Yesterday we looked at Acts 16 and the text which speaks about the Lord opening Lydia’s heart so she believed the message Paul preached. I said at the end of that post that there is something Jesus says in John 10 which helps us understand what happened with Lydia.
Sheep Not of this Sheepfold?
In John 10:15-16, Jesus indicates that there are two sheepfolds which will be brought together into one flock. In verse 16 he speaks of sheep not of this sheepfold. What is Jesus referring to? Based on the context, I believe Jesus is referring to Jewish and Gentile people who worship God. In Jesus Christ, they will be brought together into one flock, which we now think of as the church.
Jesus goes on to say something very curious in John 10:26-30. He says that some do not believe because they are not His sheep. Some have taken this to mean that God has chosen who the sheep will be before they ever believe in Jesus, and when people hear the Gospel, only those who are predestined to be God’s sheep will actually believe.
But I don’t think this is what Jesus is saying at all.
Instead, I believe Jesus is explaining the transitional nature of His ministry.
The Transitional Nature of Jesus’ Ministry
Prior to the life and ministry of Jesus, people could not “believe in Jesus” because Jesus had not yet been born. Instead, they believe in the promises of God, the goodness and grace of God, and that somehow, in some unknown way, out of God’s love, goodness, mercy, and grace, God would forgive their sins and give them eternal life. They knew, as do we, that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, and that there was no sacrifice for willful sin, and so they had to depend solely on the grace and mercy of God, just as we do today.
Prior to the coming of Jesus, all those who believed on God in this way were added to His sheepfold.
But when Jesus came along, He began a new sheepfold, which came to be known as the “church.”