“JESUS TAKES CARE OF US.” JOHN 10: 1-5, 7-15, 17-18.
JOHN 10: 1-5, 7-10, 11-15, 17-18.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO JOHN 10.
The discourse on the Good Shepherd continues at the same location as last Sunday’s lesson
in John 9. Comparing people to a shepherd and his sheep was common in the Middle East.
Kings and priests called themselves shepherds and their subjects sheep. The Bible makes frequent use of this analogy.
Many of the great men of the O.T. were shepherds (e.g.), Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. As national leaders, Moses and David were both “shepherds over Israel. ”Jesus developed this analogy in several ways.
The connection with John 9 is seen in Jesus contrast of the Pharisees with the man born blind. The Pharisees---spiritually blind while claiming to see in John 9:41---were false shepherds.
As the true Shepherd, Jesus came to seek and to heal. His sheep hear and respond to His voice.
The first 5 verses of John 10, according to vs. 6, constitute a complete parable in themselves.
In vs. 6-16 we have added instruction and a fuller opening up of the truth of the Shepherd character of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here Jesus was laying the groundwork for the application for the figure to Himself in the section which follows. He is emphatically the Good Shepherd.
It is a rather significant thing that the word “good” here is one that really means “beautiful.”
We may read it, “I am the beautiful Shepherd.” Of course, it refers to the beauty of character---the Shepherd who is absolutely unselfish and devoted to the will of the Father.
PLEASE READ JOHN 10: 1-5.
Few modern people have personal knowledge of sheep and sheep-herding, but the people of Bible times knew about them. Abel, the patriarchs, and Moses were shepherds. Although some cultures looked down on shepherds, they were important in Bible history; and many passages show this.
David was a shepherd and wrote Psalm 23. The kings and priests were often called shepherds. Ezekiel 34 is a key passage. Speaking through the prophet, the Lord condemned the false shepherds. They were not only failing to care for the flock, they were also exploiting the sheep entrusted to them. God promised that the Messiah, the descendant of David, would gather the scattered sheep and be their Shepherd. Isaiah 40: 11 has a beautiful picture of the Shepherd.
The N.T. has its share of words about shepherds. They were the first group to hear about Jesus birth. Jesus told of a shepherd that sought one sheep until he found it. The meaning of the word pastor is shepherd. The most import shepherd passage is John 10: 1-21. This passage gathers together many of the biblical teachings.
Vs. 1-5 describes a morning shepherding scene. A shepherd enters through a gate into a walled enclosure, which has several flocks in one sheep-pen. The enclosure, with stonewalls, is guarded at night by a doorkeeper to prevent thieves and beasts of prey from entering.
Anyone who would climb the wall would do it for no good purpose. By contrast, in vs. 3-4, the shepherd has a right to enter the sheep-pen. The watchman opens the gate, and the shepherd comes in to call his own sheep by name from the other flocks.
Shepherds knew their sheep well and gave them names. As sheep hear their owner’s familiar voice or whistle they go to him. He leads them out of the pen until his flock is formed. Then he goes out toward he fields with the sheep following him. “And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
“This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which He spoke unto them.”
The most amazing thing about the relationship of the shepherd and his sheep is that the shepherd knows the name of each sheep and calls them by name. The sheep recognize the distinctive call of their own shepherd and will follow only him.
Gerald L. Borchert told of observing sheep and shepherds when he taught in Israel. He contrasted sheepherding in western countries, where flocks of sheep are driven by dogs, with the intimate relation of eastern shepherds and their sheep.
He recorded two pictures; one is that of a shepherd leading his sheep through the city of Jerusalem just outside the Jaffa Gate. Car were whizzing by while the shepherd sang and gently whistled to his sheep, and they dutifully followed him despite all the bustling traffic nearby.
The other picture is that of early morning with the Bedouins when the shepherds began to lead their sheep out of the sheepfold, which contained the combined flocks of four shepherds.
As each shepherd took his turn and began to sing and call his sheep, they dutifully separated from the larger flock and began to follow him to the hills for their daylight feeding.”
