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The Way In John 10:1-21
Trafton and I were in the dollar store when he happened upon the water
guns. I had told him that I would buy him one thing if we both agreed
that it was a good buy, and in his mind this was a great buy. He was
convinced. I tried to point out that the gun was a bit flimsy and as
soon as Rylan grabbed for it the gun would break in two, and I promised
to get him a water gun when we found a better one.
But still convinced that this was the toy for him he began to persuade
and plead for the gun. I thought that if it would get me out of the
Dollar Store faster I could take the easy way out and bought the toy for
him.
As soon as we made it to the house Trafton jumped out of the truck and
the gun fell to the ground smashing into little pieces. Feeling a little
self righteous I looked at him and said "What did I tell you, the gun
was cheep.”
Trafton looked up at me and said, “Well why did you listen to me. I’m
only 4.”
How are you when it comes to listening?
I know many of us probably wish we were better listeners. Perhaps it is
an area that you can improve on.
Last week as we looked at the ninth chapter of John, we noticed a man
that recognized the voice of Jesus. We refer to him as the man born
blind. The text tells us that Jesus saw him, rubbed mud in his eyes, and
sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash. And the most amazing thing
happens. The man washes out the mud and he can see! But what should be n
event of joy, turns into controversy.
The Jewish leaders start questioning the man and they are not getting
the answers they were looking for. So then they go to his parents and
they are fearfully defensive. When the leaders return to this former
blind man, he is clearly is up for their game and asks them if they want
to believe. This, of course, infuriated them. They excommunicate him
from the temple.
It is then that Jesus returns to him and asks if he believes in the Son
of Man. The man asks Jesus to tell him who it is and he will believe.
When Jesus answers with, “You are looking at Him,” the man’s response is
immediate and appropriate – he bows down and worships Him. So not only
are his eyes healed, so is His soul. Not only does he have physical
sight, he also has spiritual sight as well.
With that thought in Mind I want to take you to John 10 and discover
some great news.
We have a Shepherd that speaks to us. Jesus, as our Shepherd, does for
us what He did for the blind man. He knows our real and deepest needs,
better than we know them ourselves.
When we acknowledge that Jesus is our Shepherd, we also acknowledge this
truth about ourselves. We recognize that we are the sheep. And as we
have discussed before sheep are not known for their high achievement.
Sheep, by nature, are utterly helpless with limited intelligence. They
are prone to get into danger with their habitual listless wandering.
They are defenseless. One scholar has noted that they give the clearest
evidence against the theory of evolution.
How would they ever survive? Sheep need a shepherd.
Today we can rejoice because we also have a shepherd. That which we need
most, we have in Jesus. So, as we look at our passage today, we are
going to see why we can rejoice.
Today we will look in John 10:1-21 at five different reasons why we
rejoice in Jesus our Shepherd.
The first reason to rejoice is that Jesus puts us in relationship with
Him (1-6).
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the
door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But
he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the
gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes
before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A
stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do
not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with
them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
The setting for this passage is the communal corral where the sheep
would be kept over night. The corral would likely be a stone wall, up to
10 feet high. There would be one opening that served as a door.
Shepherds would lead their sheep into the corral for their stay that
night. Then, the shepherd would lie down to sleep in the door way and he
would in a real sense, become the door. No one would get in or out
except through Him.
When the night was over, the shepherd would call his own sheep. And they
would come because they recognize their shepherd’s voice and come out.
They would not come out for any other voice.
This gives us two quick points
1. False shepherds cannot lead sheep.
Thieves and robbers can never lead. They have to steal. They have to
break in, in order to get sheep.
There are a lot of false shepherds today. They don’t go through Jesus.
Instead, it is their desire to exploit you. They will take your money
and weaken your faith. They will paint rosy pictures and promise greener
pastures, but what they will do is shear you and leave you bare. They
care nothing for sheep. What they want is what they can get out of you.
They are thieves. They are false shepherds. And they preaching a false
gospel, and worship a false god.
2. The true shepherd relates to His sheep.
The role of the shepherd is a highly personal occupation. The real
shepherd knows each individual sheep and has a name for each one. He has
a relationship with them, so when the shepherd calls, the sheep hear and
they are not afraid to follow.
The Second reason to rejoice is that Jesus Makes Us Whole (7-10).
