The Good Shepherd
Notes
Transcript
Jesus is dealing with the Jews. They are his audience for the discourse we discuss this morning.
As is the case for much of His earthly ministry, the Jews (meaning the religious leaders) were out to kill Him.
John 10
1 “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.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 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.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for 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; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 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.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
John
1 “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.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Our first focus will be on the fact...
The Shepherd Knows & Is Known
The Shepherd Knows & Is Known
1 “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.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
The sheepfold would have been a walled area where the sheep were kept.
It would have one door/gate.
It would have a gatekeeper.
There would be no need to sneak in, climb a wall, or seek another entrance for the Shepherd.
The shepherd would be known by the gatekeeper and the sheep alike.
Please: do not let vs 3 go unnoticed!
The Shepherd Relates to His Sheep
The Shepherd Relates to His Sheep
Let’s contrast that with those who are not His sheep as we read vss. 3-6.
Those who are not His,
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
First in vs. 3 He knows there name.
If you’re His, He knows your name.
He leads them out.
Notice the word lead, not the word forces/drags.
He will bring out His own.
The conjunction “When” is a clear communication that He is going to bring out all of His own.
The Jews would have know that multiple families would share a sheepfold. For this reason alone, it is imperative that the gatekeeper and the sheep recognize the shepherd.
In essence, the converse of bring out all of His sheep is to say He will not bring out those sheep who are not His.
The other sheep will not recognize and they will not follow.
The clear outflow for us is that those who hear but do not respond are not His.
It is clear that sheep fear and do not follow strangers according to vs 5.
Some will ask the question, “Does this stop the need for apologetic preaching and the announcement of false teachers?”
No Indeed!
Evidenced In:
22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
:22-23
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
These are just three vss. where false teaching is called out. Certainly the sheep follow the shepherd, but that does not mean they can not be confused!
Shepherd=Door
Shepherd=Door
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Jesus is equating the his leadership as the pathway unto the eternal life.
He transitions the metaphor to deal with their confusion according to vs. 6.
We should also understand that vs.7 begins a series of “I am” usages. The Jews would have connected this back to the covenant name of God.
The Shepherd Came to Give Life
The Shepherd Came to Give Life
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The Shepherd is compared to those who preceded Him.
False Teachers, Kings, prophets, and False Christs.
Their purpose was self focused, The Shepherd is heavenly focused.
Vs 9 The shepherd is the way and Jesus is the Shepherd.
He came, in contrast to the others, to give life
The Shepherd is Also the Lamb
The Shepherd is Also the Lamb
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John the Baptist called Jesus “The Lamb of God”
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
He is NOT just any shepherd or any door, but He is the door that opens our path to God’s presence for eternity.
In this final verse we have the doctrine of Definite Atonement/Limited Atonement.
why is this important? because certainly Jesus is worthy of cleansing all sin, but His atonement is only for His own. Look back in vs 4.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Notice there is no wavering as whether He will bring them out. It is defined that He will bring them out.
What you should not take from this verse is universalism. All of the sheep will not and do not follow. Only His own.
What about the fact that is says: “takes away the sin of the world?” Certainly that means all the world!
No Indeed!
1John 1
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
When people read these verses they certainly will say that what John is saying is “Jesus takes away sins for all”. Not so, but for those whom the Father gives Him.
In each of these occasions, The word is revealing that Salvation is not for the Jewish hearer alone, but for people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
