I Am The Good Shepherd

Key Elements

In John 10:11-18, Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd who willingly lays down His life for His sheep, demonstrating His sacrificial love, intimate relationship with them, and divine authority to take His life up again.

Main Idea for the series: Seven declarations. One Savior. Everything we need.

Main Idea for the message: Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us, loves us, and gave His life for us, we can trust Him completely and follow Him faithfully.

I want my audience to see Jesus as the Good Shepherd who knows them, loves them, and gave His life for them and realize they can trust Him completely and follow Him faithfully.

Sources: Commentaries on Logos

Intro

As I was praying through and working on the message for today, my mind kept being taken back to Christmas. And I specifically began to think about when I was a kid growing up in the church and we used to do what we called Christmas pageants. All the kids dressed up as characters in the Christmas story and we attempted to portray the Christmas story on stage in front of the entire congregation. And, as you can imagine, there were some hilarious moments that happened. Because, as you know, any time you try to get kids to do anything like that something hilariously cute is going to occur. And in that play or pageant, we had children dressed as Joseph and Mary, baby Jesus was usually a doll; we had children dressed as wise men and angels; and there was even an inn keeper thrown in to the mix. But the character that all the boys fought over were the shepherds. I don’t know if it was they got to carry that staff that inevitably someone was going to get whacked over the head with. But all the boys wanted to be shepherds. And I can remember one of my friends, when we were kids, who wanted to be a shepherd, but had to be a wise man and he cried uncontrollably because he wanted to be a shepherd. In fact, I went back this week and looked up some classic shepherd pics from some of these pageants and here they are. See if this takes some of you down memory lane (show shepherd pics).

Now, here’s what’s interesting about this desire to portray the role of a shepherd, even though we might have thought it was cool to be a shepherd, shepherds weren’t highly respected in the first century. Just a little information about shepherds in the first century-they were considered the outcasts of society, the Jewish people actually looked down on them, they had a hard and unglamorous life, they smelled because they hung out with sheep all day and all night, they were exposed to weather and wild animals and thieves who would attempt to steal the sheep and take them to profit off of them. They were poor and because they spent so much time away from the communities, they were considered on the fringe of social and religious life.

So, it’s interesting that this being the reputation of a shepherd in the first century, that Jesus and the writers of Scripture choose the image of a shepherd to describe what God is like. In Psalm 23, how does it open, David says, “The Lord is my shepherd,...” In Ezekiel 34, the prophet portrays God as stepping in personally to shepherd His people because the leaders-the shepherds of Israel-had failed them, scattered them, and fed themselves instead of the flock. God even chooses shepherds, in the story of Christmas, to be the first to hear that Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem. And then we come to John 10, our text today, and Jesus, God in the flesh, proclaims something amazing about Himself, He says, “I Am the Good Shepherd.”

Today, we are continuing our I AM sermon series looking at the seven I AM statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Jesus has proclaimed “I Am the Bread of Life, I Am the Light of the World, I Am the Door,” and today He says “I Am the Good Shepherd.” And this proclamation is directly tied to what we talked about last week. Jesus is the only door to salvation and life and satisfaction and to truly find those things everyone must come to Him in surrender. And once we do, once we walk through the door into the life God has called us to and created us for, now Jesus shows us who it is that we are in relationship with. You see, when Jesus says, “I Am the Good Shepherd,” He is saying “you can trust Me to lead you and guide you and care for you because I am good.” “I am not like the other shepherds who have used you for their advantage, I am the shepherd who loves you, who knows you, and, above all, you can trust Me with your life.”

And this is the central truth that we need to see today: Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us, loves us, and gave His life for us, we can trust Him completely and follow Him faithfully.

Message

Look with me again at John 10:11-18, as we pick where we left off last week. Jesus says, ...

From our text today, we see three reasons why we should follow Jesus the Good Shepherd:

1. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who sacrificed Himself to save those He loves. (vs. 11-13)

Continuing off of what He has said in the previous verses leading up to this, Jesus continues to emphasize what makes Him different from the ones who have taken advantage of the sheep. Previously He has called them “thieves and robbers” and here He uses the contrast of a shepherd and “a hired hand.”

