The Good Shepherd Series

Message

John 10:11

I Am The Good Shepherd

I wonder if there were days when the shepherds in first century Judea had times when they thought … “I am sick and tired of looking after these sheep.” Sheep are not the easiest animals to look after – especially for a shepherd in Jesus day.

Sheep easily get lost. The reason this happens is because they are so focussed on eating the food in front of them that they get distracted forget what is happening around them. So they just keep eating the food then – all of the sudden – the rest of the flock is gone out of sight. Additionally sheep don’t have a “homing instinct” like other animals so they are totally incapable of finding their way to their sheepfold even when it is in plain sight. The situation happened so often that Jesus was able to tell a parable involving a lost sheep – and everyone listening to the parable would be saying, “Yes I get that. I’ve seen it happen so many times.

Sheep are pretty defenceless. Yes they can use their horns to defend themselves and they do have a powerful kick, but they are no match for predators such as wolves. They have no capacity to out-run much faster animals, nor do they excel in a fight. Add to this the problem that sheep keep growing their fleece. So, if they are not shorn, the fleece just keeps getting bigger and bigger until it is so heavy they cannot move. If they are left to their own devises the sheep would be an easy target, or they would self-destruct. They need protection from themselves.

Sheep by nature are followers, which is why they have the reputation for unthinkingly following the crowd. Which is a real problem when the lead sheep, if left to it’s own, also has no idea where it is going. If the lead sheep steps off a cliff, the others will follow. If the lead sheep goes to a place of danger, the others will follow.

So – when a shepherd looks after his sheep these are some of the issues he needs to overcome. Which makes the job quite a challenge, except for one redeeming feature.

Sheep have excellent hearing. They are very good at distinguishing different pitches and volume of sounds.

With this understanding of sheep in mind let’s read John 10:1-6

Last Sunday when we were looking at Jesus being the Gate we saw that there were two types of sheep pens – the ones in the village and the ones in the open country. We saw that the pens in the village were quite large.

You would put walls between the back of houses and buildings and then have quite a robust enclosure with a gate that was used for the sheep to enter and exit. There would be multiple flocks of sheep in this pen. When it came time for the shepherd to get his flock in the morning he stand at the entrance and the shepherd would call his sheep. Only the sheep who know the call of their shepherd will respond – because they know who they have to follow. Their shepherd will lead them out.

They would follow because they were tuned into the voice.

After being taken out of their pen the shepherd would take the sheep to places of water and food. He would do this by walking ahead of the sheep and, as he walked, he would keep calling out. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd and, because they trust what they hear, they follow the voice.

If a sheep becomes distracted – the voice of the shepherd would bring them back on track.

If there was a need to protect the sheep the voice of the shepherd would call attention to the danger. Then the shepherd would defend the sheep.

If the sheep got lost, the voice of the shepherd in the distance is enough to give the lost sheep direction.

As they walked through life … every aspect of life … provision, protection; care, concern; through easy times and difficult times … as they walked through life the sheep are led by the shepherd.

The sheep would follow because they had confidence in the voice of the shepherd.

This is the powerful imagery that sits behind the “I am” passage which we are focussing on today. Let’s read John 10:11-18

The Good Shepherd sacrifices Himself – He lays down his life – for the sheep. Just as the shepherd puts his life on the line so that the sheep may be saved – the Good Shepherd gives His life.

A voluntary sacrifice for our sin. A death that enables life. God in the flesh giving his life for His sheep.