The Good Shepherd Text: John 10:1-42 Series: Gospel of John [#18] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl March 9, 2014 Theme: The Good Shepherd provides abundant life for His sheep. Introduction Clement Clarke s fanciful poem has captivated the imaginations of children at Christmas for almost 200 years. Santa Claus, his reindeer and sled land on the roof and Down the chimney [he comes] with a bound. When he s finished his work, he [turns] with a jerk, [lays] his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he [goes]. 1 Only the fanciful Santa Claus in a child s imagination can pull off bounding down and then up a chimney. But apparently not everyone has figured that out. Peter was one of the many who have tried to go down a chimney. He did that this last Christmas Eve. He wasn t trying to deliver presents, but to rob a hotel. You would get stuck trying go down most chimneys, but this kitchen chimney was big enough to get down. Peter couldn t find anything of value to steal and, exhausted, he fell asleep. In the morning he tried to climb out of the chimney, but couldn t get up to the top. When the kitchen staff came in they lit the fire to start cooking. Peter couldn t get up to the roof and he couldn t stand the heat, so he came rolling down the chimney. 2 That gives a new meaning to the old saying, If you can t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Hotel staff and guests come in through the doors. Only robbers break in. John chapter 10 opens with Jesus saying, 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 (1-2, NLT). A few verses later Jesus tells us, I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (11). Some of the most familiar, reassuring and comforting words in the Bible are from King David, The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 3
Here in John chapter 10 Jesus gives us great promises, assurance and comfort. He is the Good Shepherd. He wants to be your Good Shepherd. There are two parts of this chapter. The first 21 verses take place at the same time as the events in chapter 9. The rest of the chapter took place at a different time, at a festival we know today as Hanukkah. John put them together in this section because Jesus pictures Himself as the Shepherd in both events. Once again Jesus draws sharp contrasts. Spiritually there are false shepherds who deceive, steal and destroy, hired shepherds who are more concerned about themselves than the sheep, and the Good Shepherd who gives Himself for His sheep, saves, gives eternal life, abundant life. Our focus today is on the Good Shepherd. The overall message Jesus has for us here is that He, the good shepherd provides abundant life for His sheep. The work of the Good Shepherd. Being a shepherd can be difficult work. I ve never done that. The closest I came was working with sheep and other animals for a live Christmas nativity scene. I had more problems with the sheep than the donkey. There are two parts of Jesus work as the Good Shepherd which He notes here. The first is that He sacrificed Himself for His sheep. Look at verse 11 again. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. If you didn t know anything or much about Jesus, this wouldn t make sense. After all, isn t shepherds work to care for the sheep, not to sacrifice themselves for their sheep? When David as a teenager made his case to king Saul to battle Goliath, he said, When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death (NLT). 4 David and other shepherds risked danger, and a few of them may have died protecting their sheep, but they did not intend to give their lives for the sheep. Let s fill in Jesus statement in verse 11 with more of what He says just a bit later. Drop down to verse 17. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up 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. This command I received from my Father (NIV). Jesus work as the good shepherd includes sacrificing Himself for His sheep, giving His life on the cross and being raised from the dead to pay for our sin so we can be forgiven, be His people, His sheep forever. A second part of that work is calling all His sheep to Himself. Look at Jesus statement in verse 2. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper 2
opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (2-3, NIV). The picture here is of a community sheepfold or pen an enclosure for flocks of several shepherds. We are told that Middle Eastern shepherds then and even today communicate with their sheep by calling to them. The sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd. Some sheep even learn to respond to their own, individual call. And so, while the sheep from several flocks mix freely in the communal fold, they only answer and follow the call of their own shepherd. Jesus calls His sheep, all His sheep. Verse 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 (NIV). The other sheep Jesus refers to are the Gentiles, to people like us who are not Jewish. The call is to eternal life with Him. We cannot understand all that