10:14
Jesus reiterates that He is the good shepherd, and then adds that He knows His sheep and they know Him. There is a deep personal relationship between God and His people. We need to appreciate the depth of His commitment to us. The root of many of Israel’s failings was that they did not believe that God cared for them. So when danger came they would seek help from other nations, or other “gods”. This led them into much trouble. We can often make the same mistake. A key element of the Fall was our living without God, it is the “natural” way for rebellious man to live, and we are all sinners. So by nature we find it hard to believe that God really cares for us, and does so actively. Sometimes “testimonies” are belittled, saying that Biblical exposition is more important. The two should go together. God actively cares for us, and practical incidents in our lives demonstrate this.
10:15
Jesus then goes even further. “Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. The closeness of the relationship between Christ and His people is like the closeness of the relationship between the Father and the Son. We should dwell on this fact, coming to appreciate it will change our lives. Often commentators stress the difference between the Christ-Father relationship and our relationship with God. Of course, there are differences! None of us were involved in creating the universe! We are all created beings. We are not omnipotent, nor any of the other omni’s! Yet we were made in the image of God, and His plan and purpose is for an intimate relationship with His people. We need to appreciate the depths of that relationship.
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