I love a mystery! I find there’s nothing better, more entertaining, than a good mystery book or TV show. I’m somewhat addicted to shows like Grantchester, which is based on a character in books by James Runcie, the son of the former Archbishop of Canterbury. Of course there’s Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, The Saint, even Perry Mason, on and on. I’m also a fan of old time radio shows like the Shadow, Sam Spade, and Tales Calculated to Keep You in… Suspense!

I try to join in our hero’s hunt for clues, even though I’m usually wrong when the culprit is finally revealed. Sometimes we miss what’s right in front of us, don’t we? It seems so obvious once the hero has triumphed.

Well, I have some news for you: Life’s mysteries go far deeper than these diversionary tales. How many times a week do you ask, Why God? Why did this happen? Why did my loved one lose a job… Why am I battling this disease… Why did that person hurt me so deeply… Why must I have yet another major life decision? Why…? Well, maybe we miss what’s right in front of us in these mysteries, as well.

We find some interesting clues to solving the mystery of life in John chapter 10 that we often skip right past. John writes, “At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter…” Yeah, so what? Well, let’s look at the clues…

The Festival of Dedication refers to Hannukah, the Jewish festival that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple following the Maccabean Revolt, which occurred after the time the Old Testament was written.

That revolt left the nation anticipating a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman rule and establish Israel again as an independent kingdom. They were expecting a political messiah: Someone who would rule as a king over their nation and put down the empire.

So this festival that John mentions is an appropriate setting for the question some Jews are asking Jesus: “How long will you keep us in… suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Here’s another clue—one of the scriptures traditionally assigned to synagogues during the Festival of Dedication is Ezekiel 24. What’s it about? Shepherds. God, through the prophet Ezekiel, tells the leaders of Israel at the time—leaders who were supposed to be shepherds of their people—they’re not doing their jobs!

11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out… I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Sounds very mysterious to me.

13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; … 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and… they shall lie down in good grazing land… 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. (Ezekiel 24)

Now these verses were ringing in the heads of the Jewish leaders because they most likely heard them in the synagogue. And they gather around Jesus and ask him, “If you are the Messiah—the true shepherd—tell us plainly.”

Jesus reacts to their question—and there’s a sharpness in his response: “I have told you, and you do not believe.” His works testify to his identity, yet they don’t believe—why? “Because you do not belong to my sheep.”

“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.”

Now, put all these clues together and they solve a deep mystery, one that consumed these religious leaders. These clues reveal that Jesus is the Messiah, the shepherd of God’s sheep, and he cares deeply about his flock.

What’s your favorite psalm? I think mine is Psalm 23—one of the most often quoted and memorized of the 150 psalms in the Bible. I recite it in my head as soon as I wake up every morning. Why is Psalm 23 so beloved by so many people?

Well, it’s not that big of a mystery! Psalm 23 conveys hope, comfort, and peace. At least it does if you are one of God’s sheep for whom the shepherd is caring.

It’s interesting to me that the psalmist starts talking about the Lord in the third person—have you noticed that?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters. He revives my soul. He guides me along right pathways for his name’s sake.

It’s a beautiful hymn about the beloved shepherd. But then the psalmist switches to the second person, addressing their loving shepherd directly.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death—and we must travel that valley our whole life long, when you think about it: life’s continual pain, suffering, unwelcome surprises, through it all we walk, and yet—I shall fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.

Now the rod and the staff are useful to a caring shepherd, but they can be abused, even used violently on the sheep. But the rod and the staff were intended for a shepherd to create a safe space for their sheep…

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

This beautiful language speaks of God’s hospitality, God’s welcome, God’s sanctuary. It beckons us into safety, healing, sufficiency, and abundance. My cup overflows, continually, with the wine of God’s never-ending love.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life—even those days when we are absorbed in and distracted by the mysteries of our life—and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It’s been said by some commentators that the verb there—goodness and mercy shall follow me—may be better understood as pursue me. God’s goodness and mercy will pursue me, run after me like a loyal shepherd dog—because God never gives up on blessing us.

So put all these clues together, and you discover that Jesus is our shepherd, who cares for us even when we aren’t aware of it.

Jesus knows us as our shepherd. We follow him as his sheep. It’s another clue in the mystery of how to live this life secure in the arms of our shepherd Jesus—we keep following him, trusting that he will bring us to eternal life—we will never perish. No one, certainly not the wolves of this world, will snatch us away from him.

And in this realm of God, as John tells us in Revelation 7,

“They are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Aha! Aha! The mystery of life is solved, if only we’ll pay attention to the clues.

Let us pray.

Loving Shepherd, help us to hear your voice, to follow you, trust you, and walk with you through the mysteries and dark valleys of our life, knowing beyond all doubt that we will be part of your well-cared-for flock for all eternity. Amen.