Jesus our Good Shepherd

Nau Mai Haere Mai

Ngā mihi ki te Atua, te Matua i te rangi,

Te Runga Rawa

Te kaihanga o ngā mea katoa

Kia whakapai tōna ingoa, ake tonu ake!

Salutations to God our Father in Heaven

Him on High

The Creator of all things,

Blessed be his name forever and ever!

Pepeha

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko te Rocky Mountains te Maunga

Ko te Moana nui a kiwa, te Moana

No Kanara / Canada ahau

Ko Krystal toku hoa wahine

Ko Michaela te matamua

Ko Cypress te potiki o te whanau

Ko John/Hone toku ingoa

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou

Tēnā koutou katoa

Mālō le soifua!

Opening Story

Thanks for having me here!

Nu asked me to come again and bring the Word as he is up in Auckland.

I have celebrated a milestone. In June, it has been 30 years of ministry. From missionary, to camp staff to youth pastor to senior pastoring here in NZ, USa and my home country of Canada.

My heart, my get up and go is Pastoral care of the Body. I love to minister one on one with people. The topic I feel we need to dive into is of this same vein. How our triune (trinity) Father, Son and Spirit cares for us today. Let’s look at todays workbench scripture…

Scripture

John 10:1–15 (NIV)

1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Content + Context = MEANING

Over these decades of preaching and coaching new ministers, I have used this equation. The original Content is what the words in the original language and their verb tense etc + the original audience, the Context the scripture comes from will ultimately yield to us the best Interpretation of the Scripture for our own application.

Exegesis

John 10:1–2 “1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.”

The Pharaisess are coming out of a previous intercation about the validity of another man’s healing by Jesus. Jesus continues this conversation with these religious teachers in chapter 10 by using a parable or what we would call a metaphor.

Jesus uses this parable of the Good Shepherd and sheep as everyone in the land, contextually, would understand farming practices and the use of shepherds.

Show Map slide

This Judaean/ Palestinain plateau was rough and stony, stretching from Hebron in the south all the way to Bethel which is modern day: Beitein a village in Palestine.

The area was arid and dry and vegetation as you can see from the map, it can be scarce. Sheep were prone to wandering away and getting lost.

It is safe say that we understand that the “sheep” is us. Our life can be like arid dry wildernesses and it can be a search just to find food. We, just life sheep, can veer off the path and wander away. We can find ourselves lost.

Who were the Shepherds?

Most of the time these men were of low status as they had come into the job later in their life, such as the shepherds of Advent. They were outcasts and low in status in their village.

They were used to sleeping out in the rough outside. Very much like the western cowboys herding their cattle across hundreds of miles.

These Shepherds were never really “off duty”, they were always vigilant and situationally aware of their surroundings and where their sheep were located.

The Shepherd was always looking and searching for the wandering, wayward lost sheep straying away from the flock and going solo.

When wolves or thieves would attack, the Shepherd would spring to defence and attack and protect the flock.

Once the vegetation was done and the flock was ready to move, the shepherd would return to a village where they would have communal high walled sheepfolds that they could deposit the sheep for safe and secure holding.

This wouldn’t deter robbers. They would form a pair and as one thief would stand guard at the wall, the other robber would jump over, slit the throats of the sheep they wanted and haul them over the wall to the awaiting partner in crime.

My Story

I was a pastor in town and I resigned in 2024 and was not ready to take on another church so I needed some time to heal. I applied for Corrections and this past year has been so restorative for me as this job has been one of the most challenging ministries I have ever engaged with.

As a corrections officer, we have multiple units at the prison. I have been given a “home unit”.

From time to time, I have to work for 12 hours in a unit that is not my own. I come in and I really don’t know the guys and staff. I know as every staff knows the basic operational requirements of a unit but there are other base practices and other “unit rules” that I don’t know.

Many times I say: “I’m just a tourist for the day!” It’s not that I don’t care, it just isn’t my home unit.

In contrast, my unit is different. I am with these guys 80 hours a fortnight. I work alongside a fantastic team of corrections officers in a close to 60 person unit with double bunks of 30.

From the moment, I arrive into the unit, in some cases a prisoner announces my arrival into the compound as a way to warn other prisoners that a CO is in the compound.

At this point, my long laggers will come up and say hey and some of the new guys that are short stayers will eventually come up and ask questions about Prison and what to expect.

They have recognised my voice over the PA system as I have an American (51st state jokes) accent.

John 10:2–6 “2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.”

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

He is our shepherd! Our Voice to listen for!

We are the sheep of his pasture. We wander away and frequently get lost.

Jesus speaks all the time! We need to recognise his voice.

One major issue for us is that we don’t spend enough time knowing the true Voice as we sometimes get spun around by listening to tantalising voices of false shepherds peddling skewed and distorted truth.

Law Enforcement knowing the Difference

In Canada, our RCMP and local police fraud teams don’t spend hours learning on what a counterfeit currency looks like… they spend dedicated time learning on what the true currency is.

the way it looks, its size, its weight, the special holographic indicators, the ink used and other special markings that make the currency unique and true.

