The Door and Good Shepherd
In His Own Words
11/09/08 PM
Text: John 10:11-16
INTRODUCTION:
Throughout the book of John, Jesus makes statements about Himself, revealing something important about His divine nature, His character, or His mission. Each statement speaks to a particular relationship of Jesus to the our spiritual needs.
With this lesson, we continue the sermon series, “In His Own Words,” the “I AM” statements of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. It is my desire and hope that this sermon series will deepen our knowledge and appreciation of our Savior. Last week we looked at the statement: “I AM the Light of the World.” This week we are going to focus on two statements of Jesus found in John 10:1-16
I.About the text
A.Jesus heals on the Sabbath John 9
1.Jesus is in the midst of a controversy with the Pharisees over healing a blind man on the Sabbath.
a.The scenario begins when His disciples asked Jesus who had sinned in order that this man was born blind. In this culture it was felt that previous sin in the person’s family was the cause for the condition, in this case blindness.
b.Jesus answered them by saying that the man was blind not by the power of someone’s sin, but rather to show the healing power of God. With that Jesus went on to heal the man.
c.The man was then brought to the Pharisees to investigate the healing. The Pharisee’s were hoping for a way to get something, anything on Jesus. The issue thus became an issue of healing on the Sabbath. The healed man was eventually thrown out of the synagogue for defending Jesus.
d.It is after seeking out the healed man and affirming His Deity to him that Jesus dialogs with the Pharisees:
John 9:39 - 41 (NASB) 39And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 40Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
B.The parable of the Good Shepherd
1.Read John 10:1-6
a.Jesus tries to show the Pharisees that the only way to righteousness was properly through Him as Lord and Savior.
b.They did not understand so Jesus tries again and provides the first statement for our consideration.
II.I Am the door of the sheep v7-10
A.Jesus is the only portal to salvation.
1.Christ assures us, John 10:7, that he is the door into the fold of the sheep.
a.Peter states in Acts 4:12 (NASB) 12“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
b.So if anyone seeks to shepherd by any other name, for any other purpose than His, is a thief and a robber in the sheepfold.
1)The thief (in the context, unfaithful leaders) acts for his own good, not that of the flock
c.Jesus promised to provide abundant or full life to the sheep.
1)Abundance of life points to depth of living now and length of living in eternity. It is not only life as good as it can be, but also life beyond what we can imagine!
III.The Good Shepherd v11-16
A.Background of the statement
1.Those who heard this statement would have been familiar with the relationship of shepherd to sheep and would have understood the biblical background as well.
2.The biblical imagery is rooted in two facts. God is often represented as Shepherd and Israel as His sheep. And human leaders are also cast as shepherds, responsible for the well-being of the people in their care.
a.The most familiar passage casting God as Shepherd is, of course, Psalm. 23. There are, however, many other passages.
1)Psalm 80, a hymn used in public worship, begins, “Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock;
2)Ezekiel uses the image of the shepherd to convey God’s love for His people:
Ezekiel 34:14 - 16 (NASB) 14“I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15“I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD.”
3)Jeremiah, warning against false shepherds who care nothing for God’s flock, makes a promise the Messiah will one day fulfill:
Jeremiah 23:3 (NASB) 3“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.
b.When Jesus claimed, “I am the Good Shepherd,” His listeners, versed in the OT, would have realized that He was presenting Himself as Israel’s Messiah and God.
B.Contrasted to the thief and robber
1.In these verses Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd.
a.By repeating it, Jesus pointed out that the most important trait of the Good Shepherd is that he “gives his life for the sheep” (nkjv) (10:11; see also 15, 17).
1)The hired hand leaves the sheep and flees.
2)The “wolf” may refer to false teachers who plague the church.
2.“I know my Own and my own know me.” V14, 15
1)Just as the shepherd calls his sheep and they follow only him, so Jesus knows his people. And his followers, in return, know him to be their Messiah, and they love and trust him.
2)Such knowing and trusting between Jesus and his followers is compared to the relationship between Jesus and the Father: “as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”
3. “I have other sheep which are not of this fold” v16
1)Jesus had already spoken of leading out his sheep from the fold of Judaism. All of his disciples came out of this fold, as did all those Jews who came to believe in him as their Messiah.
2)Jesus knew, however, that he had other sheep that were not from Judaism. These other sheep are Gentile believers.
3)Jesus came to save Gentiles as well as Jews. This is an insight into his worldwide mission—to die for sinful people all over the world.
4.“There shall be one flock and one shepherd.”v16
1)The Good Shepherd came to gather together God’s people into one flock (Ezekiel 34:11-14, 23).
2)The new Gentile believers and the Jewish believers who left Judaism would form one flock that would be altogether outside of Judaism.
3)The flock would have one Shepherd. Furthermore, Jesus’ words here foreshadow those he uttered in his prayer for the oneness of all those who would believe in him through the disciples’ message (John 17:20)
Conclusion: Read 10:17, 18
Jesus chose to become the door unto salvation, the one Good Shepherd to all who would believe. He chose to lay His life down for all the sheep and the day will come when He will call His own home.
Invitation