is involved in God s sovereign choice and call of us who are His sheep and our free choice to answer His call. We do know these go together. The Bible tells us believers have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, 7 and that no one can come to [Jesus] unless the Father draws Him. 8 The Bible also tells us that the genuine invitation to come to Jesus Christ is to all, that whoever believes in Him has eternal life, 9 that the one who comes to [Jesus] [He] will certainly not cast out, 10 that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 11 We cannot understand all that is involved in how God s sovereign choice and our free choice are simultaneous eternal coordinated acts of God, but they are. 12 Our responsibility is to rejoice, thank and praise God for His call to us, to accept His invitation, and to extend it to all. The responses to the Good Shepherd. Not let s move from the Good Shepherd s work to peoples responses to Him. First is the response by those who are not His sheep. Those who are not His sheep, Jesus says, do not believe Him. Verse 25. I have already told you, and you don t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father s name. But you don t believe me because you are not my sheep (NIV). This is a common, repeated message Jesus gives. We see it again here later, in verses 37-38. Those who are not His sheep excuse, argue, postpone, try to justify their rejection of God and His message. They do not believe Him. Beyond not believing Him, they set themselves up as judge and find fault with God. We see an example starting with Jesus statement in verse 30. The Father and I are one. The crowd responded, verse 31, by picking up stones to kill Him. They clearly understood what Jesus was claiming, that He is God! They did not bow and worship, but considered it blasphemy, and of such a serious nature that they did not want to wait for the required trial, but to stone Jesus on the spot. 3
Their natural condition left them not only blind to the truth, but also attacking the One who is the Truth. Those who do not believe, as Jesus said twice in chapter 8, will die in [their] sins (21, 24). Now let s look at the response by those who are His sheep. His sheep, Jesus says in verse 27, hear His voice. We saw the picture of this earlier in verse 3. There is a pattern of listening and responding, and His sheep then know His voice, they hear His call to them. The process is the same one we talked about last week of step by step either accepting or rejecting God s light. Your may wonder, When will the person, the people I care about, that I have been praying for, witnessing to for so long respond? Will they ever respond? We do not know who will respond nor when, but we keep on caring, witnessing and praying. While we were in Edmonton one couple form the church was praying for and witnessing to an older lady for a good number of years. She died about eight years ago at the age of 87. A month or two before she died she heard and responded to the voice of Jesus and is with her Good Shepherd today in heaven. Jesus sheep hear His voice. Then they also follow Him. Jesus is talking about a present and ongoing action. He is telling us that following Him is, if you will, their habit. Yes, sheep can get stubborn, difficult, and may wander. As I said earlier, my experience with sheep is very limited. Every year we put on that living nativity scene the sheep were the most difficult to move and keep in place. Sheep can be like that at times. But even so, sheep, both the animals and God s sheep, have a normal pattern of following their shepherd. That doesn t earn them the right to be sheep, it is simply what sheep do. And so the question to all of us who say we are believers, Do I have a pattern of following Jesus? Is that what I normally do? This is how people respond to the Good Shepherd. The benefits to the Good Shepherd s sheep. Jesus also tells us about three benefits that His sheep enjoy. First, salvation. Go back up to verse 9 where Jesus says, 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 (NIV). The picture here is of deliverance from danger, death. John uses the word saved sparingly in this gospel. Overall it speaks of people being delivered from sin and its consequences into the blessings of God. Of being delivered from the separation, devastation and damnation of sin to the fellowship, abundance and blessings of God. This is the eternal life Jesus speaks of in verse 28. Jesus is the one and only source of this salvation. Let s go back up to verse 7 where Jesus explained, 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 4
