John 10:1-21

What is truth?

This question is one that has been asked throughout all of human history. Who gets to define truth? How do we discover what is true? Is there an absolute truth or is all truth relative? This question has become a necessary question to answer in our culture. We are in a culture in which truth is defined by an individual. Every person has his or her truth that is right to them and they demand it is respected by others even if they disagree. Morality, or what is seen as right or wrong is always seen as right to an individual unless the general populous is loud enough to disparage the decision. There is no absolute truth as seen by this world view but that doesn’t mean people don’t argue about what is right and wrong. This is known as moral relativism.

Moral relativism is the idea that there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles. It's a version of morality that advocates “to each her own,” and those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?”

What is true and right to me is true and right to me and what is true and right for you is true and right for you. There is no objective, black and white truth. Each individual demands respect for their own personal world view. Our culture is painfully hypocritical when it comes to this world view. Individuals want to be right about how they act and think and if someone offends or disagrees they are seen as threats or attackers on a deeply personal level. Rather than all of society being founded on an absolute truth that individuals conform to individuals are free to interpret their own truth while often times expecting others to conform to their world view. The guiding principles are the culture in which a person is surrounded by. Or the group a person belongs to defines what is morally right.

Examples: Our society under moral relativism would say homosexuality is moral because of the society we live in. They are expressing their truth, society accepts it, and if you disagree you are being hateful, bigoted, old fashioned. Even though your truth is subjective the societal truth or the truth of who is loudest dictates what is acceptable. Likewise they might say slavery is wrong because in our society people should be treated with equality. What happens if we take moral relativism to an extreme? If morality is based off of societal acceptance does that mean that slavery was good because southern society saw it as good and profitable? Was Hitler a good person because he was chosen by his country to lead them? If self expression of your sexuality leads you to cheating on your spouse are you moral for pursuing your own truth at the expense of your spouse? If society defines morality what happens if you live in an immoral society? Does being loud on twitter mean that you now get to define what is right and wrong for an entire culture? Who gets to decide?

When truth is dependent on its surroundings that is called subjective truth. For example. I think that the Lakers are a phenomenal basketball team. LeBron James is the GOAT. Luka Doncic is going to win the Lakers at least three championships. That is subjective. If you have a different opinion you can believe that and be right in your own opinion.

Subjective truth cannot be enforced on others. There needs to be a more absolute truth.

Objective truth is based on facts. LeBron James is the all time scoring leader in the NBA. He averages 50.6% from 2 and 35 % from 3 pt range over the course of his career. He averages 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game over his entire career. That is objective truth. Those aren’t negotiable.

Lets ask the question that our culture desperately needs the answer to. What is truth? Who gets to define what truth is? Is God’s word an objective truth or a subjective truth? Is God’s word something I can build my life on? How do we recognize the voice of truth in our life when we have all these other voices trying to speak subjectively into our lives?

John 10:1–6 ESV

“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. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

The society that Jesus lived in was not a lot different from ours. People did what was right in their own eyes. On one hand you had the Romans who were fiercely pagan. There was no morality, everyone participated in all kinds of wickedness. Then you had the Jews and the religious leaders who used the law as a way to justify their arrogance and pride. They still did whatever they wanted but they twisted the truth to fit their views. In the middle of this context stands Jesus the light and life of mankind shining in the darkness. He is objective truth. Later in John 14 Jesus would even call Himself the Way the Truth and the Life. Here Jesus begins His address to the people with the very words we are trying to understand tonight.

Truly Truly.

When we see Jesus say truly, truly that means what He is about to say demands our utmost attention. Jesus is giving us a warning. Jesus tells the people that within the pathway of truth there will be people who try to sneak in by another way. These people are thieves, liars, robbers. They seek to do the flock harm. Jesus is saying that all who follow Him are His sheep and He is their shepherd leading them in the way they should go. He warns us that there will be people who sneak their way into the flock with the intention of taking us away from our shepherd.

How do sheep know who is a robber and who is their shepherd? They hear their shepherd's voice and they know it.

When I was a kid my dad used to whistle to get my attention. I would be running around our gym at church and I would hear the whistle and I would immediately turn to see where he was and I would go home with him. Other people whistled or would call for their kids but I new my dad’s whistle because it was specific to him. The pitch of the whistle, how long he whistled. It was always the same. The same is true for the sheep and their shepherd. When we are spending time listening to the words of Jesus. When we spend time in prayer. When we are walking with our shepherd we hear and know his voice.

Can you tell the difference between a truth and a lie? Can you tell what is the voice of the Lord or the voice of a thief hoping to lead you away?

There is one truth and that is God’s Word. It is truth that we can base not just our lives on but our eternities as well. When I ask if you know the difference between a truth and a lie I’m not asking if you’re good at reading people like Sherlock Holmes. I mean can you see the difference in world views. Ideologies. Belief systems. What is moral or ethically acceptable. God’s word shapes how we see all of those things. Hearing and knowing the voice of God is like putting on a pair of glasses. Without my glasses I am unable to see or read anything clearly. When I have glasses on I can see clearly. Without Jesus we are living in darkness blind to the truth. When we are saved Jesus brings us into the light and through His Holy Spirit living in us He begins to build a Biblical world view in us. As we walk with Him we begin to hear and know His voice more and more. This is why as young believers it is good to have a mentor who is more experienced in the faith than you. Paul had walked with Jesus a lot more than Timothy had and because of that Paul was able to speak truth into Timothy’s life.

