John 10:1-10
John • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 21 viewsNotes
Transcript
John, the guy who preached last week (not the guy who wrote the Gospel of John), finished up chapter 9 last week. And we find ourselves now at John Chapter 10.
But before we read our text this morning I need to tell all of you something:
But, I need to be completely transparent with you. Now listen to me…before I am completely transparent with you I want you to promise me something. I want you to promise that you will at-least hear me out this morning…okay?
So…let me first warn you before I tell you..
Our church culture today is very sensitive and I want you to know that I am completely aware of that...
So, what I am about to tell you is not something that is looked upon favorably. Its not socially acceptable in today’s world…in our culture today.
What I am about to tell you will be looked at as divisive and “mean”
I completely understand that…I do…I really do.
Here it is: There are false teachers out there! There are things that people preach and teach that are just not of God.
Jesus calls these false teachers/false prophets thieves and robbers in this section this morning.
In Matt 7:15 he says this
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
I know it isn’t popular to criticize anyone in todays world but it is the job of a shepherd.
My mentor told me...You’ve heard me say this many times and I’ll say it again… Wolves kill sheep but shepherds kill wolves.
And this is what Christ does…he calls out the false teachers here in Chapter 10. He calls them thieves and robbers. He tells them that their real motive is to steal, kill, and destroy because they don’t truly care about God’s people.
Now…lets read our text this morning:
“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.
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.
Prayer:
Who is Jesus talking about here? How did we go from the guy in Chapter 9 who had his blind eyes opened to this?
It is a continuation of Jesus talking to the Pharisees from Chapter 9. This is Jesus calling out these false religious leaders who were spiritually blinded themselves.
Remember when Christ opened this mans eyes and he was all excited about being able to see he went and told everyone? But in the end where did that get him?
These religious leaders cast him out! (9:34)
Look at it ...
They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
They look down their noses at him and cast him out!
Imagine how he felt…confused…alone?
But guess what? He wasn’t alone…the Good Shepherd was there and came by his side as soon as he heard what happened to one of his sheep.
Look at the very next verse.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
Then, these religious leaders questioned Christ if they were blind…he answers them and then gives them this allegorical (a story with a hidden meaning) teaching in Chapter 10...
Look at verse 1 and 2 with me:
“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.
We need to define some terms here so we can understand what is being said and so we can understand everything that follows from here:
What is the sheepfold?
The sheepfold was a place every city, or village, where all the shepherds would come and put there sheep in it for the night.
It had a wall about 12’ high around it.
The sheepfold had a door where the shepherds would take their sheep and the door was guarded by a gatekeeper or a doorkeeper.
the gatekeeper/doorkeeper would keep the sheep safe from predators, wild animals, and thieves throughout the night.
When morning came the gatekeeper would allow the shepherds to come to the door and call out his sheep.
The shepherds sheep would hear the voice of their shepherd and come follow him out of the sheepfold.
they would only respond to their shepherds voice.
And if someone does not come through “the door but climbs in another way, that man is a thief and a robber”.
What is he telling them and what is he telling us?
He is telling them that because they do not believe in Him, since He is the door, THEY are the thieves and robbers.
They do not truly care for God’s sheep at all.
Their motives are personal gain and power...
They think they are shepherds of God’s people but in reality they are nothing more than thieves and robbers.
What do thieves do? They rely on secrecy and deception to get what they truly want. They rely on stealth…and so it is with a false teacher isn’t it?
What does a robber do? What is the difference between a thief and a robber?
A robber: its a thief who steals from someone by threatening or performing some sort of violence on the victim.
So it is with a false teacher isn’t it?
Their violence is spiritual abuse. They use whatever they can to hurt someone in their flock if they do not get what they want out of them
loyalty
honor
respect
money, you name it.
See, these thieves and robbers got into the sheepfold by climbing in some other way instead of coming through the door, which is Christ.
Men become teachers and preachers in churches today by all different ways...
maybe they are just good orators, he’s a good speaker maybe…so the people are persuaded and they allow him to teach
maybe they needed a job and thought, “hey…I’ll preach then”…?
Im not going to waste time painting that picture but there are so many ways that men (and today, women) become preachers and teachers...
