Other Sheep

Jesus declared in the Gospel of John,

“I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.”

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus would lay down His life for the sheep. He goes on to tell us that He has other sheep that are not of this fold. The other sheep He speaks of here are the Gentiles, who will be saved through His redemptive act.

He informs us that the sheep will be of one fold and have one Shepherd. In the Christian world, I know we have a myriad of denominations, but there is only one fold and one Shepherd.

In the Word, it is clear that every born-again believer is part of the family of God, and irrespective of the name above our church doors, we are all part of the same family. There will not be multiple Heavens to facilitate multiple denominations. There is one way to God and one Savior of mankind; His name is Jesus.

The disciples had difficulty understanding that there were other people who loved and followed Jesus.

John said, “Master, we saw someone casting out devils in Your name, and we tried to stop them because they did not follow with us.”

It is obvious John felt that the Disciples had exclusive rights to Jesus and anyone else was to be forbidden. John did not understand that Jesus had other sheep. Jesus told John, “Do not stop him: for the one who is not against us is for us.”

John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus, said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Jesus came to redeem all of mankind because all of mankind needed a Savior.

“I have other sheep,” Jesus said.

It was a scandal in the early church that the Apostle Peter had gone to preach to the household of Cornelius because Cornelius was a Gentile, and the early church did not understand about the other sheep. The body of Christ is not dismembered into different factions and sections. The body of Christ is one, with one head, and His name is Jesus.

He said, “Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Notice He is the builder, and it is His church. Studying the New Testament makes it obvious that Jesus Christ is the one Shepherd of the one flock. Thank God the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is for all mankind. It’s not God’s will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Those of us who have been washed in the blood of Christ have a common Father.  We are going to the same Heaven and have a common purpose.

It’s a beautiful thing for those in the body of Christ to walk together in unity. One church is not better than another church because we are all part of the same church-the body of Christ.

We all have the greatest Shepherd, and His name is Jesus. Jesus’ redemptive work is not limited to a special few but is for the needy whole.

Whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.