Jesus is saying these things right after healing a blind man and right after the Pharisees kicked the blind man out of the temple. Jesus is warning about the Pharisees who pretend to speak on behalf of God, pretend to be in proximity with the Shepherd but are really just there to lead people astray for their own personal gain. The best lies look and sound just like the truth. How we discern between the truth and lies is through intimacy with our shepherd. There is that word we have been talking about in John . Intimacy. This whole school year we have been talking about how we grow in intimacy in our relationship with Jesus. This is why it is so important. If we don’t intimately know the voice of Jesus, anyone and everyone can lead us astray.

There is an expression, “If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for everything.” Jesus is calling you to stand on the firm foundation of His Word. Allow the truth of Scripture to be an anchor for your souls. When it comes to our opinions, our world views, our subjective truths, everything must conform to what the voice of our shepherd speaks.

Jesus gives us two I AM statements here in this passage. He tells us He is the Shepherd who leads us through the door, but He also is the door itself.

John 10:7–10 ESV

So Jesus again said to them, “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 listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by 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.

Jesus tells us that it is only through Him that we have life and truth. He is the door. All who say otherwise are liars. This passage ultimately speaks of the father of lies, satan, and his deception of mankind to lead people away from God. Starting all the way back in the garden of eden satan has been trying to get humans to believe a lie and rebel against God’s truth. All world views other than Jesus lead us to death. They steal, kill and destroy. But it is in the truth of God that we have an overflow of life.

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Before we were followers of Jesus we were followers of satan. Paul says that we followed the prince of the power of the air, following the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. Doesn’t that kinda sound like moral relativism? Each of us following our own truths, our own passions, our own desires. We were slaves to our sinful desires and world views but Jesus sets us free and makes us alive with Christ. The Gospel has changed everything for us. If we do not believe in the truth of the Gospel we are still dead in sin and darkness. There can be no gospel other than this.

In Galatians Paul is speaking to a group of people that have left the objective truth of the Gospel in exchange for a gospel based off of their works and Paul has strong words for them.

Galatians 1:6–12 ESV

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

As Christians there is a responsibility for us to preach the truth. Whether it’s popular or not. Whether it is seen as offensive to people or not. There is one way of salvation, one Gospel and that is Jesus Christ. The Gospel can be offensive because it requires people see and acknowledge their sin and their need for a savior. If the Gospel is true that means there is consequences for my sin. It means that I am a bad person who has willfully rebelled against a holy God. It means I can no longer be king of my own life. It means that Jesus has the final say in everything I do. It means this life I have lived is now death to me, and I must be crucified with Christ so that I might be raised to life with Him. If the Gospel is true it also means that the sin that left me unfulfilled is now replaced with a supernatural purpose for my life. Anxiety and sorrow are met by peace and joy. I have hope for eternity and everlasting life with my creator. My soul can be satisfied and I can see clearly what the truth is. While following Jesus may cost us much, what we gain in following Jesus is worth everything. That is why we must stand on the truth. There will be a lot of people who go to hell thinking they’re a good person because nobody spoke the truth of the Gospel in their life. That we have all sinned and are in need of a savior.

2 Timothy 4:2–5 ESV

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul tells Timothy to preach the Gospel when it is popular and when it is not popular. He says the world has itchy ears and will look for teachers that suit they’re passions. They want leaders in their lives who will make them feel good and give motivational self help speeches and validate every feeling they have. They would rather believe a lie that is comfortable rather than accept a truth that is challenging and all it costs them is their souls. Hearing our shepherd’s voice means seeking out sound teaching.

I think of Jesus like a master dentist. A dentist doesn’t care how you feel about how sharp his tools are or how you think he should go about fixing your teeth. He isn’t taking suggestions. He is the master dentist. Sometimes that means He has to pull teeth. He is going to tell you where to put your tongue, He is going to tell you how far to open your mouth, He is going to tell you when to floss and how long you should brush your teeth. Regardless of how you feel about it because it is what is necessary for your health. Jesus is master of our souls. Everything He does is for His glory and our good. Just like a dentist He hears us. A good dentist never inflicts pain unless it is necessary. Jesus is the same way. He never deals cruelly with us but is patient and slow to anger. He is merciful and gracious to us. When He uses pain in our life we can trust that He is in control and has a purpose for our pain. Believing the truth of the Gospel means trusting in God’s plan even when it is costly. Even when it is difficult.

John 10:11–15 ESV

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 does not own 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 cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Jesus says He is the good shepherd who lays His life down for the sheep. That is the good news of the Gospel. Jesus isn’t like a hired hand who has no stake in whether we live or die. Jesus is our creator. He cares about what happens to us and He laid His life down to purchase us back for Himself. Jesus laid down His life so that He might take it up again. Through His death and resurrection He has made the way for us to have abundant life in His truth. He did this not just for Jews but for Gentiles also. The truth of the Gospel is free for all people for all time. Rich or poor, male or female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile. The Gospel is available to all people through Jesus.

John 10:16–18 ESV

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. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Gentiles were the other fold that God brought into the fold of the Jews. Romans 11 talks about how God has grafted the Gentiles into the family tree of Abraham. He has made us one family, one body under Christ the head. We are His church. God’s people. And if we are God’s people we hear and know His voice.

John 10:19–21 ESV

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

The truth is divisive. Many have rejected and many will reject Jesus. Truth is true whether you believe it or not. Jesus will be Jesus whether you believe it or not. So how will you respond? You are accountable for the truth you have heard tonight. What will you do with it?

Do you hear and know the voice of Jesus?

How can you grow in intimacy with Jesus and better understand His truth in your life?

Are there behaviors, habits, or ideologies in your life that are contrary to the truth of God? How can you surrender those things tonight?

How can you be bold and faithful to speak the truth of God to your friends and peers?