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:
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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.
Jesus of course doesn’t just risk his life for us, he gave his life for us. The Greek word that we translate here as good means “beautiful, noble, honorable, worthy of praise”. In other words, Jesus is fulfilling his duty as a shepherd in such a noble and praiseworthy way that it draws people to him.
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John 15:13 NIV
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
The wolves scatter the sheep and tear them apart. The hired hands don’t care, but Jesus does, he gives his life for us. And that sacrifice draws us to him, because it is a display of the love of God. Of course, the audience at the TIME didn’t realize that this is what he was talking about, but looking back, we do now.
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John 10:14–15 NIV
“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.
We spoke about this in the last message as well, the fact that sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd, and run away from strangers. However, he deepens that analogy further in this half of the story. Unlike the Jewish leaders, who did not KNOW the people, Jesus knew his people and they knew him. But he compares this “knowing” to the way that God the Father and Jesus know each other. This goes beyond just knowing ABOUT someone, or knowing who someone is.
Jesus had an intimate and personal relationship with God the Father, they were one with each other. But Jesus says his sheep know HIM in the same way. In the same way that he knows God the Father, we know Jesus.
This also related to Old Testament covenant language between Israel and God. The idea of “knowing God” in the Old Testament is used to describe the intimate and obedient relationship that the Israelites were supposed to have with God.
Jeremiah 31:34 (NIV)
No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
To know the Lord was to be in a covenant relationship with him, and to follow his commandments. Knowing Jesus means being one of his sheep, which means following his voice. If you KNOW Jesus, you are one of his sheep, who he has died for.
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John 10:16 NIV
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.
Now THIS was probably the most controversial thing he had said yet, although they probably still didn’t understand what he was saying. In the OLD testament, God was depicted as the true shepherd of the nation of Israel. They were his covenant people, and during the time Jesus was alive, they would have seen themselves as such. The Gentiles, or non-Israelites, were considered sinful and not to be associated with.
Here however, we see Jesus widening the role of God as the good Shepherd. Jesus had primarily ministered to Israel, but we see in this passage that his intention is to widen the kingdom of God to ALL people. The idea is that he has called sheep from one sheep pen out into the pasture, but then he says that there are sheep from ANOTHER sheep pen that he also has responsibility for, and he needs to lead THEM out to pasture as well. But he says there will be ONE flock. They will listen to his voice too.
Mormons believe that when Jesus said this, he meant that after his resurrection, he would go preach to the indigenous nations in North America, but obviously that is not the case. This is referring to the gathering of the Gentiles, and the grafting of the Gentile believers into the Jewish believers. But to them, it probably would have sounded just as ridiculous.
Jesus says, there shall be one flock. One church, with no distinctions, no privileges for being Jewish. The barrier between them will be broken down, that is what he is telling them here.
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John 10:17–18 NIV
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.”
There is a lot packed into this verse, and when you consider that nobody yet knew Jesus was going to die on the cross, it is quite the statement. Some atheists have tried to argue that Jesus believed his mission failed when he was on the cross, and cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That he thought he had failed, and this was the end. But this statement by Jesus is a direct refutation of that.
Jesus says that he is going to lay down his life, and then take it up again. Not only that, but he says that he is actually not having his life TAKEN from him, he is offering it of his own free will, because he has the authority to do so. But not only THAT, but he is actually COMMANDED to do so by God the Father. He does this as a sacrifice, to show the willingness of God the Father to save us. The death of Jesus is proof that God cares VERY deeply about saving us from sin.
There are no surprises here. Jesus knew EXACTLY what lay ahead of him. Not only did HE know, but he TOLD people that this was going to take place. But it is important to not focus on his death here. While he states that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, the focus here is on the fact that he will be brought back to life. This entire Gospel was written from the perspective of the resurrection, and that is made clear here in this section.
He is the good shepherd, because he comes to lay down his life for his sheep, but he also comes back to life for his sheep.
So each week, we have seen these stories where Jesus reveals things about himself, his character and his mission to the crowds around him. They didn’t have the full picture, at this point most just saw him as a wandering rabbi, so these statements were really important.
Jesus revealed to the crowds that he is the bread of life, the source of spiritual fulfilment. He revealed that he was the light of the world, he came to illuminate our path and our hearts to our condition. He revealed that he is the gate for the sheep, and that anyone who follows and enters through him finds safety and pasture from the thieves and robbers they were currently at the mercy of.
So what is Jesus revealing about himself here? What can we learn about the character and his mission from this statement, I am the good shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep?
1. He was willing to die
First, he was willing to die for us. We see that in verses 17-18:
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John 10:17–18 NIV
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.”
Nobody forced him to die on the cross, he willingly chose a path that led right to his crucifixion. He did this because it was all a part of God the Father’s divine plan.
Octavius Winslow said this: "Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; - but the Father, for love!" He did this willingly, as we see throughout scripture:
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Ephesians 5:1–2 NIV
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Galatians 2:20 NIV
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
God the Father had a plan, and Jesus willingly sacrificed himself to complete it, because he loves us. We are his sheep, and he is a good Shepherd.
2. He was our substitute
Second, he was our substitute. Jesus says that he lays down his life for his sheep in verse 14,
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John 10:14–15 NIV
“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.
And this is where the analogy of the sheep and shepherd once again diverge, because the image of a sheep is one of innocence, and we are far from innocent. He died because a death was due. We were guilty, and as we see in Romans, the penalty for sin is death.
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1 Timothy 2:5–6 NIV
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
1 Peter 2:24–25 NIV
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Titus 2:13–14 NIV
while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Jesus is the good Shepherd, and because he is the Good Shepherd, and because he cares about his sheep, he is willing to give his life to settle our debt.
3. He conquered sin and Satan
Third, he has conquered sin and Satan. In this story, and in the verses after, Jesus declares his authority and power over these forces:
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John 10:18 NIV
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.”
And then in verse 28,
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John 10:28 NIV
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Jesus is declaring here that once someone has joined his flock, they are free from the power of sin and Satan. Through his death, Sin and evil have been defeated forever, and he declares it in this passage. We also see that message throughout scripture after the fact:
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2 Corinthians 5:17–19 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
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John 1:29 NIV
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Jesus revealed in this passage that not only did he come to destroy sin and death, but that he has the authority to do so. In this he is the good shepherd, because he saves us from the powers that have separated humanity from God since the Garden of Eden.
So as we wrap up this week, lets consider what it means for us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for us. Let’s consider the significance of that offering that he makes for us, and how fortunate we are to HAVE a shepherd who cares about his sheep enough to lay down his life to save us.
Jesus willingly gave up his life for anyone who hears His voice and listens. He was willing to die, and he eventually did die, in our place. His death paid for our sin. And in doing so, he destroyed sin and Satan.
As we leave today, let’s remember this sacrifice that our shepherd has made for his sheep, and the love that he must have for us to be willing to die in our place. Let’s remember that his love extends to everyone, that he wants NONE to perish. And lets allow that love to fill OUR hearts, so that we will be overcome with a passion and a desire to complete the mission that he has given us.
