Worship Our Wonderful Shepherd Jesus Christ
The Gospel of John
John 10:11-18
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 15, 2017
(Revised November 1, 2019)
BACKGROUND:
*Tonight, we will focus on some great reasons why everyone should worship the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. It all centers around the Lord's statement in vs. 11. There Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
*In vs. 1-2, the Lord had already reconfirmed that He was the promised Messiah, the only true shepherd for God's people. As He spoke to the Pharisees, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."
*Jesus Christ is the one and only Good Shepherd for God's people. He had strongly established His credentials by fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the promised Messiah.
*John Phillips noted some of the evidence in God's Word. For example, Isaiah 7:14 promised that the Messiah would be miraculously born of a virgin, and Jesus was. Matthew 1:21-23 and Luke 1:30-35 both confirm this truth. Micah 5:2 prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus was. God's Word confirms this fact in Matthew 2:1-6 and Luke 2:1-6. Hosea 11:1 prophesied that God the Father would call His Messiah Son out of Egypt. And we see the fulfillment in Matthew 2:13-15. Also, Galatians 4:4-5 tells us that Jesus came "in the fulness of time." Therefore, Jesus surely is the one and only Good Shepherd of God, born the right way, in the right place, at the right time. Jesus isn't a spiritual thief or robber! He is reliable, dependable, faithful! And we can always count on Jesus, because He is the Good Shepherd of God. (1)
*Moreover, it was also crucial for the Messiah to be a descendent of King David. For example, Psalm 132:11 tells us that "The Lord has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: 'I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.'"
*Then in Jeremiah 23:5-6 God's Word tells us:
5. Behold, the days are coming,'' says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
*It was crucial for the Messiah to be a descendent of King David. That's one key reason why the Holy Spirit led Matthew and Luke to include genealogies of Jesus in their Gospels. Matthew traced the Lord's birth line through His adoptive father Joseph. He was descended from King David through his son King Solomon. Luke traced the Lord's birth line through His virgin mother Mary. She was descended from King David through Nathan, another son of David. (2)
*The Messiah King Jesus surely was a descendent of King David. That's also why Jesus is called the "Son of David" 12 times in the New Testament. Other Scriptures also clearly state that Jesus was the promised eternal heir to David's throne. For example, in Luke 1:30-33, the angel Gabriel told Mary:
30. . . "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.''
*Years later, in Romans 1:1-3, Paul opened his letter to those Christians by saying:
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
2. which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
3. concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
*Another great example is one of the last things Jesus said in the New Testament: "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.'' (Revelation 22:16)
*With this background in mind, let's read vs. 11-18, and as we read, please think about why we should worship the Good Shepherd and King of Kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
MESSAGE:
*One of God's greatest goals is for us to truly worship Him. But what does it mean to "worship" God? In the Old Testament, the main word for worship is a word picture of us bowing down before the Lord. That's good. We should humbly bow down to give God reverence and honor.
*But the most common New Testament word for worship has a totally different word picture. The English word "worship" is found 80 times in the New Testament, and 60 of those times, God chose to use the word "proskuneo." It means "to kiss," and it has the wonderful word picture of an affectionate dog licking his master’s hand.
*As a dog-lover, I'm really glad God used this word picture for worship. I can really relate to it because when I come home, our dog Freckles is so glad to see me, she jumps up and licks my hand.
*When I'm home, my dog will lay down in submission, wanting her belly to be scratched. She almost always wants to be close to me. When I go to another room, she usually goes with me. And when I pick up my keys to leave, she wants to go with me.
*Now you may not care a thing about dogs, but we all need to get this: The way my dog treats me gives us a big clue about how God wants us to worship Him. Of course it's not really about the licking. It's about the affection. Most any dog would lick your hand if you just finished eating a piece of bacon.
