False vs. True Teachers
Notes
Transcript
My boy bought a reversible jacket… I cant wait to see how it turns out
THe word incorrectly is spelled incorecctly in the dictionary
1 “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.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This morning as we continue through the book of John we are going to be picking up on a really familiar part of scripture, and the tendency for us is for us to pull this section of scripture out of the larger context of what we have just read and not realize that this scripture is all together. Coincidentally this is also kind of what we do with the Love chapter, we take it out of context and miss that Paul hasn’t quit talking about leadership, and while it is about love it goes together in the greater conscript of what is already going on. ;
So this story is meant to be read in light of what has just happened with the pharisees and the leaders he has been talking to, much of this is a direct correlation to speaking their leadership. Its almost a slap in the face and trying to wake the people up to the error of their ways. As we walk through this this morning it is important for you to remember all of this, keep it in the back of your mind as we walk together. Remember what Jesus is doing here is he is contrasting Good and false shepherds, true vs false teachers…. … And the first bit of scripture is this.
1 “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.
This is something that you and I don’t always pick up on immediately because we don’t live in this type of agricultural community. Here is what we need to know, in these times there was a pen in the center of town where all the sheep were kept. Everyone when they would bring their sheep back for the night, they would put them all in the same pen, the pen had h high walls to keep things from getting in to get the sheep, and there was someone there, a porter who was paid, that would watch the pen and keep their eyes on them at night. The next morning or day when it was time to take your sheep out again, the shepherds would come and they would enter by the door and they would begin to call their sheep by name, and their sheep knowing the voice of their shepherd would come out as they were called.
So, Jesus is about to tell us he is a good shepherd… and he will in the same tell you that the pharisees are the false teachers…but lets just stop and understand that we are supposed to be a part of his sheepfold… he is supposed to be our shepherd… to be a part of his sheepfold is the promise of our salvation… it is the place of our safety and security in Jesus …whats interesting is while he is the shepherd he is also the porter protecting us and making sure that no one gets in…
We also see that there are ways we can enter into the sheepfold, there is a door and the gate keeper is who lets him in.
Those who are true shepherds he tells us enter the only acceptable way, through the door.
However there are those that enter from some other way… in that day there would be attempts for some to jump the high walls and steal sheep from the inside and take them as their own…
When you look at the words here that are used to define some other way are important because it shows that it didnt originate from the same place. there was a different origin to the thief… they were using a different road or a different position to get themselves in…
the hearers of this would have understood the imagery that Jesus is laying out before them, they would have understood how people did this and how they go there to try and steal sheep, and Jesus is saying all of this in terms of the jewish leaders… he is saying… my origin is from the father… you know the one they just talked about.. the one that he told them they clearly didn’t know… and he is telling them the pharisees are just like those thiefs and robbers… they are coming into the sheepfold by the wrong means trying to steal sheep that aren’t theirs
HE goes further to say
John 10:1 (ESV)
1 … that man is a thief and a robber.
What is interesting is the terms thief (kleptes) and robber (leistes).
The reason this is so interesting are these are the same words that are used to describe Judas and Barabbas…. a thief and a liar…. Two men who were about as opposite from Jesus as possible and this is what he is saying a false shepherd is… a thief and a liar…
• a thief: a seducer and a deceiver, a crafty and dishonest man, a man who will use any means to get into the sheepfold to steal the sheep
• a robber: a man who will use violence and cruelty and will destroy and devour if necessary to get into the sheepfold
The bible has a lot to say about false shepherds.
God has much to say to false shepherds.
10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.
11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.
12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.
15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
He goes on to contrast this with four points on a true shepherd
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
First, the true shepherd is the one who enters the door (Jesus) He knows the right way in, he doesnt have to climb the wall, he just enters through the door and there is no reason for him not to go that way. He is not there to steal sheep from the Owner, God, to start his own flock… His purpose as shepherd is to do the will of the owner and take care of the sheep
Secondly, The Shepherd is known by the Porter (God or the Holy Spirit). This point is critical. The Holy Spirit (as God) is the One who opens the door into the sheepfold. The One who comes to the door is known by the Porter; He is known to be the Shepherd. The Shepherd therefore …
• is not afraid to face the Porter
• has been appointed to use the door
• has the authority and the right to enter
and all of this is evident in a few verses as we read Jn 10:15
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Thirdly, the shepherd knows all of his sheep by name. The word that Jesus uses here to denote his own is the word sidia, which means he didnt call the herd, but called them individually…
We mentioned this a bit earlier… but
Just imagine this for a moment, they would come and they would say,
“Spencer!” and here would come Spencer…
“Kurt!” and out would walk Kurt…
“Peggy!” and here she would come to the voice… I’m told even if there were other peggy’s or spencers or Kurts in the pen if the Shepherd called, the only that would come was his peggy or spencer or kurt
And we See Paul explaining this idea a little in 2 Ti. 2:19
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
The fourth point Jesus makes here about a true shepherd is, the shepherd leads and shepherds his sheep. He wants what is good for them.
hBecause he leads and shepherds that means he has some normal functions as a shepherd
1) He feeds the sheep even if He has to gather them in His arms and carry them to the feasting pasture.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
2) He guides the sheep to the pasture and away from the rough places and precipices.
We will look at this some more next week when we talk about Jesus being the door, and explain the difference in the two sheep pens that we see here…
3) He seeks and saves the sheep who get lost.
12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
4) He protects the sheep. He even sacrifices His life for the sheep. THink of the stories of David destroying the lion that was trying to harm his sheep…
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
5) He restores the sheep who go astray and returns them to the sheepfold.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
6) He rewards the sheep for obedience and faithfulness.
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
7) He shall keep the sheep separate from the goats.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
and this is a clear call to Eze 34:17-19
17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.
18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?
19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
And the palestenians would walk them together and from a distance you could hardly tell the difference and Jesus is saying he can tell teh difference between those that are his and those that are not
And lets move on
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
a. The sheep know the Shepherd’s voice. They know both His sound and His words.
for the sheep the voice of the shepherd is clear, not weak or uncertain, and in the middle of all the noise of all the other sheep walking and making noise they can still hear their shepherds voice. He calls them and his vocie is to care for them, to warn them, to give them safety and truth in the middle of everything
What we can learn from that is that if we are true believers of Jesus, if we are his true sheep, if he is our true shepherd, we will trust his voice and his words because we know him to be good and true
Remember how Peter described it to Jesus.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
And Jesus will double down in chapter 18
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
b. not only do we hear his voice and trust his word, but the sheep will follow the shepherd. Where he leads us we go. Remember he is not driving us like a herd of cattle with whip, but instead he is leading the direction and showing us which way to go, he is in front of us protecting the way and guiding the way and we should know that we are perfectly safe following.
So why do the sheep follow?
1) They follow Him because He saves them and gives them life.
“I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:15).
Dds4) They follow Him because they are sheep in the midst of wolves.
“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Ac. 20:29).
5) They follow Him because He assures them and delivers them from fear.
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lu. 12:32).
6) They follow Him because they have learned that without Him they are scattered and lost.
“I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Mk. 14:27; see Mt. 26:31).
7) They follow Him because He takes care of all their wants.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1).
So who are you following?