JESUS: The Good Shepherd                                                     

11-27-05

John 10:1-30 (11)     Audio

The image of the People of God as sheep with God as their Shepherd is found many times in the O.T.  Psalm 23 begins “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”  Psalm 100:3 “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”  The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Zechariah all write at length about Jehovah being the Shepherd and His People, Israel, being His sheep.

So when Jesus comes along in John 10 and claims that He is the Good Shepherd, He was again taking an O.T. image of God and applying it to Himself.  So once more the Jews take up stones to stone Him for claiming to be God.  Let’s read beginning in John 10:1 (thru v.5).

He starts out simply talking about something they understood well.  This was an agrarian society.  They understood farming and caring for livestock.  And even though Jesus is likely speaking somewhere in the city of Jerusalem as He makes this claim, in the fields all around the city were flocks of sheep being cared for by shepherds.

He talks about shepherds and sheep, but He is talking about something deeper than that.  And verse 6 shows they didn’t understand His deeper meaning (read).  It’s a parable, a metaphor, a figure of speech, and they didn’t understand.

C.S. Lewis has written a series of seven books called “The Chronicles of Narnia”.  He has done much like Jesus is doing here in John 10, telling the story of 5 children and a lion named Aslan.  How many of you have read any of those books?  They are parables, metaphors.

The first one is titled “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” and is coming out as a movie next month.  Some will watch it and be like the people in John 10. They won’t get it.  But others will understand that what Lewis is talking about is Jesus and what He has done for us.

In John 10, Jesus goes on to explain clearly what the deeper meaning of His parable is.  Look at v.10: He is the good Shepherd.  This is a passage talking about Jesus and His relationship with His followers.  He is the Shepherd, and we are the sheep.

In our day some would rather cast Jesus as the SuperNanny.  We’ve made a mess of things, but never fear, we can call SuperNanny and she will come and fix it all for us.  And that may be fine for you ladies. 

But the image of a shepherd is a man’s image.  Shepherds didn’t shave every day; they didn’t wash their hair every day.  They didn’t wear fine smelling cologne; they smelled like sheep.  They lived out in the fields and didn’t always come home at night. They were the rugged outdoorsmen of the day, and didn’t drive a spiffy little English car like the SuperNanny does.

I read this past week someone who said “Most of our churches today are for little old ladies, of both sexes.” We sit on our soft pews, supplied with Kleenex boxes, pink silk flowers in the front, and we sing about some guy who is beautiful, the darling of heaven.

That isn’t the way Christianity began.  It began with a guy who likened Himself to a rugged shepherd willing to lay down his life for his sheep.

That doesn’t make sense, does it!  A shepherd needs to preserve his life for the sake of his sheep.  Once he is dead, the sheep are easy prey for the wolves.  But Jesus says He is going to lay down His life for His sheep.  He does not preserve them by saving His own life, but rather by giving His life.  It’s the opposite of what seems reasonable.  But that’s the way God often does things – not in ways that seem reasonable to us, but in ways that He knows are best.

The hired hand – v.12.  Now there’s the one who will do everything to preserve his own life.  He is not concerned about the sheep, but only about himself.  He has no interest in the sheep themselves.  They aren’t his; he’s just the caretaker.  His interested is in his paycheck, not in the sheep.  Jesus says He is not like that.  He doesn’t cut and run when danger comes. He is more interested in preserving the lives of His sheep than He is in preserving His own life. 

Over and over in this chapter we read about the voice of the shepherd.  (Read v.3-5).

Here’s the picture.  Often in a sheepfold there would be several flocks all intermingled for the night.  Why should each individual shepherd build his own sheepfold out in the fields when several could go in together?  So maybe 3 or 4 or 5 shepherds brought their sheep to the same fold and put them in for the night, and then built their fire, had their evening meal, and settled down for the night.

The next morning as they were about to go their separate ways, there were all these sheep mixed together, maybe even a couple hundred of them.  How do you know which is whose? 

I don’t know about you, but sheep all look pretty much the same to me.  However, sheep recognize the voice of their particular shepherd.  And the shepherd knows his sheep by name.  When he calls out to them, and begins to lead them out they follow him because they know his voice.  That’s in the parable part in v.3-5.

We read about the shepherd’s voice again in v.16 and in v.27 (read). 

Let’s just stop and make some personal application here.  How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ if we do not hear His voice, if we are not listening to His voice?  Verse 27 is as clear as it can be: My sheep listen to My voice.  That is an identifying characteristic of one who is Jesus’ sheep: they listen to His voice.

The scary part is that people who have done horrible things to other people have said that they heard voices; some even say they heard God tell them to do those horrible things. 

I read on one medical website this week: “People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others…Hearing voices that other people do not hear is the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. Voices may describe the patient’s activities, carry on a conversation, warn of impending dangers, or even issue orders to the individual.”

Is Jesus urging us to do something here that is mentally unhealthy, even bordering on schizophrenia?  Obviously Jesus would not urge us to do something that is not good for us.  So how is what He asks of us different for what these medical people are talking about?  How do we know what is Jesus’ voice, and what is our own imagination, or maybe even the voices of evil spirits?

I have a whole message I brought a few years back about listening to God in prayer.  And in that message I tried to answer the question: How can I be sure it’s God’s voice speaking to me?  The answers I gave then apply to the question of listening to Jesus’ voice.

