Jesus Our Shepherd
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Counselors asking questions to help us as we navigate choices in life and overcome obstacles to our goals.
CONNECTION
“Truly, truly, I say to you . . .”
TAKE HOME
Recognizing Jesus as my shepherd and acknowledging the affectionate nature of his relationship with me enables me to find peace in God’s constant care and provision for my needs.
MESSAGE FOCUS
Understand who Jesus is
Our responsibility
Heed the warnings about the thief
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Scripture Introduction
Leads You vv. 1-6
Leads You vv. 1-6
ILLUSTRATION
Judgmental language & legal case (deserves) vs. expressing need,
“I’m feeling tired, and want some time to myself”
Jesus’s Approach
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Sheepfold in villages protected by a guardian.
Jesus came as proclaimed by the law and prophets.
Law: Points to Jesus (e.g., sacrifices)
Prophets: Jesus fulfills over 300 prophecies.
To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Hear his voice
To accept as true
Leads them
Knows the setting (wellbeing of the sheep is dependent on the shepherds knowledge of the pasture)
Encounters the problems first
When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Follow Him
To accept as true and obey.
Know his voice
The idea is familiarity.
Thief’s Approach
“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.
The Pharisees threw the beggar out of the synagogue (Jn 9), but Jesus led him into the flock of God
They don’t lead so they must steal
A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Jeremiah 23:16 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.”
Jesus’ day- Jewish authorities
Paul’s day- False teachers
Heresy, proud, self-seeking
*APPLICATION
The voices and demands that seem to come out of no where. They come from beyond the boundaries (“climb in by another way”) of what should be considered, Jam 3:17 (“pure”) and Jesus knows you (“open to reason”). Be careful of advice from someone who doesn’t know your story Jn 10: 3 (“calls his own sheep by name”), that includes influencers and conference speakers. Lastly, the Shepherd “goes before them”, Jn 10:4. Has this influence done the work themselves and does it continue to work? For example, there are many influencers who show the finished product, but have yet to see if it works for the long haul.
*IMPLEMENTATION
How do we know His voice-
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Protects You vv. 7-13, 17-18
Protects You vv. 7-13, 17-18
Crucial question with couples in conflict, “How important am I to you? (You’re defending that thing that hurts me so much).
Jesus’s Approach
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
The shepherd would lay across the opening to become the door.
Jesus displayed the Father.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Pasture
It meant that he shall be well supplied
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Eternal & daily life
More than what one would expect; more than enough
Not essential to life, but more (e.g., fullness of joy; perfect peace; more than conquerors)
Lays Down His Life v.11
Lays Down His Life v.11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The assumption is that the sheep are in mortal danger; that in their defence the shepherd must lose his life
Takes His Life Back Up Again v.17
Takes His Life Back Up Again v.17
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.”
He did not die as a martyr
He had power to preserve his life,
Knew of his mission (death)
Often escaping from the Pharisees
Voluntarily went to Jerusalem,
Judas to betray him
Pilate could have no power except it were given him by his Father
Shows His divinity. A dead man has no power to raise himself. There is a nature beyond His humanity.
Thief’s Approach
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.
John 10:13 “He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
The occasion for this lesson was the excommunication of the beggar from the synagogue (John 9:34). The false shepherds did not care for this man; instead, they mistreated him and threw him out. But Jesus, the Shepherd, came to him and took him in (John 9:35–38).1
Think of anyone who has wrong motives. Who didn’t care for you, but only for themselves. This could be a bad pastor, parent, boss, manager, friend, etc.
*APPLICATION
What is the qualification to obtain all of this? Is it to be a brilliant sheep, a beautiful sheep, or an energetic sheep? No. It is just to be a sheep that follows the shepherd wherever he leads, knowing that the shepherd knows what is best for the sheep. -R. Kent Hughes
*IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation
Knows You vv. 14-16
Knows You vv. 14-16
Clinician's assessments & questions
Jesus’s Approach
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
An affectionate relationship (not just intellectual)
A faithful shepherd will consider the needs, dangers, character, personal interest as he tends the flock.
*APPLICATION
Application
*IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation
Summary
Jesus, my shepherd, lovingly guides, protects, and knows me. He willingly sacrificed his life for me and triumphed over death by rising from the grave.
Reflection
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