JOHN 10 THE GOOD SHEPHERD
With John 19 reading:
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected; Yes, my soul, 'tis He! 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected Prophet, David's Son, yet David's Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it: 'Tis the true and faithful Word.
Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning, Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning, Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him, None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly, Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed, See who bears the awful load;
'Tis the WORD, the LORD'S ANOINTED, Son of Man and Son of God.
Here we have a firm foundation; Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded Who on Him their hope have built.
On many sheep stations in Australia and New Zealand, large flocks of sheep are driven by trained sheep dogs. The sheepdogs seem to know the flocks so well that they can pretty much do the work of transferring sheep from field to field or onto trucks pretty much by themselves! Often just a whistle or a hand signal is enough to direct the sheep dogs.
But in the Middle East, shepherds never drive the sheep, they always lead them.
The New Testament scholar, John Stott, used to tell the story about being in Israel on a tour bus going through the wilderness of Judea. The tour guide was on the microphone making the point that the shepherds in Israel never drive the sheep, they always lead them. Just as the guide was saying that, a tourist raised his hand and pointed out the window, and said, "What about that guy?"
Everyone looked and out to see a man with a stick driving a flock of sheep toward a corral. Not wanting to be called a liar, the guide had the bus driver stop. He got out and ran up the man with a stick and could be seen waving his arms and talking to him in Arabic. Then the guide ran back to the bus and got on board. He took the microphone and said, "I'm still right. That man isn't the shepherd, he says he's the butcher!"
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements claiming to be God, the great "I am." He said, "I am the bread from Heaven. I am the light of the world." "I am the gate for the sheep." He was saying He is the only door to Heaven. And in this passage, He said, "I am the Good Shepherd." So what's so good about the Good Shepherd? I'm so glad you asked. Let's notice five good things about the Good Shepherd.
1. The Good Shepherd Sacrifices Himself For His sheep.
Sheep "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 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." John 10:11, 17, 18.
We read earlier of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was no terrible accident. This was not just an act of belligerent men. This was an act of God, which had been planned from the beginning of the world.
As we read last Sunday in John's gospel, there were several attempts by the Jewish leaders to arrest and kill Jesus. In the 8th chapter of John, they picked up stones to stone Him, but He walked through their midst. Later in this chapter, in verse 31 the Jews pick up stones to stone Him for claiming to be God, which was blasphemy. But the Bible says He eluded them. Jesus knew He was going to die, but He also knew the time and the place He would die. He was in complete control. That's why He said He would lay down His life for the sheep. They couldn't kill Him until He was ready to lay down his life. He said, "No man takes my life from me. I lay it down willingly."
Jesus wasn't some martyr who was killed for a cause. He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. He would go to the cross in full control of His destiny. He chose to die during Passover. He would become the Passover Lamb who shields us from the eternal punishment for our sins.
Jesus claimed He had authority to lay down His life. But He also had authority to pick it up again. He was speaking about His resurrection.
He didn't lose His life to wicked people. He lost His life FOR wicked people. "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."
It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be,
That God's own Son should come from heaven to die to save a wretch like me.
And yet I know that it is true: He chose a poor and humble lot,
and wept and toiled and mourned and died for love of those who loved Him not.
I cannot tell how He could love a child so weak and full of sin;
His love must be most wonderful if He could die my love to win.
2. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep.
If you have a pet, you understand how a person and an animal can have a bonding experience. My brother in law Bruce got some sheep when they first moved to Tamworth. They named their sheep betsy and Margaret. But because they named them, Carolyn his wife could not bear to send them off to slaughter for the meat. They got too close.
That was the relationship a good shepherd had with his sheep. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:14) We read that the Good Shepherd would call all his sheep by their names. He knew them and they knew him. I mentioned a butcher earlier. So, when you think about a shepherd, you've got to think more about wool than lamb chops. The Shepherd raised the sheep for their valuable wool, not for mutton.
Later when they raised cattle they decided on a better approach: They named their steers Rump, T-Bone, and Roast! But the Good Shepherd doesn't eat his sheep. He leads them to still waters and feeds them in green pastures. The Shepherd knows the name of his sheep. The older I get, the more I'm learning I have to search my memory banks for names. I can remember pastoring my first church after college. I knew the names of everyone who attended the church. There were only ten of us. The Good Shepherd knows the names of everyone who is in His flock. He calls you by your name.
The most glorious fact in the universe is that there is a God and that this God wants to have a personal relationship with you. If I'd said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Eternal life is not just living forever. Eternal life is KNOWING God. Do you know the Shepherd?
3. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.
In John 10 Jesus identifies three individuals who deal with the sheep. He mentioned the thief who sneaks in to rustle the sheep. He said the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. The thief is a metaphor for Satan. But then he mentioned the hired hand. Jesus said, "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep…he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." (John 10:12-13) Jesus was talking about the Jewish religious leaders. They claimed to be shepherds, but they didn't really care for the sheep.
We lived awhile in Glen Innes where there are large flocks of sheep. There was a huge difference between a hired sheep herder and a real shepherd. They really didn't care for the sheep. In Jesus' time if the sheep were attacked by a predator, the hired hand wouldn't defend the sheep, he would flee for his own safety.
In Glen they could always be guaranteed to knock off early to go to the pub.
That's how Jesus described the hired hand. He said the hired hand doesn't OWN the sheep, so he doesn't care for them. But by contrast, the Good Shepherd owns the sheep and He will lay down His life to protect them.
