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Have you ever wondered why John the Beloved included the story of the woman taken in adultery in his record?  Surely he had hundreds of stories he could have chosen to complete his testimony—why this particular story? We’re going to explore at least three things about this tender encounter that you may have never seen before.  That’s coming up in this week’s Podcast.

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Maurine and Scot Proctor have spent extensive time in the Holy Land, researching the life of Christ. They have taught the New Testament in the Institute program for many years and have written books and numerous articles on the life of the Savior.

Join our study group and let’s delve into the scriptures in a way that is inspiring, expanding and joyful.

Transcript

Maurine

Have you ever wondered why John the Beloved included the story of the woman taken in adultery in his record?  Surely he had hundreds of stories he could have chosen to complete his testimony—why this particular story? We’re going to explore at least three things about this tender encounter that you may have never seen before.  That’s coming up in this week’s Podcast.

Scot
Hello again—we are Scot and Maurine Proctor and this is Meridian Magazine’s Come Follow Me Podcast number 17:  I am the Good Shepherd and it includes readings from John chapters 7 through 10.

We so appreciate Paul Cardall’s beautiful music that accompanies this Podcast.

I have to add a personal note as we start this week’s episode.  We recently offered to send you our list of 43 Faith Scriptures that Maurine and I have—the ones we memorize and make a part of our everyday thinking.  Hundreds of you responded and we sent that list on to each of you.

Maurine

One listener who requested the list was a 12-year-old girl who wanted to start memorizing this list!  We were so impressed! We also heard from many of you who said that because of the Podcast you no longer have to study alone.  That made us as happy as anything we’ve received. We heard from Saints in Tasmania and in Western Australia and a woman in our beloved York, England.

Scot

And finally, we heard from a dear friend in Liberty, Missouri (not in the Liberty Jail, we might add) who gathers a group of dear friends on a Sunday evening and they study together and then sit back and listen to the Podcast using a Blue Tooth Sound Box.  Since we’ve been to that home, it made all of you so real to us—we’re actually talking to people throughout the world.

Welcome to each of you and thanks for listening!

The readings this week are so full of rich stories and wonderful doctrine it’s very hard to narrow down to such a brief discussion.

Doing His Will

Maurine

We do have to start out in John chapter 7, beginning in verse 14.

14 ¶ Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.

If you are reading along in the entire chapter of John 7 we hear seven different references to “the feast.”  It will help us to understand this feast—which, in this case, was The Feast of the Tabernacles. Let’s talk about this for just a moment.

Scot
There are three major feasts the Jews celebrated every year:  Two in the Spring and one in the Fall. The two in the Spring are, of course, one:  The Feast of Passover or Pesach and the other one in the Spring: Shavuot or The Feast of Weeks.  The one in the Fall, which plays into our story in John 7, is The Feast of Sukkot (or Suk koT) the Tabernacles.

Maurine

This was a time when the Lord God of Israel commanded His people to build a temporary shelter—a sukkah.  We’ve been to Israel many times during this feast and there are hundreds of these temporary shelters all over Jerusalem—even in the modern Mamilla Mall!  They must be built with a roof of palm fronds or branches so that you can see through to the night sky and see the heavens above. This was to remind the people of Israel of the time when they were journeying in the wilderness in temporary shelters and God was with them.

Scot

During this feast the people are to eat under this shelter and even to sleep under this shelter for a week.  People invite their friends and family to their Sukkah and they celebrate together with a lot of joy and thanksgiving.  It’s a time to celebrate the fruits of the harvest and to rejoice together and to give thanks to God for all of His generous blessings and again, to especially remember that He was with them in their journey through the wilderness.

Maurine

People are really in a good mood during this feast.  People tend to be in good moods when they are discussing their blessings.  That’s why there is some discrepancy in this scene—because—as we see in verse 12:

12 There was much murmuring about the people concerning [Jesus]: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people.

Now to verse 15:

15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

Scot

So, this is not an idle question but a challenge to Jesus personally and who He is.  This question was asked openly and Jesus was very much aware of it. This gave Him the opportunity to give them a challenge or a formula for knowing the truth.

