The Good Shepard John 10:7-21
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Intro
Recognizable quotes from tv and movies
I am your father - Darth Vader, Star wars
Hakuna Matata - Timon or Pumba , the Lion King
Just Keep Swimming - Dory from Finding Nemo
Ohana Means Family - Lilo and Stich
YOU ARE A TOY - Woody to Buzz from Toy Story
Tension
It can be easy to hear these quotes and recognize what they are from.
But what about when they’re not that recognizable? What about when it comes to recognizing God’s voice? How do we know what to do when life seems so loud and confusing?
Tell about decision for link year.
Now these were both really good options but how do we know what God is asking us to do when things don’t seem easy?
Truth
Give context to set up passage
Jesus heals a guy on the sabbath. To the religious leaders, this was a big no no. No one was supposed to work on the sabbath. The guy jesus heals was a sinner. and because of this the Pharisees who has been trying to get to the bottom of this so they could charge Jesus with wrong doing so they could discredit him.
So Jesus tells them a parable.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” The Jews who heard these words were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
John 10:9 (NIV): I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved
Jesus is the Gate.
John 10:9 (NIV): I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved
Jesus is the Gate.
This verbiage is something the crowd would have understood. They would have known that to protect the sheep a Shepard would guard the flock by placing rocks around an opening of maybe a cave or a set of bushes. He would also have an opening in these rocks to let the sheep come and go. At night the Shepard would sleep across the opening to protect his flock of Sheep. This is the imagery that Jesus is using
This is the way he wants us to view him. He is the gate. We are the Sheep.
Jesus wants to protect us. Jesus wants to save us, look at what he says in Verse 9 -
In other words, he is saying this…
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In verse 10 he gives us reason why this is a good thing.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
those listening would have understood what Jesus was saying
Those that would go over the fence were thieves who sought to exploit the sheep for their own gain. they did not have the sheep's best interest in mind.
For us this doesn’t have to be an actual thief. Jesus is highlighting the differences between the Himself and the Thief.
Jesus wants to give life, the thief wants to steal life
Jesus wants to protect, the thief wants to destroy
For us, this thief can be anything that opposing Jesus and the reason he came.
And to be clear here, jesus is not promising to give us an easy life. He wants to give us a real, eternal and better life than we could image.
With Christ your life will have meaning and joy. Thats what he desires for you.
He goes on in verse 11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPARD BECAUSE HE WAS WILLING TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF FOR US.
JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPARD BECAUSE HE WAS WILLING TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF FOR US.
maybe you know how this feels. You have someone who you thought was a friend.
y'all text, y'all hang out, y'all play sports or video games together, but the moment things get hard, they disappear.
When life gets real, you're counting on them to be on your team but they disappear
Or maybe this friend doesn’t just disappear, they start talking about you behind your back
This is the idea that Jesus is talking about. He cares about us, about you so much that when life gets hard he will still be here.
He will never turn from you or abandon you.
Jesus loves and cares about us so much that even when we were enemies of him he still chose to die for us.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
He dies on the cross to that we can be free from the punishment our sins deserves.
Romans says our sin, which is anything we do to be disobedient to God in our thoughts or actions, deserves death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And here is what i want to be clear about, just because Christ’s sacrifice is extended to everyone, it is only those that go to him that become saved.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The third thing I want us to look at is in verse 14
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
Jesus is the good Shepard because he knows us.
Jesus is the good Shepard because he knows us.
And as the good shepard cares for us the more we get to know him, his voice, his character and heart for us.
Sheep knowing the shepard’s voice https://youtu.be/e45dVgWgV64?si=OyavL6_90VqqdwoT
As we grow in our relationship with him, through his word, prayer, the clearer his voice gets in our lives.
Because Jesus is the Good shepard, and wants whats best for us, and to protect us, this also means he has a desire for the way we should live.
One that is full and better than anything we could imagine.
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
Jesus knows you fully. He knows your worst days and best days. He knows the depths of our souls, sees our sin, and loves us anyway.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
in the specific context of those listening to jesus saying these words, he is talking about Gentiles.
Gentiles is anyone who is not of Jewish decent. I am English, and Chinese, thats where my ancestors are from but I am not Jewish. Therefore I am a gentile.
God’s plan of salvation was something he always planned and even mentions it in the old testament.
“Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
While this is God’s plan we can still be a part of it, in fact Jesus tells us to participate in this mission with him.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus tells us to make followers of Him. to tell others about the kind of shepard he is and what he wants for their lives (full and beautiful)
For us in this room, that are Christians we should be telling others about Jesus and inviting them in.
2 reasons why
Pretty simple, Jesus tells us to
This second one hinges on everything we just talked about. He wants whats best for us so we can trust that when we tell others about Jesus, it helps us live that full life we he promises.
Application
In application, there are three things i want to challenge you to do.
Go to Jesus. If you have not made a decision to follow Jesus with your life, i want to challenge you do to so. He wants to care for you and protect you .
Spend some time getting to know him. Read Scripture, come to church on Wednesdays and Sunday's.
Bring others to him. Participate in what he is doing. He desires everyone to come to salvation and he wants us to participate with him in that. Invite them to church, tell them about what Jesus has done for you.
In fact, I want you to write somebody’s name down right now that you know needs to be at church next week
Tell students about next week
Landing
At the end of these verses the crowd responds to Jesus in two different ways this is how they respond
The Jews who heard these words were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
some of them dissmiss Jesus’ teaching altogether while others ponder who he is.
How are we going to respond? Do we dismiss Jesus or do we ponder and worship him for who he is?
But tonight as you go into groups i want you to talk about this question
“What are some things that keep us from experiencing a rich and satisfying life in Christ?