I AM series #3 Castle Hills Christian Ch. 07-04-04
I AM the Good Shepherd
John 10
INTRODUCTION:
This summer we’ve been looking at the “I AM” statements of Jesus. Jesus said “I am the bread of life” in John chapter 6. In Chapter 9 He said “I am the light of the world.” Jesus next “I am…” statement seems to fall on the heals of the previous one, and seems like the next point in Jesus’ argument with the blind Pharisees who don’t recognize Jesus as the light of the world. They ask Jesus if he is saying that they are blind and he replies. “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (9:41).
That forms the pivot point for what will follow in chapter 10. In his attempt to reach his audience with the truth, Jesus tries yet another word picture. In Chapter 10, Jesus uses an example that was very familiar to everyone who was listening. Raising sheep was a big part of the economy in Israel, and everyone knew the dangers sheep faced in the area and the value of a dedicated, skilled shepherd.
In the beginning of Chapter 10, Jesus takes the opportunity to contrast the Good Shepherd with false shepherds, hirelings, thieves, and predators.
1. Follow Me John 10:1-5
1"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice."
When Jesus said these words he was making two distinct and important points; the first one related to the blind man he had just healed.
(1) Before the man-born-blind was healed he was an outcast from the fellowship of believers and had to beg for a living. When Jesus’ men asked, “Is his blindness because of his sin or that of his parents?” That was no doubt what the blind man had heard time and time again. Instead of caring about his condition, people simply used him as a point of departure for theological discussions on sin and related illness. The standard Jewish notion was that illness was punishment for some past sin. (That was what Job’s friends told him when they found him in such a predicament. He was frustrated because he knew that wasn’t true). Sadly, when Jesus healed him, the man wound up cast out of the synagogue as a heretic for giving credit to Jesus as healer. The man went from outcast due to illness, to outcast due to beliefs in one day’s time. The leaders had cast out a sheep of the flock of Israel, not because he was a bad sheep, but because they were bad shepherds. Jesus made the comparison between the good shepherd and hirelings, thieves, and predators, to show that the shepherds of Israel were abusing the sheep.
(2) The second intention of Jesus’ words was to show that the Good shepherd (prophecied in Ezekiel 34) has finally made his appearance.
The Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel, in the 34th chapter of his prophetic letter contrasted the false shepherds of Israel with the true shepherd who would someday come to lead the sheep himself and to judge all false shepherds according to their evil deeds.
There is a direct connection between the prophecies of Ezekiel 34, the shepherd’s psalm of David (Psalm 23), and the words of Jesus in John 10.
When Jesus told the crowds, “I am the Good Shepherd,” they may have been looking out to the hills around Jerusalem where it was common to see flocks of sheep grazing under the watchful eye of a shepherd. He was trying to make things as simple as he could, but vs. 6 tells us: 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. So Jesus stepped back and tried again. This time, He told them “I am the Gate.” Now, that may seem confusing unless you understand the a good Shepherd WAS the gate for his sheep. The typical sheep fold of that time was an enclosure made of rocks with a small opening at one end. The shepherd would literally lay down in that opening to guard it thereby making him a human gate of sorts. Nothing entered or exited the sheep fold without the shepherd’s knowledge and permission. As long as he lived the sheep were safe and secure, for he was their security. Even though the hirelings would see danger and run away, the good shepherd stayed at the entrance to the fold and protected every sheep inside it. He was literally willing to lay down his life for his sheep and they knew it. As long as the shepherd was there the sheep were safe and secure. They gladly followed the shepherd anywhere he went knowing they were safe and happy in his presence.
2. Enter through Me John 10:6-10
7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[1] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Pay attention to the words in verse 9, for they speak volumes about Jesus position and mission on earth. As the Shepherd, Jesus represents safety and security; as the gate Jesus represents authority and power. Those who enter into the fold through the official gate have a right to be there. Any other way in represents falsehood and deceit. Those who enter in through the gate are saved. Though the words (saved or salvation) may have lost their luster in our society these days, the truth is that what ever is “saved” is “delivered safe and sound.” The good shepherd literally saves his sheep every day of their lives. His salvation is not a one time event, but the every day experience of life with the shepherd.
3. Trust Me John 10:11-12
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
This is what it means to enter in through the gate. The sheep who enters into or out of the fold by that way is connected to the shepherd himself. Any other way represents falsehood, thievery, and the danger of catastrophy. The Good Shepherd can be trusted to protect His flock because he loves his flock and lives sacrificially in their behalf. Others are more interested in what they can get out of the flock (hirelings, thieves, etc.) than in what they can contribute to the welfare of the flock.
Once again, Jesus is comparing himself as the Good Shepherd to the leaders of Israel in that day who cared nothing for the welfare of the flock.. They had demonstrated their lack of concern when they kicked the newly healed blind man out of the synagogue just for giving Jesus credit for his healing. He was a lamb forced out of the official sheep fold of his day, but gladly welcomed into the fold of the Good shepherd. Many others would follow in his steps in time to come.
4. Listen to Me John 10:14-16, 27-30
14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I 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.
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[4] ; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one."
The words we have just read reiterate some of what Jesus has said before, but he says something here that excites me for it represents me directly. When Jesus said in vs. 16, “I have other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” Jesus was speaking about me… and you too for that matter. He was speaking about Gentiles all over the world who didn’t qualify to enter the Jewish sheep fold, but would qualify to enter into the fold Jesus was shepherding.
You see, the church, the fold of the Good Shepherd, is made up of people from every tribe, every race, every caste (or outcast), every nation. That is why in the church we must make reaching out to a lost and dying world our first priority. Jesus cared about every sheep including those not in the original Jewish fold. I’m glad he cared about people like me and included me in his fold. He also made me an under-shepherd entrusted with the task of introducing others to the fold of the good shepherd. Those who hear the shepherd’s voice can enter that same fold, through the gate which is the shepherd himself. The point is that the shepherd’s task is now my task as well. And yours too for that matter.
Conclusion:
On this day when we celebrate our own nation, we can also celebrate that Jesus did not come just for Americans, just as He did not come just for the Jews. Jesus came for all those who will Enter through Him, Follow Him, Trust Him , and Listen to Him. We have unity with One Flock and One Shepherd.
We, the church, are the flock of Christ. We have heard the Good Shepherd’s voice and recognized it is the voice of our shepherd. We follow him wherever he goes. When we entered the sheep-fold, he was the gate through which we entered. He is everything to us: Our savior, our guide, our protector, our healer, our nourishment, our refreshment. Everything we need we find in the good shepherd himself. He isn’t just the gate into the fold of the church; he is also the gate into eternal life itself. He has already welcomed me into his flock and will someday welcome me into the new Jerusalem, the eternal fold of all who belong to him. I look forward to that day when Jesus, the good Shepherd, will gather all his flock to be with himself forever. The Good Shepherd will speak, and all his sheep will hear his voice and follow him.
