“The Good Shepherd”
John 10: 1 – 18; Ezekiel 34: 11 – 16; Psalm 23
Introduction: Of Sheep and Shepherds
Ask the children: What kind of animal would you like to be? Why? Have you ever noticed that no one ever says that they want to be a sheep? Why is that? Does anyone here know what sheep are like? You see, when we hear a passage like this one and Psalm 23 we often romanticize the images of shepherds and sheep. But once you find out a little more about sheep, you may not like the fact that in our passage we are compared with them! Here are a few attributes of sheep:
1.Sheep are generally stubborn and stupid creatures – have you ever seen a trained sheep? At the circus we can see trained horses, elephants, and even monkeys, but never do we see sheep. Sheep are simple-hearted. Or perhaps we can just say they are simply simple. Have you ever been stubborn? Have you ever done something stupid?
2.Have you ever seen those Serta mattress commercials? (Show the sheep doll that Ella got from the salesperson at Sears.) Well, sheep are not like this! Sheep are dirty and often wayward. Sheep wander easily and never learn from their mistakes. Have you ever made the same mistakes over and over again? Have you ever felt like you were wandering?
3.Sheep are also easily frightened and confused. They are known to plunge off cliffs in their confusion. Have you ever been frightened and confused in life, by specific circumstances and situations? Have you ever felt as though you were tumbling off a cliff?
4.Sheep are also defenceless, dependent and therefore need guidance and protection. Have you ever felt defenceless? In need of protection and guidance?
So, as you can see, for us to be called sheep is not exactly complimentary. But this is an image that Jesus himself uses. And if we are honest with ourselves and trust in what Scripture says about human nature, then we will admit that this description of sheep does reflect what we are often like. We are sinful, obstinate, rebellious, foolish, and in need of guidance. We are in need of protection. We do need someone to take care of us; we do need a shepherd. Thank the Lord that we do have a good shepherd in Jesus. While we may indeed be sheep, the Lord is our shepherd and our passage today tells us something of what our shepherd is like.
Our Shepherd Knows Us (and We Know Him)
One practice of shepherds in the Mediterranean world is to give each sheep a pet name – or to call each shepherd individually. A strong connection exists between the shepherd and each of his sheep. One scholar notes that there was “a personal bond between the shepherd and his sheep.” This is likely what lies behind Jesus saying that “he calls his own sheep by name” (v. 3b). Notice first here that Jesus calls us. Speaking of God as a shepherd, Ezekiel 34: 16 says this: “I will seek the lost.” Jesus calls us, he seeks us. It begins with him. Jesus issues the invitation. He takes the initiative, not us. And not only does he call and seek us, but he calls us by name. In the ancient world a person’s name represents who they are, so when he calls each one of us by name our passage is saying that he knows each of us intimately. The shepherd knows his sheep – in v. 14 Jesus says “I know my own and my own know me.”
And when Jesus calls his sheep by name, they listen. Verse 3 says that the sheep hear his voice. Verse 4 says that they know his voice. They do not know the voice of strangers – but they do recognize the voice of their shepherd. Hearing the shepherd’s voice, the sheep follow as he leads.
How do we listen to the voice of our shepherd? We listen by studying the Scriptures. We make studying and obeying the Bible a priority in our lives. We make sure that the voice of Scripture is one with authority in our homes: with more authority than the daily paper, television, the computer and whatever we find on the internet. The way to know whether the Bible has authority in our lives is to ask ourselves: am I spending time in the Scriptures every day? Now I know none of us is perfect. Even I am not completely consistent in my own daily devotions. But the primary way to know Jesus, to hear his voice, to listen to him, and to know therefore how to follow him is to study the Scriptures. Psalm 19: 10 calls Scripture sweeter than honey. Do you feel this way about Scripture? Read your Bible. Get to know it. Ask God to show you how to apply it to your life. Make it a priority.
Only when you become familiar with Jesus’ voice and learn how to follow him will you be able to resist the voices of strangers. Our passage says in vv. 4 and 5 that “the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” What other voices are competing with Jesus to be heard in your life? How can you alter your priorities so that Jesus’ voice is the one with real authority in your life? Only when you become familiar with Jesus’ voice will you be able to distinguish his voice from that of strangers – and be able to run from the strangers of false teaching, other worldviews, media influence, etc.
I remember when I was in university and involved with IVCF. Someone was talking to us about spending time studying Scripture and doing our devotions. They said that if we considered our relationship with Christ more important than our studies, our use of time should reflect this fact. If we spend several hours a week studying and writing papers and doing homework, then shouldn’t we also make time for the Bible and for learning more about Jesus? And for us here today, how often could we read the Bible instead of watching television, reading newspapers, playing on the internet, reading secular books? As Paul says in Philippians 4: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Remember the three Rs: Read the word, reflect on the word, respond to the word. Jesus calls each one of us to listen to his voice, and only by listening to his voice will we be able to follow.
