I AM the Good Shepherd
John 10:11-18
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
10-11-2020
The DOOR
Last week, we started our journey through John 10 and encountered another one of the “I AM” statements. So far, we’ve heard Jesus say that He is the “bread of life” (John 6), the “light of the world,” and last week the “door/gate for the sheep” (John 10:7)
Jesus came to the sheepfold of Israel and called His sheep by name, one by one.
The only way into the sheepfold is through Jesus.
In another of the I AM statements that we will explore in a couple of weeks, Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
There aren’t multiple doors. There isn’t a door that works for me and one that works for you. There is only one way back to the Father and that is through a saving faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Jesus offers the sheep provision, protection, security, and salvation and, most importantly of all, abundant life:
“The thief comes to steal kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
This abundant life is eternal, resurrection life. It starts now and last forever. You are no long held in slavery to fear, shame, guilt, or your past.
Jesus provides light in the midst of the darkness, peace in the in the midst of the chaos, and hope in the midst of despair.
This morning, Jesus continues His conversation with the Pharisees and we come to another I AM statement - “I am the good shepherd.”
Turn to John 10:11.
Prayer
Text in its Context
Remember that it’s always important to consider the text within the context of Scripture.
Jesus had healed the man born blind in John 9 and the Pharisees reacted by interrogating, insulting, and finally, ex-communicating him.
John 9 ends with these haunting words:
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:38-41)
In John 10, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and the religious leaders of Israel. They were supposed to the shepherds of the flock of Israel but had utter failed in their duties to care for, defend, protect, and provide for the sheep.
But there is something else going on behind the scenes here.
The feeding of the 5,000 in John 5 took place during the Passover when Jesus declared,
“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…” (John 6:35)
It was at the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, when the water was being poured out on the altar, As the priests are pouring the water on the altar, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice:
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ( John 7:37-38)
It was at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, during the illumination of the Temple in which four 75 foot Menorah would be lit lighting up all of Jerusalem that Jesus said:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Now in John 10, the Feast of Dedication in upon them.
In 167 BC the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who claimed to be god, attacked Jerusalem and sacrificed a pig on the altar to the pagan god Zeus, forced pork down the priest throat, turned the chambers of the Temple into a brothel.
He outlawed even the possession of the Hebrew Scriptures.
In 165 BC, Judas Maccabaeus, “Judas the Hammer,” overthrew the Syrian army and rededicated the Temple on the 25th of Kislev (December).
The Jewish people celebrated the victory for eight days and it was decreed that the Feast of Hanukkah, (lights), should be celebrated each year around this time.
Growing up, my best friend was named Randy and he was Jewish. I remember being at his house during Hanukkah and being jealous that he got presents for eight days in a row!
We were about eight year old and I went home and ask my mother if I could be Jewish. When she said no, Randy and cooked a scheme. I would be “shoeish.” I would carry a show box around and worship the great shoe in the sky. It was close enough. Maybe I could get presents too? That really didn’t work out the way Randy and I thought it would.
During this festival it was customary to ask questions about the shepherds of Israel and how they allowed these abominations to happen.
It was in this atmosphere that Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is the gate for the sheep and that He is the good shepherd.
Jesus cares for and protects His Sheep
“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.” (John 10:11-13)
For the second time in these verses, Jesus uses “ego emie” - I AM! He is invoking the covenant name for God from Exodus 3:14 “I am that I am.”
It was blatant claim to deity and the religious leaders understood it clearly enough to start planning to assassinate Him for blasphemy.
Jesus says that He is the “good shepherd.”
In Scripture, David is spoken as the “good shepherd” :
"He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:70-72)
Moses was a shepherd of the flock:
“You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” (Psalm 77:20)
But Israel had one main shepherd.
Moses wrote:
“But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.” (Genesis 49:24-25)
David wrote:
“Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.” (Psalm 80:1)
Isaiah wrote:
“See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11)
Jewish people were very comfortable thinking of God as a shepherd. But then Jesus completely blows their minds and announces…I AM the Good Shepherd!
We looked at Ezekiel 34 last week where God calls Israel’s shepherds to account.
God says through Ezekiel that He would take over and:
“I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16)
Jesus is the good shepherd prophesied in Ezekiel 34.
There are several words for “good” in the Greek language and the one John uses here means “noble, worthy, ideal, model of perfection.”
He is contrasting Himself with the worthless shepherds of Israel’s past and present:
“You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.” (Ezekiel 34:3-4)
Jesus lays down His life for, on behalf of, the sheep. In the book of John, this little word “for” is always used in the context of the cross - a sacrificial, substitutionary death.
In the first verses of chapter 10, Jesus describes the Pharisees as thieves and robbers. Here in these verses, He uses the picture of a “hired hand.”
This is a derogatory term that means that they are only in it for the money. There is no loyalty or compassion for the sheep.
When he sees the wolf coming, or the bear or mountain lion, he runs away and the sheep scatter. All he needs to be is faster than the slowest sheep.
Sheep don’t have sharp teeth or claws. They have terrible eyesight and as we saw last week, they are not the sharpest crayon the box. They need a shepherd to protect them.
