I Am The Good Shepherd Series

Good morning! It is great to be back from back from vacation. We had a good trip, but after sleeping on four different beds, nothing feels quite as good as your own.

Before I left, we had been on week 3 of our I Am series, in which we have been focusing on the 7 notable I Am statements Jesus made during his ministry. These statements revealed things about himself, his character and his mission to his audience.

The first week, he said I Am the Bread of Life, which for us means that he is the source of perfect spiritual fulfilment. Then in the next statement, he said I Am the Light of the World, which for us means that he frees us from darkness, he enables us to comprehend the truth, and he gives us a light of our own to share with the world.

The next statement, the week before we went on vacation, he said “I Am the Door for the Sheep”, which for us means that we should follow Jesus’ voice, we should run away from those who want to lead us astray, and finally, it means that Jesus is the only way to enter into abundant life.

Each of these I Am statements reveals something to us about Jesus’ character and mission. When these people heard these statements, it was the first time they had heard these things about Jesus. What we will see him reveal this week, is that Jesus willingly has given up his life for anyone who hears His voice and listens.

So let’s open with prayer, and then we will take a look at this week’s passage.

This week’s I am statement is actually a part of the same story as the last I Am Statement, we actually divided the story in half to look at each I Am statement separately. So lets look at this second part of the story:

John 10:11–18 (NIV)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the 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.

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.”

Verses 11-13

So you can probably already see how these two passages really are one and the same. In the last I Am statement, Jesus identifies himself as the door or gate that the sheep must enter through in order to find safety and pasture. This week, he identifies himself as the good shepherd:

?

John 10:11–13 NIV

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

So you may remember that in the first part of this story, Jesus was speaking of the Pharisee’s when he talked about the thieves and robbers, who try to sneak over the wall to steal sheep. In this second part of the story that we are looking at today, he is comparing himself with them. They are the hired hands. They don’t care about the sheep, because they don’t OWN the sheep. The sheep belong to Jesus. He is the faithful and true shepherd, and he is willing to do ALL that is necessary to defend and save his flock, including giving or risking his own life.

When a vicious wolf shows up, you can tell quickly whether or not someone cares about the sheep. If you are getting paid minimum wage to watch the sheep, and a wolf shows up, you run away, because the money isn’t worth the danger to you. But the OWNER of the sheep will protect them and fight off the wolf, because he cares about them. A BAD shepherd, or a hired hand, would not do this. But a GOOD shepherd would risk their life to protect them.