The Human Experience Of Eternal Life

John 10:9–16 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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.

Week 4: That They May Have Life

John 10:9-16

Oct 25, 2020

THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE – John 10:10

Preaching Series October 2020

Intro:

A BLESSED 13TH ANNIVERSARY, UVCC!

What I’ve learned in the past 13 years – God cares for his people

For the past weeks, we’ve been hearing details of what “life” really is according to the Bible. And we’ve learned is that the Bible is surprising in its definition of what life really means. Today, let see what John 10 of the Bible has to offer in understanding Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Jesus Is the Great Shepherd Jn 10:11

Jesus Blesses Us With Life – Jn 10:9-10. “abundant life” or “life to the full” NIV. By this time, we have understood that life is state. However, it is more than a state or a condition, or what we sense physically. Verses such as John 1:4, 3:15-16, 5:40, 20:31, tell that life is beyond merely living. The passage in John 10 about the good shepherd says so much. The imagery of Jesus he good shepherd is in contrast of the kind of life they were currently living. If we take this to our current time, Jesus is saying that what we know now, what we have experienced, and what lies beyond this life is much much more promising than what it is. In short, we have fallen short of believing the best life that Jesus the Great Shepherd has been offering to us. Sadly, this old 2,000 years old truth in the Bible has somewhat been hidden from us. It’s in the Bible all along! question now is, “Do you want this life that God has for us?”

Jesus Blesses Us With Security And Nurture – Jn 10:9. “he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture”. If we will compare the “good shepherd” versus the “thief” & the “hired hand” (Jn 10:12-13), we can see that the “thief” steals, kills, and destroys. While the “hireling” does not care, leaves the sheep. On the other hand, we see that the “good shepherd" cares for the sheep, gives abundant life (Jn 10:10); lays down his life for the sheep (Jn 10:11), He knows his own (Jn 10:14), he has the willingness to die for them, and he has the goal of bringing the other sheep into the pen. This idea of Jesus blessing us with security and nurture increases in clarity as we understand that Jesus had to pay for this with his own life. Let’s proceed to the next sub-point.

Jesus Blesses Us With His Leadership Jn 10:16 – “one flock, one shepherd”. We can see that Jesus is always looking forward to seeing one flock and one Shepherd. Jesus will do this by gathering both Jewish and Gentile believers. And Jesus will make sure that there will be one flock and one Shepherd. In God’s time, this will take place.

Conclusion

GET A LIFE. Turn to Jesus. We as a people can get a life if Jesus is our Great Shepherd. There are lots of blessings. We may receive the blessing of Life, the blessing of Security And Nurture, and the blessing of having Jesus as Leader. Once again, get a life – turn to Jesus.

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The Human Expression Of Life – faith obedience in the Word (John 17:3; 5:24; 6:63, 68)

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e. Eternal life/salvation

The major category employed to depict salvation in the Fourth Gospel is life/eternal life. God the Father is the source of eternal life and he has given the Son also to have life in himself (5:26). The literal meaning of ‘eternal life’ is the life of the age (to come), but with the coming of Christ it is something that may be experienced in part in the present age and will be consummated in the resurrection (5:24).

Eternal life, as it is experienced by humans, is defined as knowing God through Jesus Christ (17:3). This knowledge involves a relationship with God, which on the human side is expressed in obedience and fellowship. Jesus employs three primary metaphors to depict the human experience of eternal life: being born of the Spirit (3:3–8), having one’s thirst quenched by the water of life (4:14; cf. 7:37), and having one’s hunger satisfied by the bread of life (6:35). Eternal life for those who believe was obtained at the cost of Jesus’ own life (6:51; 10:11, 15), and is mediated to them through the word of Jesus (5:24; 6:63, 68). For a fuller discussion see Additional note: Eternal life, pp. 111–113.1

1 Colin G. Kruse, John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 42–43.