When David was preparing to fight Goliath, he told Saul:
“Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.” (I Samuel 17:34-36)
If there was one wolf, the law said that he should stay and protect the sheep but if there were two wolves, he would not be responsible for making restitution to the shepherd. (Exodus 22:13)
As long as it is easy, he’s there for the sheep but if it gets to dangerous, he’s out of there.
The crowd knew exactly what He was saying and so did the Pharisees.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:1-4)
The Pharisees had no compassion for the lost sheep like the blind man. They were no better than hired men who run away when the sheep are threatened.
There is a difference between how a babysitter treats a child and the mother of the child.
Jesus says that He is different because He “owns the sheep.” He has a vested interest in the sheep.
The shepherd would cut a notch into a sheep’s to mark which ones are his.
In Latin, the word for money and sheep are very similar because for Romans wool was their wealth and their fortunes were in their flocks.
Charles Spurgeon wrote that “The Lord Jesus is our shepherd and we are His wealth.”
Jesus Knows His 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.” (John 10:14-16)
He repeats His declaration again but this time He will focus on His relationship with the sheep.
Jesus knows the sheep. This is an intimate, trusting relationship with sheep that He knows by name.
Remember these words from last week:
“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” (John 10:2-5)
In these verses, He take this knowledge to a whole different level.
He says that his relationship to the sheep is like His relationship to his Father.
John Calvin wrote: “It is as if He said that it is no more possible for him to be oblivious of us than for the Father to reject or neglect Jesus.”
The intimacy of the sheep/shepherd relationship is based on the intimacy between the Father and the Son.
Jesus, in His high priestly prayer in John 17, says,
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)
Again, Jesus says that He lays down his life for the sheep. And again, we are going to save this for last.
He then says something very interesting and the crowd’s ears must of perked up at this.
Jesus announced that He has “other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice…” (John 10:16)
There have been people who have speculated that Jesus is talking about aliens. Nope.
Mormons believe that this verse is referencing the “lost tribes of Israel” that migrated to North America and evangelized the Native Americans. Nope.
This is pretty straight forward. The “other sheep” are…US!!! We are in the Bible. Right there. It’s the Gentiles.
“I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
Jesus will take these two flocks, Jew and Gentile, and there will be “one flock and one shepherd.”
The King James Version mistranslates this Greek word as “fold” or “pen” and the Catholic Church points to this this verse to say that there is only one fold or church.
But that is not what the text says. It isn’t about the location of the sheep. It’s about their proximity to the Good Shepherd.
John 17 continues:
“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22-23)
And the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus;
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-18)
Jesus was calling the sheep out of the pen of Judaism and He was also calling Gentile sheep from far off to make one flock (the church) under one shepherd - Jesus.
In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is called “that great shepherd of the sheep” (Heb 13:20) and I Peter 5, He is called the “chief shepherd.” (I Peter 5:4).
Why? Because He is willing to lay down His life for His sheep!
Jesus Died for His Sheep
“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.” (John 10:17-18)
In verses 11, 15, 17 and 18, Jesus declares to the crowd that He will lay down his for the sheep.
D.A. Carson writes:
“The love of the Father for the Son is eternal linked with the unqualified obedience of the Son to the Father, His utter dependence upon Him, culminating in the greatest act of obedience now just before Him: willingness to bear the shame…of Golgotha, the isolation and rejection of death, the sin and curse reserved for the Lamb of God.”
In John 14, Jesus tells His disciples that He “loves the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” (John 14:31)
This was the plan from the beginning. Remember that in Genesis 3, when God curses the snake,
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
A descendant of Adam and Eve, one known as the Son of Man and the Son of David, will finally, once and for all, crush satan’s head, destroying death and ending sin’s reign of terror on the earth.
Isaiah writing 700 years before this time, said,
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)
His name is Jesus!
When Pilate was interrogating Jesus, He said
“Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” (John 19:9-11)
Peter in the first Christian sermon said,
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:22-24)
Jesus didn’t get sideways with the religious leaders of the day and end up getting Himself killed.
Out of obedience to the Father, and extravagant love for the sheep, Jesus laid his life down willingly, to pay for our sins in our place, to give us that abundant, eternal life that He spoke of back in verse 10.
This death was selfless:
“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
It was specific:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 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.” (John 10:27-30)
It was sacrificial:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)
It was substitutionary:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)
It was sufficient:
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
In the Old Testament, the sheep die for the shepherds. In the New Testament, the Shepherd dies for the sheep!
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (I John 3:16)
Have you placed your faith in His death on the cross, in your place, to pay for your sins?
Applications
Turn with me to Psalm 23. This passage is read at every funeral I do and is probably the most famous Psalm in the Bible. Pastor Duane Otto did a wonderful job yesterday comforting the Price family with this Psalm. But it is really about life, abundant life, then it is about death.
1. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
To acknowledge Jesus as your shepherd means you understand that you are a sheep - utter helpless and dependent.
Some of you have needs, financial, emotional, in your marriage, with your children.
