May 2, 2004 John 10:22-30
22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
One of the hardest things to believe is that you are a believer, especially when you look at what God expects of believers. In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Co 13:4-7) These are signs of love. But when we look at ourselves, do we see ourselves always trusting, always hoping, and always persevering? Not if we’re looking in the mirror.
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. A Sunday that we set aside in the church year to celebrate that Jesus is our Good Shepherd - and we are His sheep. But how do we know we are His sheep? When I look at myself, I don’t eat grass. I don’t have white furry hair. I don’t lay down in pastures green. I don’t have four legs. I don’t “baa.” So how do I know I really am one of Jesus’ sheep?
In today’s text, the Jews wanted to know who Christ was - was He really the Shepherd? Jesus had come to the Feast of Dedication. This was apparently a festival to celebrate the cleansing of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in around 164 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes had slaughtered a pig on the altar and Jerusalem and desecrated the temple, and Judas apparently had led a revolt to reclaim the temple. So Jesus happened to be there - in the middle of December - during this Festival. It was at this time that the Jews wanted to know if Jesus was really claiming to be the Messiah or not.
Instead of answering the question who He was immediately - Jesus answered the question by asking them - “who are YOU?” Were they sheep seeking the Shepherd? Did they really want to know who He was? Or were they just imposters? As you come here this morning to listen to this sermon - Jesus poses this same question of you. Why are you here? Who are you? Are you the sheep that you claim to be?
Are You a Sheep of the Shepherd?
I. Do you listen?
Instead of pointing to how much hair you have or how many feet you have, Jesus points to other characteristics of what he considers His sheep. Unless you’re a hairy four legged creature, I guess that’s a good thing. What’s the first sign of a sheep? Jesus said, My sheep listen to my voice; In the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, it says, In the Greek mysteries and Gnosticism more stress is laid on apprehension of God by seeing. According to Philo’s “On Flight” - page 108 - hearing can lead astray, not seeing. If you were to get a revelation by hearing, it would have to be confirmed by sight. Monuments depicting religious acts show that the climax often comes with vision. According to our Lord and Savior and the history of our holy revelations - the exact opposite is the case in the way God communicates with us. Moses was attracted to the burning bush. But this meant nothing, until God spoke to Him from the burning bush. When Isaiah was called by God to be a prophet for Israel, he saw an awesome vision of angels flying and covering their faces before the throne of God. But the climax of the vision came at the SPEAKING of the Lord. The decisive call from Isaiah was laid out in vs. 2 of his first chapter - Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: (Is 1:2) God’s Word says that faith comes from HEARING the message. (Romans 10:17) Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we DON’T SEE.” (Hebrews 11:1) Throughout the Old Testament and New Testament history shows the rabbis reading out loud the holy books. Throughout Revelation Jesus continues to say, “he who has EARS let him HEAR what the Spirit says!”
The first key sign as to whether or not you are a sheep - is whether you are willing to listen to the Word of the Lord or not. The problem with the Jews who came to Jesus - is that they didn’t really come to listen to Jesus’ voice. It says they were in suspense - not to find the truth - but to stone him to death. They didn’t come to listen, but to find something to convict Jesus of. You see, it’s not enough just to come to Christ and demand Him to tell you what you want to know. You need to be willing to listen to what He has to say to you.
More often than not, we don’t approach our Lord in this manner. I would compare it to sleeping in my house at night. Every once in a while my daughter starts crying. From then on in, the battle begins. My wife and I have an ignorance contest. Who can lay the stillest for the longest without getting up? The trick to winning this battle is to learn how to tune it out. If I can somehow stay in a sort of semi-consciousness without really waking up - then after a while my wife will finally get up - and I’ll be able to fall back asleep - which is where I wanted to be in the first place. Then, I’ll wake up the next morning and ask my wife innocently, “did Maia get up last night?” After she says yes I respond, “I thought I heard something, but I didn’t realize it until you got up.” The reality is that I have learned how to tune it out, because I didn’t want to hear it, so even when I did hear her, I didn’t listen. That’s how we all too often approach God’s Word. We’ll listen when it’s convenient. We’ll listen when we have the energy. We’ll listen when we want to. But when God’s Word tells us something that we don’t want to hear - that we don’t want to believe - then we somehow train ourselves to sleepwalk through it as if God never said it - or as if He really wasn’t talking to us. In reality, the problem is that we don’t like to hear God talk about our sins. We don’t like to hear about a holy God who punishes sins. So many people don’t listen to it. They go to places that talk about how special they are and how important they are. They gloss over the Bible parts that talk about sin and punishment and perfection and hell. It’s no different than the Jews who approached Jesus with their own agenda. It doesn’t work that way. If you’re really a sheep, you need to be willing to really listen to what He has to say about Himself and about YOU - no matter what it is. You can’t open up the Bible and say, “I’ll believe what agrees with me.” That’s not the sign of a true sheep.