16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

This was a bold assertion on the part of the Savior—bold in the eyes of the people that is—but just pure truth.  He is saying that He has been sent by Heavenly Father and the doctrine that He teaches belongs to His Father.

Then he gives the great challenge to all of us:

17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

So, He says, put me to the test.  Do the will of the Father and you will know for yourself that this is His doctrine.

Maurine

Now, let’s come away from the time of the Savior and come to our day.  Is this not true today? If we will follow the scriptures, the commandments and our modern-day prophets, then we can also know for ourselves that the doctrine they teach is from our Heavenly Father.  This is a covenant promise. Put Him to the test if you have not already.

It reminds us of one of our own personal faith scriptures:  

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

There is such power in following the word of the Lord and following His chosen prophets.  

And I love the boldness of that statement that the Lord speaks what He will and offers no apologies or excuses and He assures us that all of His words will be fulfilled.  And we testify that this is true.

Scot

Now back to “The Feast” where we left Jesus in the Temple with the people.  Let’s go back to John Chapter 7, verse 37:

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast [so we are now talking about the 7th day of that Feast of the Tabernacles—Sukkot] Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Jesus, who had fed the five thousand with bread in the previous chapter and said, “I am the bread of life,” (John 6:35) now offers the people drink.

38 He that believeth on me, [in verse 38] as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

This reminds us of the water that Jesus offered the Woman of Samaria who, if she drank of the water He was offering, would never thirst again.  The Lord offers this same Living Water to each of us who will come to Him—who will do His will, who will live His doctrine and keep His commandments.  This is joyful news indeed.

The Woman Taken in Adultery

Maurine

We told you at the beginning of this episode we were going to talk about the woman taken in adultery.  This story is found in John Chapter 8, verses 2-11.

We go to Israel every spring.  We never lead a tour without telling this story on the steps of the ancient temple there in Jerusalem—perhaps within earshot of where this really took place.  We could choose a hundred other stories to tell with the limited time we have but we would never miss this opportunity.

Let’s explore this scene and see if we can discover some new things we may have never seen before.

2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

First of all, Jesus loved to come to the Temple and teach.  It is no different today.

Scot

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

Can you imagine how humiliating this was for the woman, being surrounded by all these pious scribes and Pharisees who had captured her “in the very act” of adultery.  How utterly embarrassing—and especially in that culture!

One would naturally ask the question:  Where was the man? Could he have been among these self-righteous men?  Was this all a trap for the woman so that they could now lay this trap for the Savior with this next question:

Maurine

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

Oh, they thought!  They have Him now! How could Jesus possibly get past this question?  Would he show that He was a strict adherent to the Law or would He show forth the compassionate teachings that He was known for and not keep the Law of Moses.  You can just see the initial looks on these men’s faces. This was the pure look of self-righteousness and hypocrisy combined.

6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

Scot

What an answer!  This answer is so powerful—it is missed by most of the casual readers of this story.  What was he doing? Really? He stooped down and with his finger just wrote on the ground?  Can you see what he was doing?

I was teaching this story about 7 years ago and we had among our group a family with young children.  I asked this question “What was the Savior doing?” to this whole seasoned group of Saints. No one ventured an answer.  But, from my right, a young 11-year-old boy, named Jonathan Hyatt, raised his hand. “Yes, Jonathan?” “Wasn’t he saying, “I am He who gave the law.  It was my finger that carved the law in the stone tablets on the mount.” I said, “You are exactly right Jonathan!” Again, what an answer!

[Note the test to Alan and the tender mercy of Jonathan’s mission call that very evening!]

7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

One of my mentors in college was Dr. Robert J. Matthews.  He said that he and Elder Bruce R. McConkie talked in detail about this scripture and Elder McConkie said, “A more correct translation of this verse is:  He that is without THIS sin among you (the sin of adultery), let him first cast a stone at her! That makes the story even more poignant and powerful.

Maurine

8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Again, was the man who had been with this woman among them?  The record does not say. But it’s interesting that the eldest was the first to leave, perhaps he had a bit more wisdom than the rest and could more quickly see that he was convicted.

