John 10:11-21
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Last week we talked about how Christ is The Door.
If anyone enters by Him
they will be saved
they will be free, free to go in and out to
find good pasture…they will be satisfied completely
vs. 10 we read where Christ came to give us an abundant life. Not just after this life but NOW. A life of salvation, freedom from religious rules and bad shepherds. We will be set free and enjoy our freedom in Christ and he will lead us to good pastures to Know Him more and grow in the love of Him and the love of his people...
And that brings us to verse 11
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. 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. 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.”
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Prayer:
Lets read verses 11-13 together so we can get a good picture of what is going on here:
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.
Please don’t think of Jesus as a lamb petter. We say that here all the time but if you are visiting I want to introduce you not to a petter of sheep BUT A SHEPHERD OF SHEEP.
And thats a MANS job! It isn’t easy. Sometimes it gets dangerous! The Shepherd’s responsibility is to make sure all the sheep are safe. Its all up to the shepherd because lambs are helpless creatures. They can’t defend themselves.
Imagine with me this scene and what Christ is saying.
You have sheep, a lot of sheep. They are yours. But, you gave them to your son... and your son LOVES you and those sheep you gave him. He loves them just as much as you do.
You’re standing way over here on this other plateau watching those sheep. Imagine those sheep, who you love out on a beautiful green mountain plateau and the sun starts going down and the wind begins to blow…and all of the sudden you hear wolves howling! They start getting louder and then you see one over there and another one over there...
who would you want shepherding these sheep
would you want a hired hand watching over them
or would you want your son, who you know is one BAD DUDE! ONE TOUGH SON OF A GUN!
And so it is with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
LET ME SHOW YOU SOME SHADOWS OF CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT BEFORE WE GET IN HERE:
I came across this studying this week:
Shepherd #1
In Gen. 4:2 we read this
And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS SHEPHERD?
Killed, murdered, because He found favor with God…his brother killed him out of jealousy
Shepherd #2
WE READ OF JACOB IN GENESIS 30-33 shepherding sheep
Shepherd #3
WE READ OF JOSEPH....
The very first time you read the name Joseph in Scripture is says this:
Genesis 37:2 (ESV)
These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers.
Joseph…looking Shepherding his fathers flock
Shepherd #4
Moses:
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.
Moses, Shepherding the fathers flock...
CAN YOU SEE CHRIST IN THERE?
Shepherd #5
David:
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
David…risking his life for his fathers sheep...
Can you see Christ?
Shepherd #6
And what is the number 6 represent in Scripture?
It represents NOT GOOD…EVIL
And here is the last shepherd mentioned in the O.T.
For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
“Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”
WHAT DOES THE #7 REPRESENT IN THE BIBLE?
perfection
And there is ONLY ONE MORE SHEPHERD MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE…THIS IS THE 7TH Shepherd in Scripture...
WHO DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE?
Jesus Christ, The GOOD SHEPHERD
Look at verse 11 REAL CLOSELY: Who does the Good Shepherd lay down His life for? THE SHEEP!
Hear me clearly when I say this! What I am about to tell you is the most Un-American Christian thing you can hear:
I know it
I understand it
I know we live in a society today where truth is relative and we are suppose to say things that are socially acceptable
But…YOU CAME TO THE WRONG PLACE if that is what you are looking for...
Jesus is not a beggar…HE IS A KING! And He is not just an ordinary King HE IS THE KING OF KINGS!
And guess what Kings do in their kingdoms…whatever they choose to do.
And guess what those who live in the Kings Kingdom can say about it…NOTHING.
And here is the question you have to really ask yourself…DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE KING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH IS A GOOD KING..
DO YOU REALLY TRUST HIM? REALLY?
Thats the question
Jesus says in verse 11...
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
So according to Christ, The Good Shepherd, He lays down His life for THE SHEEP!
He doesn’t lay down His life for no one else’s sheep but His own.
He wasn’t begging this one sheep over here and that one over there to come…thats not how this works according to Christ...
He already said in VERSE 3-4
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.
The Shepherd calls them by name and they come!