II. Do you follow?
Throughout the Scriptures there are examples of some people who truly did come to listen to what Jesus had to say. The rich young ruler is one example. With some background in the Word of God - he felt like he was on the right path. In his mind, he had been an obedient son. He hadn’t committed adultery with anyone, murdered anyone, or stole anyone’s property. Yet he still didn’t quite feel confident that he was on the right path. So he came to Jesus and asked him, “good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18) He really wanted to know - he came to listen. He also heard what Jesus had to say - it was loud and clear. Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Lk 18:22) The rich young ruler heard what Jesus had to say, but it was too difficult. So what did he do? At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mk 10:22) The young man was willing to listen, but not to follow. This is the second sign of a true sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Psalm 23 shows us a picture of the Good Shepherd leading his sheep into green pastures with running water. It’s such a tranquil scene. But following the Shepherd isn’t always such an easy assignment. One man said to Jesus, “I will follow you where you go!” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Mt 8:20) Jesus was saying to the man, “are you sure you want to follow me? This isn’t going to be an easy path. It’s going to be a narrow path, an uphill path, a very difficult path. There will be robbers, murderers, and danger on the path.” Look at the history of the Bible. God led the Israelites into a desert for 40 years. He led Paul on three missionary journeys - where he was shipwrecked, stoned, beaten and imprisoned. Psalm 23 has the Good Shepherd leading his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death. This isn’t a good place for sheep to be traveling. No, it’s not good at all.
In a movie classic - National Lampoon’s Vacation - Chevy Chase - otherwise known as Clark Griswold - leads his family across the country to their dream vacation at Wally World. Along the way, Clark gets lost several times. One time happened to be in St. Louis. After several wrong turns, the houses got dirtier and the skin color got darker, leaving Clark and his family more and more scared. As time wore on, Audrey and her mom started having a very distressed look on their face and asking, “are you sure you know where we are?” Confidently Clark gave the answer every husband knows by heart, “no problem kids, we’re just getting to see a part of America you don’t see every day.” Right after that, several gun shots went off, and he quickly said, “roll em up.” Their trust in their fearless leader evaporated, and they were scared to death. Isn’t that the way we end up with our Good Shepherd. At the beginning of the trip like good sheep we say to Jesus, “I’ll follow you wherever you go!” But then Jesus says to kids - “I want you to go the honest way - don’t cheat.” He says to teens - “I want you to take the high road - don’t have sex.” He says to adults - “I want you to take the faithful way - bring your children up in the nurture of the Lord. Have devotions. Be regular in attendance.” And we say, “are you sure Lord? That’s kind of hard.” Then things start getting more difficult, Jesus says to spouses, “be willing to turn the other cheek. Don’t be so judgmental of your spouse.” He says to kids, “don’t be so lazy with your parents. Do your chores.” So we say, “are you sure, Lord?” The true sign of a sheep is one who is willing to follow - even through the valley of the shadow of death. Sheep are so trusting and so dumb that they don’t really think about where they’re going. They’re so enamored with their Shepherd’s voice that they’re willing to follow him ANYWHERE! Are you a sheep? Are you willing to follow?
III. Who is your Shepherd?
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “maybe it would be easier if Jesus had just required some wool and four legs. Shoot, with all the plastic surgery and stuff going on today, it would be easier just to have someone graft some wool skin on me like with Jacob and transplant some sheep legs on me.” We don’t have the ears or legs of sheep. We don’t listen to the Shepherd’s voice like we could, and we don’t follow like we should. Instead of looking like cute fuzzy sheep, we look more like ostriches - scared and gangly ugly animals who run away and hide their heads in the sand.
