The Good Shepherd: John 10:11-21

Review

Jesus is speaking to the pharisees after healing the blind man. He heals the blind man for what purpose? So that his works might be displayed through him. It is for God’s glory that the blind man is first blind and then secondly healed.

This is why bad things happen in the world because of sin but for God’s glory. That is how powerful God is that he is able to use evil even for his own purpose and glory.

The blind man is interrogated, the pharisees do not believe because they are spiritually blind. Jesus seeks out the healed blind man and reveals himself to him thus causing the healed blind man to put his belief in Jesus as the Messiah promised in the OT.

We examined that the unbelief of the pharisees is characterized by three things: Bias, blindness, and hostility.

Belief was characterized by Jesus seeking, revealing, and us responding in belief.

Chapter 10 pictures Christ’ people as a flock of sheep who respond only to the voice of their shepherd - Jesus.

Jesus is pictured as a gate to the sheepfold- the only way into heaven is by Jesus and no other

Anyone who preaches a gospel apart from Jesus is likened to a thief and robber - intent only on your destruction, and destined for punishment as justly deserved according to the law.

Application: Do not be deceived by robbers and thieves who seek to turn you away from Christ for the sake of their own conscience. They will try to undermine and erase God in order to erase his law thereby justifying their lifestyle. Do not fall for such a lie that will lead to your spiritual death.

Rather, listen to the voice of Jesus and follow him only for the eternal life he offers and the tranquil peace that comes with it.

John 10:1–18 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. 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. 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. 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.”

1. Jesus lays down his life for the sheep

John 10:11–13 “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.”

A good shepherd and dumb sheep

What is a good shepherd?

Protects

provides

leads

cares

loves

sacrifices

listens

nurtures

Jesus does all these things and more: He dies for the sheep.

Contemplate sheep for a moment. Sheep are not worth dying for. They are dumb, stupid, and of no significant value.

We are like sheep. We are not worth the life of God almighty. We are not worthless, but we are not of that much value. Do not let someone tell you that you are of no value, nor think to yourself that you are worthless. You are made in the image of God, and you have an eternal soul that will exist forever.

You have value, but we are like sheep in comparison to God. Sheep are simple, dumb, prone to making the same mistake over and over again, stubborn, dumb smelly, helpless, really dumb.

We are not smart compared to God. He made the world, we barely understand it. We are unable to save ourselves, we are prone to sin, we are likely to sin in the same ways repeatedly.

Remember that God is repulsed by sin. He hates it, and he cannot tolerate it in his presence hence why no sin is allowed into heaven.

And yet he still dies for us even though we are unworthy and even repulsive to God. let that marinate and realize how good God is to die for us.

B. Contrast between the good shepherd and hired hand

A Hired hand flees when real danger arises. He is obligated to stay because he is paid to do so, but he is not likely to stay because the sheep are not his. He is in it for the money - not for the sheep. The pharisees are like the hired hands. They are in the business of shepherding God’s people for their own personal gain. Whether it be power, money, or a way to feed their ego; they are all like the hired hand - people who cannot be trusted to lead God’s people.

Jeremiah 23:1–4 ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.”

Jesus is the owner of the flock, and they are his sheep. He is willing to fight for them to the point of dying. He is foreshadowing his death on the cross for his people. He is going to die for the sheep. It is not a hypothetical scenario that Jesus describes.

What love that Christ would die for sheep! How amazing that you have a God who is willing to die for you. The lesser is supposed to serve the greater, but Jesus has reversed the norm and served the lesser with the ultimate sacrifice.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Imagine jumping in front of a car for your brother or sister. You love them, they love you, and you would do anything to protect them. If you saved your sibling and died doing so, such a story would make the news. People would be inspired by your act of heroism for one of the people whom you loved most in the world. “Wow, he must have really loved his sibling if he was willing to die for them.”

Now contemplate sheep. Sheep are slow, dumb, smelly, gross, frustrating creatures. They make the same mistakes over and over, they never seems to learn, and something as simple as laying on its back can prove fatal since they cannot get up on their own.

That is who we are in the sight of God. We are slow, dumb, smelly, gross, frustrating creatures. How is that?

We sin all the time, we sin in the same way all the time, we keep finding new ways to sin, we are easily and constantly enticed by sin.

Reminder that God hates sin. He does not just dislike it, but he hates it.

2. Jesus Knows His Sheep

A. God has an intimate knowledge of his sheep.

John 10:14–16 “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. 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.”

A good shepherd knows his sheep. He knows how they think, he knows how they behave, he knows what they like, what they dislike. He knows their weaknesses and strengths. He knows their personality. He knows their favorite pasture. He knows their feeding schedule.

