John 10:11-18
“He Fights Off the Wolf”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of Parkview UMC, Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
In John Chapter 9…just before our Gospel Lesson for this morning…
…Jesus heals a man who was born blind…and He healed him on the Sabbath.
This infuriated the religious rulers of Jesus’ day, and the man who was once blind was eventually thrown out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard that he had been thrown out of the synagogue Jesus went and found him.
And when He found him He led him to have personal faith in Him.
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus asked.
“Who is he sir?” the man asked.
“Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
“Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
“Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him.”
After this, Jesus turned His attention to the Pharisees.
And it is in contrast to them that He refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd.
The Pharisees did not have much compassion for the flock of people they were supposed to shepherd.
As a matter of fact, Jesus says in Matthew that the Pharisees were blind guides who made people twice the children of hell as they themselves were.
In Jesus’ eyes, the Pharisees were hired hands.
When they saw the wolf coming they would be apt to abandon the sheep and run away.
The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
The Pharisees were not good shepherds.
Throughout the Old Testament, God is often pictured as the Shepherd and the people are His flock.
And the leaders of the people are often described as the shepherds of God’s people and nation.
Sadly, though, throughout history the leaders of the people have failed miserably.
Listen to what God says through the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament, long before Jesus spoke the words of our Gospel Lesson for this morning.
This is found in Ezekiel Chapter 34: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
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.
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.
They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.”
Then the Lord goes on to promise:
“I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them…
…I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down…
…I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.”
When Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus meant that He was fulfilling God’s promises and doing God’s work.
This is a powerful statement to a hostile audience who had to recognize that they were not doing the work of the shepherd, even though they held the office!
Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
He is the Shepherd Who will risk His life to seek and save the one straying sheep.
He has pity upon us people because we are as sheep without a shepherd.
His disciples, in the Gospels, are described as His little flock.
And when He, the shepherd, is arrested, the sheep are scattered.
Jesus is the Shepherd of human souls, and the Great Shepherd of the sheep!
No one else can be completely counted on.
Jesus is the One Who “lays down his life for the sheep.”
When Jesus sees the wolf coming to attack the sheep, Jesus does not abandon the sheep…like a hired hand would do…
…no, Jesus fights off and defeats the wolf for the sake of the sheep…
…for the sake of you and me…
…for our very lives and salvation!!!
In one of his sermons, John Piper states:
“When Jesus laid down His life for the sheep He saved us from three destroying wolves: sin and death and judgment.
He saw them coming, He went out to meet them, He drew them away from the flock and gave His life to kill them and take away their power so that they will not destroy the flock.
But now, if the story ended here there would be a great problem.
If a flock of sheep lose their shepherd because He laid down His life to save them from a pack of wolves, they are now shepherdless.
And if no more wolves come, they will soon run out of green pasture and wander away into the desert valleys of death and perish.
And in the end they will not be saved.
And the death of the shepherd will have been in vain.
But the story doesn’t end with a mangled shepherd lying dead among these three dead wolves, and sheep scattered thirsting and starving in the desert.
Verse 18 tells us why: ‘No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’”
We sheep now have a shepherd.
Being a Christian is not merely being saved from sin and death, hell and judgment…
…it also means that we have a living Shepherd to guide us and heal us and protect us from the wolves who seek to harm us!…
….the wolves in this life that seek to take away the peace which Christ offers…
…the abundant life which Christ offers…
…the freedom which Christ offers…
…the joy which Christ offers!!!
In this life it often seems as if we have wolves attacking us from all sides.
Many of us have the wolves of financial woes…
…some of us face the wolves of aching bodies and failing health…
…all of us deal with some sort of temptation which, if we were to give in to it…would ruin our very lives!
Yes, sheep are prone to wander, and so are we.
Without the Good Shepherd we are in terrible danger indeed!!!
In Jesus’ time, one of the most familiar figures of the Judean countryside was a shepherd.
And the shepherd’s life was very hard.
No flock ever grazed without a shepherd.
The shepherd was never off duty.
And since there wasn’t a whole lot of grass, the sheep were bound to wander; and since there were no fences or walls for protection, the sheep had to be constantly watched.
And the shepherd’s job wasn’t only constant, but it was dangerous!
For the shepherd had to guard the flock against wild animals—especially against wolves, and there were always thieves and robbers ready to steal the sheep.
The shepherd never left his sheep.
Even at night, while the sheep were sleeping the shepherd would lay himself down across the opening of the sheepfold so that no sheep could get out or in except over his body.
In the most literal sense, the shepherd was the door for the sheep!
And this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate (or the door) for the sheep…
…whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
The Greek phrase used for having life to the full means to have a superabundance.
Therefore, to be a follower of Jesus….
….To allow Jesus to be the Shepherd of your life is to have a superabundance of life!!!
There are wolves which seek to attack us and take away or sap from us some of this superabundance of life…
…but if we follow Jesus…
…if we do not stray…
…if we allow Him to do so…
…Jesus will fight off the wolves in your life and in my life.
Think about the things in your life that are seeking to destroy your happiness.
Think of the temptations…
…think of the worries…
…think of the sins…
What are they?
They are wolves that seek to devour you, are they not?
Now, make a promise to God that you will turn these wolves over to Jesus.
Admit that you cannot fight them off on your own.
You cannot defeat them by yourself.
Give them to Jesus.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
He is the Only One Who can bring into our lives a new sense of safety and security…that, if we continue to follow Him…will only grow with time.
Put your life completely into the hands of God—Who will never leave you nor forsake you and allow the worries, the fears, the wolves of this life to disappear.
