Flourish - The Good Shepherd

Intro

Welcome the church and visiting guests.

Mention two services will begin on Mother’s Day - May 8th - 9 and 10:45 - Express and Full Experience

Today, we are going to continue our Flourish series with a message entitled The Good Shepherd.

Last week we anchored this message in John 10:10

John 10:10 NLT

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

KJV 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Journey back through the adulterous woman, the blind man, and Jesus’s frustrations prior to making this statement.

Then read John 10:1-10

John 10:1–10 NLT

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Jesus addresses here that those who came before Him were robbers and thieves. He was speaking of false teachers, not the devil. He was sick of their attempts to lead the people without truly honoring God’s plan.

This wasn’t a new issue. In fact, we see this in Ezekiel 34:7-10

Ezekiel 34:7–10 NLT

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.

We see it in Jeremiah 23:1-4

Jeremiah 23:1–4 NLT

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!

And then, even Paul faces it in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

2 Corinthians 11:1–15 NLT

I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do. But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

So, this problem came before Jesus, happened while he was on Earth, once He left, and still occurs today.

In reality, Jesus wanted the people to know in John 10 that there was a better way. God’s way! And He knew that He had the right plan for the people.

Again, He says in John 10:10

John 10:10 NLT

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

But what He unpacks afterwards is even more important.

In John 10:11-15 He introduces Himself as The Good Shepherd.

John 10:11–15 NLT

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.

The word kalos (“good”) here is used to describe the role of Jesus in the context of self-giving (laying down his life, 10:11, 15, 17–18) and implies much more than the general meaning ascribed to the word by the philosophers, such as “beautiful,” “good,” “useful.” The contrast is between Jesus and the employed watchers of the sheep, or hired hands (10:12), those who take care of the sheep merely in return for monetary compensation (10:13).

The term kalos (pronounced ky-los) here takes on the implications of “authentic” or “genuine.” As such its meaning is close to alēthinos (pronounced ah-lay-the-nose) (“true”) as used by John in connection with the images of light (1:9), worship (4:23), bread (6:32), judgment (8:16), vine (15:1), God (17:3), and witness (19:35). Moreover, in comparison to the hired hand, the relationship of the shepherd to the sheep was a personal one (10:12–13; cf. 10:3). The shepherd’s personal investment in this relationship was the life of the shepherd.

The expression hyper tōn probatōn (pronounced hyper tone pro-baton), “for the sheep” (better “on behalf of the sheep,” 10:11, 15) implies a self-sacrificing perspective. Indeed, the use of hyper in relation to the death of Jesus (cf. 6:51) seems in this Gospel to carry a substitutionary meaning. Thus the ironic statement of Caiaphas undoubtedly implied for John far more theological significance than the high priest ever imagined (11:50–52; 18:14). To shift the image to the inaugural introduction of Jesus, he was indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29). The authentic shepherd in fact was the sacrificial Lamb who gave his life for the world.

Jesus is letting them know, those who came before me only wanted to TAKE from you, but I am COME to GET SOMETHING TO YOU. LIFE AND LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.

Essentially, He says to them I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and THE LIFE. By saying I am the gate, I am the real one, and I came to give you LIFE and LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.

It gives new life to John 14:6, where we see him say it plainly.

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

So, what is in the Good Shepherd’s package for you?

Truth

He came to give us access to the truth.

Truth is defined as that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

He acknowledges those who came before Him were robbers and thieves. They didn’t come with the truth.

Since truth begets trust, Jesus simply wants you to know you can trust Him.

Again, John 14:6 says, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is defined as to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end.

He says in John 10:11 ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”

He identifies sacrifice as a necessary component for being a good shepherd.

Any great leader should understand this. If you aren’t sacrificing at all for the work and the people God called you to lead.

But he went on to make the ULTIMATE sacrifice for us.

Protection

He outlines the difference between the Good Shepherd and the hireling in John 10:12-13 when He says, “A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

Protection is valuable.

It adds security and increases safety.

God wants you to know you are safe and secure when you’re in Him.

It gives new meaning to Psalms 23:4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

Direction

In John 10:14 He says, ““I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,”

In John 10:5 He says, “They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.””

This shows us how the sheep are trained to follow the voice of the Shepherd.

His direction comes with intentionality.

Which makes Psalms 37:23 make so much more sense when it says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”