In this week’s passage of scripture from the gospel of John, Jesus plainly tells us who He is - the Good Shepherd. He gives His resumé - the door leading to eternal life, leader and protector of His flock, who lays down His life for them and who is intimate with each one individually. He knows our voice and we know His.
All through this passage, we see Jesus sticking to His agenda of telling the Jews and their leaders, the Pharisees, who He is. He remains true to His mission of bringing the good news of salvation and demonstrates this with a powerful miracle in the healing of a blind man.
Interwoven with this account is another agenda: that of the Pharisees, as they attempt to derail, discredit and imprison Jesus. Jesus sticks to His Father's plan to see His salvation mission fulfilled. Jesus’ control of His Father’s agenda is exemplified in John 10:18 where Jesus says, ‘No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.’
In fulfilling His mandate and not being derailed by the Pharisees, Jesus returns to teach in the temple, where guards had turned up to arrest Him the previous day, (John 8:1) and conceals himself, leaving the temple to avoid being stoned (John 8:59). He was not harried, pressured or fooled by the Pharisees’ agenda and only spoke what He heard the Father speaking and did what He saw the Father doing. How tempting it must have been to react in anger to the Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery and we also know that He was tempted in every way just like us (Heb 4:15). Yet in His own time - after hearing from the Father - He responded in wisdom and love, getting the Pharisees to recognise their sin and not judging the woman but correcting her towards a godly life.
As we see Jesus sticking to His plan and purpose, always inclining His ear to the Father, the challenge goes out to us. Whose voice are you listening to? Whose agenda are you cooperating with?
As Jesus has a plan or agenda for each of us, plans to prosper us and not harm us (Jer 29:11), let's be careful to lean in to listen to Him and not to the clamour of the world. Let’s speak out the word of life that we hear Him giving for those around us. Let’s step out boldly to do the works that He has prepared in advance for us to do.
Just as our Saviour could not be derailed by the agenda of the enemy operating through the Pharisees, we too are able to triumphantly avoid enemy diversion by operating in Him, submitted to the Holy Spirit and allowing His word to abide in us.
