John 10:12–18 Sermon
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Sermon Text
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.”
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we covered .
Jesus began using a metaphor that would explain who He was to some of the Pharisees.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
He follows with a metaphor where He begins to speak of a thief and a robber who tried to enter the sheepfold by another way.
The thief who is a robber was one who did not go through Christ who is the door and the Shepherd of the sheep.
Jesus in verse 3 spoke of the sheep hearing His voice and the Shepherd calling them out by name and leading them out.
This spoke of a caring Shepherd who went before them, leading them and the sheep following Him because they knew His voice.
Remember that the context here is that the Pharisees were blind to who Jesus said He was.
John chapter 9 was about a blind man who was born blind. The disciples asked a question in .
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Then Jesus answered by saying in ,
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Later the blind man was healed by Jesus, met Jesus after and he fell down and worshipped Jesus.
But the Pharisees refused to believe. Which showed us who truly was blind.
Jesus was using a metaphor that they would have known.
The metaphor (the figure of speech) was meant to show them who He was but in verse 6,
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Jesus went on then to explain in verse 7-11.
In verse 7 Jesus went in.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Jesus here was explaining verse 1 where He said,
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.
Jesus spoke in verse 8 where there were those who were thieves and robbers.
We went to where God rebuked those who called themselves shepherds but abused and used the sheep.
Jesus didn’t come to abuse and use the flock.
He came to reveal the truth of Him being the doorway into the sheep.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Then in Jesus said,
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
We cleared up the false assertion that this specifically was talking about Satan. Verse 10 is speaking of someone who climbed in another way other than in Christ to enter the sheepfold.
Which would be those who come in speaking of another way to God. False prophets and teachers who are strangers to the people of God.
Jesus is the only way to God. He is the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Jesus made it clear that He is Good and that He lays down His life for the sheep.
After He would use another example to explain that there are those who may look like shepherds but are those who do not lay done their lives for the sheep.
Outline
Outline
1. The Hired Hand (v.12-13)
1. The Hired Hand (v.12-13)
2. The Good Shepherd (v.14-16)
2. The Good Shepherd (v.14-16)
3. The Goodness of the Shepherd (v.17-18)
3. The Goodness of the Shepherd (v.17-18)
1. The Hired Hand (v.12-13)
1. The Hired Hand (v.12-13)
Read Verse 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.
Read Verse 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.
Question: What is a hired hand?
A hired hand can also be called a hired worker or a paid keeper.
a) The Hebrew
The Hebrew substantive śāḵîr, “hireling” or “hired man,” is derived from the verb śāḵar, “to hire for payment,” and thus denotes the “wage earner” or “day laborer” who is paid the “hire” (śāḵār) in compensation for his (usually temporary) manual or skilled labor.
The Hebrew term (śāḵîr) is where we get the word “hireling” or “hired man.”
(śāḵar) is the verb where we say that a hireling “to hire for payment,” and thus denotes the “wage earner” or “day laborer” who is paid the “hire” (śāḵār) in compensation for his (usually temporary) manual or skilled labor.
They are hired for payment. They are wage earners and most often in that culture called a “day laborer.”
,” and thus denotes the “wage earner” or “day laborer” who is paid the “hire” (śāḵār) in compensation for his (usually temporary) manual or skilled labor.
Usually what would happen was that one could be hired temporarily for a task that lasted a day.
b) The Greek
The Gk. misthōtós appears twice in the NT (Jn. 10:12f) as a noun with the particular sense (in the context) of “hired shepherd,” even though, like Heb. śāḵîr, the term itself has reference only to the hiring of service or labor in general and not to any specific craft or occupation (cf. místhios, “a man whom you will pay” [AV “hireling”] in Tob. 5:11 [LXX 12]). Elsewhere in the NT misthōtós occurs only in Mk. 1:20, where it denotes the hired crew of a fishing trawler.
The Greek term used in our text appears twice in the New Testament. Here in our text and also in . Another term can be found in .
It meant that a person has been hired to perform a particular service or work—‘hired worker, hired person.’ The term itself is not specific to being hired to watch over sheep. But the context of our passage tells us what he was hired for.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 57.174 μίσθιος, ου; μισθωτός, οῦ
57.174 μίσθιος, ου m; μισθωτός, οῦ m: (derivatives of μισθόομαι ‘to hire,’ 57.172) a person who has been hired to perform a particular service or work—‘hired worker, hired person.’
