https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A11-18&version=NRSVACE (John 10:11-18) Christian author, Dr. Gerhard Frost, tells a wonderful story in his devotional book, Homing in the Presence. “It was a concert in the park, and my friend and her little granddaughter were enjoying it together. The child was completely captivated by this, her first orchestra concert. She sat transfixed through each number. And then each time the music stopped, she’d move a little bit closer, forgetful of her surroundings, with grandma following each time she moved. At last she was as close as she could get. She stood at the very foot of the stage lost in the lights and sounds of the many instruments. When the concert ended, for a brief anxious moment, the child realized how far she had wandered away. She turned to see her grandmother standing behind her, and with a smile of relief she cried, ‘O, I knew I could depend on you, grandma.’” As Christians, we have someone of whom we can say the same thing – I know I can depend on You. I’m talking about Jesus. You really can depend on Him! He is highly committed to giving you a full and abundant life with Him. This is the gist of His appeal in today’s passage. You can depend on Me. Trust Me. There have always been people who have not discovered this truth, many who are puzzled by Jesus. They are not sure of what to make of Him. They are curious of Him, they find Him interesting, but choose to not take Him seriously. Some are put off by Him, even threatened by Him, so they stand ready to classify Him as a fraud or a lunatic to be rejected and ignored. Such is the case in our story for today from John’s Gospel. Jesus, you see, is talking to a divided crowd. For a little context, Jesus had just healed the blind man. But the religious authorities condemned Him for it, saying, “He is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath. He is not from God.” However, others in the crowd disagreed with the Pharisees. They weren’t sure about Jesus and thought the Pharisees were being a little rough on Him. Can a guy who heals like that really be a sinner? They hadn’t decided for themselves about Jesus. We also have the disciples of Jesus there who believe in Him. It is a very divided crowd. In response to this, Jesus launches into an interesting talk which John describes for us in the tenth chapter of his Gospel. He begins describing who Jesus is and what life with Him can be like. He tries to help them understand Jesus. At first Jesus uses metaphors to describe Himself, people in general, and the religious authorities who are so opposed to Him. This imagery would have been familiar with anyone living in that agricultural society. He talks about sheep, thieves, a shepherd, a sheepfold, a gatekeeper, a gate, hired hands, and wolves. Jesus first talks about thieves and bandits. It is His way of describing the opposition, the religious authorities who are after Him. He says they can’t get in the sheep fold. They’re not the real deal. They don’t have access. Jesus says people are kind of like sheep. Being called sheep is not all that flattering of an image when you think about it. After all, everyone knows sheep need a shepherd to care for them because on their own they are helpless and in need of guidance and care. They’re not all that smart and need protection against predators. It really is, though, an apt description for people. We are like sheep, although we don’t like to admit it. We like to believe we are independent operators, quite capable of taking care of ourselves in this world. But then life situations happen and we realize the truth – we need help. We need a Shepherd to care for us. This sheep thought is not really new. In the Old Testament, Israel was frequently referred to as the sheep of God’s pasture in the book of Psalms. They would scatter and go astray in some of the prophetic books and in the New Testament. When Jesus came along, He referred to them