For us the first point of connection to the true voice of the Good Shepherd being Jesus is the Word of God. Knowing what Scripture says. Understanding Content+Context=MEANING can really help us discern what is the true word from a counterfeit voice.

For us NOW, it is the Holy Spirit! thru Conviction and Confirmation, we can stop our wandering away and listening to voices that are false and come back to the simple Red-letters of Christ

Any other voice is a stranger’s voice.

This stranger voice is like that of a Wolf or Thief.

They speak and lure you away from the flock only to single you out and devour you.

Attacking you when you are alone and unprepared.

Who and What are these Wolves? This pack of wolves that stalk and hunt you in your night? They seek to take from you. They seek to kill and destroy life!

These intruders/predators are not always in physical form but they can come in the form of spiritual, mental and emotional attacks. They try to hinder us, make us stumble and leave us paralysed and not able to listen to the Good Shepherd as we are so far away (at least we think we are far, when in reality we are ever so close to Christ!).

These Wolves, these Thieves

Past sinful practices/incidents such as substance abuses, sexual abuse or pornography.

these incidents could also been traumas that have been done to you or you have done to others.

Past incidents of aggression, revenge and violence.

Past incidents of poor judgement that have been shameful and that you deeply regret.

excessive gambling losses

lying for profit or gain

lustful or sexual activities

These either you have done or you are a survivor of these acts in your relationships and family.

There are other wolves, other robbers that have violated your space and peace and have taken, killed and destroyed parts of your life.

Here you are today. No mistakes you are here! God has you here either in person or listening online. Your shepherd is calling.

Ministry time now or later

John 10:7–10 “7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Sheepfolds like in the village had tall stone walls with a fortified door to keep the sheep safe.

In some cases, if the shepherd could not come into a village and the weather was poor, the Shepherd would construct a sheepfold where the flock was. The walls were made of rocks but in the night, the shepherd would be the human, flesh door for the sheep to come in and out of. He would lie down in the opening and sleep so that he would always know where all the sheep were sleeping.

In the Bible, Sheep and Shepherds are used throughout. This visual that Jesus the Good Shepherd becomes this pathway for us to come in and out of stands in the New Testament.

Hebrews 10:19–20 “19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,”

Ephesians 2:18 “18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

We can come in and go out. We have a life that experiences hardship and suffering but it is one of relationship with God. This 2 way intimacy we have with the Father is thru Jesus as the in and out pathway. This is safe and always secure.

“Once a man discovers, through Jesus Christ, what God is like, a new sense of safety and of security enters into life. If life is known to be in the hands of a God like that, the worries and fears are gone.” William Barclay

John 10:10 “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

We sometimes think that the “thief” is Satan. Jesus is also referring to those religious, pious false teachers saying “follow me”. These wolves in sheep clothing have tantalising words that our itching ears want to hear.

2 Timothy 4:3 “3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

Ghana

Last year I was in Ghana. The country is predominantly “Christian”. I say this in quotes as there are so many pastors and churches are only after Fame, Vanity, Prestige and of course Money!

This is what Jesus is warning us in this passage. There are external threats that we have discussed earlier but there are internal ones. These false shepherds that are entrusted God’s flock are doing more harm than good. They have the wrong motive and the flock eventually and ultimately falters and scatters.

Zōē

Life! the ancient Greek here is zōē! Words that associate here are: Real, Genuine, Active, Vigorous in our devotion to God!

Perissos

Abundantly - Greek word perissos which renders to Superior, Extraordinary, Surpassing and Uncommon!

God’s promise to us: To have a life, a real genuine active devoted life for God that is uncommon, extraordinary surpassing in every way - the upgrade!

All the other thieves and wolves that seek your demise, don’t care about your zōē, your life. They only want it for themselves! They steal what they can’t possess. Be restored and healed today!

John 10:11–13 “11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

This section connects us to a series of contrasts. Good versus Evil, Faithful versus Unfaithful

David was a born Shepherd. He knew the value of sheep and he grew up tending the flock. 10,000 hours to master the sling and other shepherding skills. It is what he was and his identity. He knew the cost if her lost a single one.

When the bear, lion or wolf came to eat one of his sheep, he did not run away and leave the sheep to their perish. He grabbed some stones and he fought back to protect his flock, his provision from God for his family.

Like mentioned in the beginning, scholars contrast the advent shepherds met by the angelic host announcing Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, these men were most likely hired on later in their lives and they just abandoned the flock and travelled to Bethlehem to seek out this Saviour of the World.

Jesus was born to be a Shepherd. When there are enemies, he will sacrifice himself for his flock which he did at the Cross.

Romans 5:8–10 “8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

1 John 2:2 “2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Lastly, we end with the last of these verses for today:

John 10:14 “14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—”

Bring up the band

Let this statement sink in for us this morning.

Maybe this is the first time you have come to church or maybe it’s been a year or more. Maybe you don’t even believe in any of this Jesus stuff, and that’s okay!

Here’s what Jesus is saying to you:

I know you

I know who you are

I know what you are struggling with

I know what has been stolen of yours

I know the pack of wolves that hunt you in the night of your soul.

I am calling you to an uncommon and extraordinary life in me. Come in and out thru me. I have called you, hear my voice and live!

Tofuā Soifua

PRAY -ministry time