He lived from 1483 until 1520 and, like us, the artist only knew the two figures out of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures. His wonderful painting is therefore a product of his brilliant artistic creativity. It is a magnificent painting, but certainly a picture that Raphael had painted of Mary and Jesus in his own imagination. Other artists have depicted Jesus and his mother in a completely different way. Each artist did it in a way that suited his own artistic impressions and creativity.

I think we all have ideas about who Jesus was, what he looked like, how he spoke. We learn a lot about Jesus Christ in the Gospels. There we can read about what Jesus said and what he did.

Jesus tells us that he knows us and that we, his disciples, know him. What does this “knowing” mean? This “knowing” can be described as knowledge based on experience. It is an understanding, a recognition. It is much more than theoretical knowledge.

I would like to illustrate this with two people out of the Bible who “recognized” each other. These were of course Adam and Eve. After they had to leave paradise, they had sexual intimacy. In the book of Genesis, we read (Gen. 4, 1): “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain... “

Here the word “knowing” means perceiving with all the senses. It means seeing, feeling, understanding with all the senses. So it is not about theoretical knowledge, but about a holistic perception, as experienced by man and woman in intimate sexuality. Love between two people is always about this holistic perception with all the senses.

I would even go as far as to say that Jesus is talking about this holistic perception when he says that he knows us. Jesus Christ, the almighty Son of God, knows us better than our spouse or our parents. For he sees into our hearts. He sees our hidden thoughts. He knows our feelings; he knows every sigh and every tear. He knows our plans and our passions. He knows us from inside out. In Psalm 139:13, the worshipper understands: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.“ God, the creator and builder of my body and my life, knows me. Can this not be called a wonderful comfort?

On the other hand, how do we know Jesus? How do we understand him? I see it this way: the more we listen to him, the better we get to know him. If we open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit, then we can experience more and more of the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Jesus becomes more and more familiar with us. We recognize him as our Savior.  We recognize him as our Redeemer. We recognize that we can say “Father” to the Almighty God. We experience in a very practical way how Jesus is our good shepherd who accompanies and protects us every day.

Jesus is the good shepherd who knows us holistically and who helps us to get to know him better and better. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to this.

Thank you for visiting this sermon and listening to me. May God bless you and protect you in spirit, soul and body. I look forward to meeting you again at the next short sermon on July 1, 2025.