The Shepherd And His Sheep
OBC
6-16-02
John 10
THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP
There is something about the imagery of shepherd with sheep that brings great comfort to the heart of a believer if we embrace its meaning. The Lord is indeed our Shepherd. He leads us in paths of righteousness; he makes us lie down in green pastures; he leads us beside still waters; he takes us through places of danger and darkness. What a comforting thing it is to know we have such a Shepherd. One day Jesus looked upon the city of Jerusalem and burst into tears. “They are as sheep without a shepherd.” In John 10, Jesus creates a word picture. It is an extended metaphor, or a simile. He is our shepherd and He calls us to explore that relationship.
Our Lord builds his teaching around four figures that are taken from the life of a shepherd.
I. True Shepherd (1-5) Legitimate relationship
In the first figure he is clearly setting himself apart as the True Shepherd of the sheep in contrast to the false shepherds
This passage follows immediately on the healing of the man born blind, who had been cast out of the synagogue because of his faith in Jesus. Jesus sees these leaders, these Pharisaical rulers of the Jews who had twisted and distorted the teachings of the law, as false shepherds. "Thieves and robbers," he calls them.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. "And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." John 10:1-5
In the East, shepherds typically brought their flocks(of 10-20) into one central sheepfold every evening where half-a-dozen flocks gathered together and were guarded by a porter or gatekeeper. In the morning the shepherds returned and each called his own sheep. Although the flocks had been mingled together, each flock knew its own shepherd's voice, and each would follow its own shepherd and no other.
·Three marks of the true Shepherd:
1. "He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."
First, "He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep." What does he mean, "the door?" He is referring, of course, to the normal, proper entrance to a sheepfold. If someone is sneaking in over rock walls, he is a thief.
The prophets had predicted the way the Shepherd would come to the sheep. They had foretold where he would be born, whom he would be born to, and the unusual character of his birth. They had predicted how he would appear to the nation, how he would be introduced, where he would live, what he would say, and what he would do when he came. This is what our Lord means. He came the predicted way, the normal, expected way.
No other person in all the history of Israel ever came to Israel this way. That is how we can know that he is the true Shepherd of the sheep. He entered by the door.
2. "To him the gatekeeper opens."
The second mark is, "To him the gatekeeper opens." That "gatekeeper," of course, is John the Baptist. He opened the door. He was the "voice crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord,'" {cf, John 1:23}. John the Baptist identified Jesus in the words, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," {John 1:29 RSV}. To that Lamb "the gatekeeper opened."
3. "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
The third clear and unmistakable mark is, "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." His own would recognize his voice.
Four things are characteristic of this fact.
1. “He calls them by name.”
2. "He leads them out."
3. "He goes before them."
4. "A stranger they will not follow
The first is that he calls them by name. Notice that every encounter with Jesus in this gospel is on a personal basis. He met Nicodemus by night; he met the woman at the well of Samaria; he met the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda; he met the man born blind. In each of these encounters he met the individual personally, alone. Through all the centuries since, every believer who has come to Jesus has come alone. Jesus never takes a group in at once. It is always you and he alone. What you believe in the silence and loneliness of your own heart about him is what makes the difference. There is where the transaction is done. "He calls his own sheep by name."
Then, second, "He puts them out," he leads them out." That interesting phrase is used in Chapter 9 of the man who was born blind. (double meaning) The Pharisees "cast him out" of the synagogue and that is the same word employed here. Jesus is saying that, when that happened, it was not only the Pharisees doing it but it was he, himself, who was behind it; it was he who moved them to excommunicate him. He led that man out of the false teaching which they had used to keep him in spiritual blindness.
Then, third, "He goes before them." When he leads you out he does not leave you alone; he has already gone ahead of you. In every situation you have to face he has been there first. He has chosen for you every circumstance of your life as a believer. That is the great truth of Scripture that helps us handle the pressures, the dangers, and the pitfalls of life: He has gone before us.
And, fourth, the sheep trust his voice: "A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." The God of Mohammedan Islam is not Jehovah God of the Bible. Mohammed’s view of Allah creates the opportunity for terrorism, following the God of the Bible does not. We must be able to recognize the voice of the Shepherd.
Illus. Two men were called on, in a large classroom, to recite the Twenty-third Psalm. One was an orator trained in speech technique and drama. He repeated the psalm in a powerful way. When he finished, the audience cheered and asked for an encore that they might hear his wonderful voice again. Then the other man repeated the same words--’The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...’ but when he finished, no sound came from the class. Instead, people sat in a mood of deep devotion and prayer.
