The Shepherd King

Read

John 10:1–21 (ESV)

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Opening Prayer

Setting the Stage

So as you can see this passage, all 21 verses, is tied together.

So, what I want to do is lay a foundation for the explanation…

Including looking at some OT passages that inform of us of the context in which Jesus is speaking…

And, then next Sunday, Lord willing, we can finish this passage by looking at the explanation.

Read John 10:1-5.

The Sheepfold

A Sheepfold is a corral like structure.

It’s for bringing the sheep all in together in a safe place for the night.

The walls of the fold could be stone, especially if they were closer to home.

But, they could also be made of reeds or strong wood type branches.

The walls of the fold would be tall enough to keep predators out.

There was a door to the fold.

Sometimes arch shaped that was tall enough for the shepherd to walk through.

The doorway would have a gate that secured the entrance of the fold/corral.

There would be a gatekeeper that controlled the gate.

He would open and close it if he knew you as a shepherd of the sheep.

He could permit or forbid someone from entering and sheep from leaving.

We’re told some qualities of the shepherd in these first five verses:

The gatekeeper recognizes him and opens the door.

In many sheepfolds multiple flocks of sheep would be kept.

The shepherd would come to the gate and the gatekeeper would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for the shepherd to call out his sheep.

The sheep hear his voice.

Sheep will only respond to the voice of their shepherd.

There could be multiple shepherds calling, but they only respond to their shepherd.

He calls the sheep by name.

This shepherd is so intimate with the sheep that he calls each one by name.

He leads them out.

He doesn’t leave any behind.

He waits for all of His sheep to come out of the fold and to Him.

Then He leads the way to green pastures.

We’re also told a few things about the sheep of the shepherd from these first five verses:

They know His voice.

They follow the shepherd because they know His voice.

They don’t follow strangers.

They flee from the strangers because they do not recognize the voice of the stranger.

And, we see something about those who sinfully seek to keep sheep from the shepherd or steal sheep from the shepherd in these first five verses:

They don’t enter the fold in the proper manner.

They seek to destroy the relationship with the shepherd by any means possible.

A thief would sneak in secretly and rob without you knowing.

A robber would come in improperly, but seek to take by force.

Either way, they are an enemy of the sheep and the shepherd because they seek to sever the shepherd/sheep relationship.

So, Jesus gives this allegory in order to teach the crowd something about Himself, something about the relationship He has with His sheep, and something about the religious leaders.

But, we read in…

John 10:6 (ESV)

6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Why didn’t they understand the allegory?

If they knew their OT they would know the many passages that speak in this manner.

Many passages of the OT prophets that speak to Israel as being sheep, and Kings and religious leaders being the Shepherds of Israel.

As a matter of fact, David was the most well known shepherd of all of Israel…

And, he was not only a shepherd, but he was a king.

So, let me give you some background from the OT that should have been in the forefront of their minds…

OT Background

I want to give us some context for what Jesus is saying…

I want to read certain verses from Ezekiel 34.

We could look at other chapters in Ezekiel, chapters in Isaiah, chapters in Jeremiah, Zechariah.

But, for the sake of time, we’re going to look at some key verses in Ezekiel 34.

Ezekiel 34:1–6 (ESV)

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Allegorical language against the kings and leaders of Israel.

They have fallen under the condemnation of God…

Because they do not care about the sheep, only what the sheep can provide for them.

They do not care about the spiritual condition of the people…

Only what they can gain from the people.

They do not care about the people’s relationship with God, only what they can get from the people that will make their lives comfortable.

The sheep, the people of Israel, are spiritually impoverished because of greedy, selfish, false shepherds.

And, God says that he has had enough of it.

Now, listen to what Jesus has said in other settings…

Matthew 9:36 (ESV)

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

They head shepherds, but the shepherds were not carrying out their responsibilities.

The people were unjustly treated, and in spiritual poverty.

Matthew 23:23 (ESV)

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

In this apostate Judaism, who was benefitting from the emphasis on the tithe?

The Sanhedrin, the Priests, the Pharisees, the Religious Leaders.

