General News
3 May, 2026
In good faith
IN GOOD FAITH: John 10:1-18 - Have you ever met anyone who is totally uninterested in their job? My late Uncle Michael once was buying groceries at Coles.
The cashier asked ‘How are you today?’ He replied ‘Rotten.’ The cashier, who hadn’t been listening, said ‘That’s good.’
We can’t see into the cashier’s mind of course, and many of you will know how dreary customer service can be.
But could the reason be that the cashier was paid to be there and scan groceries, not to be actively interested in what Uncle Michael was up to?
Jesus speaks of such an attitude in John 10.
He tells us that false shepherds will come along, who seek not to lead the people of God to the green pastures and clean waters of eternal life, but to destruction.
These false shepherds are those who are not invested in the flock.
Like the cashier at Coles, their minds are occupied elsewhere.
They feel no attachment to the flock of Christ, because the sheep belong to someone else.
Jesus may be the Good Shepherd, but we are all shepherds in our own way. Parents are shepherds to their children.
Doctors and nurses have their flocks of patients. Teachers have their pupils.
Pastors have their congregations. But which of you – or me – could honestly say that we care more for our own little flocks, than we do for ourselves?
We may from time to time make sacrifices for those in our care but wouldn’t we rather someone else do the hard yards for us?
This is exactly what makes Jesus the Good Shepherd!
He says ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep’ (Jn. 10:11). Jesus saw the wolves approaching.
He saw the trouble His people face, but instead of running away and seeking to save Himself, He let Himself be led to the slaughter like a lamb: ‘He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth’ (Is. 53:7).
‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’ says the Psalm, and with Jesus as our Good Shepherd, what could we possibly lack?
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ isn’t like the uninterested Coles cashier; He is so keen to keep us safe from harm, so invested in you and me, that He willingly laid down His life for us – only to take it up again of His own accord.
The risen Christ leads us as our Good Shepherd, calling us into His fold through his Word and leading us to the green pastures and quiet waters of heaven.
By Lucas Matuschka