“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27–30; all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version).

“Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!” This acclamation begins the Morning Prayers for Easter in the Book of Common Prayer and the liturgies of many churches as we celebrate the resurrection. Most American Christians will have to worship Jesus in private this Easter, as many churches cancel services in response to the coronavirus outbreak and government social-distancing mandates. Although our churches are empty, so is Jesus’ tomb, and our hearts can be filled with His love and presence and we can be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Several posts in recent months on Darkened Glass Reflections (here, here, here, and here) have examined God’s omnipotence. He is all-powerful. There is nothing He cannot do. There is no problem that He cannot handle. Even death could not stop Him.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. John 10:27–30 is a brief segment of one teaching Jesus gave to a hostile audience not long before His crucifixion. The religious leaders demanded answers: “Are You the Messiah?” He had recently told them, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), a statement which should have reminded them of Psalm 23, which tells us that “The Lord is my shepherd.” He had hinted that He was God. His miraculous signs had proven that God was working through Him. The evidence was before them. Would they choose to believe?

When Jesus gave His good shepherd teaching (John 10:1–18), He said that sheep will follow their shepherd. They recognize his voice. They know they can trust him. Likewise, Jesus’ followers—His sheep—recognize and trust Him. They follow Him wherever He leads, knowing that He will take care of them.

In a time when many are afraid, Easter is a good time to renew our commitment to trusting Jesus. He has conquered death—even His own death. He can protect and heal you. As God, He is greater than all. He not only walks ahead of us; He has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell inside us and guide us. We can hear His voice and follow Him if we are willing to silence the noise around us and listen to Him. As we walk with Him, behind Him, and in Him, we can be victorious. Nothing Satan, the world, or the flesh can throw at you is more powerful than Christ in you:

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

This Easter, let us rejoice in that victory and walk in it. Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Your security and trust is not based on anything you do or how accurate your theology may be. Your security is in the One you have come to believe in. Your Shepherd is trustworthy. The One who gives you life has conquered the power of death. You are victorious because He is with you always.

Copyright © 2020 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.