Milne: Sheep that are not of this sheep pen.

Bruce Milne -

John 10 v16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

There are moments in Jesus’ ministry when his focus seems narrowed to Israel, just as there are similar moments in the Old Testament story.

But the true and stated goal both of the Old Testament revelation (cf. Gn. 1–11; 12:3; Is. 49:6), and of Jesus’ ministry (Mt. 28:18f.), is the whole world. The God who created all people, and who loves all equally, sends the offer of his salvation to all the peoples of the earth, that all may believe and then unite together in the one great ‘flock’ of Jesus, the ‘good shepherd’.

It is a dream captured in the vision of John on Patmos:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb … crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’ (Rev. 7:9–10, RSV).

Milne, B. (1993). The message of John: here is your king!: with study guide (p. 149). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Comments

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