10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Let us not miss one of the final messages of this brilliant story.  Can you picture this scene now? All the accusers have left and there is just the Savior and the woman.  (Pause) And so shall it be for each of us. When it comes to the last, it’s just you and the Lord, alone.  All your accusers will be gone. All those who were your nemesis in life will be gone. It is just a quiet interview and meeting between you and the Lord alone.

Scot

One last joyful note of this story comes to us from the Joseph Smith Translation after the Lord tells her Go, and sin no more.  “And the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name.” (JST John 8:11) I love that! She became a believer! Remember, John is writing this many years after the fact and so he had the perspective of those years—in our modern-day lingo:  This woman repented of her sins, she exercised faith and repentance and she became an active member of the Church!

Wouldn’t you like to have the full story of this woman’s life?

Maurine and Scot together (every other one)

Remember too in all of this:  The Book of Mormon is full of repentant sinners:

Enos

Alma the Elder

Alma the Younger

Ammon

Aaron 

Omner

Himni 

Ceezrom

Corianton

Amulek, 

Seven cities or lands of the Lamanites.  

It’s all about the woman taken in adultery. 

Are we not also “taken in our sins?”

Every day: In the very act.

Now perhaps you can see more clearly why John included this story in his testimony!

I Am

Maurine

Later in that same John Chapter 8, we have a telling interaction between some Jews and Jesus.  

The Jews at that time were very proud of their own genealogies and that they could claim certain rights, privileges, status and blessings because they were of the lineage of Abraham.  This is also evident in Matthew’s testimony as his primary audience is the Jews—therefore he shows them Jesus’ direct tie to Abraham. (See the first 17 verses of Matthew Chapter 1).

But Jesus told the Jews that if they were the children of Abraham they would do the works of Abraham.  Of course they were offended at this—but the offense would get even greater.

Let’s start in verse 53.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

In our language they were saying, “Who do you think you are?”  Now we have to follow Jesus’s words very carefully.

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Jesus is being very clear in his language and putting these hypocrites and sinners in their place.  Jesus tells them that they do not know God, the eternal Father and He says clearly that they are liars.  Then He affirms that He indeed knows the Father and He keeps His sayings and commandments.

Now Jesus will give a powerful testimony of who He is:

Scot

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

Now He draws upon their own powerful heritage and testifies that their own ancestor, Abraham, had seen this day in vision—the day of the mortal ministry of the Savior Jesus Christ—the Promised Messiah.   

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Here Jesus identifies Himself by the most sacred name of the Hebrew God, I AM, the name that a Jew considered so Holy, he would not say it.  The Jews just called it HaShem (prounounced hah SHEMM) which means “the name” or Shem Hameforash—The Special Name. This is the tetragrammaton—the four Hebrew letters yud-hey-vav-hey (יהוה) that is the name for God throughout the Hebrew Bible.  Some pronounce this name Yahweh and most Christians pronounce it Jehovah.  It appears 5,410 times in the Old Testament but it is translated as The Lord with the o-r-d in small caps.  In speaking among themselves the Jews would either say the name as Adonai, Elohim or HaShem.  They thought if they said the name it would be breaking the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain and it would assure that they would have no share in the world to come.

Maurine

Remember the original penalty for breaking the commandments was death by stoning.  Now, back to our story.

Jesus has just said, Before Abraham was, I am.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

What a look at the culture and misunderstanding of the Law at that time!  And this scene of Jesus walking through the midst of them without harm reminds us of when He also escaped the mob who were going to stone him on the hillside above Nazareth.  

Here, indeed, was the Great I Am—the Lord God of Israel, Jehovah—Jeshua hamashiach–the true Messiah!

The Man Born Blind

Scot

As we turn the page into John Chapter 9, the apostle John includes one of his seven miracles from his personal testimony.  John carefully and purposely inserted this story to talk about physical and spiritual blindness, the latter of which was a much greater problem in Israel at the time of the Savior’s ministry.

A man blind from birth was begging on the Sabbath, probably on the temple mount, when Jesus’ disciples asked, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Maurine

This very question intimated a knowledge of the pre-mortal existence, a doctrine that would later be lost in Christianity.  In our day we have been given many revelations verifying the pre-mortal realm. From the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 93, we read in verse 29:

Man was also in the beginning with God.  Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.