There are several parallels between the shepherds described in v s. 1-5 and the role of Jesus as our Shepherd. For on thing, He knows us and cares about us and for us. Many people believe that no one, least of all God, knows and cares about them. He knows our names.
When Christ passed through Jericho for the last time in Luke 19: 5, He looked up into the tree where Zacchaeus was perched and called him by name. The God who notes the sparrow’s fall surely cares about His people. This is a great comfort to those who have been told that this is a purely natural, uncaring universe. We some times sing:
“Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song:
As the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the ways grow weary and long?
O yes, He cares: I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief:
When the days are weary, and the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.”
Because He cares for us, Jesus calls us to follow where He leads. He does not lead us to bad places but to good. Psalm 23 lists some of the places and ways to which the divine Shepherd leads us. Sheep need to be led. They are not the most intelligent animals, nor are they able to defend themselves. On their own they tend to stray and fall prey to wild animals.
The Good Shepherd leads us to green pastures and beside still waters. He restores our souls. He leads us in the paths of righteousness. He is with us as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death.
One indication that you know the Good Shepherd is if you follow where He leads you. You also can distinguish between the Shepherd’s voice and the voice of strangers. We cannot comprehend the infinite greatness of God, but we can know Him. We cannot understand all of the Lord’s ways, but we can trust Him. We cannot foresee the future, but we can follow Him as He leads us forward. We often sing:
Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care;
In thy pleasant pastures feed us, For our use Thy folds prepare.
Listening to the Lord’s voice and call requires openness, compassion, discernment, and faith. We usually can look back and see how He has led us. This is easier than knowing what I should do today and at this stage of my life. But if I seek His leadership, He gladly gives it. Like the shepherds of His day, Jesus knows and cares for His people.
PLEASE READ JOHN 10: 7-10.
In vs. 7 Jesus changed the metaphor from “shepherd” to “door.” As the “door” of the sheep; Jesus is the One through whom eternal life is received. In Matt. 7: 13-14 he said, “Go through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it”
In vs. 8 Jesus explained His reference of vs. 2 to thieves and robbers. In the parable they were literal people who came by night to steal the sheep. The doorkeeper would not allow them to enter so they had to climb over the walls. It was the duty of the doorkeeper to keep out thieves and robbers.
What did Jesus mean by saying, “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers?” Surely He was not saying that all previous religious leaders were in this category. The true prophets and John the Baptist came before Jesus, but they were called and used by God. Jesus was thinking of those charlatans who claimed God-like status. They were not the true Messiah. The N.T. reports that these men were not all in the past. Jesus in Matt. 24: 5-6 warned of false messiahs.
Paul in Acts 20:28-29 called on the church leaders at Ephesus to be shepherds of the flock because wolves would come among them. Some of these would be wolves in sheep’s clothing or at lest in shepherd’s garb.
As the door, Jesus provided both salvation and nourishment. When the sheep were outside, they were vulnerable to the attacks of wild animals and thieves. The Good Shepherd fights off these enemies, even if it costs him his life. How ever, when the sheep enter the sheepfold, they are safe from the enemies. This is a picture of Jesus as the door or way to salvation. But the door is also the way to places where they can eat and be filled. This signifies the spiritual nourishment available in Christ.
The thief, that is a false shepherd, cares only about feeding himself, not building up the flock. He steals sheep in order to kill them, thus destroying a part of the flock. But Christ has come to benefit the sheep. He gives life, which is not constricted but overflowing. The thief takes life; Christ gives it to the full. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
Isaiah portrays the Good Shepherd in this way. In Isaiah 40: 10, “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hands, and His arm shall rule for Him.” Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are young.”
This was the prophecy of the coming to this scene of the Lord’s Anointed, Israel’s Messiah. Please read Jeremiah 31: 10 and Ezekiel 34: 2-6 and 12-15.
When Jesus stood in the midst of Israel and declared Himself to be the Good Shepherd, they should have understood at once, for they were familiar with the Old Testament.
We noticed when speaking on the seven “I Am” statements of Christ, that the expression is really a definite, divine title. Jesus takes that incommunicable name of God and He says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” “I am the Door of the sheep.”
