I Am...The Good Shepherd
I Am... • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 18 viewsJesus is the Good Shepherd, who lays his life down for his sheep. We can trust God as one who deeply loves us: he knows us, sacrifices himself for us, and unifies us as one flock.
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Intro
Intro
Where have we been?
Week 1: Jesus says, “I am the Bread of Life”; he alone sustains us spiritually.
Week 2: Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World”; he alone is the hope of the world and able to give sight to the spiritually blind.
Week 3: Jesus says, “I am the Gate”; he alone provides access to eternal life, as well as freedom and protection, to those who enter through him.
The question that John is answering whether we realize we are asking the question or not is “Who is Jesus?”
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
The Good Shepherd Can Be Trusted
The Good Shepherd Can Be Trusted
Jesus took the picture that the Jews knew where God refers to himself as the Shepherd of his people and “one-upped” it.
He lays down his life
This is the primary characteristic of this shepherd that Jesus is declaring himself to be
Jesus showed that his identity as the good shepherd went far beyond the normal expectations of a shepherd
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
The phrase “lay down” (τίθημι tithēsin) refers to Jesus’ death but it also carries the meaning that Jesus risked his life.
Jesus’ ministry was marked with conflict and risk. Risk that eventually led to his death (that he freely lays down)
He served us
Jesus modeled as the Good Shepherd that serving one another was key characteristic of the shepherd and the sheep
Jesus rebukes James & John because they misunderstood this concept.
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
He modeled it to his disciples during the Last Supper.
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
He is motivated through His love for the Father, and the Father’s love for us
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
The Good Shepherd Knows Us
The Good Shepherd Knows Us
I know my vehicles. I know all the sounds it makes that are ok and the sounds it makes that are not ok. If you drive old high mileage cars, you need to pay attention to these sounds. Story of Zack borrowing our VW Bug to go on his honeymoon. I explained all the sounds and when to expect them and what to do if you hear them. Long story short, he didn’t understand the noises our car made. He blew it up outside Baker City Oregon and I had to rebuild the motor in the basement of our house. Good times.
The ways that Jesus knows his sheep is intimate. This intimacy is gained as we come through the gate.
The Good Shepherd Unifies Us
The Good Shepherd Unifies Us
The Good Shepherd unifies his flock.
When Jesus states that he has additional sheep “that are not of this sheep pen” (John 10:16), he is referring to the Gentiles that will believe and follow him.
Jesus’s passion is to unite all the nations (or people groups) so that there will be “one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
We find it again as Jesus is praying to the Father before he is arrested in the Garden.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
After his resurrection and immediately before his ascension to his Father, Jesus commissions his disciples to go into all the nations to bring people into relationship with God and to be his disciples Matthew 28:19–20 Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
When Jesus returns, all his followers will be united to him and one another.
In today’s world, unity and reconciliation is a crucial need. By all appearances, in today’s world we are a disconnected people.
Author Brené Brown illustrates the disconnection of our world by stating that we are “surrounded by ‘us versus them’ cultures that create feelings of spiritual disconnection. ... The only thing that binds us together now is shared fear and disdain, not common humanity, shared trust, respect, or love. ... Rather than coming together and sharing our experiences. ... We’re screaming at one another from further and further away” (Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone [New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2017], 33, 45).
As followers of Jesus, we must lead the way in connecting with others in love and compassion.
Whatever “other” agenda we have that motivates us in life, has to come under the authority of the Good Shepherd
“Who do you say that I am?”
“Who do you say that I am?”
As I was praying for this message and wrestling in my heart with this passage, by divine accident, I prayed
“Lord, I want to know and experience you as MY Good Shepherd”
Look back at verses 2-5
2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.”
Do you know the Good Shepherd’s voice? Whose “voce” are you following or listening to?
Jesus goes on to say that he knows his sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
We must know the Good Shepherd.
Is Jesus your Good Shepherd?
The jews were struggling with this.
19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
The famous question Jesus asks his disciples.
It is the same question that John has been answering as he writes his Gospel.
Matthew 16:15 (NIVUK84)
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
The Jews were divided on who Jesus was.
Are you?