Jesus: The Good Shepherd
The Gospel By John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsJesus declares that He alone is the true Gate and the Good Shepherd, calling His sheep by name, leading them in safety, and giving them abundant life. He warns that false leaders come to steal and destroy, but His voice brings salvation, protection, and unity under one Shepherd.
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, leads and provides for us.
Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, leads and provides for us.
INTRO: Today we are going to talk about a shepherd and his sheep. Not just any old shepherd, but, thee shepherd. Jesus the Christ. One of the greatest portrayals of Jesus, is the depiction of Him as the Shepherd.
This is fitting, because Jesus will contrast Himself as the true shepherd who offers protection, guidance and abundant life. He describes Himself as the door.
Jesus presents Himself as the One who gives salvation, the One who offers access to heaven. So, Jesus is the True Shepherd who guards His sheep, the Good Shepherd who gives His life for them, and the Doorway to heaven for the sheep who know Him and are known by Him.
SHEEP KNOW THE SHEPHERD’S VOICE
The Parable of the Sheepfold
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
A sheepfold is an enclosure or pen for sheep, it’s a protected area where sheep are gathered for safety, especially at night.
The sheepfold represents a place of protection and belonging for God’s people.
The gate/door is the legitimate entrance, Jesus uses this to teach that He is the only true way of salvation and security (John 10:7–9).
The shepherd is the rightful caretaker who knows the sheep, calls them, and leads them (John 10:3–4).
Those who climb in another way symbolize false teachers or spiritual impostors who try to gain access without God’s authority (John 10:1).
Spiritually, it is a vivid illustration of Christ’s protection, leadership, and the true way into God’s saving care.
Jesus is the Door
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear 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 does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus say’s, I AM the door: There were many who came before Him pretending to be good shepherds. But, He says, they are thieves and robbers who come in among the flock. He was talking about the false shepherds of Israel, the Pharisees who did not love the people, and were unwilling to sacrifice for them.
These are those false shepherds, false teachers, preachers fake men and women calling themselves followers of Christ. What they were really doing was leading Israel astray from the true knowledge of the Messiah, pushing a works based religion that could not then and will not now or ever lead to salvation.
That’s why the scriptures say, my sheep know my voice, and will follow know other. Great example is at the tomb of Lazarus, “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
The statement “I am the door,”points to His unique, divine identity and purpose. He is “the door,” not “a door.” Jesus is not only our Shepherd who leads us into the “sheepfold,” but He is the only door by which we may enter and be saved (John 10:9). Jesus is the only means we have of receiving eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.(John 3:16). There is no other way.
JESUS SACRIFICES HIMSELF FOR HIS SHEEP
Jesus is not a hired hand.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
Jesus gave His life on the cross as “the Good Shepherd” for his own. He who would save others, though He had the power, did not choose to save Himself. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Through His willing sacrifice, the Lord made salvation possible for all who come to Him in faith. In proclaiming that He is the Good Shepherd, Jesus speaks of “laying down” His life for His sheep (John 10:15, 17–18).
Jesus’ death was divinely appointed. It is only through Him that we receive salvation. “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own” (John 10:14).Jesus makes it clear that it wasn’t just for the Jews that he laid down His life, but also for the “other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Jesus is the Good Shepherd over all, both Jew and Gentile, who come to believe in Him (John 3:16).
Authority Over Life and Death
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus said, I lay down my life, that I might take it again. Jesus was speaking to His resurrection. Jesus had the right, and the power to sacrifice His life and to restore it.
THE SHEPHERS KNOWS HIS SHEEP
The WORD is True
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
In asking the question, it was not their intention to really have a relationship with Jesus, as the Messiah, but rather another attempt to trap Him, to find something they could use against Him. This is why he responded like he did; “I told you, and you do not believe:
It’s a choice, why was it that they persisted in their failure to recognize Him? Jesus said, “Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.”
So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am]. 26 But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep. (Amplified Bible)
Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork”These words are in the present tense. That is, the heavens “are declaring,” and the sky “is proclaiming” the creative work of God. It’s a continual display. What we see in nature is meant to constantly show us that God exists and tell us how amazing a Creator He truly is.
His Grasp Is Firm
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
These last few verses offer a promise and a warning:
thoses who do not believe, except Jesus as Lord and Savior, will become spiritually blind and deaf
God will not recognize them as His sheep
Those that commit themselves to the ways, words and will of Jesus:
blessings in this life and the life to come
Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