*Real worship is humbling ourselves before God and exalting Him in our hearts. But one of the best parts of worship is the joyful affection we have for God. He is our loving Master who takes good care of us, so we love Him too, and we are happy to be with Him! Worship is not about the external things. It's about our hearts. And tonight's Scripture gives us some great reasons why we should worship the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
1. FIRST, WORSHIP JESUS FOR HIS COURAGE.
*We get a glimpse of the Lord's courage in vs. 11, where Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." That's courage: the willingness to do the right thing in spite of the danger and difficulty. Courage is the willingness to sacrifice yourself, to give yourself, to take a risk for someone else, and that's what Jesus did for us.
*We can see much courage in our world today, -- certainly in our police, fire-fighters and the brave soldiers who serve our country. We can also see great courage in Bible heroes like the Prophet Daniel. He was willing to be thrown into the lion's den rather than stop praying to the Lord. Daniel had great courage, so did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when they were cast into the fiery furnace, so did David when he stood against the giant Goliath.
*I also think about the Apostle Paul, and how he bravely suffered for the cause of Christ. I think of the Christians today who are suffering great persecution in places like Iran, Communist China and North Korea. And I think of our missionaries serving around the world. Some of them have paid the ultimate price.
*It's also important for us to know that God will give us all the courage we need in life. In Psalm 34:4, King David said, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." God wants to calm our fears, so when we seek the Lord, He will hear us, and somehow He will deliver us from all our fears. No wonder that in Psalm 56:3, David also said: "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You."
*God will give us the courage we need, but the greatest courage of all belongs to Jesus Christ! The greatest courage belongs to Jesus, because He made the greatest sacrifice, and He did that on the cross at Calvary. Worship Jesus for His courage. Never get over what Jesus did for us on the cross!
*You may have heard of Garrison Keillor. He was the creator behind the weekly NPR radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." Keillor once told the story of his Thanksgiving dinners as a child. His Uncle John usually gave the prayer, and that caused everyone to squirm.
*As Keillor said, "Everybody in the family knew that Uncle John couldn't pray without talking about the cross and crying. . . Sure enough, Uncle John prayed, talked about the cross, and cried. Meanwhile, the rest of us shifted nervously from one foot to the other and longed for the prayer to end."
*Then Garrison added this powerful observation: "All of us knew that Jesus died on the cross for us. But Uncle John had never gotten over it." That's the way God wants us to be today. Never get over the cross of Christ, and worship the Lord for His courage. (3)
2. ALSO WORSHIP THE LORD FOR HIS CARE.
*Our Good Shepherd is the exact opposite of the hirelings we see in vs. 12-13. There Jesus said, "But he who is a hireling and not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep."
*The hireling didn't care about the sheep. But the Good Shepherd cares. Jesus cares for us! There's no doubt about that. That's why He never flees. In Hebrews 13:5, Jesus Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.''
*Our God is always faithful! That's why in Psalm 36:5, King David could say, "Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Our God is always faithful! Even with all of his heartache, the Prophet Jeremiah remembered this great truth. That's why in Lamentations 3:21-23, Jeremiah said, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
*Our God is always faithful, because He cares about us. God also wants to give us His kind of care for other people. How can we tell that we have it? It all boils down to this: When the wolf is at the door, do we leave? Or do we love? The sad truth is that we fall short, but Jesus never does! -- so worship Jesus for his care,
3. AND WORSHIP THE LORD FOR HIS CLOSENESS.
*In vs. 14-17, we see the Lord's closeness on two very different levels.
[1] FIRST, WE SEE HOW CLOSE JESUS IS TO HIS HEAVENLY FATHER.
*That's in vs. 15, where Jesus said, "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." Then in vs. 17, Jesus said, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."
*Jesus Christ has a close personal relationship with His Heavenly Father. It's a relationship that overflows with intimacy and love. This shouldn't surprise us, because Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. As God the Son, Jesus is One with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. That's why in the opening two verses of this Gospel, John called Jesus "The Word" and said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
*Jesus frequently affirmed His close relationship with His Heavenly Father. For example, in John 5, Jesus mentioned His Father 14 times. Listen to John 5:19-23 to hear the kind of things Jesus said about His relationship with God the Father:
19. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
20. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
21. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
22. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
23. that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."
