On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we find ourselves in the Gospel of John listening to Our Lord declare Himself the Good Shepherd. Following the healing of the man blind from birth, Jesus engages in a discussion of what it means to know Him. To answer the question, He employs the image of sheep who are masters in the discernment of voice. Whereas others come to pillage and plunder, Jesus comes as protector. Exploring both ancient and modern shepherding practices we’ll unpack the rich implications of Jesus’ assertions and see a picture with two portraits: one of God and one of Satan.

In this episode discover:

- The Jewish liturgical setting of our Gospel (Hannukah) which provides a nod to a previous period of priestly corruption

- Our Gospel’s parallels with Joshua and the Book of Numbers

- The Jewish legal distinction between thieves and robbers and why it’s relevant to our text

- A Greek word in our Gospel which provides a link between the sheepfold and the courtyard of the High Priest

- What ancient Judean sheepfolds looked like and why Jesus calls Himself the door for the sheep

- What the “rod” in Psalm 24 refers to and its protective purpose