The Good Shepherd

Good Morning, what a wonderful day to be in the house of the Lord. I don't know about you but after our summer ministry celebration last Sunday night, my cup runneth over, after hearing what all God has done this summer, both here in us, but also through us as we have gone out and shared the Gospel of Jesus with this lost and dying world.

We have spent this summer discovering Jesus in a series where we began by looking at 4 major Christological passages to help us build up our faith in our chief cornerstone and head of the church Jesus.

Over the past few weeks, we have gone from what they have said to what Jesus says. looking at the “I am statements” found in the Gospel of John where Jesus reveals Himself to us so that we can gain a greater knowledge of Who He is, so we can rightly build up our faith in Him, our chief cornerstone, the head of the Church.

Throughout the past 3 weeks, we have learned that in His own words Jesus is “The Bread of Life, the Light of the world, and the door of the sheep.”

We have learned that Jesus is our sustainer and filler, that He leads us, and that the only way to enter into His flock is by Him, and that anyone who enters another way is a thief and a robber.

Today we will be again in chapter 10 as we pick up where we left off last week in verse 11, talking about the parable of the Good Shepherd.

Read John 10:11-21

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?”

In this passage, Jesus reveals to us the 4th I am statement in the gospel of John and the second one in this chapter alone. Jesus proclaims that not only is He the door of the sheep, but that Also “He is the Good Shepherd”

After making this statement, Jesus does something important:

1. Jesus defines the Good Shepherd. (Vv.11-13)

The word used here as “Good” in the original language could also be translated as beautiful or fair, and describes something that is “ideal.” So, in other words, Jesus here defines what the Ideal shepherd would do.

In verse 11, He says that the Ideal Shepherd

A. Lays down his life for the sheep. (Vv.11)

John 10:11 NASB95

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Jesus here describes that a good shepherd will not require the sheep to die for him, but that he would die for them.

Jesus here goes a step further.

He goes from in the first ten verses, saying that the shepherd lays in the entrance of the sheep pen, to say that the good shepherd, the ideal shepherd lays down their life for their sheep.

The good shepherd makes the supreme sacrifice in order to save His sheep.

He is drawing people back to the Shepherd David, who fought off lions and bears in order to keep his flock safe.

While many other shepherds would do the same as david, almost none would do as the good shepherd, and lay down his own life for their sheep.

Dr. D.A. Carson founder of the gospel coloiation said this in His commentary on the Gospel of John pertaining to “The Good Shepherd”

- The Shepherd does not die for his sheep to serve as an example, throwing himself off a cliff while screaming out, See how much i love you! The assumption is that the sheep are in mortal danger; that in their defense the shepherd loses his life,; and by his death they are saved. that and that alone is what makes him the good “ideal” shepherd.

The Good “ideal” Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

In verse 12 we are told that the Good Shepherd

B. Does not flee when danger arises. (Vv.12)

John 10:12 NASB95

“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.

Jesus here brings into the parable another character, and that is the hired hand.

The hired hand would have been paid to keep watch over the sheep, while the shepherd was away.

The hired hand, like many hired hands today, is not willing to go above and beyond the duties entailed.

We are told here that that when the hired hand sees a wolf or danger approaching and he flees, and leaves the sheep defenseless.

The Good Shepherd on the other hand would never flee the sheep leaving them alone and defenseless,

He would at all costs keep the sheep safe and out of harm's way.

He does this because the good shepherd cares for his sheep in a way that is unlike that of the hired hand

Caring for the sheep is not just his duty, but it is his livelihood.

Jesus goes on to explain that the Good Shepherd does not flee when danger arises because

C. He is Concerned for the sheep. (Vv.13)

John 10:13 NASB95

“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

The concern of the hired hand is on one thing, and that is his paycheck. He is not worried about going above and beyond.

So when the wolves and other dangers arrive, He flees for his concern is not on the well-being of the sheep. But on himself, and his own well-being.

Jesus here uses the example of the hired hand's lack of concern to contrast that of The Good Shepherd,

Essentially saying that the reason the Good Shepherd is wiling to lay down his life for the sheep is because of the great concern he has for their life and well-being.

In these 3 verses, Jesus first proclaims to be the Good Shepherd and then explains or defines to those around Him what a Good or what the Ideal Shepherd looks like.

Jesus references of verses Jesus goes from explaining to us what the Good Shepherd looks like, to telling us that

2. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. (Vv.14-18)

John 10:14–18 NASB95

“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.”

I want to make sure that we all know that here when Jesus references sheep, He is talking about us, He is talking about people. I want you to keep that in mind for the rest of this morning.