*Here in John 10:30, we will even hear Jesus say, "I and My Father are one.'' There is no doubt that God the Son has a perfectly close relationship with God the Father.
[2] BUT THE WONDERFUL TRUTH IS THAT JESUS IS ALSO CLOSE TO HIS FLOCK.
*We see this closeness in vs. 14 and 16, where Jesus said:
14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
16. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."
*The Good Shepherd is ever close to His flock, watching over them with loving affection. This reminds me of David's words in the 23rd Psalm. In vs. 1-3, David said, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake."
*David said, "The Lord is MY Shepherd. In other words, "I belong to Him, and He belongs to me." That's a relationship. David didn't just know about the Lord. He knew the Lord in a close, personal way. That's what the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ wants for all of us today. And God designed earthly relationships to help us understand the kind of everlasting relationship He wants to have with us.
*Friends are a good example, because the Lord wants to be everything a great friend is in our lives. That's why in John 15:13, Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends." And that's what Jesus did when He humbled Himself to take on a mortal body and die on the cross for our sins. Jesus willingly laid down His life for His friends. And the heart of Christianity is a close, personal relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. God wants to be our loving Heavenly Father, our brother and our best friend. Anybody can have this relationship by turning to Jesus, trusting in Him, and receiving Him as your Lord and Savior.
*It is absolutely amazing that we can have a close personal relationship with the God of the whole universe! And if we want to get closer to God, we surely can. So, worship the Lord for His closeness.
4. AND WORSHIP THE LORD FOR HIS CONTROL.
*God is in control! And we see a sample of the Lord's control in vs. 17-18. Here Jesus said:
17. "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.''
*Nobody forced Jesus to die for us. All power belongs to Him! The truth is that God was in control, -- and He always is! God's Word makes this truth clear all over the Old Testament and the New. When it comes to rulers, Proverbs 21:1 tells us that "the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
*God is also certainly in control of the weather. Psalm 147:15-18 gives this testimony about our God:
15. He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.
16. He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes;
17. He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold?
18. He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
*God is in control. Think of Jesus before Pilate in John 19:6-11. There the Word of God says:
6. . . When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!'' Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.''
7. The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.''
8. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,
9. and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?'' But Jesus gave him no answer.
10. Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?''
11. Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.''
*Again, here in vs. 17-18, Jesus said, "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 Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.'' And in Matthew 28:18, after He rose again from the dead, Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
*God is in control. We must always remember that, especially when trouble comes our way. Pastor James Brown once said: "There is no situation I can get into, that God cannot get me out."
*Then James gave this testimony: "Some years ago when I was learning to fly, my instructor told me to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief time, the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control.
*It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help me at all. After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, my mind began to function again. I quickly corrected the situation. Immediately I turned to the instructor and began to vent my fearful frustrations on him. He very calmly said to me, 'There is no position you can get this airplane into, that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again.'
*At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, 'Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into, that I cannot get you out of. If you trust me, you will be all right.'" (4)
CONCLUSION:
*Praise God! -- Praise God! Whenever you find yourself in a difficult situation, always remember that God is in control. And let Him be in control of you.
*What a wonderful Savior, the Good Shepherd our Lord Jesus Christ! Let's worship the Lord, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "His Exposure of the Wickedness of Men" - "His Death in Focus" - John 10:1-21
(2) Sources:
-ALBERT BARNES' NOTES ON THE BIBLE by Albert Barnes - Published in 1847-85 - Matthew 1:1
-Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: LUKE by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Section 3: The Ancestry" - Luke 3:23-38
(3) Sermon "Standing in the Light of the Cross" by Bill Bouknight - Good News March-April 2002, p. 21 - Source: Sermonillustrations.com email 03/13/2002
(4) James Brown, Evangeline Baptist Church, Wildsville, LA, in "Discoveries" - Fall, 1991, Vol. 2, No. 4 - SermonCentral illustration contributed by Paul Fritz