Then the first man stood to his feet. “I have a confession to make,” he said. “The difference between what you have just heard from my friend, and what you heard from me is this: I know the Psalm, but my friend knows the Shepherd.”
In Verses 6-10 our Lord changes the figure slightly. Here he becomes the "door" of the sheep. He puts it in a most specific way:
II. The “door” of the sheep. (6-10) Loving Relationship
This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. John 10:6-10
What does he mean by this figure, "I am the door of the sheep"? This is a picture taken from the practice of the Eastern shepherd, when the shepherd and the flock were away from their village overnight for pasture. The shepherd leads his flock out of the sheepfold to the hillsides where they graze throughout the day. At night, rather than going back to the village he builds a corral-type structure within which the sheep can lie, protected from wild beasts, and it has an opening across which the shepherd himself lies so that the sheep cannot go in or out without crossing over him. This is what Jesus means in the words, "I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
This is a beautiful figure. To go into the fold means to find security. This is a desperate need in this hour. Our sources of security are being challenged. Security is a rare and precious commodity these days. It used to be argued that if we could just win the war on poverty, then the future would be bright. Then it was the war on illiteracy and lack of knowledge. In recent years, the numbers of teenage suicides among wealthy, well-educated teenagers have challenged that conventional wisdom. Fine young people, well educated, from good families are taking their own lives suddenly, without warning. Why? Many are recognizing that without the spiritual, life becomes meaningless. Without Christ as shepherd, the future can become bleak and barren. There is no security left in this world. Terrorist threats of all shapes and sizes hangs over our heads; insecurity is felt in our jobs, constant changes in life are hitting all the time. “Homeland security”, our newest branch o f government has its work cut out for itself in insecure times.
But the wonderful thing about this Shepherd is that, when you know him, you will have a sense of security. You are with the One who is in charge of all things. "All power in heaven and on earth is given unto me," Jesus declared to his disciples following his resurrection {cf, Matt 28:18 KJV}. Thus you can find security.
But more than that, you will have liberty; you can go out into the world again. Jesus himself said to his disciples, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.” The Shepherd is with you, thus you have the liberty to move out into life in any dimension. You have both security and liberty.
Then what? You will "find pasture," he promises. That is nourishment -- food for the soul, for the mind, for the heart.
Then the familiar words, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." An abundant life!
I have been a believer for 40 years. Early on, I thought “abundant life” meant always good. Fourty years later I realize that it is sometimes a dangerous life. Sometimes it hurts. It is a life that even in the midst of great difficulty, it is a life filled with joy and peace and love. It is a life that is rich with meaning and filled with a sense of adventure. That is what Jesus means by "the abundant life." This is the great adventure.
III. A good shepherd. (11-15) Loyal relationship
In the next section Jesus reverts to the figure of a good shepherd.
"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:11-15
The primary characteristic of the good shepherd is that he loves unto death; he is willing to die for the sheep. The disciples never could get over the fact that Jesus loved them so much he was willing to die for them. Many of the epistles of Paul, of John and James and Peter contain awestruck references to this. John writes in Revelation, "Unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood," {Rev 1:5 KJV}. Paul says in Romans, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," {Rom 5:8}; and, "He who spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?"{Rom 8:32 KJV}. Peter said, "He bore our sins in his own body on the tree," {1 Pet 2:24 RSV}. The writer of the Hebrews declares, "Who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God," {cf, Heb {9:14}. They are amazed that this Blessed One, this Sinless Lord, this Matchless Christ would consent to die for his own. But that is the mark of the Good Shepherd.
What a contrast with the hireling! When the sheep get into trouble, when the enemy comes, when the wolf (the devil) strikes, they flee, leaving the sheep to fend for themselves.
