Singular Authority

A Reflection on the Gospel for May 8th, 2022:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

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John
10.27-30

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
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“What my Father has given me is greater than all else."

Verse 29 of John’s 10th chapter immediately stood out to me, but quickly had me scratching my head. Besides the NRSV version, every other biblical translation I could find interprets what God has given Jesus as plural: “God has given them (the sheep) to me… no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand… ”

In this translation, what God has given Jesus is clearly singular. The sheep (plural) might be considered the singular, united, whole body of Christ, safe in the Father’s hand. But the interpretation still made me wonder: Could this it that the Father has given Jesus be something else? Why is it stated as such?

I’m no biblical scholar, but since the Word of God is living and active, I spent some time with it.

Authority. God has given Jesus the authority to save His people.

What could possibly be greater than to carry the authority of God Himself?

Let’s put this in context: Earlier in John 10, Jesus finds himself pursued by a divided group of Jews, who are trying to decide what He’s about. By verse 27, they’re exasperated. They continue to press Him: How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.

They are not yet hearing, so Jesus tries again. He reassures them that His followers will remain safe, because He has authority to destroy death. The authority of God is His, because: "The Father and I are one." He is God, the God who saves. 

Jesus has authority over darkness. He has the authority to forgive sins. He has the authority to be the Way. He has the authority to heal. He has the authority to raise from the dead. 

Maybe those questioning Jesus were struggling to understand the reality of what He was saying. Societal structures and influences of the time could have made it hard to wrap their heads around it. Maybe they had previously lived under authorities who led them astray. Or, other powerful people could have promised more profitable or attractive things than this “Shepherd” that stood before them. Perhaps it was difficult to surrender their own false securities to a man who claimed He would never fail them, and to believe He could hold the power of God within Himself.

Yet it stands today that Jesus’ authority will never waver. We can trust it. In it, we are saved people.

I find this so comforting. This Easter season, I choose to rest, resurrected, in the Good Shepherd’s authority over my life.




​Michelynne Gomez
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