μίσθιος: πόσοι μίσθιοι τοῦ πατρός μου περισσεύονται ἄρτων ‘all my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat’ Lk 15:17.
μισθωτός: ὁ μισθωτὸς καὶ οὐκ ὢν ποιμήν ‘the hired man, who is not a shepherd’ Jn 10:12.
μίσθιος: πόσοι μίσθιοι τοῦ πατρός μου περισσεύονται ἄρτων ‘all my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat’ .
μισθωτός: ὁ μισθωτὸς καὶ οὐκ ὢν ποιμήν ‘the hired man, who is not a shepherd’ .
The term itself is not specific to being hired
So a hired hand was someone who was paid (usually for a day) to do a task.
() as a noun with the particular sense (in the context) of “hired shepherd,” even though, like Heb. śāḵîr, the term itself has reference only to the hiring of service or labor in general and not to any specific craft or occupation (cf. místhios, “a man whom you will pay” [AV “hireling”] in [LXX 12]). Elsewhere in the NT misthōtós occurs only in , where it denotes the hired crew of a fishing trawler.
In our text today, it is someone who was paid to watch the sheep.
That is who the hired hand is.
In verse 12 Jesus is beginning to explain the difference between a hired and a shepherd.
In verse 12 Jesus is beginning to explain the difference between a hired and a shepherd.
a) He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep...
a) He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep...
b) who does not own the sheep
b) who does not own the sheep
Notice as we have covered already that a hired hand is not a shepherd.
Which means that he does not own the sheep.
A hired hand was hired to watch the sheep and he does not own them.
Because he does not own them and is not their shepherd it would mean that there is no personal interest in the sheep.
The hired hand was hired for a task which most likely meant he did not have the care and interest in the sheep that the shepherd had.
If you remember in ,
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
A hired hand would not have had time to know the sheep by name. And in fact he wasn’t expected to.
He was hired for their safety but because of having no personal interest in their good, Jesus tells us what happens as a result.
b) [the hired hand] sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
b) [the hired hand] sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
Question: Who is the wolf that Jesus speaks of here?
I believe it is who He spoke of earlier in our text.
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.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
In the New Testament we see the
term “wolf” or “wolves” used to describe people who are:
In the New Testament we see the
term “wolf” or “wolves” used to describe people who are:
a) False prophets ()
b) Persecutors (,)
c) Those from within who will not spare the flock by speaking twisted things and drawing away the disciples after them ().
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), . ()
This is what a wolf is. And a hired hand is someone who sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep and flees .And the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
Question: Why does the hired hand flee?
We see the answer in verse 13..
Read Verse 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Read Verse 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Caring nothing for them because he is a hired hand.
To flee means to move quickly from a point or area in order to avoid danger. It means to run away.
Which is what shepherds would not have done.
15.61 φεύγωa; φυγή, ῆς f: to move quickly from a point or area in order to avoid presumed danger or difficulty—‘to run away, to flee, flight.’
The hired hand runs away from danger because he cares nothing for the sheep. He doesn’t protect them. But only think of their own safety and good.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 189.
Question: So who exactly is the hired hand here?
In its rawest form a hired hand is someone who was hired to care for God’s people but has shown not to care for them at all.
I don’t want to get too deep into who exactly is a hired hand because that is not the point.
Jesus is using the example in order to show who He is in comparison.
Jesus is not a hired hand.
A hired hand is not a shepherd
A hired hand does not own the sheep
A hired hand leaves the sheep when in danger
A hired hand cares nothing for the sheep
But a shepherd...
a shepherd owns the sheep
a shepherd doesn’t leave the sheep when in danger
a shepherd cares for the sheep
a shepherd knows the sheep by name
Of course this is speaking of Jesus as the Good Shepherd!
2. The Good Shepherd (v.14-16)
2. The Good Shepherd (v.14-16)
Read Verse 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
Read Verse 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
This is descriptive of a good shepherd.
A good shepherd knows his own sheep and they know him.
A hired hand does not know the sheep and they aren’t protected by him.
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.”
The sheep here is the people of God.
And what Jesus is saying here is that He knows His own (the sheep) and His own (the sheep) know Him.
He knows His sheep by name.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
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.”
What is amazing is what follows in verse 15 of our text. Starting in verse 14 then to 15,
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
Read Verse 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Read Verse 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Jesus here speaks of the significance of knowing Him.