In the first century, the hired hand was typically a laborer with mild experience in shepherding flocks that was brought in for a season or a task. This was a person with no ownership in the flock, therefore, they had no stake in the sheep they were tending. The motivation of the hired hand was to make money. If the sheep were stolen or attacked, this person risked no financial loss because they did not own the sheep and had no relationship with them. A shepherd, on the other hand was the direct opposite of the hired worker. The shepherd typically owned the flock of sheep or had some kind of financial investment in them. This could be a family member, as well, who understood that the flock represented wealth and survival for the family. The shepherd also had a relationship with the sheep and usually spent years with one flock. So, the shepherd wasn’t tending the flock because he was contracted to, he was tending the flock because he had a personal stake in their survival.

Now, remember, Jesus is continuing the conversation from the previous verses where He’s calling out the Jewish religious leaders who have just called for the stoning of a woman caught in adultery and the excommunication of a man from the synagogue who was healed by Jesus. So, in the direct context of what Jesus is saying here, He’s actually still looking at these religious leaders and accusing them of taking advantage of God’s people. Look again at vs. 11-13… He says that they are nothing but hired hands that are posing as shepherds of God’s people but they are really in the position they are in for what they can gain, financially and otherwise. And here’s how you can tell the difference between the shepherd and the hired workers-when danger comes, the hired worker runs because he’s not risking his life for the sheep but the shepherd stands. The shepherd places himself between the wolf and the sheep. Because for the shepherd, no price is too great to pay for the sheep. And if it comes down to it, he will give his life so that the sheep may live. The hired worker’s life matters more to him than the life of the sheep but the shepherd’s life will be sacrificed so that the lives of the flock will be preserved.

And there’s no greater picture of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. When Jesus stands and proclaims that He is the Good Shepherd, this is what the people immediately heard, that He was willing to sacrifice Himself for the ones He loves. He says, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” That’s willing sacrifice, that’s Jesus doing what needs to be done so that all the world will have an opportunity to be saved. You see, in the Jewish religious system, sheep were sacrificed for the shepherd, sheep were brought to the temple to give their lives for the atonement of the sins of the people. But think about this, Jesus is saying, “I Am the Good Shepherd, now I will sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

I want to take you back to the last part of this first point-Jesus is the Good Shepherd who sacrificed Himself to save those He loves. And who are those He loves? It’s you and me and every human being that has lived, is alive, and will live on this planet. If you’re alive and breathing, you fall into the category of those Jesus loves. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for you. And if you’ve ever questioned your value, if you’re wondering right now if your life means anything to anybody, if that thought ever enters your mind, look to the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus is the proof of God’s love for us and the value He places on us. You see, our worth to God isn’t the reason for the cross, the cross is the proof of our worth. That distinction is huge, because it means God’s love for us was never contingent on us being worthy or us doing something to earn value in God’s eyes. Our worth and value to God was settled before we ever took our first breath. We didn’t become valuable and then get rescued by God, we were rescued by God sending His Son for us and in that rescue, God says you’re valuable, I love you.

And some of us, if not all of us, need to hear that today. The cross of Jesus Christ is God’s declaration the He loves us. And maybe you’re in a place in your life where you don’t feel valuable or loved-look to the cross of Jesus Christ. Maybe you’re a Christ follower but you’re prayers feel unanswered-look to the cross. The Good Shepherd demonstrated His love for us when He gave His life for us and if He was willing to give Himself to save us, then we can trust Him with our lives because He is a Savior worth following.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who sacrificed Himself for us, and that leads us to our second reason we should follow Jesus the Good Shepherd...

2. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us personally and seeks an ongoing relationship. (vs. 14-15)

There are different levels of “knowing” people that we reach in relationships. There are those we “know” on a surface level that are just acquaintances. We know their names and their faces but it never really goes beyond the surface. There are people we “know” that we have a work relationship with or we have a relationship with them because we go to school with them. We see them every day and we know them below the surface but beyond the environment of work or school, we don’t have a deeper connection. Then there are those people we “know” that we let into our lives and we share some of the stuff we are going through. These people are those that we trust to pray for us about certain things because we have a friendship with them that has built a certain level of trust over the years. And then there’s that one person that really knows us. This is the person we trust to the deepest level of our lives. They know everything-the good, the bad, and the ugly. They have seen us at our worst and they have seen us at our best. This is the person that we consider to have the most intimate human relationship with.

