Some thoughts on John 9 and 10 , Shepherds and Pharisees

My thoughts following on from this great blog post https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/jesus-the-shepherd-gives-life-in-abundance-john-10

Shepherds

I was also pondering through following your comment about shepherds not being social outcasts. I was wondering if both could be true.
By the nature of their work and distance from civilisation in dryer regions where extensive travel may be necessary, lack of amenities, lack of mixed company maybe hands on shepherds could be uncouth “hill-billies” toughened by a hard life.
In comparison the Jewish ancestors were the owners of huge flocks that required employees to mind the animals, (though obviously they’d still know about sheep) – as in Abraham and Lot’s men that ended up in arguments. The Jewish identity revolved around this type of being shepherds of course, a) the caste system of being the right blood who were pastoralists first arable second and not part of the “rabble” that came with them who were put to utilities work of drawing water and hewing firewood and b) which then led on to land ownership being strictly limited by OT law with even land sold to non-members of the clans having to be returned at the Jubilee thus favouring the shepherds with a shepherd God still further.
As I think about it is there even a distinction made about key patriarchs who have the dynastic herders aristocracy blood but also have more extensive hands-on sheep experience – like Jacob, David who was out with the sheep (but funnily enough all his older brothers were to hand to meet the distinguished visitor), Moses?
In which case ‘good’ shepherd is a very alive distinction and maybe Jesus, in bringing them back to the nitty-gritty of good sheep care practices is another indirect way (let alone all the direct ways he uses too) of casting aspersions on their governing of the people in a way that just sees flocks and folks as mere agricultural and social capital.

Pharisees

Been mulling over along with some other stuff. As recommended I read the whole of John 9 and 10 to see the picture frame. Well, fuller picture.
This isn’t theology, its my reaction of course, but I was left with such and ache reading it. An groan for the Pharisees not at them. It’s probably anthropomorphism to see them like a tree full of sparrows, (sadly now a rarer sight) that appear to be like siblings constantly bickering, almost a sign of affection like puppies doing rough and tumble with a safe other before having to defend themselves for real in the big world but enough to drive parents mad. But here it’s not children but adults who should have grown out of it, who should have bigger battles to fight, not each for himself but one for all, all for one.
I’m afraid it’s the feeling I get about us Evangelicals. We have to get things right, decide if they’re sound, keep on working it out. That’s our gift. I don’t even have a problem with lots of denominations. We’re Protestants, we need to defend our right to think, to think it through and to act on what we find. But the flip side is the bickering and judging. Biting each other. Not seeing wood for trees.
I’m sure no Pharisee was happy about the suggestion that some of them were robbers or even worse, hired hands. I’m sure no self respecting Evangelical would want to think of ourselves like that either. We’re all Elijah aren’t we, the one who stayed faithful when everyone else has drifted off into idols and liberalism.
What really gutted me was, well 2 things. One is
“5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.’”
Since I’ve been searching for fellowship via the internet (about 15 years) not only I’ve found huge huge amounts of the bickering of course, enough to totally put me off all so called Christian debate for a long while, but an astonishing number of disaffected Christians, many of whom have kept their faith but who are actively running from churches because of our judgemental, controlling abusive behaviour. Not running away from yokes and burdens, rather looking for more reasonable ones. There was that research in New Zealand and then Steve Ainsworth’s amazing offering in Scotland that shows it’s largely not God who’s putting people off.
Secondly there’s the verses just before our passage.
40-41 “Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
We claim we can see but we bicker on and on. And while we argue about how to reach the lost the lost get loster and we argue about worship when we should leap to worship even if all we get to help us is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.