Acts 13:14,43-52; Apocalypse 7:9,14-17; John 10:27-30

In Acts 12 we learned of the miraculous freeing of Peter by an Angel of the Lord. The people have seen many miracles, and when Paul and his friends speak, they attract crowds of people who want to hear their message.
No wonder that the priests in the synagogue become jealous. They might have had to deal with many wonderworkers in their area, but the followers of Jesus are different.
Paul and his friends remind the Jews that they had been the first who met Jesus, and who had the chance to listen to him and follow him.
However, as Jesus has been rejected in his home, his message will spread further – to the ends of the earth. Jesus’ disciples spread the Good News with much joy and filled by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the Lamb of God as seen in the passage in Apocalypse.
The disciples are prepared to bring the Good News to the ends of the earth, and here, in Revelation, we hear about “a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language”. This is what the missionaries encountered when they spread out.
However, missionary work is not without risks and dangers. Many Christians throughout history have suffered persecution, but the Lamb will be their shepherd and will “lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.’
What a beautiful message of hope. This is encouragement to those suffering persecution.

Jesus is the lamb. Jesus is the shepherd. He will look after the sheep who listen to His voice.
This passage reminds us of the first Reading from Acts where the disciples give comfort and hope to those who follow Jesus, who listen to his voice.
The reference is also to the Trinity. The disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, and Jesus tells them that He and the Father are one.
This is certainly not an easy message for the listeners. For many centuries, missionaries have tried to explain the meaning of Jesus’ words when he said, “I am the Father”.
We might never fully understand what Jesus meant with these words, but we do know that He is our Good Shepherd who loves us and doesn’t want a world without us. This is encouraging and gives us hope when we are in despair.
The image is crucial for our understanding of our faith. We are not following blindly or without any opportunity of initiative. We are rather like the sheep who like the company of others, look for greener pastures and new ways, sometimes might drift away and get lost – but always confident that our Good Shepherd will protect us and help us if we need help.

BM