“Other Sheep” and The Book of Mormon
“ I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (Jn. 10:16) NRSV
To people who wants to disprove the Book of Mormon as inspired Scripture, Jn. 10:16 is a verse that they will attempt to change meaning as for it refers to other people that know Christ and is of the fold that the Jews belong to. this is recalled when Jesus Christ visited the ancient Americas in 3 Ne. 15:12-23 na kung saan, Jesus said :
“ Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph. And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you. And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem. Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land. This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them: That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. And now, because of the stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my words; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them. But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you. And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them. And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching. And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice--that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.” (3 Ne. 15:12-23)
Critics and other churches kagaya ng Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) will say that this refers to Gentiles. the Iglesia Ni Cristo here claims na sila daw ang other sheep when they are filipinos, people that are not Jewish at all, but if we dive into the text, this doesn’t show their claims at all. first, we should know that Jesus Christ was sent to Israel first and his disciples brought the message of salvation to the gentiles. the house of Israel was the priority of the ministry of Jesus Christ first which can be seen in places sa New Testament na kung saan ay sinabi niya sa isang Canaanite woman that ask Jesus to heal his daughther. Jesus said :
“.......I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Mt. 15:24) NRSV
Jesus here emphasizes his priority to his ministry to the house of Israel but however, it does not show rejection of the Gentiles. Jesus later healed the woman’s daugther na kung saan dito ay naging way para maipakita ang faith ng Canaanite woman. in this way also, Jesus Christ shows fulfilments of Old Testament prophecies. the sheeps are from Israel (1 Kgs. 22:17; Ps. 44:11-22; 74:1; 78:52; 79:13; 95:7; 100:3). the priority ng ministry ni Jesus Christ to the house of Israel can be seen in places in the New Testament. Jesus instructed his disciples to “.......Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Mt. 10:5-6). Jesus also said to the Samaritan woman that “.......You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (Jn. 4:22). si Apostle Paul din ay nagpreach muna to the Jews before preaching to the Gentiles where he said "......For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Rom 1:16), and then you have this in Jn. 10:16 where Jesus Christ that he will bring that other sheep into one fold /flock and one shepherd. Jesus is the one that will gather the lost sheep of Israel; the sheep that was the people whose shepherds have let them astray (Jer. 23:1; 50:1-6; Ezek. 34:6). Jesus Christ is the Davidic King who is the Messiah will be the one that God will appoint as the one shepherd (Ezek. 34:1-24; Micah 5:4-5; Mk. 6:34). this is to Israel, and not to Gentiles. after the suffering, death, and Ressurection of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ ministered to the Book of Mormon people who descendants of the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh. this is more consistent with the Book of Mormon who are from the house of Israel and not from any claims that other groups do. Jesus Christ visited them as part of his ministry.
Furthermore, ang 'Sheep' in the way as it is defined were following a sheperd when this term was used as referring to a group of people. notice also the timeline when Jesus Christ said these words in Jn. 10:16; knowing it's timeline gives you a backround on why is it said in the first place. as stated above, the sheep are of Israel and furthermore, we see in vv. 4, 27 in Jn. 10, it says that the “Sheep” are Christ's followers because they "know" Christ. in this text, sa v. 4 ay ginamit ang Greek word na οιδα (oida) iv. 4; at sa v. 27 naman ay ginamit ang potent term na γινωσκω (ginosko) (cf. usage in Jn. 17:3) suggesting not just intellectual ascent, but inter-personal knowledge and commitment to Jesus Christ. this is not consistent to what these groups claim na Ang sheep ay ang mga Gentiles (like Filipinos) at the time Jesus spoke the words of Jn. 10:16; instead, it refers to people who had already accepted Him and had been following Him, which fits the interpretation offered by none other than Christ Himself in the Book of Mormon. The people of the Book of Mormon already know Christ and already accepted Jesus Christ. not Gentiles at the time of Jesus Christ who didn't knew him. The Greek word πρόβατον (probaton) ay ginamit frequently in the Gospel of Matthew (na may 11 instances) at sa Gospel of John (na may 15 instances) and in some uses, it refers to current believers and not future converts after the time of Jesus Christ. the same Greek word ay ginamit sa Jn. 21:17 when Jesus Christ was in a conversation with Peter :
"He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep [πρόβατον]." (Jn. 21:17) NRSV
The Greek word was also coupled in some places with ως (ōs) and ωσει (ōsei) in the context of comparison when Jesus uses it when talking about false prophets and false believers (e.g Mt. 10:16) but Jesus Christ also uses πρόβατον to refer to current believers (Mt. 25:32-33; 26:31) and not future converts like the INCs claim.
Jn. 10:16 is a strong affirmation of the authority of the Book of Mormon as the another testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is inspired scripture and it came from God and it's contents are true. I invite you to read, ponder, and pray the Book Mormon and to have joy in the message that the Book of Mormon gives.
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