John 10:11 (ESV) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Repeatedly throughout the scriptures we're presented with the image of the sheep and the shepherd. Not to put too fine a point on it, sheep are probably some of the stupidest creatures that were ever created. The Way they to try to defend themselves is to make this terrible bleating sound. That's it!
So here comes a wolf, making a run for one of the sheep, lips pulled back, fangs bared..... ready for the attack.....
And the sheep, seeing the wolf coming says to himself, "This will get him...", and he hauls off and lets' the wolf have it..... "Baaa-a-a-a-aa!!!!" ...... that'll show him!
Not only do they make a mess of defending themselves but there are afraid of the silliest things. Take them to a a swiftly running creek or river and the sound of running water creek will scare the sheep to the point that they won't drink at all.
A few years ago Joan and I were going home from church Joan looked out of the car and said, 'look at that'... I couldn't take my eyes off the road so I asked her what it was.
It was raining and there was a sheep out in the middle of the field looking up as if to say what is going on? Joan made the comment, 'That thing is going to stand there and drown.'
Sort of puts you in mind of a lot of people doesn't it? We see the mess our lives are in and we don't change anything and we hope things will somehow get better...
The other thing about sheep is that they seem to have no sense of direction. They wander off and get lost so easily...
So it's no wonder sheep need a shepherd.
Well, it's also no wonder that we are referred to as sheep...
We get lost, we think we know the way, but we really don't....
We get scared and afraid and can't really defend ourselves from the onslaught of the one who comes as a wolf among sheep.....
We think that we can stand our own ground, but the truth of the matter is that we are just as powerless as any sheep to defend ourselves without someone to watch over us.... a shepherd maybe? … It would take a good one....
Well, Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd.... I'm glad I'm following Him!
CH Spurgeon - What is there about me that I should stand where so many others have fallen? There is nothing to hold me up if I am left to myself; but if, confessing my liability to fall, confessing my liability to be seized by the lion, and the bear, and the wolf, I can still say, "The Lord is my Shepherd," I am safe! The sheep is not safe because it says, "I am stronger than the lion;" or, "I am able to escape from the bear;" or, "I shall always be able to avoid the wolf." Silly sheep, what canst thou do to protect thyself from thy foes.
Verse 11 of our scripture this morning says, " I am the good shepherd:"; and again in verse 14 Jesus says the same thing, but it goes on to say, " I know my sheep, and am known by mine."
I know my sheep.... Folks we're his sheep....
We're the ones who've been repeatedly lost.... We're the ones who get into the most terrible situations....We're the ones who scatter and run when the wolf comes upon us when all we really need to do is to turn to the Good Shepherd....
He knows His sheep..... He'll protect them....
I don't know about you but it greatly impressed me to learn that Jesus actually knows me....
Here I am, a little speck of a nobody in the grand scheme of things and the Lord of all the universe actually knows me.....
What have I done to deserve that kind of love and attention? What is it about me that makes me special enough for Him to love me and to know me? Not one thing...
There is nothing in me that would require Him to even acknowledge my existence.... But, He knows me all the same..... It's all about His grace....
Isaiah 53:6 says, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Paul says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.... Romans 3:23
Each of us has at one time been a lost sheep, carelessly doing our own thing, living only to please ourselves without a care about the consequences of our actions.... Lost in our sins..... And, sadly, many therein still dwell....
But, it doesn't have to be that way....
Because all it takes to be delivered from that wandering lostness is faith.... simple faith...
Faith that there is someone greater than you... faith that He came to redeem a world, lost and dying in sin..... and we don't even have to muster up the faith with which we are to believe, God will even supply that.....
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
By grace you are saved through faith.... But now listen to these next few words. And that, talking about faith, and that not of yourselves.....it is the gift of God:
God himself gave us the faith with which we can believe on Jesus. It's there for each of us if we'll just accept it. It's a gift that has been offered to us in order that we might be able to believe without seeing.
And when we accept that gift of faith and we believe through faith that Jesus did what he said he did and that his sacrifice was sufficient to cover a multitude of sins that's when we begin to know him.
Jesus knows his own, and his own know him. Do you know him?
Why does it mean to know someone? It's more than just knowing their name and more than just knowing something about them.