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 (7-10, NIV). Jesus is the door, the one and only way to eternal life. In chapter 14 He tells us, I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me (6). It is not always easy to spot the thieves and robbers of the first century or our day. It would be nice if they were easier to spot. In another place Jesus warned, Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions (NLT). 13 Sincerity, position and results do not guarantee true salvation. Those, all those who come in through Jesus, place their faith in Him receive salvation. He is the one and only source of salvation. We need to help people by making sure they see and listen to Him, not the spiritual thieves and robbers. A second benefit of being one of His sheep is safety. Safety because Jesus leads the way. Verse 3, The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice (3-4, ESV). We sang in the chorus earlier, Where you go,?? [I ll go]. Where you stay,?? [I ll stay]. When you move,?? [I ll move]. I will follow [you]. 14 As we follow Him and are alert, He will keep us from the thieves and robbers who would distract and sidetrack us. Safety and security for today, for every day, for forever. Take a look at verse 28. Jesus says of His sheep, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father s hand. I and the Father are one (28-30, NIV). Note the basic facts here: Fact: His sheep will never perish. Fact: No one will snatch His sheep out of His hand. Fact: No one is able to snatch them out of the Father s hand. Fact: Jesus and the Father are one, that is, they are perfectly united in what they are like and what they do. As Jesus said in chapter 5, whatever the Father does, He does. His sheep are 5
secure in their hands. What a great promise! What a great comfort! All of Jesus sheep are given safety! In addition to salvation and security there is satisfaction. Some people mistake satisfaction for a life of ease or, more bluntly, laziness. An old fable tells of a man walking through an oasis in the desert when he saw a fox with badly injured legs. He wondered what would happen to it, and watched. A bit later a tiger came into the oasis with some game in its mouth, ate its fill and left the rest for the fox. The next day the tiger did the same thing again. The man thought about this and said, I too shall just rest in a corner, trusting God, and he will provide me with all I need. He did this for many days until he was almost at death s door when he heard a voice say, O you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox! 15 Satisfaction is not laziness. So what is the satisfaction that Jesus gives His sheep? The satisfaction of a good spiritual diet and life. In verse 9 He says they will come in and go out, and find pasture, they will have the spiritual food they need. Then there is the satisfaction of life as God intends it to be, as He says in the next verse that He came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (10) or, to the full (NIV), or rich and satisfying (NLT). Not the temporary, quickly passing, not truly satisfying feelings and experiences of things and stuff, but of life as God intends it to be. Finally there is the satisfaction of a close personal relationship with God. He calls His sheep by name and they know His voice. He knows His own and they know Him. He keeps them close, in His hand always and forever. Conclusion. The Good Shepherd provides abundant life for His sheep. What does the truth of Jesus as the Good Shepherd mean to us? First, if you realize you are not yet one of Jesus s sheep, that He is not yet your shepherd, what are you waiting for? Jesus is calling you today, offering you forgiveness of all your sins, life forever with Him, safety and satisfaction beyond anything you can ever know in any other way. That nudging you feel inside is Jesus calling your name. Answer His call today. Then, for those of us who have accepted God s free gift of eternal life in Jesus, who are his sheep, there is the question What kind of sheep are we? Do you know and live in the benefits He gives? Are you in a period where you ve been a bit hard of hearing, and doing some wandering from Him? Thank God for the abundant life Jesus provides you. Determine to live in, to live worthy of His great love and gift to you. Bow your head, listen and respond to God. 6
1 Clement Clarke Moore. A Visit from St. Nicholas / Twas the Night Before Christmas. <http://www.santaclaus.com/christmas-stories/twas-the-night-before- christmas-troy.php>. 1823, Public domain. 2 Hotel staff lit kitchen fire, find thief rolling out of chimney. <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/hotel-staff-lit-kitchen-fire-find-thief-rollingout-of-chimney/articleshow/27928737.cms>. 26 December 2013. Accessed 03 March 2014. 3 Psalm 23:1. 4 1 Samuel 17:34-36, NLT. 7 Ephesians 1:4-5. 8 John 6:44. 9 John 3:15. 10 John 6:37. 11 Acts 2:21. 12 Norman L. Geisler. Chosen But Free (Third Edition). Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2010, pages 145-6. 13 Matthew 7:15-20, NLT. 14 Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan. I Will Follow. 2010 SHOUT! Music Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Vamos Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) West Main Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) Windsor Hill Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) 15 Original source not known. 2014 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 7