So, in part, the tithe was to flow into support the Priests.

But, what was supposed to flow from the Priests to the people was justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

This was not occurring.

They didn’t care about the people.

They didn’t care what happened to them.

They didn’t care about their physical or spiritual condition.

Their Judaism had become about the Priests rather than:

service to God and…

service on behalf of God.

Well, God intervenes for His people and says that He will come and be the Shepherd of His people.

Ezekiel 34:11 (ESV)

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

This is within the context of God declaring a covenant of peace.

A covenant in which God Himself will be the true Shepherd.

He will shepherd His own in the way a true Shepherd should.

Ezekiel goes on in His word from the Lord…

Ezekiel 34:13–16 (ESV)

13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

We immediately recognize this world-like theme of the Shepherd drawing His sheep from the Nations.

We immediately recognize the similarity of Psalm 23 with this prophecy of God being the true Shepherd.

We immediately recognize the, not losing a single sheep.

—>He leaves the 99 to go get the 1.

We remember in…

Luke 19:10 (ESV)

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Ezekiel continues...

Ezekiel 34:22–25 (ESV)

22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince [a Messiah figure] among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.

25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land [kingdom of God], so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

Now, there are two things that are important here that I want us to zero in on…

#1 - God says that He will set up my servant David as the Divine Shepherd.

David is already dead, but in the Davidic covenant God promises that there will be a King from the lineage of David that will have an everlasting covenant.

The Davidic covenant focuses the kingdom of Israel in to one person through whom obedience must be rendered…

And, through whom blessings and curses will fall on the nation…

So, one could say, “As goes the King, there goes the Kingdom.”

So, once the Davidic covenant was made the Davidic line was made the Federal Head of the Mosaic covenant.

And, we read about each King, how they ruled the land…

Did they remove the idols, did they lead in righteousness, or did they lead in idolatrous ways?

The manner in which they led the nation was the basis on the manner they enjoyed living in the land.

If the Davidic King keeps the Mosaic Covenant…

—> the kingdom enjoys the blessings of the covenants.

If the Davidic King fails to keep the Mosaic covenant…

—> the kingdom suffers the curses of the covenants.

But, here in Ezekiel, God is saying that He will be the Shepherd.

He will be the one that will shepherd His people…

But, it will be of the Davidic lineage.

—> A Divine-Shepherd-King.

Well, listen to what else God says through Ezekiel…

Back in Ezekiel 34…

25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land [kingdom of God], so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

So, God adds that through this Divine-Shepherd-King…

God will make with His people a…

#2 - Covenant of Peace

How can a Covenant of Peace be made?

Well, we need to remember how peace in the land can be obtained.

—> The Law must be kept to perfection.

Righteousness is obtained by the perfect keeping of the Law…

—> Which is kept in the mind and heart and behavior.

So, in order for a covenant of peace to be made with the people…

In order for the Divine-Shepherd-King to be able to bring into being a Covenant of Peace…

Meaning nothing but the blessings of the covenant flow in the land and for the people.

The Law must be kept perfectly by the Shepherd-King…

And, the people must be accounted as righteous, as well.

And, God delivered upon this promise in the sending and giving of His Son.

He is the Divine-Shepherd-King…

That obtains a Covenant of Peace for His people.

By keeping the Law perfectly on behalf of His people.

By atoning for His people’s sins on the Cross.

By crediting to our account His perfect obedience.

Jesus is our Divine-Shepherd-King.

Let’s think about this...

Remember the question from earlier…

Why didn’t they understand the allegorical teaching from Jesus?

Especially, when it is so replete through the OT?

The answer is the hardness of the human heart.

It is expressed in that we can allow for wretchedness in others, but not our self.

This allegory took the people to passages in the OT that they didn’t want to believe about themselves.

And so they refused to let it be laid on them.

Dear friends, our greatest need is a Covenant of Peace.

A Covenant that only pours out blessings.

A Covenant that accounts us as righteous.

We have that Covenant in Jesus.

By faith alone in Christ alone.

Closing Prayer