To know some one means that you have intimate knowledge about them, that you have shared with them, and them with you.....
But Jesus goes on to give us an example of how we know him.... He says that we know him just as the father knows him and just as he knows the father.
I'll know about you but that seems pretty intimate to me. I know that Jesus no knows all about me. I believe that with all my heart.... He knows all about me and while I was yet a sinner he died for me.
I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know everything there is to know about Jesus, but I'll also tell you that I want to keep learning and keep coming closer to him.
I was watching David Jeremiah on TV the other night and he used the analogy of soldiers establishing a beachhead on an island.
Before the soldiers can take over the whole island they need first to establish control in one small area. Then they can spread out and gain control over the whole island.
That's the way it is with us. When we give ourselves to Jesus our objective is to have him be in control of our entire being....
But the truth of the matter is that we often reserve a section of ourselves that we just don't want to allow him to dominate.
It can take a while, but slowly, over time by prayer and study and Christian fellowship, Jesus can claim every inch of us as his own.
Do we get saved in an instant? Yes.
Is there still a journey that needs to be taken? Again, yes.
But the good news is that we will not have to make the journey alone. As we grow and mature as Christians Jesus is there every step of the way.
He knows his own; and his own know him.....
In our scripture this morning Jesus also tells us that he laid down his life for us.... Shepherds often did that in Jesus's day. Bears and Lions were common predators which the shepherds had to fend off, often putting themselves in harm's way in order to save the sheep.
We all know the story of David and Goliath, but do you remember what David said to king Saul in 1 Samuel 17:33 - 36 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."
Even in the days of David it was common practice for the shepherd to lay his life down for his flock. To put himself in harm's way..... That's what Jesus did for us....
But unlike David who died and was buried and still awaits the resurrection, Jesus said in verse John 10:18, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again...."
Jesus has authority over the heavens and the earth. He demonstrated his power and authority over the winds and the waves. He showed he had power to raise people from the dead as he did Lazarus and in his own words he tells us that he has the power to take up his own life again even from the grave.
If he has that kind of power, and he does, it simply adds to my amazement that he would know me.
His sacrifice which was given once for all is completely sufficient.
The blood that he shed washes away all our sins and brings us to a place where through no effort or work of our own we will be viewed as righteous before God the father.
Billy Sunday, who was a great evangelist from an earlier day, long before Billy Graham came along preached a sermon that he called, "Wonderful,"
In it he talked to his congregation about the sufficiency of Jesus Christ by saying,
Christ for sickness, Christ for health, Christ for poverty, Christ for wealth,
Christ for joy, Christ for sorrow, Christ today and Christ tomorrow;
Christ my Life, and Christ my Light, Christ for morning, noon and night,
Christ when all around gives way, Christ my everlasting Stay;
Christ my Rest, and Christ my Food, Christ above my highest good,
Christ my Well-beloved Friend, Christ my Pleasure without end;
Christ my Savior, Christ my Lord, Christ my Portion, Christ my God,
Christ my Shepherd, I His sheep, Christ Himself my soul to keep;
Christ my Leader, Christ my Peace, Christ has bought my soul’s release,
Christ my Righteousness divine, Christ for me, for He is mine;
The Christ my Wisdom, Christ my Meat, Christ restores my wandering feet,
Christ my Advocate and Priest, Christ who ne’er forgets the least;
Christ my Teacher, Christ my Guide, Christ my Rock, in Christ I hide,
Christ the Ever-living Bread, Christ His precious Blood has shed;
Christ has brought me nigh to God, Christ the everlasting Word,
Christ my Master, Christ my Head, Christ who for my sins has bled;
Christ my Glory, Christ my Crown, Christ the Plant of great renown,
Christ my Comforter on high, Christ my Hope, draws ever nigh......
This same Christ, Jesus Christ, wants to live inside your heart if you’ll let him in.....
He knows you....
He knows everything about you and He loves you anyway....
Do you know Him? Do you know what it means to have Christ in your heart?
Is there a part of you that you haven't fully surrendered to Jesus?
Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree?
It WAS for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree....
Only someone who really knows you would venture to lay down His life for you....
Jesus had each of us on His mind as He carried His cross to Calvary....
He knew us then and He knows us now....
I thank God that I am known of Him....
