Sheep of Another Fold (John 10)

A number of years ago, the Church of Latter Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) ran an ad campaign in which they suggested that Jesus, after His death and resurrection, had undertaken a preaching tour of now extinct civilizations in North America. One source of this claim was the book of Mormon. Another source of this claim was John 10:16. That verse says: "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." According to the Mormons, Jesus is speaking of Native American civilizations. They are the sheep that are not yet of the fold.

There are many reasons why Mormon claims of a Jesus preaching mission to North America are false. The first, and most important, is the truth of Acts 1. In Acts 1, the angels who speak after Jesus' ascension into heaven say that Jesus will return to earth in the same way he left. The suggestion is that Jesus' return will be a public, visible return. If Jesus came again to North America, His visit did not fit the criteria the angel established. Someone was wrong or mistaken.

But there is another reason that we can confidently conclude that Jesus never came to North America. When we interpret John 10:13 properly, we realize that it has a much broader meaning than Mormons suggest. For some reason, a lot of Christians are fascinated by this verse. As a pastor, I have been asked again and again about who the sheep from the other fold are. One person wanted to know if Jesus might be speaking about extraterrestrials! The true answer is much more mundane than Indians and aliens. One has to remember that in the Gospels Jesus is ministering to Israel. He is speaking to a wholly Jewish audience. So, who are the sheep of the other fold? I think the clear answer is the Gentiles. Note what Jesus says will happen when He claims the sheep of the other fold. He says in verse 16 that the two flocks of sheep will be merged together. That is what happened in the early Church. Jew and Gentile were united together in Christ. Part of the purpose of Christ's work and death was to unite people from all nations of the world. Jew and Gentiles alike would be accepted into the Kingdom of God.

As a Gentile, I am thankful for Jesus' words in John 10:16. I am thankful that Jesus called a non-Kosher sheep like me to be a part of His flock.