When the King summons you…you come!
God has a plan, and it is His plan. His plans doesn’t depend on us. He is God and we are NOT!
And this is how it has been before the creation of the world.
Look at Matthew 1:21
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Who will He SAVE? HIS PEOPLE!
And when He establishes the Lords Supper (that we take EVERY Sunday) we read:
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
His blood, The Good Shepherds blood who lays his life down for THE SHEEP…He says it is POURED OUT FOR MANY!
is it shocking to you that it does NOT SAY that His blood is poured out for EVERY?
I TOLD YOU THIS IS NOT EASY TO SWALLOW FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY!
Somebody is probably thinking in their head right now...
“stop! I don’t want to hear this!”
This can’t be true
I’ve never heard this!
Keep listening to the Word…listen to what The Good Shepherd has to say...
Look at these “HIRED HANDS”…those FALSE TEACHERS OF FALSE RELIGIONS in VERSE 12
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.
Those false teachers, who came to their position some other way (verse 1)…they may seem nice to you and soooo polite to the sheep of God for awhile but....
they don’t truly care for the sheep of God (VERSE 8 AND 10)
They are just putting on a front…acting like they care for God’s sheep but look at VERSE 12...
it says, when he “SEES the wolf coming” he LEAVES!
He leaves the sheep of God…completely vulnerable!
He leaves the sheep of God…to protect himself, his own skin, his own reputation.
YOU KNOW WHY?
because he doesn’t own the sheep
though he would love to...
but he has found out they don’t really listen to him anyway (VERSE 5)
And because the reality is…”HE CARES NOTHING FOR THE SHEEP”
HERE IS THE TRUTH:
“A man does what he does because he is what he is
A drunkard drinks because he is a drunkard.
But he is a drunkard before he drinks to excess.
The liar lies because he is a liar; but he is a liar before he tells a lie.
The thief steals because he is a thief” —A.W. PINK
And the same is true for all of us....WE AREN’T SINNERS BECAUSE WE SINNED....WE SIN BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS!
See, we all find out who we really are when we see the wolf coming don’t we.
What is the wolf that you fear?
Is it lust and pornography?
Is it your time and energy on something other than God?
And when you see that wolf coming…do you run and let the wolf snatch the things that are precious in your Christian life and scatter those things....
Or do you run to The Good Shepherd for protection…because you know that He is good and you will find safety there?
NOW…BACK TO THE TEXT…LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…THINK ABOUT SOMETHING REAL QUICK....
What do you think a WOLF does to a bunch of sheep, unprotected sheep…all alone in a field…WHAT DO YOU THINK A WOLF WOULD DO TO SOME OF THEM?
NOW…let me ask you another question...
Do you think a sheep of God can lose their salvation?
Do you think…have you been taught…that a sheep that this Good Shepherd died for can ultimately lose their salvation?
I know some of you have been taught that...
But hear the words of The Good Shepherd who DIED FOR YOU...
LOOK AT THIS SCRIPTURE AGAIN AND SEE WHAT THIS WOLF ACTUALLY DOES!
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.
NOTICE…The WOLF DOES NOT devour, kill, eat, destroy ANY OF THE SHEEP OF GOD...
The WOLF may come when the Hired Hand is watching over them but the WOLF ONLY snatches and scatters them!
He might snatch, grasp hastily in order to take you away
And the WOLF might scatter some of them...
BUT THE WOLF DOESN’T ULTIMATELY DESTROY ANY OF CHRISTS SHEEP!! HE CAN’T!
You know why?
Because Christ PAID FOR HIS SHEEP…THEY ARE HIS.
He DIED FOR THEM…and HE FULFILLED THE WILL OF HIS FATHER
Look at John 6:37-39 at what Christ has already told us....
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
The WOLF may snatch and scatter…but He WILL NEVER ULTIMATELY SNATCH THEM OR EVEN SCATTER THEM AWAY FOREVER...
BELIEVE THE WORDS OF CHIRST...
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
He is a Good Shepherd, He calls His sheep by name and they come and follow Him…He KNOWS HIS OWN SHEEP and He is willing to die to protect them....(LOOK AT VERSE 14-15
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.