And as personal as that human relationship might be, the “knowing” that Jesus speaks of in vs. 14-15 is even deeper than that. Look at what He says here, it’s one of the most beautiful statements in the entire text.…

So, Jesus reiterates the truth of Him being the Good Shepherd. And He frames it in the context of the relationship the shepherd, in the first century, would have with the sheep. It’s a personal relationship. One where the shepherd knows each animal in the flock personally and knows their tendencies, so much so, that he can predict what they are going to do before they do it. He knows which sheep wander off and which sheep are afraid of high places and which sheep are scared of their shadow. He knows the one who is going to get stuck in the ravine and the ones who are the most vulnerable. And this knowledge gives him the best way to take care of the flock as a whole but also as individual animals. But then Jesus takes the relationship to the deepest, most personal level possible. He says, “just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.” This is not acquaintance or just knowledge about someone. Jesus is saying that just as He is one in His relationship with God the Father and they know one another in the deepest way possible, that same relationship is mirrored by those who follow Jesus. There’s a trust and intimacy that exists at a level that no other human relationship possesses. Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus is describing the relationship we can have with Him using the language of the eternal relationship that exists within the Trinity itself-God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That’s hard to wrap our minds around. The God of the universe, the One who created you and me and all people and all things, the One who has known perfect and unbroken communion with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit since before time began, this is the God who looks at wandering, ordinary people like you and me and says “I want to know you like that and I want you to know me like that.” How amazing is that?

You see, the sacrifice we talked about in vs. 11-13 is one that flows out of intimate relationship. Jesus didn’t lay down His life to fulfill some abstract cosmic requirement and then leave us to ourselves, no, He laid down His life on the cross for us because He knows us by name. He laid down His life on the cross for us so that a relationship between us and God would be possible and so that relationship, once we enter into it by surrender, would be ongoing.

Think about this, the God who holds the universe in the palm of His hand created you and He knows you personally. And when sin entered the world and broke that relationship, because He loves us so much, He did what needed to be done and sent Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to pay the ultimate price so that relationship could be possible again. You see, God doesn’t just make a relationship with Him possible, He desires that it be one that we enter into and pursue daily, growing closer and closer to Him. But that takes us pursuing Him because that’s what a relationship is-it’s two people pursuing one another day by day moment by moment to achieve a closeness that is unmatched. That’s why Jesus gives the ultimate example of His relationship with the Father as the model. It’s personal, it’s ongoing, it’s relational. It’s more than I prayed a prayer and walked an aisle and got baptized. Those are all important steps towards a relationship with God but the ongoingness involves something deeper. Jesus is calling us to walk with Him daily, to hear His voice through His Word, to trust Him with every aspect of our lives, and follow Him. Even when the days are hard, and the road is long, and it seems like the difficulties are overwhelming; it’s in those times that we trust the Good Shepherd because He has lead us and guided us in the past and He will continue to lead us and guide us all the days of our lives.

So, the question, I want us to pause and consider is “Do you know the Jesus the Good Shepherd?” Not do you know about Him? DO you know Him? Are you walking with Him? Are you listening to Him? Are you trusting His Word? Because Jesus the Good Shepherd doesn’t just want to rescue you from something, He wants to know you and bring you into an ongoing relationship with Him.

Which leads us to the third reason we should follow Jesus the Good Shepherd...

3. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who accomplishes the mission of the Gospel with absolute authority. (vs. 16-18)

There is a problem that has existed for a long time, it is the problem of exclusiveness. Here’s what I mean by that-it’s a person or a group of people who believe certain privileges belong to them and them alone. And, if we are not careful, that problem of exclusiveness can become a dangerous position in the church and the people of God. It’s when the people of God allow themselves as Christ followers who have been saved and forgiven by the grace of God to begin to view other people as not worthy of that same grace. And they become closed off, they become selective about who comes into the church, they quit celebrating when God saves someone who’s not like them. And it usually comes from forgetting that we all are in need of the grace of God; and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that changed and transformed us can change and transform anyone.