Jesus says he knows his own like the Father knows him. The Father and Son have perfect fellowship, and are both deity. They have a beautiful relationship, and Jesus says he knows us in that same way.

He knows each of his people by name. He knows what you like and dislike, he knows your personal struggles, he knows your weakness and your strength, he knows what you can and cannot handle. He knows what you want and do not want. There is no thought that God is unaware of, no emotion that he does not notice.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

B. God’s intimate knowledge of us should encourage us

We have a great God who intimately knows us and loves us.

Matthew 10:30 “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Psalm 139:13–16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

God knows us because he has made us. He knows things about us that we do not even know about ourselves.

God did not make a mistake in how he made you. The personality you have was given to you by God. Your gender was given to you by God.

Teenagers often struggle with identity. They struggle with what other people think, they struggle to make friends, the find the future worrisome and they feel inadequate to tackle the struggles that come with adulthood. God knows you. He knows you better than you know yourself, and if God knows you that well, then you can trust him to know what is best for you.

Do not be deceived into thinking that you were made incorrectly, or that you were a mistake. God makes no mistakes, and he didn’t make a mistake with any of you. Your only flaw is your sin nature. That is what you should be trying to change about yourself. Fight sin, do not fight God’s wonderful design. Even though his plan is sometimes unclear, and we wish things to be different, God is a good father, a good shepherd, who only gives good things to us.

The second flock is a reference to the gentiles. Jesus has sheep that he has not yet called into his flock, but he is going to. We are mostly gentile in here, and we should be very thankful that Jesus saw fit to call some of us into his flock. This is another testament to the goodness of God - that he would not limit salvation to just Jews, but open it up to gentiles as well.

3. Jesus takes his life back up.

John 10:17–21 “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.” 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 Father loves the Son because he is willing to sacrifice for God’s people. Jesus is going to lay down his life, but he is going to do so in order that he might take it back up - a clear reference to the resurrection.

Jesus is not killed because of man’s will, but because of God’s will. His life was not taken, but given up voluntarily

Why do you think this is important?

Jesus dies willingly for us, and he knows he is going to. Jesus knows the cost of keeping his flock safe, and he pays the cost anyways. His death does not catch him by surprise, nor does he find out he has to die late in his ministry. He had always known this was how it was going to happen, and he served and helped the very people who would kill him.

But Jesus does not stay dead, but with God’s permission takes his own life back up.

Jesus is resurrected from the dead

He has God’s authority to do so

He is the one who raises himself.

These things are all done with the Father’s approval. God and Jesus are on the same page and in lock step. There is no surprise here.

The people who listen are divided in their response. Some believe Jesus to be crazy, and others thought there was validity to his statements.

You can react in two ways to Jesus. You either reject him and call him insane, or you choose to believe and follow him. There is no third option. You are either on the train or you are not, because when you stand before God, who or what your faith is in will make all the difference.

Speaking Outline

Review

Question: What is the big question we have been asking the last month?

Question: And why do bad things happen? Two reasons: Because of sin, and so that God is glorified

That is how powerful God is that he is able to use evil even for his own purpose and glory.

The blind man is interrogated, the pharisees do not believe because of three things. Bias, blindness, and hostility.

The healed man believes upon Jesus. What were the three steps? Christ seeks, Christ reveals, we believe.

Chapter 10 pictures Christ’ people as a flock of sheep who respond only to the voice of their shepherd - Jesus.

Jesus is pictured as a gate to the sheepfold- the only way into heaven is by Jesus and no other.

Anyone who preaches a gospel apart from Jesus is likened to a thief and robber - intent only on your destruction, and destined for punishment as justly deserved according to the law.

Negative Application: Do not be deceived by robbers and thieves who seek to turn you away from Christ for the sake of their own conscience. They will try to undermine and erase God in order to erase his law thereby justifying their lifestyle. Do not fall for such a lie that will lead to your spiritual death.

Positive Application: Rather, listen to the voice of Jesus and follow him for the eternal life he offers and the tranquil peace that comes with it.

John 10:1–10 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. 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.

1. Jesus Lays Down His Life for the Sheep

John 10:11–13 “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.”

A. A Good Shepherd and Dumb Sheep

What is a good shepherd?

Protects, provides, leads, cares, loves, sacrifices, listens, nurtures

What are sheep like?

Stinky, gross, dumb, vulnerable, unintelligent, make same mistakes, able to die like a bug on its’ back

Jesus is like the good shepherd. He does these things for us. He is a wonderful shepherd, and we are lucky to have him.

We are like sheep - inferior in every way to the shepherd. We are unworthy of the shepherd sacrificing his life for us. But he does so anyways because he is the good shepherd. There is no other shepherd like him.