God, help me to believe this more and more! I pray all of us come to believe the words of Christ here!
Do you have this kind of relationship with Christ right now? Do you KNOW Him…just as the Father knows Jesus Christ?
Man…me either! But God, I want to know you this way!
How can we? How can I know Him just like the Father Knows Him?
How about we start by spending time with Him…learning about Him…learning what He has done for us and what He promises to do!
He KNOWS YOU THIS WAY…HE KNOWS ME THIS WAY!
Think about that! He knows you just like He knows His Father. He knows your hearts desires, your hurts, the weight you are carrying…He knows the struggles you have right now…and He knows it all! And if you are His…know this…HE STILL DIED FOR YOU…HIS SHEEP.
VERSE 15 SAYS...
It says “I lay down my life FOR the sheep”...
Guys…its important for us TO KNOW WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS...
He didn’t just die for every individual in the world…He DIED FOR HIS SHEEP…This is death was PERSONAL…not arbitrary!
I know that sounds SO CRAZY IN OUR AMERICAN CHURCH CULTURE TODAY BUT LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF CHRIST!
Let me skip down to show you what He says later on to someone in this chapter...
Look at verse 24-27
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Look at verse 15 again...
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.
He died for YOU WHO BELIVE IN HIM…and His death WAS YOUR DEATH!
His death was your death!!!
THAT WORD “FOR” means: On Behalf of; In the Place of; On Account of
you know where that word is found again?
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
JOHN 10:16
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.
“THIS FOLD”…Judaism
He tells them…I have other sheep…not of this fold!
Christ DOESNT SAY “he wants other sheep”
Christ DOESN’T SAY “he hopes others will choose Him”
He SAYS, “I HAVE OTHER SHEEP”
Gentiles from all over the world…from every tribe, tongue, people group…from every nation.
What is HE going to do with those other sheep of his?
HE IS GOING TO BRING THEM ALSO…just like He is calling HIS SHEEP OUT OF JUDAISM…HE IS CALLING HIS SHEEP right now, still today…ALL OVER THE WORLD.
WHAT WILL THEY DO?
He says, “THEY WILL LISTEN to His VOICE”
He doesn’t say, “I hope they hear me”
He doesn’t say, “I hope they come to me”
He SAYS, “THEY WILL LISTEN TO HIM”!
that is a powerful Savior and a Mighty God that can say that!
ONE FLOCK…then there will be ONE FLOCK AND ONE SHEPHERD.
this is the ANSWER TO our Culture today…the Gospel…the good news of Christ Jesus! This is what tears down racial tension…this is what will destroy Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, and White Privilege....and all that junk going on today...
When the sheep of God Hear the voice of their Shepherd and come to Him…they are all in one flock with ONE Shepherd...
It destroys all those barriers…one family.
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.”
What a PLAN OF GOD! NO ONE WOULD DREAM THIS UP!
A RIGHTEOUS PERSON DYING FOR UNRIGHTEOUS SINNERS?
FOR SINNERS WHO DO NOT DESERVE NOTHING BUT ETERNAL HELL BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN?
HE DID IT OUT OF SHEER LOVE AND GRACE FOR THOSE HE PREDESTINED? HE PURCHASED THEM AND DIED IN THEIR PLACE?
And it was ALL PLANNED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING...
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
WHY WOULD GOD DO SUCH A THING?
FOR HIS OWN GLORY!
The Father gave His Son a possession…a gift
He gave Him All of creation and a people for his own possession
CHRIST, BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND FOR THOSE THE FATHER GAVE TO HIM…HE CAME TO EARTH TO LIVE A SACRIFICIAL LIFE AND DIE A DEATH FOR ALL THAT THE FATHER GAVE HIM...
And the Holy Spirit comes and convicts us of our sin…where we look to the only Savior for the World…Christ the Son, The Good Shepherd.
The TRINITY WORKING IN SALVATION.
THE TRINITY, THE GODHEAD IS NOT AT WAR … THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS NOT GONE ROUGE.