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door
of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he
will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and
have it abundantly.”
Because He was not being understood, Jesus makes a new application in
this context.
He says, “I am the door.” And by saying this, He invites people to leave
the fold of the Jewish leaders and enter His flock. Just like the former
blind man, they must understand that they are being exploited and
abused. But there is good news. When they hear His voice, they can be
accepted.
The true shepherd provides for our needs. The true shepherd meets the
needs of His sheep. We are led to the comfortable pasture where we are
secure. We are fed and satisfied. When the true shepherd provides for
our needs, we can’t have it any better.
And the true shepherd thrills us with wholeness. When we respond to the
shepherd’s voice, we are delivered safe and sound. We are delivered from
bondage and saved from a wasted life.
In turn, true freedom is ours. We know life as it is meant to be lived.
Satisfaction and contentment are lived right now. It is life that is
full, abundant and complete.
The third reason to rejoice is that we are covered by Christ (11-15).
Jesus protects His sheep. He is a cover for them. He goes above and
beyond what some might consider the call of duty.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the
sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf
snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and
cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and
my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I
lay down my life for the sheep.”
Jesus is the good shepherd which means that He is the best shepherd that
there can be.
The word “good” means that which is intrinsically good, beautiful, and
fair. As applied to Jesus, it means that He is preeminent in every way.
He is excellent in every feature. Therefore, He is above all. There is
no comparison. He is the standard of what shepherds are to be.
This is demonstrated in Matthew 9:36…
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was definitely a different kind of shepherd for this audience. He
really cared. It used to be the sheep would die for the shepherd as a
part of the sacrificial system. That was now going to change. Now the
Good Shepherd dies for the sheep. He would be the substitute for the
sheep. He would be the sacrifice. And His death would be sufficient for
the salvation of the world and efficient for those who will believe.
In contrast, there were those that just did not care. Jesus tells us
that there are those that are in it only for themselves. They are only
interested in providing for themselves and protecting themselves.
The Jewish leaders had been acting just like that. They were guilty of
covetousness. They had taken advantage of widows. They had turned God’s
temple into a den of thieves. And to top it off, they plotted to kill
Jesus.
Nevertheless, though they were plotting, it was not going to happen
until the time was right. It would happen when the Good Shepherd decided
it was time to make the ultimate sacrifice.
The fourth reason to rejoice is that Jesus unifies us. (16).
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them
also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one
shepherd.”
Note how the apostle Paul would later describe this very same thing in
Ephesians 2:11-14
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called
"the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made
in the flesh by hands — remember that you were at that time separated
from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us
both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of
hostility…
Those that were Jewish and those that were not were being made into one
flock. Together, all those that believe, the people of God, become one
body. We are all brought together under the unity of our response of
love and obedience. And it is Jesus that brings us together.
The fifth reason that we have to rejoice is because Jesus is in Control.
(17-18).
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I
may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my
own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to
take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
The true shepherd volunteered to sacrifice Himself.
When Jesus goes to the cross, it was going to look like an execution to
the untrained spiritual eye. But it would not be so, because Jesus going
to the cross was a purposeful act. He chose to die. He could have
prevented it. He could have resisted.
So I need you to realize that He didn’t just throw His body up there. He
felt the curse of sin. He felt the hate. He felt the pain of the nails.
He felt every excruciating agony that the sin of the world could put on
him. There was no detachment. His soul felt every bit of it.
He was totally involved, Look at the testimony of John at the death of
Jesus, in John 19:30…
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he
bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John did not want us to miss this essential point. Jesus was in control.
He proclaimed that it was finished. And He gave up His spirit. It was an
act of total involvement, even to the point of death.
APPLICATION:
It is not what you know, but who you know. And we know Jesus is our
Shepherd.
And He knows us in the most profound ways. He knows our past with its
failures and hurts. He knows our present and our unrealized longings. He
knows our idiosyncrasies. He knows us in the most intimate ways.
Do you recognize His voice?
Do you know His voice?
If you are His, you will. And if you want to be His, you will.
Rejoice in our shepherd – for He desires to be in relationship with His
sheep, calling us by name, inviting us to rest in His care.
Rejoice in our shepherd – for He gives us life; life that is complete,
full and satisfying.
Rejoice in our shepherd – for He is in control and creates a destiny for
us full of joy.
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