Our Shepherd is the Only Way
Where are we following Jesus? In the imagery of our passage we follow him into the sheepfold. We need to know, then, that the sheepfold could only be entered properly through one gate; there was no other access. Jesus takes this image of the gate and applies it to himself in order to tell us that he is the one through whom we are to be saved – he is the way. Jesus provides the entrance to eternal life. It is through Jesus that we find pasture.
One scholar says that “When Jesus identifies himself as the gate for the sheep, he points to the ways in which one’s place in the sheepfold, and hence one’s identity as a member of the flock, is determined exclusively by one’s relationship to Jesus as the gate. One enters the fold through Jesus.”
As Psalm 23 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
Ezekiel 34: 13 – 15 says this: “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God.” These words are fulfilled in Jesus. By identifying himself as the good shepherd Jesus is deliberately recalling Ezekiel 34, thereby identifying himself as the one who fulfills the promises of God and does the work of God.
It is Jesus who makes us lie down and find rest. It is Jesus who leads us beside still waters to feed on rich grazing land. Jesus is the only one who can give eternal and abundant life. Through him we have salvation; they who enter by the gate will be saved through him.
And this is why we listen to his voice, and this is why we follow Jesus: we do this because only he can give us true, lasting, and eternal life. This is life that overflows – like the Psalmist’s cup in Psalm 23, “my cup overflows” with life abundant when I enter the pasture through Jesus.
Our Shepherd Lays Down His Life
If receiving eternal and abundant life is why we listen to Jesus and enter pasture through him, then the next part of our passage tells us how he provides us with this eternal life. Look at verse 11 onward. Here Jesus begins to talk about the shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep. The good shepherd here is not like the hired hands that run when enemies attack the sheep; rather, the good shepherd cares for and protects the sheep, with his very life if necessary. “Verse 11b may also have points of contact with Palestinian shepherding practices; a good shepherd may indeed have to give up his life to prevent the decimation of his flock by wild animals.”
There are several OT passages that talk about the leaders of Israel as bad or evil shepherds that cared nothing for the sheep: Ezekiel 34, Jeremiah 23, Zechariah 11. Here the primary image of the shepherd is that he is more concerned for himself than for the flock. “In each of these portraits, the flock is scattered and devoured by animals as a result of the shepherd’s neglect.” The picture Jesus paints of himself, however, is decidedly different. He will care for the sheep to the point of dying for them. Jesus is the good shepherd.
This is the ultimate expression of love according to Jesus. Later on in this same Gospel he tells his disciples that “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Drawing on the image of shepherd, Jesus is telling us here what he will ultimately have to do to secure the abundant life he offers: he needs to die and rise again.
In keeping with the rest of the Gospel story, we need to realize that Jesus’ reason for sacrificing himself is primarily because of his relationship with the Father. It is who Jesus is as the Son of God that determines what he does. Jesus’ “death is the ultimate expression of the love relationship that already exists and defines who he is and how he enacts God’s will for the world.”
He does this first because of his relationship with God the Father and second because of his relationship with us. Jesus is also in control of his own death; he is not a victim nor is he a martyr against his will. He freely chooses to lay down his life as an expression of his obedience to the Father. He says “I lay my life down” and that “no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” This is Jesus’ decision. It is an act of obedience to the Father; it is an act of love for us. It is an act that begins with death but ultimately leads to life. Only after Jesus himself walks through “the valley of the shadow of death” will the gate to life be opened. And as Jesus says, “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.” While he will die, he will also rise. And it is through his death that we receive life.
Conclusion: Following Our Shepherd
Maybe I should ask the same question again: if you could be any kind of animal, what would it be? Maybe being a sheep – though it doesn’t paint us in the most complimentary light – isn’t so bad after all, not if we have a shepherd like Jesus.
While we may be stupid, obstinate or stubborn, we know that Jesus is patient with us. We know that he is merciful. We know that he is grace. While we may be wayward and lose direction, we know that Jesus can lead us beside still waters, that he calls us to follow him again and again. While we may make the same mistakes, we know that he offers forgiveness. While we may feel frightened and confused by what life throws at us, we know that Jesus’ peace is also ours if we only seek and ask. While we may be defenceless, we know that Jesus is our protector, that he will be our guide, our strong tower, anchor and rock.
Do you want to have Jesus as your shepherd – as your guide, protection, your source of forgiveness and mercy, understanding, and direction? Then listen to his voice – read the Scriptures – learn from him, learn about him. Seek him. Follow him. Get to know his voice. Get to know him. Jesus wants to be your shepherd and he wants to seek those who are lost, bring back those who have strayed, bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak. He wants to lead each of us into rich pasture, into grazing land, into eternal, abundant life.
Let’s say Psalm 23 together:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