1. Is it in harmony with the Bible?  When Jesus speaks to us, often it is as we read our Bible.  That’s the most common way He speaks to me – through His written Word.  That’s why I read it every morning.  I want Him to speak to me, and that comes most clearly through His written Word.  And if I sense Him speaking to my heart about something, it must be in harmony with the Bible.  If it isn’t, it isn’t Jesus speaking.

2. Is it in harmony with God’s character?  Since Jesus is God, everything He says will be in harmony with God’s character.  So if a voice tells me to fill my car with explosives and drive to a crowded market and blow myself up along with as many other people as I can, that voice is not Jesus speaking to me.  That act is contrary to the character of God.  The better you get to know God, the more clearly you will be able to distinguish between His voice and other voices.

3. Would it glorify God?  If doing something would rob God of the glory that is due to Him, then it is not something He would tell me to do.  But if it would glorify Him, if it would bring Him honor and praise, then it is much more likely to be Him that is speaking to me.

4. Do I have peace about it?  Please notice that this is not the first thing I ask myself.  People have told me that they have peace about doing things that the Bible clearly forbids.  But they have peace about it.  That peace is not from God.  Peace doesn’t count for anything unless you have asked the first 3 questions.  If the answers to the first three are “no”, then you need go no further.  But if the answer to the first three is “yes”, then inner peace is an important consideration.

5. Do others confirm it?  You may think Jesus has told you quit school and to go out and be an evangelist.  That could be Biblical.  It is in harmony with God’s character.  It would glorify God.  And you may have a peace about it. But others may provide for you some insight that you may have missed.  It may just be your own imagination.  If you run what you think God has told you by mature, godly Christians and they have hesitations, maybe it’s time to do some more praying.

My sheep listen to My voice.  Jesus does want to speak to us. 

Hebrews 1 begins In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… 

What has He said to you lately?  If someone were to ask you “What has the Lord said to you lately?” what would you answer them?  That’s not the reason to be listening to Jesus, so you could have something to say and avoid the embarrassment.  But if you want to grow as a Christian, you need to be hearing His voice, whether it’s through your reading of your Bible, or through the inner voice of His Spirit speaking to your spirit.

Look at v.14 (read).  If you are one of His sheep, Jesus knows you.  If you go back to v.3, He knows your name.  The older I get it seems like it gets harder to connect faces with names.  I think the clay between my ears is getting less pliable and I have to press harder to get things to stick up there.

The more experience I have with people, the better I can remember their name.  When we sit down and eat a meal together, when we do things together, talk together, pray together, we are more likely to remember each other’s names.  But even though I may forget a name, Jesus never does.  He knows your name.

In v.14 when it says He knows His sheep and they know Him, He likens it to the relationship between Himself and His Father.  Our knowing Him and His knowing us is not a casual thing.  He has not invited us to be acquaintances; He invites us to be intimate friends.

I love the picture that Isaiah 40:11 paints of God: He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.  Jesus has you close to His heart, and in that relationship He is close to your heart as well.

Some of us as guys struggle with that kind of a close relationship.  We don’t have close relationships with other guys; why should we have that kind of relationship with Jesus?  Because God made us with both the capacity and the need for that kind of a relationship with Him. No matter how good life is for you without a close relationship with Jesus, it could be better with one.  And if you would be honest with yourself, you may have to admit that life is not all that good without Jesus as a really important part of your life.

Look at v.16 (read).  Who are these other sheep?  I have read people teaching that Jesus meant people in other solar systems, people on other planets.  That’s a pretty big stretch.  It’s much more likely the Gentiles Jesus is talking about here, people who are not Jews.

Ephesians 2:11-16 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth …were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

The Gentiles have joined the Jews as followers of Jesus.  At first there were only Jews.  But Jesus had other sheep, and He has brought us together and made us one flock under one Shepherd.

The other recurring thought in these verses is that the SHEEP FOLLOW THEIR SHEPHERD. V.4, 27.  Twenty times in the Gospels we find Jesus saying the words “Follow Me.”  He never said “become a Christian”.  He never said “get saved”.  He said “Follow Me”.  So what does that mean in our world today?  He no longer is here physically for us to walk along with Him.  How do we follow Him today, in 2005, in the Spokane Valley?

Today we can follow His example.

Read the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.  Watch what Jesus does, how He acts, how He reacts, how He treats people.  Then follow His example.  The more you follow Jesus’ example, the better husband you will be, the better wife you will be, the better parent you will be, the better son or daughter you will be, the better employee or boss you will be, the better friend you will be.  You can’t go wrong following Jesus’ example.  But you won’t know His example unless you read the Gospels.

Today we can follow His teachings.

Again, read the Gospels.  Read His commands; read His promises; read the timeless principles.  And then do the things He says.  We will look at Jesus’ questions one of these Sundays, but one question Jesus’ asked was “Why do you call Me Lord and do not do the things I say?”  Isn’t that a great question?  About the only good answer is “Because I’m called ‘stupid’”.

Follow His example, and follow His teachings.  That’s what it means to follow Him.  “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”

My final question to you today is…

IS JESUS YOUR SHEPHERD?

Jesus described people without Him in Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Are you a sheep without a shepherd? Jesus wants to be your Shepherd. He wants to take responsibility for you, to lead you, to guide you, to provide for you, to protect you.

Here is how the Psalmist David said it:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

“The Lord IS my Shepherd.  I have chosen to submit myself to Him and to follow Him.”  Have you?  Will you?  You can make that choice even now as we pray.