- Jesus here at the beginning of verse 14 repeats Himself saying “I am the good shepherd”

When we are reading scripture and we see somthing repeated in a small section of scripture like this, we need to take notice.

Jesus didn't repeat Himself here just so He could hear His own voice, but he repeated Himself, because what He is saying is important, and He wants to make sure that those around Him heard Him when He said: “I am the Good Shepherd”

After making this statement, Jesus begins to explain to those around Him how He is the Good Shepherd.

In Verse 14 Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd because

A. He knows His own. (Vv.14)

John 10:14 NASB95

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

Jesus proclaims that just as a good shepherd would know their sheep, He knows His sheep, (or those who truly follow Him.)

not only does He say that He knows them, but that they also know Him.

Just as the good shepherd has sheep who know him, know His voice, and His compassion.

Jesus says my sheep, those who follow me, they know me, they know my voice, they know my love and compassion.

Jesus goes on in verse 15 to say that the way He knows the sheep is in the same way that the Father knows Him.

He knows them personally, in-depth, and fully. Just as the Father knows Him.

Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd, because I know my own, and my own know me.

In verse 15 Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd because:

B. He lays down His life for the sheep. (Vv.15)

John 10:15 (NASB95)

I lay down My life for the sheep.

Jesus takes His listeners back to just a few moments ago where He told them that the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus is looking at the people and saying “That is me”

that is why I have come

that is what i am going to do here soon

I am going to lay down my life for the sheep.

He is of course talking here about His death on the cross

Where He will lay down His life for the sheep of this world, or rather where he laid down His life so that the people of the world would have the opportunity to have life in Him and through Him.

He is telling the people, that He is going to die on their behalf so that they may live, and that it is going to happen relatively soon.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because, He knows His own, He lays down His life for the sheep, and in verse 16 we are told that

C. His fold is larger than it seems.(Vv.16)

John 10:16 NASB95

“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.

Jesus here opens up the good news of His death being a blessing for more than just the Israelite people.

Jesus explains to those around Him that He has other sheep, that belong in a different fold, but that these people also hear His voice, and soon the two folds will become one big fold under the one shepherd, Him the Good Ideal Shepherd.

Jesus here is talking about you, about me, about every other single person in the world that is not a Jew.

Jesus here opens up the good news that Him being the Good Shepherd will bring all people, from different nations, times in history, and languages, will follow Him and will one day be all together singing prasies to Him, and following Him in one fold.

Listen as i read an excerpt from the book of revelation, where John (the same john that wrote these words of Jesus), was gifted a glance into Heaven, and listen to what He saw.

Revelation 7:9–12 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.””

All people from all nations have the opportunity to give their life to Christ, and Jesus here in chapter 10 reveals to those around Him that Salvation is for all, For His fold has sheep that are not Jews.

becauseto go and share the good news, as well as, give so others can as well. I pray that our give will never be greater than our Go.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd becasue He knows His own because He lays down His life, His sheepfold is larger than it seems, and in verses 17-18 we are told that

D. He lay down His life so He can take it up again.(Vv.17-18)

John 10:17–18 NASB95

“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 here completes the thought that He began in verse 15, stating that the reason the Father loves Him, is because He lays down His life, and the reason for Him laying down His life is for Him to take it up again.

Jesus here is again referencing His death on the cross and now also His resurrection that would follow.

He is fortelling about what is to come in His own life. Yet those around Him, dont put it togeather, that He is talking about Himself

He herein verse 18 tells them that what is about to happen, is happening to Him because it is His choice to allow it to happen.

He says “No one has taken it (His life) from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it up,

He says “This commandment I recieved from my father.”

Meaning that this is the purpose of why He came to earth

this is why He can say “I am the Good Shepherd” because He is not taken by suprise, He is not mistakenly hung on the cross

He came to the earth so He could lay down His life so that He could also on the third day take it up again.

Jesus who is God, came to earth, put on the form of a man, walked among His creation, was tempted and tried in every which way mankind is, and yet overcame all those things we can not, and lived a perfect sinless life.

He did all of this becasue He knew that you and I, that we, could not, He did them in our place so that when His own people would seek to crucify Him, He would willingly take the undeserved punishment, and on that Cross, God’s wrath upon sin was satisfied, in full, because Jesus took the place of mankind.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He laid down His life for His sheep, when evil came, He did not flee, He stood there, and took upon Himself the punishment we deserved, dying the death we ought to have died.

But that was not the end, for three days later, Jesus who laid His life down, took His life up, and He resurrected, In doing so He defeated, Death, Hell, and the Grave so that anyone who belonged to Him would not have to suffer as He did but would inherit eternal life through His work!

