Jesus, Our Good Shepherd

Security services in the US is a $47 billion industry. This ranges from equipment, security guards, patrol vehicles, and both residential and commercial applications. This also includes tools and resources for cyber security. People want to be safe, and we spend a lot of money trying to secure our safety. We are going to talk about that today.

Our text today comes at the end of a story where Jesus heals a man born blind. Of course it is a Sabbath day, which gets the Pharisees angry. Jesus had left the temple where he made both his light of the world statement and his claim of divinity by stating he existed before Abraham by saying, “Before Abraham was, I am.” On his way out of the temple, he saw a man who was born blind. His disciples asked, who sinned, that this man be born blind? Was it him, or his parents? They assume that someone’s sin was the reason for his blindness. Jesus says that it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Jesus spits on the ground, rubs the mud on the man’s eyes, and tells him to wash off in the pool of Siloam. The man does, and he returns with sight.

This miracle stirs a bit of commotion, which attracts the attention of the Pharisees. They are mad at Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, but then proceed to launch an investigation. First, there is a dismissal of the miracle on the grounds that Jesus broke the Sabbath, and therefore could not be from God. But others questioned how the miracle could occur if he was not from God. Then they tried to dismiss the miracle thinking the man was not blind at all, but then his parents testified to his blindness since birth. The Pharisees summoned the previously blind man again, but couldn’t get the answers they wanted from him, so they sent him away.

Jesus found the man after all of this and I want to pick up here to establish the context of chapter 10 and the I am statements Jesus is going to make.

John 9:35–41 NASB95

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

When chapter ten begins, he is already speaking. These verses give us whom he is speaking to and what he is speaking about. He is talking about spiritual perception. The blind man was physically blind and now he can see. The Pharisees claimed they could see, but they were, in fact, blind. Then Jesus uses something common to them to illustrate his point and declare something about himself.

John 10:1–6 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.

A sheepfold was a simple structure that was either circular or rectangular. The walls were made of stone or they could have been wooden fences. The structure was walled on all sides and only had one entrance. At the entrance was a gatekeeper both to keep the sheep in and keep everyone but the shepherds out. A sheepfold may have sheep from multiple shepherds in it. In the morning, the shepherds would come and take their sheep out to the pastures to find food, water, and to roam. How did one shepherd end up with the right sheep if the sheep of multiple flocks were kept in the same place? Jesus answers that: the voice of the shepherd. Sheep have a reputation for being dumb animals, but they do know enough to follow the right shepherd. This is the figure of speech Jesus is using to set up the mental picture in his listeners’ minds.

John 10:7–10 NASB95

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.

As I stated before, there was only one way in and one way out of the sheepfold. There is only one door. Jesus calls himself the door. The only way in or out. He’s the ticket. The only other option is to scale the walls. Anyone coming over the wall is not a friend. He is a threat. He is a thief. A thief’s goal is to take ownership, wreak havoc, or both. Sheep may not be smart, but whoever scales the wall is not a friend.

As the door, Jesus provides safety for those under his care.

When the sheep were inside the sheep pen, they were secure. While they are inside, they are virtually safe from predators. They have access to everything they need. Nobody could take them out unless they were willing to take on the gatekeeper. The sheep inside the pen were protected from outside threats.

Now if Jesus is the only way into the sheepfold, it is also he who provides protection from spiritual trouble and false teaching. When we are under the care of Jesus, there is a solution for every temptation. Everything we need, Jesus provides, but it can only be found when we pass through the door that leads to safety. If you try to secure the things that Jesus provides by getting in through another way, you are a thief trying to take for yourself what rightfully belongs to Christ.

But this is not the only thing Jesus does in this passage.

John 10:11–21 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.” A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”

There is a shepherd and sheep motif presented throughout scripture. God is compared to a shepherd in Psalm 23. The kings and priests of Israel are compared to shepherds who are supposed to guide Israel, the sheep. The pastor is referred to as a shepherd, and the congregation the sheep. So the comparison of Jesus to a shepherd is not unusual at all. Let’s talk about what it means for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus lays down his life for the sheep.

If you have ever owned a business or have ever hired employees, you understand this contrast. The owner of the business cares a lot more about the business than the employees he or she may hire to help run the business. Anyone who has ever been in charge of a business before knows good help is hard to find. One who cares about the business as much as the owner does is extraordinarily rare. It is more common for hired help to run at the first sign of trouble than to stand their ground.

The good news is Jesus has already laid down his life for us. He did so on the cross where he offered himself as a sacrifice for us. He bought our pardon and as the door to the sheepfold, has provided the only way in to safety, security, and an everlasting place to belong. We call this the family of God. Because Jesus has laid down his life for us, and was raised from the dead, we have access to the eternal creator God who desires a relationship with us.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus knows us intimately.

Look back as verses three and four. The shepherd calls out to the sheep by name. They hear him and they follow him. This implies intimate relationship. Remember this illustration is built on the idea that the sheep of multiple shepherds are in the same place. All the shepherd has to do is call the names of his sheep and they will follow the sound of his voice. How does that happen? It happens through intimate relationship. The Good Shepherd is invested in his sheep. He is actively involved in looking after the sheep. He knows the name of the sheep, the condition of the sheep, the greatest needs of the sheep, and how to supply them.

When we begin to see how big God is and all the things he manages every second of every day, we begin to see how small we truly are, and that leads to a belief that God is not concerned with little old us. My problems aren’t important enough for God to take notice. He’s got bigger things on his mind. My friends, that is a lie. The same God who named every star in the universe knows your name. There is not a second of your life that has escaped his notice. Jesus, the king of the universe, sees you. He knows you. He is calling after you. The question is, are you listening to his voice?

As we close and move into our time of response, I want to ask you a few questions.

Are you listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd?

As I said last week, the inconvenient truth is that we are either children of God, or children of the devil. I could say it this way: there are two shepherds in the world. There is Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and a counterfeit, masquerading as a shepherd who is very effective in convincing you that you can be your own shepherd. There might be someone here who is living life looking for self-fulfillment and frustrated because the promises of this world are not offering the satisfaction you desire. If that is you, please understand you have been listening to the wrong voice. If you want the true blessings of protection, provision, and guidance, you must begin listening to a new voice. The Good Shepherd is calling your name. Believe in him. Trust him, and he will lead you to good pasture. He will give you the abundant life he promises.

Are you experiencing the protection, provision, and guidance that come from being in His sheepfold?

We may have begun to listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice, but when we stop, we begin to experience life without the protection, provision, and guidance of the Good Shepherd. There is a principle here that says just because you belong to the Shepherd, it does not mean you are listening to the Shepherd. You can belong to Christ without following Christ. This happens when Christ is considered nonessential and is uninvolved in day-to-day life. You turn to Jesus out of desperation as if he exists to serve you. The reality is he is letting you experience life without him. If you want to experience the blessings of God, Jesus is the door. The only way to experience them is to go to him for them. Do you need to stop doing life your way and begin doing life his way again?

Are you contributing to and benefiting from the community of believers?

Sheep are very social creatures and thrive off of interaction with one another. Wouldn’t you know it? So are we. God has placed us together to contribute to and benefit one another. The heart of Christian fellowship is helping one another grow in Christlikeness. That becomes impossible if you do not involve yourself. The church needs you because God made you unique. There He has created you so that you can use your gifts and talents to aid the body of Christ so we can represent him together. Do you need to start taking a more active role in the life of the church?