Life in vs. 10 is one of those short words that contain so much of the message of God’s Word. People want to live, to love, to hope, to have joy, and to know peace and these are the very things emphasized in the Bible.
The word Life is found many times in the Gospel of John. Sometimes it stands alone: often it is modified by the word “eternal.” The distinctive in John 10 is that it is called an abundant life. This can be translated as life “to the full” or “life in all its fullness.”
When people express the kind of life they want, they often refer to a full life. Many of these people have never seriously considered that the truly full life is found in Jesus Christ.
An abundant life goes well with the hope of eternal life. In John’s Gospel this life does not begin at death but at conversion. Believers have life now and it will never end.
Jesus came to bring abundant and eternal life.
PLEASE READ JOHN 10: 11-15.
In vs. 11 Jesus now returns to the illustration with which he started in vs. 2-5.
Jesus as a Shepherd does more than risk His life, He gives life, ending death on behalf of sinners.
This is intimated in the name “Lamb of God” declared by John the Baptist in John 1; 29 and in
other statements by Jesus Himself.
This sacrifice is for the sheep. It is for those whom the Father has given Him; the elect. It is they who through the death of Jesus Christ on their behalf will be justified, and enjoy fellowship with God the Father.
The reference in vs. 11 where Jesus gives His life for the sheep is a reference to Jesus’ substitutionary death for sinners on the cross. Jesus sharpened the picture by contrasting His sacrificial service with the cowardly abandonment of the sheep by those who are controlled by self-interest. Those thieves rob the sheep; hired hands abandon the sheep. Christ lays down His life for the sheep.
Jesus knows His sheep and is known by them. He knew the Father and the Father knew Him. Vs 14-15 set the stage for some remarkable words in vs. 27-29. These verses reassure saved sheep that they are safe and secure in the hands of the Father and the Son. No one can snatch one of the sheep from the hands of the Father and the Son. NO ONE can snatch a saved sheep from their hands.
In vs. 14 Jesus used the fourth of the 7 “I AM” statements.
PLEASE READ JOHN 10: 17-18.
Vs. 16 tells of the scope of the Lord’s plan. It foreshadowed the conversion of Gentiles. The Lord had other sheep that were not of the fold of Israel. Christ would call them so that ultimately there will be one shepherd and one flock.
Vs. 17-18 return to the prediction of the cross and resurrection. In these verses the voluntary nature of Christ’s death is magnified.
He was not a criminal, a helpless victim, or a martyr. He was a volunteer sacrifice for human sin. His life was His own either to preserve or to give for others. Jesus consistently emphasized this fact. Just as Jesus had the power to voluntarily lay down His life, so He had the power to take it up again.
The death of Jesus for our sins and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead provide the central realities of the good news for sinners. Jesus predicted both, although at the time His disciples did not understand. After His resurrection, Jesus explained why these things had been necessary.
The ultimate test of love is giving you life for others. Jesus died as a willing volunteer, not as a sinner, a victim, or a martyr. Our personal knowledge of Father and Son are the basis for our assurance of our salvation. The death and resurrection are the heart of God’s good news.
“O Thou great all-gracious Shepherd, Shedding for us Thy life’s blood,
Unto shame and death delivered, all to bring us night to God.
Because you see, there was no other way. In Gethsemane He prayed, “If it be possible, let the cup pass from Me.” That is, “If it is possible to save sinners by any other means than by My drinking the cup of judgment, then make it manifest.” But there was no other way, and so the Good Shepherd went out to die.
But He who died lives again. He lives in glory, and He is the Good Shepherd still.
He is called elsewhere the Great Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd. “Our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep…make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever.
But this Great Shepherd is the Good Shepherd still, and He knows His sheep, and He says, “I am known of Mine.” Does that not comfort your heart, dear child of God?
NEXT SUNDAY FROM JOHN 11 THE QUESTION IS ‘WHO CAN HELP ME THROUGH SITUATIONS THAT SEEM HOPELESS?” LAZARUS LIFE WAS RESTORED.
A.V. DAUGHERTY altav@swbell.net