BUT IF THEY DO NOT come to the position of Shepherd/Elder/Pastor/Teacher/Preacher by COMING THROUGH THE DOOR, which is CHRIST…they are nothing more than a thief and a robber.
They will do so much damage to peoples spirits
Instead of lifting people spirits to Christ, he crushes them…the false teacher hurts people.
The true shepherd is the one who exalts Christ, who wants to glorify Christ, preaching Christ and what Christ preached…trying to share Christ so people will come to Christ. And a true shepherd of Christ knows that he is only an under-shepherd for Christ. The sheep are Christ’s sheep and he knows it…so he cares for Christ’s sheep because He loves Christ.
The shepherd who makes little of Christ climbed into his position some other way…he is a thief and a robber…and he will hurt you.
But Christ is the True Shepherd…and it says here in verse 2 that he enters by the door.
what is the door?
The door here is the end of the road that leads to His sheep. See, the Old Testament is FULL of prophecies of the Messiah coming and this is the way He came to “the door”.
This is how Christ entered the sheepfold…through the door. HE is nothing like these false religious leaders who climbed in some other way...
And look what happens when Christ comes to the door...
Look at verse 3:
To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Who is the gatekeeper?
The Holy Spirit…He opens the door for the Good Shepherd and says, “here they are…all safe and sound…every last one of them!”
Now…there are many sheepfolds around but THIS ONE…this sheepfold specifically is the sheepfold of Israel.
These sheep that are called out are the elect of God that He called out of Judaism.
God is Sovereign and we mean it here. I want you to see something in this verse…I want you to see a few things but first I want you to see this:
These false religious leaders thought they were casting out this man who Jesus gave sight to…they thought THEY had the power to cast him out. But in reality, it was the Good Shepherd leading Him out of the bondage of Judaism that these false teachers had turned it into.
The man in chapter 9…was one of his sheep…he heard the voice of the Shepherd call him out so he came and followed him.
The Second Thing I want you to see here is what Jesus says:
“The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
HE doesn’t call ALL the sheep…He calls HIS OWN sheep and leads THEM out!
These are the sheep that the Father gave the Son before creation and ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVES TO THE SON COMES TO HIM...
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Lets pick up verses 4 and 5…and lets see what we can learn here...
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.”
He leads them out. How does He do this?
By SIMPLY CALLING OUT THEIR NAME!
For those who have watched The Chosen series…I love the scene where Jesus walks in front of Matthews tax collectors booth and their eyes meet as Jesus passed by and Jesus turns around and looks at him and says, “Matthew, come follow me”. (Matt. 9).
He calls out Zacchaeus in Luke 19.
But John 11. Man…see John 8 was how people are blinded from the Truth. How we are all slaves to sin but when the Son sets you free you are free indeed. John 9 is about a blind man receiving his sight because Christ came to him and opened his eyes. That is a picture of us, when Christ set us free and when we were spiritually blinded He gave us sight!
Now here in John 10 He is telling them that He calls His sheep out by name and they always respond to that call.
And we see in the next chapter (chapter 11) what Christ means by calling his own by name…and they come out of their prison, their sheepfold...
Lazarus…a dead man who had been in a tomb for 4 days.
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
And that was us when HE called us. We were dead, spiritually dead, bound in sin. But when the Good Shepherd called you out by name and He says, “unbind him, let him go”.
How about this one: Mary in John 20. This is one of my favorite.
Mary came to the tomb and Jesus wasn’t there. These two angels ask her why she is crying and she says because someone has taken her Lord and she doesn’t know where they took him.
And then we read this:
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
She knew the voice of the Good Shepherd!
Remember when He called your name? Remember when He spoke to your heart and called you out of your life of sin and rebellion toward Him?
If you haven’t heard Him call your name…are you listening for Him? Or are you willfully closing your ears to His Word like these religious people that Christ is talking to?
It is Christ who:
Calls His Own sheep and leads them out...
HE brings his sheep out…It is Christ who does the action.
And He leads from the front. He doesn’t walk behind His sheep screaming at them and driving them where He wants them to go.
