“THE GOOD SHEPERD”
Over the past 6 weeks we have looked at the “I AM” statements of Christ. We have explored significant lessons Jesus gave as He made these descriptive statements about himself.
“I AM” - He clearly used it to identify himself as God
“I AM the way, the truth & the life” – In Him all we seek is found.
“I AM the Light of Day” – thru Him we’ll never walk in dark or get lost.
“I AM the gate – He is our only true protection
“I AM the Bread of Life” – He brings a satisfaction that last for eternity.
“I AM the Resurrection & the life” – able to gives us that eternity today.
Today, we’ll look at the last “I AM” statement found in John 10:11-19,
Here Jesus said, “I AM the good shepherd.”
By this statement, Jesus not only made a great claim about himself, but also gave an example for His disciple to follow. A disciple is someone that not only knows the truth, but follows it no matter the cost.
“You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31
“by this the world will know that you are my disciple, in that you love one another.” John13:35
Today we’ll look at Jesus’ claim about himself & learn how to apply it to our own life, if we are truly to be His disciple.
I. What did Jesus mean when He said He was The Good shepherd. What makes Jesus different from all other shepherds?
1. His goodness. (v. 11 & 14). “ I am the good shepherd"
He didn’t say, “I am A Shepherd,” or “I am A GOOD shepherd,” He said,
“I am THE GOOD shepherd.” Only one like him!
All of us like to claim that we are “good”, but are we really good?
· I’ve been good spouse-yet cheated on his/her mate.
· I am a good worker-yet comes late, leaves early & pats time sheet.
· I am good Christian-yet the evidence is sufficient to indict & convict us of the crime of hypocrite.
Bible says in Psalm 53, that there is none that are good, not one.”
Bible says in Matt. 19, that only God is good.
So how can Jesus call himself good? Because He is good-He’s God! And only God is able to demonstrate true goodness.
Just read Psalm 34, especially verse 8, “O taste & see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
2. His commitment. (v. 11) “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep"
Jesus was committed to one thing-fulfilling father’s will. Greatest proof of His commitment-willingness to lay down His life for you & me.
Some might be willing to give their life in substitution for one they love. But how many would sacrifice all they have to save one who is evil, ungrateful and disobedient?
Phil. 2 says Jesus, “while being in the very form of God emptied himself, taking the form of a servant & being made in the likeness of men, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, and death on a cross.” He gave up all he had in heaven to come and save us! And by His sacrifice, open the doors of heaven to ALL!
Only God could be committed to such a cause!
Only God would be able to do that! And that is what He did. He lay down his life for you & me that we might not perish to Hell for eternity.
3. His Courage. (vv. 12-13) "He who is a hired hand & not a shepherd, sees the wolf coming & leaves the sheep, and flees and the wolf snatches them & scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand & is not concerned about the sheep."
Many are willing to do some dumb & dangerous things for old might dollar. Every Sunday NFL players risk their life for the opportunity to cash in on some money. Many jeopardize their health, family & future, for something that can not be taken to eternity.
Question: How many would be willing to suffer a painful, agonizing death for an ungrateful stranger? Let’s be honest, none!
Yet Jesus was not only willing, He did it! He died in our place because He is concern for those who are lost!.
Many of Jesus disciples said they would be willing to die for Him.
But after his arrest, how many did? None! They all ran for cover.
They denied Jesus.
They abandoned His call to them.
They returned to what was comfortable, even though not profitable!
So Jesus went to war against enemy (Satan & death) all by himself. When He had defeated them, returned for those who gave up on Him.
He promised in Hebrews 5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He’s too concern for you & your eternity.
4. His Knowledge (v14). " I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me."
We all are so foolish! We think we get away with anything! We have become very good at playing the church & religion game.
We say we love Jesus, but yet hate those Jesus loves.
We say we follow Jesus, but we go places Jesus would never go.
We display piety to attract attention, but only attract a swarms of flies.
We might fool people, but we do not fool God. He knows us.
> Jesus is w/ us whenever, wherever, and forever! When we are His.
We need to stop our foolishness & phoniness! Be transparent and allow God a chance to change us & mold us to His likeness.
He says that not only does He know us, but we also know Him.
What do you know about Jesus?
You can ask me almost anything about my wife and I think I can give a pretty accurate answer. Why? I’ve made it my life to know her.
But what do we know about Jesus? 1 John 1 (Read 1-5) then…
v. 6- do you know that, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
v. 7- do you know that, “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
v. 8- do you know that, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
v. 9- do you know that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
v. 10- do you know that, “if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
Today you can know this and embrace this by asking Jesus to forgive you and come into your life and save you.
5. His devotion to openness & oneness (v16a). "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also."
Jesus does not believe in clicks. He doesn’t care how you dress or how you look, or what language you speak!
I think this is one of the greatest sins of humanity-especially in the church. Oh how we like our groups.
Yet, Jesus opened heaven to all. He loved all!
V. 16b, “They too will listen to my voice & there shall be one flock & one shepherd."
In Christ’s church there is to be openness! We must make our environment inclusive. Anyone can come and hear and follow. We are not to cause anyone to stumble.
In Christ’s church there is to be oneness! We must strive to have unity, not division. We must work at building one another, not down.
One God, One Savior, One Holy Spirit-offered for all!
6. His authority. (v. 17) "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father."
In Matt. 28, Jesus, “that all authority had been given to Him in Heaven and on earth.” And then He passed that authority & power to us.
Too many Christians live their lives unaware of the power & authority we have received by Jesus. We stumble around in weakness, while He stands ready to empower us in our life.
Today that power can get a hold of you & change you!
II. So what are we to do with all that has been said?
What do I need to do to be like Jesus? What do I need to do to become a true disciple?
1. We’ll never be good, but you can with God’s help do good. Eph. 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
2. We’ll never equal the commitment of Jesus, but we can commit ourselves to Him and He will work mightily in us. Psalm 37:5-6, “commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will bring forth your righteousness as the light.”
3. We may lack courageous in the midst of adversity, but if you allow Jesus to come into your life, there is nothing He can do through you! Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ whom strengthen me.”
4. We’ll never attain the wisdom of Jesus, but if we embrace Jesus, we will receive all the knowledge & wisdom necessary. Col. 2:3, Speaking of Jesus says, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
5. We may not possess the devotion to unity as Jesus, but when we begin to truly love, we will be given the desire. Col. 3:14, “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
6. We are not kings, or emperors to have authority or power over people, But we’ve been empower from up high by Christ w/ power & authority to take back the souls heading to hell.
Matt. 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Let’s go!
