The Life-Giving Shepherd

Introduction

Did you know that their is a story behind that famous alter call hymn “No turning back” also known as, “ I have decided to follow Jesus.” Let me tell it to you. About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales. As a result of this, many missionaries came to north-east India to spread the Gospel. The region known as Assam was comprised of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and aggressive head-hunters

Into these hostile and aggressive communities, came a group of missionaries from the American Baptist Missions spreading the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity.

Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man said:

“I have decided to follow Jesus.”

After this, his children and wives are killed, followed shortly by Him, who said, “Though none go with me, I still will follow.”

This is hard situation that has happened to many throughout time, thankful here today, it is very unlikely we will ever have to make this kind of sacrifice, but it shows a truth that Believers will follow The Life-Giving Shepherd over anyone and anything else. Today, this families faith is immortalized in that classic hymn that is sung in churches all over the world on Sunday mornings.

Prayer

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. I ask these things for your glory and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

Context

In last week’s text, we saw one of Jesus’ last few miracles left before His death on the cross in The Gospel of John. I am speaking of course, when He healed a man that was born blind from his blindness. This happened in the Holy City of Jerusalem, while He and his disciples were in town to observe the feast of dedication, which today is called Hannukah. You see, once again, the Jews and their leaders found a reason to be angry with Jesus and tried to take their wrath and vengeance out on anyone who could be associated with him. In this case, they took offence at how Jesus healed this man, on the Sabbath day. So, they tried to question the man who was healed multiple times, and even tried to use intimidation against the man’s parents to get the information that they wanted.

In the end, the leaders would kick the man out of the local synagogue, the local house/place of worship and religious education. So, in a sense, this man was being cut off from His people and heritage, simply because He became associated with Jesus by his healing and they did not get the answers they wanted out of him in their aggressive questioning. After this though, Jesus would visit the man, and share with Him that He was the long awaited messiah, to which the healed man replied, "I believe, Lord!”and appropriately worshiped Him. Some of the Pharisees overheard and saw this exchange between them, and accusingly questioned Jesus, this is where we begin today’s text.

From this text, Jesus is very clear about what He is talking about. If I were to sum up quickly the lesson He had for them and for us today it would be this, Believers will follow The Life-Giving Shepherd over anyone and anything else. This statement, which i’m sure we all affirm, is easy to say, but harder to act and play out. It requires active and intentional choices by us. It requires us not holding onto sin and Satan's lies, and instead following the Life-Giving Shepherd, wherever His steps lead us. It means thinking more about Him and His will more and more, and about us and our will less and less. So the, let’s jump in and see what that wonderful shepherd is saying and apply the truths and lessons to our lives. So, From the text, I want you to see and understand these truths given to us from Jesus, The Life-Giving Shepherd.

Message

The first truth to see and understand is that: Jesus is the good shepherd 1-21

10 “Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in 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 it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.7 Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 “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. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.” 19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and he’s crazy. Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Many of you will probably remember that we went through much of this text together a little before Christmas, so I will keep my exposition brief here to not repeat myself too much. But, here is a short explanation: Jesus taught them how the religious leaders in His day were leading the people astray and away from God, and indeed there were many examples of this in their people’s history. He explains to them that the person who comes in the right and true way from God is welcomed and is not a thief and robber as they are. Then He goes on to explain that He is a good shepherd, a good watcher of the flock that God has. Sheep in and of themselves and helpless and cannot defend themselves, are liable to die either from their own lack of judgement or from predators, so they need protection. Jesus tells them, as I am God, and they are mine, I will go to any lengths necessary to protect them. So, I will lay my life down for them, unlike a false teacher from God. The Father has authorized me to lay down my life for you, and so I will; that I may be raised up again. From my sacrificial love, my sheep love me, trust me, and follow me, and no others. The Jews heard this, many thought that He was crazy and needed to be rejected, but yet some others thought (Huh, that seems right, He’s onto something there), these it appears, were some that could be among God’s flock, of whom there are many more out in the world.