Are sheep worthless? No. Jesus would not die for something that was worthless

We are like sheep. We are not worth the life of God almighty, but we are not worthless. Do not let someone tell you that you are of no value, nor think to yourself that you are worthless. You are made in the image of God, and you have an eternal soul that will exist forever.

This is why Christianity puts a high value on life. This is why murder is wrong, this is why abortion is wrong. This is why the inhumane mistreatment of other people is wrong.

We don’t deserve Christ’s death on our behalf, and yet we have freely received it.

B. Contrast Between the Good shepherd and the Hired Hand

Hired hand flees at the sight of danger because he is in it for the money, power, or ego. The shepherd does not flee, but dies for his sheep if he must

The pharisees are like the hired hand - obligated to guard and protect God’s people, but untrustworthy and motivated by selfish gain.

Jeremiah 23:1–4 ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.”

Jesus is the good shepherd - the one who will never abandon his sheep or leave them in their moment of struggle. He is the opposite of the hired hand - dependable, trustworthy, and full of integrity.

Imagine jumping in front of a car for your brother or sister. You love them, they love you, and you would do anything to protect them. If you saved your sibling and died doing so, such a story would make the news. People would be inspired by your act of heroism for one of the people whom you loved most in the world. “Wow, he must have really loved his sibling if he was willing to die for them.”

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Take a moment to realize how awesome and amazing Jesus is that he would die for you, and contemplate how much he loves you. You were his enemy when he died for you, and he still did it. Would you die for your enemy?

2. Jesus Knows His Sheep

A. Jesus Knows You Well

John 10:14–16 “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.”

A good shepherd knows his sheep. He knows how they think, he knows how they behave, he knows what they like, what they dislike. He knows their weaknesses and strengths. He knows their personality. He knows their favorite pasture. He knows their feeding schedule.

Jesus says he knows his own like the Father knows him. The Father and Son have perfect fellowship, and are both deity. They have a beautiful relationship, and Jesus says he knows us in that same way.

He knows each of his people by name. He knows what you like and dislike, he knows your personal struggles, he knows your weakness and your strength, he knows what you can and cannot handle. He knows what you want and do not want. There is no thought that God is unaware of, no emotion that he does not notice.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

God knows you well enough to know what sin you can and cannot resist. He never allows you to face something you cannot handle with his help.

B. Jesus’ Knowledge of You Should Encourage You

We have a great God who intimately knows us and loves us.

Matthew 10:30 “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Psalm 139:13–16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

God knows us because he has made us. He knows things about us that we do not even know about ourselves.

God did not make a mistake in how he made you. Your personality and gender were given by God.

Teenagers struggle with: friendships, insecurities, expectations, change, the future. God knows all your troubles and knows what you can and cannot handle.

God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers

You are not a mistake, and neither is your gender, personality, the size of your nose. God is a good shepherd who knows his sheep intimately, loves them, and protects them.

Your only flaw is your sin nature which we will be delivered from once we are united with Christ.

The second flock is a reference to the gentiles. Jesus has sheep that he has not yet called into his flock, but is going to. This is another testament to the goodness of God - that he would not limit salvation to just Jews, but open it up to gentiles as well.

3. Jesus Takes His Life Back Up

John 10:17–21 “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?””

A. Jesus dies willingly

The Father loves the Son because he is willing to sacrifice for his people. Jesus is going to lay down his life, but he is going to do so in order that he might take it back up - a clear reference to the resurrection.

Jesus is not killed because of man’s will, but because of God’s will. His life was not taken, but given up voluntarily

Why do you think this is important?

Jesus dies willingly for us, and he knows he is going to. Jesus knows the cost of keeping his flock safe, and he pays the cost anyways. His death does not catch him by surprise, nor does he find out he has to die late in his ministry. He had always known this was how it was going to happen, and he served and helped the very people who would kill him.

But Jesus does not stay dead, but with God’s permission takes his own life back up.

Jesus is resurrected from the dead

He has God’s authority to do so

He is the one who raises himself.

B. Application

So what? Why does it matter that Jesus dies and is able to come back from the dead?

These things are all done with the Father’s approval. God and Jesus are on the same page and in lock step. There is no surprise here. Jesus is in perfect fellowship with God, and so God raises him from the dead as his stamp of approval upon his Son. And so Jesus conquers death.

We serve a living savior. Jesus is not dead. He is returning. That should give us hope.

The people who listen are divided in their response. Some believe Jesus to be crazy, and others thought there was validity to his statements.

You can react in two ways to Jesus. You either reject him and call him insane, or you choose to believe and follow him. There is no third option. You are either on the train or you are not, because when you stand before God, who or what your faith is in will make all the difference.

Put your faith in Jesus. He is like a good shepherd.

Psalm 23 “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

This is the God we serve. This is the God offering salvation to you. Come to Jesus.