New Christian Bible Study

Commentary

 

Other sheepfolds

By New Christian Bible Study Staff
A Chilean gaucho herding sheep.

Other sheepfolds...

There are north of seven billion people on earth. Christianity is the biggest religion, with more than 2 billion people... which leaves 5 billion who might wonder what Christians think will happen to non-Christians!

In the Gospel of John, there are seven places where Jesus likens himself to something metaphorical, sometimes called the 7 "I am" statements. Some of them can sound pretty exclusive. Let's take a look at the texts:

Here are three statements that are clear promises to people who are actual Christians -- i.e., they believe in it, and they live by it. They aren't excluding anyone, but there's certainly an implication that this is THE way:

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life'.” (John 8:12)

“I am the door of the sheep... I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:7, 9)

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)

Next, here are two more statements that make a similar promise, but that also state that if you don't accept Jesus, you won't be saved:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman... Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:1, 4, 5, 9)

Earlier in John's gospel, there's a 6th "I am" statement, or really a nested pair of statements. They have two special characteristics. Here's one of the pair:

“Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." And further, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day." (John 6:35, 44).

There's a new idea here. The "Father" draws people to Jesus. This is a reference to the influx from the Divine into our minds, that is pulling us out of our swamp. This "pull" gets us to open the Word, to "come to Jesus", to seek spiritual guidance.

In this same story, in John 6, Jesus also says this,

"'I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world....' Then Jesus said unto them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.'" (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)

This was a tough teaching. It seems like many people didn't understand that Jesus wasn't talking about literal flesh and blood. In verses 60 and 66, it says,

"Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? ... From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (John 6:60, 66)

There's been a long argument in the Christian church about the meaning of this. Was Jesus talking about his actual blood? His actual flesh? Were Christians supposed to practice cannibalism? No. In New Christian thought, we're always looking at the internal significations of the words in the literal sense. Bread and flesh refer to good. Blood and wine refer to truth. We need to try to be good, and to try to learn truth. Jesus was showing us what good looks like, and teaching us true ideas.

Here's a passage from one of Swedenborg's works:

Since all things that are spiritual and heavenly relate exclusively to goodness and truth, it follows that flesh means good action that relates to goodwill and blood means truth that relates to faith. On the highest level, these words mean the divine goodness of the Lord's love and the divine truth of the Lord's wisdom. (True Christianity 706)

There's much more detail in that referred-to section, and in the following ones; they convincingly base this interpretation on many Bible passages. They're well worth reading!

Now, getting back to the "I am" statements... here's the seventh one. It shows some ecumenism:

“I am the good shepherd.... I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.... And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)

These other sheep are people of the spiritual church, "those guided and governed by spiritual truth and good". Arcana Coelestia 7035.

Today, wherever people seek true wisdom and practice a genuine love towards their neighbor, those are the "other sheepfolds". There's spiritual truth and good in all corners of the earth. From the dawning of spiritual awareness, the Lord's love and wisdom has been flowing into people's minds -- received dimly or clearly, or sometimes mostly rejected. When, relatively recently, oral traditions gradually gave way to written ones, the "Ancient Word", as Swedenborg names it, was spread across much of the inhabited world. Fragments of it were preserved in the Old Testament, and in other ancient sacred texts.

In John 10:14, while there's an expectation that the sheepfolds will converge into one, it's not disqualifying to be in another fold now. That's something that we need to dig into. Does a person have to be Christian to be saved? What if they are a good Buddhist whose ruling love is a love of the neighbor? Or a good Muslim who seeks to know and do the will of Allah?

Here's a striking passage from Luke:

"...they shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God; and behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last." (Luke 13:23, 28-30)

From the Book of Revelation, there's this, too:

"After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands..." (Revelation 7:9)

Finally, here's a useful reinforcing quote from Secrets of Heaven 1032:

"The Lord has mercy on the whole human race. He wants to save everyone in the entire world and to draw all people to himself. The Lord's mercy is infinite; it does not allow itself to be restricted to the few within the church but reaches out to everyone on the face of the earth."

How do we reconcile the exclusive-sounding sayings with the inclusive-sounding ones? In New Christian teaching, anyone who is in a love of good, or in a love of truth where there is good, will be saved. And, we acknowledge that truth and good come from the Lord, not from ourselves. Anyone, in any belief system, who does not seek God's help in escaping evil loves and false ideas, will stay stuck. Anyone who genuinely, persistently, humbly seeks good and truth is in the "spiritual church", i.e., in one of the sheepfolds.

Do some sheepfolds have better pastures than others? Yes. Do religions vary in the amount of truth they convey, or in the quality of the practices that they recommend and live by? Of course they do. For the New Christian Bible Study, do we think that Christianity is the best road? Yes. Is it the only road? No. Is it the only destination? Maybe.

Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He was the Word in human form -- spiritual truth. There's no way to salvation without setting out on the Way, seeking the Truth, and living a Life of good. You can start from anywhere. As you approach the top of the mountain, you'll be getting closer to the place where the light is clearest.

The Bible

 

John 8

Study

   

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down, and taught them.

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the midst,

4 they told him, "Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such. What then do you say about her?"

6 They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger.

7 But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her."

8 Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.

9 They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle.

10 Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?"

11 She said, "No one, Lord." Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more."

12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

13 The Pharisees therefore said to him, "You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid."

14 Jesus answered them, "Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don't know where I came from, or where I am going.

15 You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.

16 Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.

17 It's also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.

18 I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me."

19 They said therefore to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

21 Jesus said therefore again to them, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can't come."

22 The Jews therefore said, "Will he kill himself, that he says, 'Where I am going, you can't come?'"

23 He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

24 I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."

25 They said therefore to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world."

27 They didn't understand that he spoke to them about the Father.

28 Jesus therefore said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things.

29 He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn't left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."

30 As he spoke these things, many believed in him.

31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.

32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, 'You will be made free?'"

34 Jesus answered them, "Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.

35 A bondservant doesn't live in the house forever. A son remains forever.

36 If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

37 I know that you are Abraham's seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.

38 I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father."

39 They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this.

41 You do the works of your father." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God."

42 Therefore Jesus said to them, "If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven't come of myself, but he sent me.

43 Why don't you understand my speech? Because you can't hear my word.

44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.

45 But because I tell the truth, you don't believe me.

46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

47 He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don't hear, because you are not of God."

48 Then the Jews answered him, "Don't we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?"

49 Jesus answered, "I don't have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

50 But I don't seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges.

51 Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death."

52 Then the Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, 'If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.'

53 Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?"

54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

55 You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, 'I don't know him,' I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad."

57 The Jews therefore said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"

58 Jesus said to them, "Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM."

59 Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the midst of them, and so passed by.

   

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