Scot

We also know very clearly from the Pearl of Great Price, in the Book of Moses, of the pre-mortal world (Moses 4:1-4):

1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

Maurine

And, of course, we learn most clearly of the pre-mortal world or the pre-mortal existence, from the Book of Abraham, chapter 3, verses 22 – 26.

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

Scot

These passages just bring me joy and I see not only a pre-mortal world, but a PLAN, a wonderful plan laid out by our Heavenly Father and all of it designed to bring about our joy and happiness.

Remember the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and said:

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Now, we have established by the scriptures, the clear knowledge of a pre-mortal world.

And back to our scene of the man born blind, this was a typical question for those who had been reared to believe that disease was punishment for sin. A common Jewish view held that even the unrighteous thoughts of a mother might affect the state of her unborn child.

Jesus’ answer was thus surprising: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Then the Savior anointed the man’s eyes with clay and asked him to go wash in the nearby pool of Siloam, and the man obeyed and went away with his eyes opened.

Maurine

Let’s talk about this last truth for a moment:  “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”  Doesn’t that give us new perspective of our own weaknesses and how the Lord can work with us.  Of course, we are familiar with Ether 12: 27:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

So, the weaknesses we have are gifts from a loving God who knows how to work with us here in mortality and how to make these weak things become strong.

Scot

My Dad was an amazing geologist.  I grew up with all kinds of rocks and beautiful crystals and minerals in our home.  When Dad died, Mom took a large piece of petrified wood that we had had in our family for at least 40 years, and she had it cut in small slices for each of her grandchildren.  These pieces were beautiful—but especially some parts of the slices were extra beautiful—because they were full of quartz and other beautiful minerals.

With each Grandchild holding a piece of the original petrified wood, Mom said to all of them:  “Look at your pieces of this ancient wood. Do you see how some of those areas are filled with beautiful crystals?  Well, that was the weakest part of the wood—probably a rotten area—and these beautiful mineral intrusions were able to find their way into the rock because of the weakness—and now—this has become the most beautiful part of the rock.  Remember this, dear children.” The moment was stunning for me.

And this reminds us of how the Savior can work His works in us, in our weaknesses, in our shortcomings, in our complications and complexities—He can do mighty wonders with us as His instruments.

Maurine

The blind man’s neighbors, probably accustomed to the familiar sight of the beggar, marveled that the blind now saw, and immediately they went to some Pharisees, who brought the man forward for an inquisition, hoping to find a charge against Christ. The testimony of the man was straightforward: “He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.” The wonder of it could neither be denied nor explained, and in a turn the Pharisaic view was itself on trial. If this Jesus acted by the power of God, then the divinity of their own Sabbath rules, the power of their position itself, was in question. Unthinkable. Next they brought in his parents to verify that the man had indeed been born blind. This they could not deny, but they gave an evasive answer when asked how he had been cured. They knew “that if any man did confess that [Jesus] was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”

Scot

This term, being “put out of the synagogue, meant excommunication, and depending on the degree, it meant a sort of living death for the people. The excommunicant “would allow his beard and hair to grow wild and shaggy; he would not bathe, nor anoint himself. . . . As if he were a leper, people would keep at a distance of four cubits from him.” Even before this threat of the Sanhedrin, the healed man did not cower: “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” Here again we see the false cultural and spiritual understanding of the Sanhedrin take over:  Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

Maurine

But Jesus came to him, and we love this scene in John chapter 9, verses 35 – 38.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God.

Remember, Jesus had healed the man by anointing his eyes with clay and then commanding him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.  As he had walked away from Jesus, he was yet blind.

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

Perhaps the man recognized Jesus’ voice, perhaps there was a feeling in his heart, but his willingness and readiness to believe is so clear and beautiful.

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

I love this when He says, “Thou has both seen him—because he had been blind all of his life, and now he was looking upon the Savior of the world with his perfect eyes…

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

That day the blind truly saw, and the sighted Sanhedrin proved blind. (Source of the Light, by Maurine Jensen Proctor and Scot Facer Proctor, p. 124)

John’s witness of the Savior in showing physical and spiritual blindness is brilliant.