The Bible teaches we are owned by God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 the Bible says, "You are not your own. You were bought at a price." You may sometimes hear a person say, "It's my life, I can live it any way I please." For a Christian, we should say, "It's not my life. I belong to Jesus." And because we belong to Jesus, He cares for us. The Bible says that God cares so much for you that every hair on your head is numbered. Jesus said our Heavenly Father is aware when the tiniest sparrow falls to the ground, and as the song says, "If His eye is on the sparrow, I know He watches me."
I was reading Gordon Moyes autobiography this last week. He had a near fatal heart attack. He said He never understood Psalm 23 until then. He said, "In the 23rd Psalm it says, 'he MAKES me to lie down in green pastures.' I've become so busy that I haven't been a good dad or a good churchman. But the Lord has put me on my back. He MADE me lie down to get my attention." Jesus is a Shepherd who cares for you.
4. The Good Shepherd seeks His sheep.
"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." (John 10:16)
Jesus was talking about us, the Gentiles. Jesus said He had come for the lost Sheep of Israel. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. Even though many of the Jews believed in Jesus, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus and crucified Him.
In Revelation 7 it predicts there will be a great multitude gathered in Heaven from every nation, every tribe, every people, every tongue. We will be gathered around the throne of God and will be praising God together.
In Luke 15 Jesus taught us what God is like. He said that God is like a Shepherd who had a hundred sheep. Ninety-nine of them were safe in the sheepfold and one single lamb wandered away. Our God is the kind of God who left the ninety-nine and went to seek out the one lost lamb, and when He found it, He picked it up in His arms and carried it back into the fold. That one lost lamb was in Beijing, or in Moscow, or in Bagdad, or in Tehran or here in St Mary's.
5 . The Good Shepherd saves His sheep.
Jesus knows us, He cares for us, He seeks us, but most importantly, He is willing to die for us. Jesus repeats the statement, "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep" five times in this passage.
He says, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… 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." (John 10:11, 18)
Jesus' voluntary death was followed by his victorious resurrection. His resurrection validated everything Jesus said and everything Jesus did. If there had been no resurrection, there would be no New Testament and no churches. And we would be the most hopeless of all people. But because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because we know that life is worth the living, just because He lives.
Sheep need a shepherd. They are helpless and dumb animals. They wander off. They get sick. And we are like sheep—we need a Shepherd. Jesus wants to be your shepherd. Will you surrender to His ownership and His care for you? Will you commit yourself to follow Him and allow Him to feed you with His Word? When you do that you can say like the Psalmist, "the Lord is MY Shepherd. And that's all I need!"
Although Fanny Crosby was blind, she was a prolific poet and hymn writer. She published an astonishing 9,000 poems and hymns. Perhaps her most popular song was Blessed Assurance. Most of us know it by heart: "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation. Purchase of God. Born of His Spirit. Washed in His blood." I want to give you three reasons why you can have blessed assurance. All of these reasons begin with the letter "P."
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Promise of God.
Based upon what Jesus said in John 10, I do believe that once you are part of God's flock, you will always be a part of God's flock. The wording Jesus uses in John 10 is important. He said, "My Father who has given them to me is greater than all."
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24
Once God has given you to the Good Shepherd, He makes a promise that nothing can separate you from His love. In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul nails down this promise of God. He wrote, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Provision of God through Christ.
Christ has for sin atonement made, What a wonderful Saviour!
We are redeemed! the price is paid! What a wonderful Saviour!
"Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:25) I have a savior who is praying for me right now. Moment by moment, day by day, year by year. He ever LIVES to make intercession for me.
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Power of God.
The security of our salvation isn't up to us holding on to God. He's holding on to us. Jesus said, John 10: 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
God's hand is powerful. In Isaiah 48 God said, "I laid the foundation of the world with my hand; and with my right hand I spread out the heavens." Isaiah 49:16 God says, "Look, I have engraved your name in the palm of my Hand." Once we belong to God, there's nothing to snatch away, because we are part of Body of Christ. I'm engraved on His Hand!
Peter wrote "Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
So it's not a matter of us holding onto God, it's a matter of God holding onto us. "In Christ Alone." It was written by a British songwriter by the name of Keith Getty. Most people love the verse that says, "There is the ground His body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day; Up from the grave He rose again." I love that verse. But my very favorite verse is the final verse which says: "No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!"
If you want the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Admit
Believe
Commit your life into His hands.
OUTLINE
The Good Shepherd:
1. Sacrifices Himself For His Sheep "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 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." John 10:11, 17, 18.
2. Cares for His sheep. Jesus said, "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep…he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." John 10:12‐13
3. Knows His sheep. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:14,15
4. Seeks His sheep. Jesus said, "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." John 10:16
5. Saves His sheep. Jesus said, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Promise of God
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Provision of God through Christ.
You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Power of God
Good Friday April 7 | John 10 I am the Good shepherd | John 10:7-18 |
Easter Sunday April 9 | John 11 I am the resurrection and the life | John 11:1-44 |
April 16 | John 6 I am the bread of life | John 6:1-59 |
April 23 | John 8 I am the Light of the World | John 8:12-36 |
April 30 | John 10 I am the Door | John 10:1-10 |
May 7 | John 14 I am the Way the truth and the Life | John 14:1-6 |
May 14 | John 15 I am the vine | John 15:1-17 |
May 21 | Discipleship | Luke 9:21-27 |
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