The Shepherd promises to meet your needs (not your wants). If you trust Him, He will take care of you.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
Sheep don’t like to lie down. According to Philip Keller, a pastor and shepherd, In order to feel safe to lie down, the ship need to be free from fear, friction, flies, and trust the shepherd for food.
In the summer, the shepherd would apply an anointment to their heads to keep the flies away. - You anoint my head with oil…
Some of you are overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, or angry. Maybe you are like this sheep that is cast down we talked about last week.
Sheep need green pasture to eat. They cannot find it without the shepherd. Sheep are afraid of running water because their wool can get water logged and they can drowned so the shepherd will dam up a stream to provide the sheep still water.
Maybe today, you need the Shepherd to restore your soul. To set you right back up.
Some people think that when they are cast down, when they fall, when they fail again, that God is tapping his feet and taking His head in frustration.
But the shepherd will pull the sheep back on their feet time and time again.
Jesus has compassion for your pain.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
In a season of deep depression wrote;
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)
I am called to be your shepherd. In fact, the Latin word for shepherd is “pastor.”
Peter gives me these marching orders when it comes to taking care of the flock that He has entrusted to me:
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (I Peter 5:2-4)
I am called to care, lead, encourage, challenge, protect, and feed the sheep of Chenoa Baptist Church.
Charles Spurgeon wrote nearly 150 years ago, “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats!”
3. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Cowboys drive sheep. Shepherds lead the sheep. And sheep follow. Maybe you feel lost right now. You don’t know which way to go. Follow your shepherd.
Sometimes we, like sheep, wander off. Isaac Watts, the hymn writer, said it this way,
“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the one I love.”
Jesus said that He came to “seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
And He told this parable:
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:4-7)
One time, in Mississippi, we were in the youth room after church and Joshua was a toddler. I looked down and he was gone. He wasn’t even in the room.
Soon, there were students ran all over the church yelling his name. Maxine and I were panicked. Finally, he was found in the bathroom. We didn’t discipline him for leaving because we were so happy to have found him.
If you are 1,000 miles away from God, it’s only one step back. But if you are that far away, don’t be surprised when Jesus comes looking for you!
4. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Maybe you are grieving or feel alone. Maybe you are experiencing fear about the future. The Shepherd doesn’t give you all the answers. He gives you something much better - His presence.
Philip Keller writes,
“It is not until we have walked with Him through some deep troubles that we discover He can lead us to find our refreshment in Him right there in the midst of our difficulty.”
He will walk with you through the deepest valley. He will never leave you like a hired hand when things get tough.
In another one of the I AM statements we will study soon Jesus responded to Mary and Martha as they were grieving their brother Lazarus:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25)
Maybe you are in sin. You know it. God knows it. But no-one else might know it. You feel guilty and ashamed a lot.
The shepherd has a rod. This is a defensive tool to wack wolves on the head.
The shepherd has a staff. It is specifically designed for sheep. This is used to pull sheep back from the edge.
With a sheep that wanders away continually, the shepherd will actually break the sheep’s legs and carry it until it heals.
Maybe the shepherd needs to discipline you in order to get you back on track. He does that out of love and not out of anger.
He will restore you. After the resurrection, Jesus found Peter and asked him three times if he love Him. In doing so, Jesus restores Peter and gives him a mission, “Feed my lambs. Take take of my sheep.” (John 21)
5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
There are time when a mother ewe will reject a baby sheep. No matter how many times the shepherd puts the baby back with the mother, she will not acknowledge or care for these sheep.
These baby sheep will hang their head so low that that it looks like their necks are broken. They are called “bummer lambs.”
The Shepherd must intervene or the lamb will die. So the shepherd feels the lamb and holds the lamb close to his chest so it can hear his heartbeat. He cares for the lamb as he would one of his one children.
When the lamb is old enough, it is placed back into the flock. Guess which lamb will run to the shepherd first when he calls?
A lot of us are rejected and broken like a bummer lamb. I was talking to someone this week that told me that their parents told them that they were “no good and would be a failure.”
But Jesus, the Good shepherd, invites you to His table of acceptance, extravagant love and abundance. There all the lies of the evil one are seen for what they are and you are given a new name, a new purpose, a new heart, and a new future.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,?and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Maybe some of you are plagued with doubts. You doubt God loves you. You doubt your salvation. You doubt your future.
But you don’t have to live in doubt if Jesus is your good shepherd. He promises abundant life that starts now and last forever. And nothing can separate you from this pursuing love.
As Paul told the Romans:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
You can live in freedom and joy knowing that you are secure in the Shepherd’s hands.
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:11-13)
A famous actor who was well known for being able to recite great passages. A pastor was there as well. The pastor asked him to recite Psalm 23. The actor said he would be only if the pastor would recite it after him.
The actor recited the Psalm 23 so beautifully that people gave him a loud ovation.
The pastor stood to recite it and didn’t have the eloquence of the actor but when he finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
The actor was asked what the difference was. He said, “I know the Psalm. He knows the Shepherd.”
[Fernando Ortega “The Good Shepherd” You Tube]
Ending Song: He will hold me fast