I read a story about a young minister one time, who was teaching a story about Psalm 23 to a group of children, you know the one, “The Lord is my Shepherd….”. One of the church leaders came in to drop his kids off and the minister ran to him in a hurry, saying there was a family emergency, he had to go, and asked if the leader could cover for him. Just as the dad was getting ready to get started, the minister came in, and was able to get back to the story just in time. During the story, he tried to draw a comparison to help the children understand, but he didn’t realize they were smarter than he supposed. In it, he tried to explain to them that they were like the sheep who needed a shepherd to guide, teach, and protect them. So then, he asked them who the shepherd in the room was (meaning for them to say him). The children smartly answered, Jesus is the shepherd. With a surprised face, the young minister asked, “Well then, what does that make me?” Very quickly, one of the students said, “Well, Jesus is the shepherd, so I guess that makes you one of Jesus’ sheep-dogs!”

What a great and humbling perspective those kids have! Jesus is the chief and important shepherd, and the pastor/elder/overseers/bishops that are in our local churches are Jesus’ undershepherds. Yes, Jesus is the good shepherd. The one that has not only said He will lay down His life for us, indeed, He has already done so for each and every person who has accepted His free offer of forgiveness of sin. So then, Believers will follow The Life-Giving Shepherd over anyone and anything else. Reject anyone or anything in your life that has authority over it more than Jesus. Put those things, if they are good, in their correct place. Push them far away if they or it is bad. So then, each and everyone needs to ask ourselves, and check ourselves often, is there something or someone that I follow more than the life-giving shepherd, Jesus? Be honest with yourself, leave no stone unturned, and even be prepared to have it flip your world and how you see it upside down, because Jesus is the true and good and life-giving shepherd who can protect you. That other person or thing cannot.

The next truth to see and understand is that: Jesus’ flock follows Him 22-30

22 Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?[c] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”[d]25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.[e] 27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

So, the festival we now call Hannukah took place, which happens very near our and around our Christmas Holiday we celebrate. One day Jesus was surrounded by the colonnade, a sort of large covered porch of the temple, by a group of Jews seeking to trap Him. They asked Him, tell us simply and plainly, are you the messiah? Jesus in essence tells them, look what i’ve done in the Father’s name, look what has been done, and listen to what I have been saying about myself. I’ve already told you! But you didn’t listen, you didn’t listen because you aren’t called. You didn’t listen because you are not one of the sheep that the Father has given me, so then, you don’t listen to my voice. You reject it and hear what you want to hear. To each of my sheep, to each member of my flock, I give the maternal life, they will know the eternal separation from God. My flock are forever mine as the Father gave them to me, and I and the Father are one. We are the same, we are of one accord and on one mission in complete agreement.

I once heard a story on a sermon recording by the Pastor Alistar Begg, you have probably heard some of his messages if you listen to the local Christian/Missionary radio channel, WNKJ. In this story, he remembers a time where he went back to his home country of Scotland. There he visited an old type of farm town and saw a large flock of sheep being led through the town. He thought it was remarkable how easily they moved. You see, their shepherd was walking in front of them, and they trustingly followed him, because they knew him, loved him, and they knew him and loved back. Later that day, he saw another herd of sheep being moved through, but with great difficulty, they weren’t following a person, instead they were being driven down the street. As, behind the herd was a man with two large sticks in his hand, driving and pushing them along to where they were going. You see, they didn’t trust or know this man, they wouldn’t wilfully follow him, as he was their butcher.