Transition:

The apostle John, leaves us in verses 19-21 with:

3. The people's response to His message. (Vv.19-21)

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, who directed the apostle to write down these last 3 verses in this parable.

because it gives us a look into how the people who heard this in real time understood it, and how they applied it.

And because it shows us how they did so, it helps us to know how are are to understand it and apply it.

we are told in verse 19 that

A. The people are divided. (Vv.19)

John 10:19 NASB95

A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words.

John plainly states that as Jesus finished up telling the people that He is the Good Shepherd, the crowd of Jews present began to choose sides.

It seems odd that the man who came to preach peace and to make a way for there to be peace between the Holy God, and sinful man is the cause of contention and division.

but Jesus often found Himself in a place where division occurred over what He taught.

in the following two verses John tells us that the crowd divided into two sides

In verse 20 we see that on one side:

B. Some accuse Him. (Vv.20)

John 10:20 NASB95

Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?”

Those who accused Him began to attack Who Jesus was, and what he had taught.

They called out to the other group of people, calling Jesus a demon

saying that not only is this man evil but also that He has come to confuse people and lead them astray.

They also cry out that not only is Jesus a demon, but that He is also insane.

They go from attacking who He is to what He is saying.

saying that He is crazy, and essentially saying that He speaks in such a way that only a crazy person would listen to Him.

They then seek to cause doubt within the crowd asking people why they even listen to Jesus.

They are attempting to accuse Jesus and draw people away from Him, for they are not with Him since they Accuse Him.

In verse 21 we see that

C. Some follow Him. (VV.21)

John 10:21 NASB95

Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”

This group of people stand up for Jesus, for they have been following Him

they know He is not insane or a demon, they even question the other group saying:

“A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?

They know what Jesus has done because they have followed Jesus and seen the marvelous mystery that is His love, compassion, and mercy upon all people He meets.

Conclusion:

In the final three verses, we see the response of the people present, hearing Jesus teach live and in person.

Many chose to acuse

others chose to Follow

what do you choose this morning?

- You have heard the same story they did,

- You have heard over the past two weeks that Jesus is the only way to enter into Heaven for He is the door of the sheep,

- You have heard that Jesus is the Good Ideal Shepherd, the one who lays down His life for His sheep, but he lays it down so that He can take it up again.

- You have heard that Jesus went and died on the cross on your behalf so that you could have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

- You have heard that on the third day, He rose to life again, defeating death, hell, and the grave, and making the gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven a present reality for all who are His.

So let me ask you again, How will you respond this morning?

will you choose to stand by, and accuse Jesus, calling Him a fake, a good teacher, someone who is a good example to live by.

or

will you this morning make the choice to respond to this message of Jesus, by following Him? Giving Him your life, wholly devoting your life to Him and wherever He leads you, you follow Him.

Lenard ravenhill a british christian evanglist who spent most of His life and ministry challanging the western church to be more devoted to Chrsit as the early church in the book of acts was, is quoted as saying:

“There are two kinds of people in the world – only two kinds. Not black or white, rich or poor, but those either dead in sin or dead to sin.”

It does not matter who you are, what you look like, or where you come from, all that matters is who you know,

if you know Christ, and He is your personal Lord and Savior, then you are no longer a slave to sin but dead to sin because you are alive in Christ.

The choice is yours:

Will you walk out of this church house this moring a salve to sin, a person who acuses Christ

or

will you walk out of here this morning a person who is dead to their sin, alive in Christ, following Jesus?

The choice is yours, but I urge you today, to make the right choice before it's too late.

The If’s:

IF you are here this morning and you have not given your life over to Christ, you are a slave to your sin, and you have realized this morning that Jesus came to free you from that sin so that you could live in and through Him. Come this morning and give your life to Christ, accept the gift of salvation He has to offer to you. The Bible says anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Call upon His name, die to your sin, and live for Christ from this day forward.

IF you are here this morning and you are a follower of Christ and you have been following Jesus from a distance, you have been attempting to keep Him just close enough so you can still barely Hear his voice. Come this morning and draw closer unto Him, For He is the Good Shepherd, the one who leads us in righteousness, He leads us beside still waters and in green pastures. Come this morning and close the distance, begin today following Jesus as closer than you ever have before.

Jesus is the Bread of Life, the one who sustains us,

Jesus is the Light of the World, the one who illuminates this dark and sinful world.

Jesus is the door of the sheep, the only way to enter into His pasture is through Him.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He leads His sheep, protects His sheep, and cares for His sheep.

Dont leave here today acuseing Jesus, and walking away from HIm

Leave here today, following so closely behind Christ that you can't even see what's coming up in front of Him.

The choice is yours tofay, choose wisely.