There’s a story in Genesis about Jacob and Laban. When it was time for Jacob to get paid by Laban, Laban asked Jacob to stay and asked, “what can I pay you?” Jacob said to Laban - “Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. (Ge 30:32-33) At the time it would appear that the speckled sheep were weaker and there weren’t as many of them. Yet by using branches Jacob was able to turn this weak flock into a strong and numerous flock. The power of the flock wasn’t in the sheep, but in the wisdom of the shepherd.
Whenever we look at ourselves to determine if we’re really sheep - the reflection always seems to be incomplete and rippled. Our ears always seem to have wax in them and our legs always seem to be tired. We seem to be so weak. But throughout these words Jesus points us to a greater confidence as to whether we are sheep or not. How? Notice what Jesus says. “My Father has given them (the sheep) to me.” Being a part of Jesus’ flock isn’t dependant on what we do - but what the Father does. The sheep don’t find the shepherd - but like with Laban and Jacob - they are given to Jesus by the Father. Then Jesus points us to Himself, the Shepherd. The true strength of sheep is not found in the ears or the legs of the sheep, the hair or the teeth - but in the One who tends the sheep and breeds the sheep. If the shepherd is not willing to risk his life for the sheep, guard the sheep, and lead the sheep, they will die no matter where they go. He needs to know how to feed them, protect them, and breed them. That’s what Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does for us. Our sins had led us down a dangerous and a deadly path - on the road to hell. It was a path of no return - a chasm so deep and dark that our eyes and our legs and our ears could never escape. The Good Shepherd had to not only risk His life - but to give His life for us. The great message of salvation on this Good Shepherd Sunday is that the Good Shepherd rescued us - not with a great display of power, but by becoming a weak and lowly Sheep. Isaiah 53 says,
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth. (Is 53:6-7)
When we look to the Shepherd becoming a Sheep - it’s there that we find our salvation. In Christ I see a Sheep do what it’s supposed to. When the Spirit said, “go into the desert and be tempted by the devil” - the Sheep went. When the Father said, “go onto the cross - into the valley of the shadow of death”, the Sheep said, “your will be done.” Jesus then says to me, “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. (Jn 10:14-15)
Today, the Good Shepherd has another message for His sheep. He says, “I know you’re weak. I know you’re afraid to walk through that valley. I know it’s scary. But I want you to know something. I am your Shepherd. I have died for you. But now I am alive! I have risen from the dead, and I will give you eternal life, and you shall never perish; no one can snatch you out of my hand. My Father, who has given you to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch you out of my Father’s hand.” The strength of the sheep is not in their ability to hear or follow - but in the voice and leadership and the powerful hands of the Shepherd. Yes, we’re weak. Yes, we don’t follow as well as we should. Yet Jesus says to us, “come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest! I’ll lead you beside springs of living water!” That’s where He wants us to find our comfort.
Almost every household in America goes through a stage of wanting an animal. So they go to the pet store and look for a dog, a cat, a fish, a parrot, or if you’re real creative - a rock. I’ve heard of some real strange animals being pets - one guy had a tiger in his apartment. Another family has a buffalo that lives with them. But I’ve never heard of anyone having a pet sheep. Sheep are too dumb, too messy, and too scared. Since Jesus is the Shepherd - he doesn’t want arrogant lions who think they can make it through as kings of the jungle. He doesn’t want stubborn donkeys to try and trod their way through the forest. He likes sheep - dumb and stupid sheep - who are willing to listen and follow wherever he tells to go. Even though they’re dumb and scared and need guidance, do you want to be a sheep? Do you consider yourself one of Jesus’ little lambs? Ask yourself - Do you like to listen to the Word? Are you willing to follow your Lord? Most importantly, do you believe that Jesus - the Good Shepherd - laid down His life for you? Do you believe that in spite of your weakness and sins that Jesus is holding on to you? Whether you see yourself as a sheep or not, Jesus declares to you through faith in Him that you are His precious sheep - that He will never let go of. You are precious in his sight - so precious that He’ll never let go of you - His precious little lambs. Amen.