I THINK WE THINK THAT THOUGH...
MANY BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS WENT ROUGE ON THE GODHEAD.
GOD THE FATHER WANTS EVERYONE TO BE SAVED...
GOD THE SON DIED FOR EVERYONE
BUT GOD THE SPIRIT IS ONLY CONVICTING SOME OF THEIR SIN...
that is NOT WHAT IS GOING ON...
The Father Gave the Son a people
The Son died for those the Father gave
And the Holy Spirit is drawing those to the Son
The TRINITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT WORK…TOGETHER...
LOOK AT VERSES 17-18 AGAIN...
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.”
Don’t EVER THINK THAT OUR KING WAS EVER WEAK....
HE LAYED DOWN HIS LIFE ON HIS OWN ACCORD...
he could have stopped it all at any point…He was never WEAK!
But see the Trinity, the Godhead at work here...
Here Jesus says He is the one that is going to raise himself by his own authority.
He said that earlier in John 2:19
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
God the Son…will raise Himself
Look at Romans 6 4
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Here is says that God the Father raised Him
Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
The Holy Spirit Raised Him....
So who raised Jesus from the Dead?
God Almighty
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
Now…we have went over some very TOUCHY TOPICS THIS MORNING....
Election, Predestination, Eternal Security of your salvation...
It is crazy that these things…THESE DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY DIVIDE PEOPLE…THEY DIVIDE FRIENDS AND FAMILIES…THE DIVIDE CHURCHES SOMETIMES....
I hate that…BUT YOU KNOW WHAT...
IT ALWAYS HAS...
LOOK AT VERSES 19-21…FIRST LOOK AT 19
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
PEOPLE STILL TODAY…WHEN YOU TELL THEM WHAT JESUS HAS DONE..DYING FOR HIS SHEEP, AND ONLY HIS SHEEP....
PEOPLE SAY, “THATS DIVISIVE”… “DON’T TEACH THAT…IT MAKES PEOPLE UPSET...”
HMMM....
LOOK AT VERSE 20-21
YOU teach what Christ teaches and people will say the same to you.
I have heard it many times....
THEY SAY, “That is the doctrine of DEMONS”…seriously, I’ve heard people say it.
I have had people say, “if that is who God is I would not want Him”…
scary stuff…
because this is who God is.
It is very UN-AMERICAN I KNOW.
But…NEWS FLASH, ....GOD IS NOT AN AMERICAN!
This has always been divisive. I don’t expect to be able to explain it better than Jesus Christ and if they got mad at Him for THESE WORDS and said HE was crazy and told people not to listen to him....LISTEN TO ME...
IF PEOPLE ARE NOT SAYING THE SAME THING ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU TELL THEM WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE...
It JUST MAY BE YOU…it may be you teaching things that are NOT OF GOD!
MANY SAID “HE HAS A DEMON, AND IS INSANE, WHY LISTEN TO HIM?”
BUT THE OTHERS…THEY SAID… “THESE ARE NOT THE WORDS OF ONE WHO IS OPPRESSED BY A DEMON. CAN A DEMON OPEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND?”
WHAT DID THE OTHERS NOTICE?
WHAT STOOD OUT THE MOST IN THIS WHOLE SCENE WHERE HE OPENED A BLIND MANS EYES AND THEN TAUGHT THIS LESSON?
HIS WORDS!
DO HIS WORDS MATTER TO YOU?
DOES IT MATTER WHAT YOU ARE BEING TAUGHT?
OR DO YOU MAINLY NOTICE ALL THE STUFF GOING ON?
PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDS OF CHRIST...
PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDS OF THOSE who are your under-shepherds...
Are they feeding you God’s Word or distracting you with motivation, one line zingers, awesome music and lights…???
Faith COMES BY HEARING…NOT BY SEEING…NOT BY ANYTHING ELSE...
I PRAY YOU HEARD NOT ONLY THE WORDS OF CHRIST THIS MORNING I PRAY IF YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD HIS VOICE AND HIM CALLING YOU THAT HEARD THAT IN YOUR HEART...
LISTEN TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.