And it’s the exact position that the Jewish people of Jesus’s day had placed themselves. They believed that they were God’s chosen people and that God had no use for any other nation outside of Israel. And Jesus in one declaration turns that thought process upside down. Look at vs. 16...

There it is. The mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in one profound statement. Up to this point, the thought process was that the mission of the Gospel was for the Jewish people only. And initially that’s why Jesus had come. But now, Jesus is saying “I’m expanding the mission. The message of the Gospel will be for all people.” Which was an even more controversial statement that added fuel to the fire of the Jewish religious leaders. But it is what the OT prophets had claimed that “God had given Israel and the Messiah as a light to the nations.” And Jesus would even begin to carry this out in His own ministry as He journeyed through Samaria, which was a forbidden place for the Jewish people because of the racial division in their history. As He encountered the woman at the well there. As He observed the faith of the Roman centurion. As He healed the lepers, of whom the only one in the group to return and give thanks was not Jewish. As He told the story of the good Samaritan as an example of kindness that everyone should copy. On and on, Jesus lives out what He’s proclaiming here that the mission of the Gospel includes everyone. That there will be people from every nation, tribe, and tongue who will hear the Good Shepherd’s voice and become a part of His flock.

And the authority to accomplish this mission is seen in what He says next, look at vs. 17-18...

Don’t miss this because this is crucial to the Gospel mission. The authority to accomplish the mission of the Gospel going to all people is grounded in the power of Jesus to lay down His own life and to take it up again. You see, it’s easy from a human perspective to mistake the death of Jesus as an execution. But when we really look at what’s going on here, Jesus’s death came about because He voluntarily and willingly laid down His life. No one took His life from Him-not the Jewish religious leader, not Pilate, not the Roman soldiers. They are all instruments not authors. Jesus laid down His life of His own accord and, after being dead in the grave, on the third day, in the same authority, He took His life up again. No one else in human history has had the power or ever will have the power to do that. Only Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And that authority is the guarantee that the mission of the Gospel will be accomplished. The same authority that Jesus had to lay down His life and take it up again is the same authority that empowers the mission of the Gospel going to the world. And here’s where we as the church come in-He has called us to join Him in that mission. Think about this, the reason you and I, who are not Jewish people, are a part of the church of Jesus Christ and are people who have been transformed by the Gospel is because the Gospel is not exclusive. And just as we have been brought into the flock of God, we are now called to take up that mission and bring others to the Good Shepherd. The mission of the church is simple-reach the lost and disciple the saved. That’s what we’re called to, in our community, to our state, to the nation, and to the world. And we do this in and through the authority of Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd is gathering people to His flock and He has called us to that mission as well. Are you willing to be a part of that mission? To rest in His authority and take the Gospel to whoever and wherever the Good Shepherd leads?

We should follow Jesus the Good Shepher because He accomplishes the mission of the Gospel with absolute authority.

Closing

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He sacrificed Himself for us. He knows us personally and wants an ongoing relationship with us. He calls us to follow Him as He accomplishes His mission of the Gospel with absolute authority.

When we were lost and wandering, He came looking for us. So the ultimate question today to answer is this Is Jesus your shepherd? Do you know Him? Because there is a difference between admiring the Shepherd and following the Shepherd. There is a difference between knowing about the Shepherd and knowing the Shepherd. There is a difference between hearing about the Shepherd and hearing His voice. There is a difference between believing that Jesus died and trusting the One who died for you. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” He lays down His life. He knows His own. He gathers His people. He conquers death. And now He’s inviting you to trust Him. Maybe today you need to stop trying to shepherd yourself and surrender your life to the Shepherd. Maybe you've trusted Jesus for salvation, but you've stopped following His voice. Maybe you've allowed other voices to become louder than His. Maybe you're walking through a valley right now and wondering if the Shepherd is still there. Whatever situation you find yourself in today, Jesus the Good Shepherd is calling you today to look to Him, listen to His voice, and let Him lead you home.