To know means:
to possess information about
to know, to know about
to have knowledge of
to be acquainted with (acquaintance)
to know (experientially) v. — to know or have knowledge about (someone or something); normally as acquired through observation or the senses.
knowledge acquired through observation and experience
Those who are His sheep know Him just as the Father knows Him.
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.
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
So it is a knowledge acquired that knows Jesus just as the Father knows Him.
Which we would say is a saving knowledge because of the truth of Jesus Christ being what saves us.
The purpose of this book is,
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Knowing and believing Jesus as the Son is what gives us life in His name! This is the knowledge that the Father has of Jesus.
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Knowing Jesus as the Father knows Him is the truth one needs to come to saving faith.
This is not just an acknowledgment of truth but it is a result of God saving us. And in being saved from our sin we acknowledge Jesus as who He is.
There are people that claim to know Him that do not know Him.
Who may seem like they are of the fold but are not.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
They never knew the Son as the Father knows the Son and it was proven in them being workers of lawlessness.
They called Him Lord but they knew Him not as the living Son of God.
This belief or knowledge is given through faith in Christ. And faith is a gift of God given to those in whom He has mercy. Which included those who were not of the house of Israel.
It would include those who were considered outsiders!
An example of this is found in .
Here we see an event where Jesus sees the faith of a Canaanite woman who wasn’t of the fold of Israel and yet she displayed a faith that was acceptable to Christ.
Knowing Jesus as the Father knows Him (this knowledge) is not only given to those in Jesus’ hearing who were Jews, but it is given to anyone who has faith.
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus here was showing that even a Gentile who has faith could be accepted. Which is a look into what His sacrifice would do in including the Gentiles by faith.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 28.1 γινώσκω; οἶδα; γνωρίζω; γνῶσις, εως
28.1 γινώσκωa; οἶδαa; γνωρίζωa; γνῶσιςa, εως f: to possess information about—‘to know, to know about, to have knowledge of, to be acquainted with, acquaintance.’
to know (experientially) v. — to know or have knowledge about (someone or something); normally as acquired through observation or the senses.
I believe that is what verse 16 is about.
Read Verse 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.
Read Verse 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.
8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah
In , God was speaking about foreigners and eunuchs.
An example can be found in Acts chapter 8 with the Ethiopian Eunuch.
He was baptized after showing faith in Christ.
Eunuchs were not included into the fold of God. But in Isaiah we see that God would included foreigners and even Eunuchs because of the fulfilling in Jesus laying His life down for the sheep.
Not only for those in Israel but other sheep who would believe!
explains this in detail where God included the Gentiles to be considered the people of God.
25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
So there would be one people. A people of faith who would listen to His voice and know Him as the Father knows Him.
There would be one Shepherd and one flock (the people of God).
And this would be done because of His life laid down for the sheep and by grace faith in His work.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The way we have been brought into saving fellowship with God was by His sacrifice. Whether Jew or Gentile it is by faith in what the Son has done!
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
It was by the laying down of His life that we have been given life! And by faith we are of the fold of God.
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.
This is the goodness of the Shepherd!
3. The Goodness of the Shepherd (v.17-18)
3. The Goodness of the Shepherd (v.17-18)
Read Verse 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
Read Verse 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
Jesus here is speaking while in His humiliation.
He is not saying that this caused the Father to love Him but that the Father expresses love towards Him as He lays down His life.
Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be shamed and He was in full control of it.
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Jesus, while being humiliated and shamed, had everything in control.
The reason for this is found in Isaiah.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Jesus was led to the slaughter. He was not forced or taken to the slaughter.
He did this in full control of the situation.
Read Verse 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.”
Read Verse 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.”
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Note:
Opening Up John’s Gospel How Much Do They Care?
How much does the good shepherd love his sheep? The bottom line is this: Jesus was willing to go to the cross and suffer in our place. Such is his love. Just in case some say that for God to die in that way was cheap—after all, he is the Creator—look at the word Jesus used in verse 11 to describe his life. He didn’t use the Greek word bios (which referred to the physical side of life), and he didn’t use the Greek word zoe (which referred to life’s history); instead he used the Greek word psuche, which meant ‘soul’, the totality of his being, the essence of his life. This means that Jesus loves his sheep so much that he gave himself completely, utterly, totally for them.
The charge given to Jesus was to crush Him and to put Him to grief so that we could be accounted as righteous.
This is the goodness of the Great and Good Shepherd.
He knows us by name and by His life being laid down as an offering for sin, those who were far have been brought near.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Close in prayer.