I am the Good Shepherd

Scot

Let’s turn now to John Chapter 10.  In one of our favorite verses of scripture, verse 10 of this chapter, Jesus says: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

You can feel this part of the Savior’s mission in your life.  He continues to minister to us and to help us have the more abundant life.  Often when you receive a priesthood blessing for some specific illness or ailment or concern, the Lord has much more to say and many more blessings to offer.  We have noticed that when blessings come from the heavens, they often bless multiple people at multiple levels—this is the Lord’s signature. He never wastes an experience.  He never wastes a blessing. He never does a sloppy miracle—they always have that mark of abundance upon them!

Maurine

Christ tells his disciples:  I am the Good Shepherd and He assured them that the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

Let’s talk about shepherds in the Middle East.

Burned black in the sun, roaming the rocky hills in every kind of weather, the Middle Eastern shepherd has a tender relationship with his flock. He knows each one; each has a name. If one is stuck in a rocky, mountain crag, he will leave the others to find it, carrying it back, cradled protectively against his body. At night, when creatures roam the desert, hungry for sheep who have no defense against predators, the shepherd protects them in a fold.

A hireling might flee before a wolf, leaving the sheep defenseless, but not the good shepherd. He would even give his life for his sheep. In the morning, he comes to the door of the sheepfold and calls his own sheep by name. Even if it is a common fold where other flocks have been sheltered, his sheep hear his voice and follow him, for they know him. They do not respond to the voice of strangers.

We’ve noticed this many times all over the Middle East.  I remember being on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, up in the mountains one evening, and a shepherd was calling his sheep by name.  There were multiple flocks of sheep mixed together and he called them one by one and they left the large flocks they were mingled among and came and followed their shepherd. They knew his voice.

Scot

I am pretty good at imitating sounds—and I have tried to imitate the voice of these shepherds to get the sheep to come to me (usually so I can take a picture of them) and not once have I had success in calling a sheep to me.  I am a stranger to them and they know it—but they respond immediately to the voice of their own shepherd.


In modern times a man traveling in a Middle-Eastern desert came upon a sheep that had been hit and injured by the king’s car. An old shepherd, with a flock of fifteen or twenty, listened as the man explained to him that by law the shepherd must be compensated one hundred times the value of the sheep. However, under the same law, the injured sheep must be slain and the meat divided among the people. The traveler was told, “The old shepherd will not accept the money. They never do.” When he asked why, it was explained, “Because of the love he has for each of his sheep.” At that, the old shepherd reached down, lifted the injured lamb, and placed it in a pouch on the front of his robe. He stroked the sheep’s head again and again, repeating his name as he walked off into the desert.

Maurine

“I am the good shepherd,” said the Lord, “and know my sheep…My sheep hear my voice, . . . and they follow me.” To His listeners who lived in a land of shepherds, it was a compelling image: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” As a lamb, He leads me to green pastures and still waters, to all that is nourishing and protecting. When I am broken, “He restoreth my soul.” Though I walk through the deepest darkness, “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” Only because of the good shepherd “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”  (Source of the Light, p. 126)

And Jesus Christ was not just interested in the sheep of this fold in ancient Judea, He told His disciples in John chapter 10 verse 16:

16 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.

Here He tells us that He has not forgotten the tribe of Joseph that had been a branch broken off, who had come to the American continent and there lived the Law of Moses and longed to be with and see Him.

And when He visited the Nephites he assured them:

21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: 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. (3 Nephi 15:21)


Scot

But the Good Shepherd does not end there.  He goes further. He says:

1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.

2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.

3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them. (3 Nephi 16:1-3)

These are the Lost Tribes of Israel, but they are not lost to the Lord.  And that is the message of the Good Shepherd, none are lost to Him.

And that is comfort for all of us.

Maurine

Next week’s lesson will be “Rejoice with Me; for I Have Found My Sheep Which was Lost” and will include parts of Luke chapters 12 through 17 and John chapter 11.

Thanks for joining us. See you again next time. Blessings to you.