Let me say this plainly. Believer, Jesus is the shepherd, Satan is butcher. Which would you rather follow? The one that is going to keep, care, and protect you, or the one that is going to use you for everything you can offer to his own advantage? Live or die, spiritual life, or spiritual death. Which would you rather, there is no in between. It’s clear which to do, Believers will follow The Life-Giving Shepherd over anyone and anything else. So then, followers of Jesus, do you ever find yourself being a member of a flock who eyes the flock of the butcher (Satan) and things (huh, well that seems nice, I think i’d rather go there. Let me tell you, every time you choose sin, satan, evil, rebellion against God, that is what you are doing. Every time you lie, that’s what you’re doing. Every time you hold back what is owed to others or steal, that’s what you are doing. Every time you covet something, that is what you are doing. Every time you gossip, that’s what you are doing. Every time you do anything that is clearly outside of God’s will for you, that is what you are doing. So then, stop this foolishness! Remember that Jesus’ flock follows Him. So then, repent of your sin and turn your eyes to Jesus on cross, trust The Gospel is True and that nothing else really matters.

This naturally leads us to

Another truth to see and understand is that: Jesus opposers reject Him 31-42

31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?”33 “We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.”34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law,[f] I said, you are gods?[g] 35 If he called those to whom the word of God came ‘gods’—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God? 37 If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me. 38 But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand[h] that the Father is in me and I in the Father.” 39 Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 40 So he departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. 41 Many came to him and said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

After hearing this clear statement about who He was and is, that’s all they needed. They began picking up stones to kill Him. So then, Jesus asks them, which of the good works you have seen me do in The Father’s name are going to kill me. They replied, not for the good works, but because you make yourself god. Jesus answers with a rebuttal question that needs a little bit of explaining because of the difference in our language and theirs. You see, we only have one word for “God” in our language, and in their language they have several words that mean god/god’s and even proper names for God. The one translated here is yes often referred to as the One God, the God of Jacob and Isaac, the God of their fathers. However, it was also used to describe people of rank power and authority. This word was elohim, which means that, thing/person of rank/power/authority. So Jesus says, doesn’t your law say people (such as the prophets and judges) who are given God’s words are to be treated and respected as one with power and authority, as they come on God’s behalf? If this has clearly happened to me through the good works, then why on earth are you saying that i’m blaspheming? He sent me here, do this work, which I am doing well to His perfect will. So then, don’t just take my word for it, take His. And you should certainly be taking the clear works and wonders I am doing and see them as clear evidence to the truth. At this, they again tried to seize Him to kill Him. After this, he left, and went to the place where John was previously baptized. Here, he found many people who believed every word John said about Him, and believed every word He said about Himself, they saw the works and the words as good enough evidence to follow Jesus.

So then, what is the opposite to believing the truth? Believing a lie. Just as the fish who thought the shiny piece of metal and worm floating around in the water was a good thing for him, so we too can often fall prey to them. Why? Because we really want what the lie has to offer. In this case here is the lie.

I don't believe in God because that would mean there is right and wrong and justice, I don’t want there to be because I do not want to be beholden to that God. I don’t believe that God sent Jesus to earth to die for sins, because accepting so would mean that I am a sinner, and need to repent and submit to Him. This means that I can no longer do whatever I want whenever I want and that there is something out there that is bigger and more important than me. This is a way of thinking that many use to reject God, to reject Jesus’ lordship over our lives. Because, when we admit who Jesus is and that the Father sent Him, it has implications in our lives, and actions of submission that are uncomfortable and hard. So then, you will find many people in your lives, perhaps even people you are extremely close to who reject Jesus, because they want something more than the freedom that God offers. Do not be like believer, accept God’s offer of true freedom.follow The Life-Giving Shepherd over anyone and anything else. Knowing that no lie, no thing, no person can provide for your eternal soul in the way that He can and does.

Conclusion

Beloved, so then, let us each resolve to trust Jesus over anyone and anything with all aspects of our lives. Nothing is off limits, because He left nothing off limits, even up to His own perfect life, for you, for me, for anyone who confesses His name. No longer let the devils lies and deception make your decisions for you. Find the freedom that comes with forgiveness and into the adoption of God’s family, as a well loved son and daughter who loves and delights in seeing the Father’s will done in your own lives.

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.