(Martin and Gracia Burnham) Eric Zimmerman of CBN.com
“The more I read about the Burnhams, the more I marvel at
the grace they showed under fire. Among the hardships they suffered were bruised, blistered feet; cold, rainy weather; severe malnutrition; injuries; illness; loneliness and death threats. And their response to that situation was nothing short of amazing. Here's what one relative told representatives of New Tribes, the mission organization for which they worked:
“Martin was highly respected by every one of the Abu Sayyaf members. (He) always graciously offered to carry things for the Abu Sayyaf and other hostages. He was chained to a tree at night by an Abu Sayyaf guard. Every night for the whole year, he would thank the guard who chained him and wished him a good night.” -- New Tribes Mission website
And Gracia followed her husband's example, according to this testimony from a woman who was held with them for four months. Mrs. Burnham has won the hearts of some of the Abu Sayyaf teenagers guarding her by teaching them the ABCs and the English words for tree, bark, and leaves...(they) have become popular by teaching English to impoverished teenage Abu Sayyaf members deprived of an education. The younger ones are really interested in talking with the Americans [The Burnhams] pity them for having to join such a group. --Christopher Johnson, "Between Hostage and Captor, An Unlikely Bond, The Christian Science Monitor, Feb 7, 2002
The cause for which Martin and Gracia suffered was the gospel. They had been sharing the message of Christ in the Philippines since 1986. And they didn't stop just because they were captured. Here's what Gracia told one of her husband's relatives:
“Martin had lengthy discussions about the claims of Christ with all the Abu Sayyaf guards and hostages. On one occasion he was having a very serious talk with Abu Sabaya [the leader of Abu Sayyaf] about God's judgment on sin, and that one day God would judge his sin. Gracia said she was in the background motioning to Martin to "cool it," but Martin very gently continued shared the truth of Christ with Sabaya.” (NTM website)
Imagine the courage of this ordinary man sharing an extraordinary message with one of the world's most vicious terrorists. And he wasn't about to let anything stop him: not the chains that tied him to a tree each night, not the ever-present M-16 assault rifles, and not even the pleas of his worried wife to "cool it."
According to his brother Doug, one of the last things Martin said to his wife was, "Let's just go out in a blaze." The phrase reminds me of the one spoken by another brave American, Todd Beamer, just before he gave his life battling thugs who were ready to take out the White House with an airplane - Let's roll. Martin's words did not mean, "Let's try to grab their rifles while they're not looking and gun them all down" or "Let's make a bomb and blow ourselves up to make a statement." What Martin Burnham meant by that is "If we have to go, let's go out in a blaze of prayer, thanksgiving and praise to God." On the last day of their captivity, he and his wife prayed, sang and shared scripture verses with each other.
Let's go out in a blaze. Those were some of the last words Martin Burnham spoke on earth. Moments later, a gun battle between rebels and soldiers erupted, and he joined the ranks of those who have suffered - and died - for the cause of spreading the gospel. He faced his death as he faced his life - with love, humor, courage, and concern for his family.
In the final days of his captivity, he spent his time comforting his wife, singing her to sleep at night and writing goodbye letters to his children. The Burnhams have suffered - and their cause has been strengthened. Even now, I am reading accounts of other Christians around the world who have been inspired by the their example. In fact, another missionary couple from their home state of Kansas is about to head to the Philippines with their seven children, having been emboldened,rather than terrified, by the Burnhams' story. It's a story that should provoke a fundamental question in all of us.
Do you have a cause worth suffering for ... and are you willing to "go out in a blaze" for it?
Jesus declares that the end of his laying down his life is to share his life with the sheep. Notice how he puts it, "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father."
Our success as followers of Jesus is based on the love of a shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for us.
He loved us enough that our sinfulness became his burden.
He loved us enough that his perfect rightness became ours.
He loved us enough to suffer on the cross for us. To save us from eternal death. To prepare us to
meet His Father. He will keep us safe in the sheepfold if we’re smart sheep and follow the Good Shepherd.
That is what Jesus speaks of here, that intimacy of fellowship, that beauty of life which was evident in Jesus as he loved the Father and the Father loved him. This, he promises, is what comes to us as a result of laying down his life for us -- richness of fellowship -- that beauty of life which is imparted by this One who was willing to lay down his life that we may have life.
Then the final figure is what we can properly call the Great Shepherd.
IV. The Great Shepherd. (16-18) Limitless relationship
"And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." John 10:16-18
The wonderful benediction at the end of the letter to the Hebrews says, "May the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory now and forever," {Heb 13:20-21 KJV}. This benediction is a reference to the fact that Jesus is the Great Shepherd.
Global vision-
Ill. Some believe that these words were spoken in the Court of Israel in the temple complex. The word for “fold” is the same word for “Court”. Jesus calls them to recognize that His life would be for Jew and Gentile alike. He would lay it down.
We will conclude this service by coming to the table that speaks so eloquently of our Lord's death on our behalf. How many times in this passage does he say, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." These are the very elements that he himself designed to remind us of the costliness of our salvation. It has not been inexpensive. It was not easily done. He did not want to do it. He made himself do it on our behalf -- that we might receive the abundant life, the gifts of joy and peace, the deliverance from the guilt of our sins, and the fragrance of fellowship and companionship with him. All this is to be in our thoughts as we come to the Lord's table. I do not know how you feel, but that always awakens in me a deep sense of gratitude. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude for what the Lord has done.