Victory: Victory’s Comfort

I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. In today’s Gospel reading, we get to know our Good Shepherd even better. As he is encircled by his enemies, who are likely already planning on stoning him (cf. John 10:31), Jesus speaks with clarity and confidence. Christ’s words to his enemies were as simple as they were stark: You do not believe that I am the Christ because you are not my sheep. As a shepherd dividing goats from the sheep, Jesus drew a sharp distinction between these unbelievers questioning him and the believers who followed him. He will not say he is the Messiah, not because he is afraid of them, but because the term is loaded with so much political baggage. In fact, he has told them who he is and why he has come. As his sheep, Jesus wants us to know his relationship with the Father and ours.