Our Good Shepherd

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Read John 10 and Pray

(35m)

The Shepherd’s Call

John 10:1–10 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

The shepherd had a certain call or song that he would use to call his flock out of the pasture. Many flocks could be grazing in the same area, and the way one could tell whose sheep belonged to a particular shepherd is if they followed him out when he called them.

How can you know if you are one of God’s chosen people? How can you know if you really have faith in Jesus or just knowledge about Him? How can you know if you are really converted or if you are just religious?

You know because you come when He calls you with His Word.

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Have you answered God’s call to follow Jesus and enter His Kingdom?

Many people think that their good works, church attendance, religious family members, or charity will get them into Heaven one day, but the the only way God has provided to get in is through faith in Christ alone.

You can begin following Jesus right now by agreeing with God about your sin and separation from Him, believing that Jesus took the punishment that you deserve when He died on the cross, and trusting that all of your sins are forgiven because of what Jesus has done and not what you can do.

(25m)

The Shepherd’s Commitment

John 10:11–18 NASB95

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Jesus is comparing Himself here to the Jewish leaders of that day who used their position to build up their wealth and reputation instead of God’s Kingdom. Unlike religious leaders in the past and our present, Jesus doesn’t save people to get their money or respect. He lays down His life for sinners because He loves them, not because of what they can do for Him.

Are you trusting in Jesus’ love for you and commitment to you?

Maybe you are ashamed of your past and you feel like God couldn’t forgive you for all you have done. Perhaps you know that you have let Him down, so you expect Him to let you down. Jesus will not get scared and run away when you make mistakes. He is not afraid of being your friend because of your past or your reputation. He doesn’t care what other people think about you.

Romans 5:6–8 NASB95

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

(15m)

The Shepherd’s Confidence

John 10:22–30 NASB95

At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”

Jesus does not add any conditions to the promise of eternal life for His sheep. There are no “if” statements that we have to fulfill in order for Jesus to promise us forgiveness of sins and the hope of Heaven.

It is not “they may never perish,” it is “they will never perish.”

It is not “someone may snatch them out of My hand,” it is “no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Are you afraid of God’s judgement?

If you have not answered Jesus’ call to follow Him, you should be. The only hope you have on your own of being right with God is to be perfect, and you already messed it up.

However, if you are trusting in Christ alone for your salvation today, you can have the same confidence in your salvation that Jesus had for you.

Ephesians 1:3–14 NASB95

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

(5m)

CONCLUSION

As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ today, think about the challenge that Jesus gave to the Pharisees in John 10:37-38

John 10:37–38 NASB95

“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

All humans die because of sin. Jesus died because He took our sin on Himself at the cross. Only a sinless person can stay alive forever, which is why the resurrection proves that Jesus paid for all of the sins that He died for on the cross that day. We have the hope of forgiveness and eternal life because God says so, but we have proof that God’s plan worked because of the empty tomb!