He doesn’t guilt them or shame them…He gently calls them and they follow.
The thieves and robbers…the false religious teachers do the opposite. They use shame, guilt, and fear to get people to do what they want them to do.
But NOT the Good Shepherd…he calls His own sheep out by name and when they hear his voice they follow and He leads them out.
Look at some characteristics of the Sheep of God:
They will not follow a stranger…they flee from him.
This doesn’t mean that a TRUE SHEEP of God will never be under a false shepherd, a false teacher. But one of God’s sheep will eventually recognize and leave the false teachers teachings.
One sign of a false Christian is that they are fine with false teaching and false doctrines.
The true believer will not ultimately follow a stranger…they will eventually flee from him.
And don’t forget why that is:
It is because the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, came to the door of the sheepfold you were in…the Holy Spirit opened the door…He called you by name and he brought you out…so that you would have freedom to come in and out and find good pasture (VERSE 9).
Look at our last verse this morning:
This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So it is today with prideful blind false teachers...
These Pharisees “did not understand what he was saying to them”. It never crossed their mind that “THEY” were the “thieves and robbers”. It never crossed their mind that they just spiritually injured a sheep of God when they casted him out (9:34). In their minds they really believed that what they were doing was good.
Blinded…thinking they understood the Scriptures so well that they should be teachers to God’s sheep…they were spiritually blinded.
There are some who hear what I am saying this morning and understand. I am not offended. Jesus Christ, the Word that became flesh, is standing right in front of these men…He told them this and THEY didn’t understand…IM not surprised that some, if not many, do not understand what I say. I expect it…because if they did not understand the “Rabboni” (the Teacher)…how arrogant of me to expect everyone to understand what I say.
Let me show you what I am talking about. What Jesus is saying isn’t coming out of nowhere…this isn’t coming out of ‘left field’. Just like his conversation with Nicodemus in John 3…Nicodemus ‘should have understood’ but he didn’t at that time...
These “false shepherds, false teachers”, these thieves and robbers who climbed into the sheepfold another way instead of entering through the door....these men who wormed their way into a teaching position some how…who claim to know God’s Word…they should have known exactly what Christ is saying to them. It was told long ago, way before we get to John 10… and this is why this Bible is so amazing…watch this!
Turn to Ezekiel 34.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.
And then God goes on to say this in verses 11-17.
Notice in this next section what YOU DO…and WHAT GOD DOES...
“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 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.
Let me ask you something…are you a sheep that Christ has rescued?
Has the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ called you by name?
If so…then you have an obligation.
Get to know the true shepherds voice…spend time in His Word.
If you are visiting POTR this morning and you are from another church let me ask you something...
are your shepherds feeding you?
are you growing in your knowledge of The Good Shepherd?
or has the smoke and lights and awesome music hypnotized you to not care too much about what is taught?
If you are at a place with under-shepherds that lift Christ up and magnify Christ alone…stay.
IF you are being fed the Word of God (not music and lights) but if you are being fed sound doctrine and the Words of Christ…stay.
IF not, you are among thieves and robbers and in the end you will be hurt.
Find a place where you will be taught God’s Word, where you will be loved and cared for by under shepherds who want to see you grow spiritually. Go where the under shepherds of Gods people serve you and not lord over you with their titles and positions.
Because John 10 5 “A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.””
Christ is King. He is a complete savior. He gets all the glory…
Jesus Christ has done it ALL....He is a Good Shepherd to his sheep!
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
CLOSING:
If you hear him calling your name this morning, please find me when we are done this morning. If He is calling you out of whatever sheepfold you have been trapped in this morning…let me or one of our other men here shepherd you to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
You need to realize that you have broken Gods perfect law…you have lied, cheated, lusted in your heart, coveted your neighbors possessions…you are at enmity with God.
But God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to live the life none of us could live. HE lived his life perfect and never broke one of God’s Laws. He fulfilled every prophecy made and He was put on a cross and died a criminals death…the death that we all deserved. HE did this for all those who would believe in Him.
If you hear Him calling your name this morning…surrender, repent of your sin and put your faith, your trust in Him and what He did on the cross for those who would believe in Him.
ADVERTISEMENT