5.3.20 John 10:1-10
1 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the door, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this illustration in speaking to the people, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7 So Jesus said again, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: I am the door for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The Good Shepherd Takes Good Care of Us
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Listen to Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, so many preachers on TV. This is their FAVORITE verse that they quote ALL of the time. They’ll flaunt their planes and their houses and talk about how they named it and claimed it. “If you don’t have abundance, then you aren’t living your best life. You’re selling God short.” But that’s their interpretation of abundance. The word in the Greek is pe??ss?? (perisson), meaning “that which is exceptional in the sense of being more than what is expected.” What did Jesus say we would have perisson? Life. More life. What does that mean?
We cherish life. We are pro-life. If you think about it, what is more important than life? What good are riches, new cars, a good job, if you aren’t healthy enough to enjoy them or use them? Young married couples crave to have life. They want to have children to raise together. Retired couples want years of life to enjoy together. Athletes want good health so that they can perform at the highest ability. Life! Perisson life is a wonderful thing to have.
But life is also SPIRITUAL. Ephesians 2 talks about this spiritual life that we now have -
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
(Isn’t it interesting, how in describing death, people are busy doing all kinds of things - following their cravings and desires and thoughts? Life, according to the Bible, is not going after your dreams.)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, . . . 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Life comes from within when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and our hearts to know and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Life is in connection with Jesus, through our baptism, in the Word, in the Lord’s Supper. Wherever Jesus is, there is life. Life is shown to the world when we live out a life of good works in accordance with God’s will. This is what Jesus has come to GIVE us. LIFE!
It’s the opposite of those who climb over the wall. They are the thieves and the robbers, who come in to steal, kill, and destroy. Just this past week a robber broke into a house right next to some of our members and was shot in the stomach over on the west side, only about two miles from our house. Jesus said that there are those who want to do the same thing to His sheep, the church, the people He purchased and died for with His blood. They want to lure them away from the church, take what is theirs, and destroy them.
What do we have, as Christians, that thieves want to take from us? We have money. We have time. We have families. We have possessions and homes, just like the rest of the world. In a spiritual sense, we have the peace of knowing our sins are forgiven. We also know that angels are here to protect us and that God works all things out for our good. We have purpose in this life, knowing that we are here to serve our Lord in our jobs and our positions in life. Even in the midst of death we have hope of heaven at the resurrection. We have joy as we enjoy the gifts God gives us. We have forgiveness that we freely give to each other.
Who are the thieves? They are people who have been taken captive by the devil, who can come in all kinds of shapes and forms. They want us to think that we aren’t really living life if we aren’t sewing our wild oats and fulfilling our desires. But how often does chasing the dream end up locking people up in relationships and jobs that give them no satisfaction at all? Take for instance the “perisson”, the “more,” the abundance, the excellence. Perisson can be an albatross of jealousy and anger and disgruntledness around your neck.
In a 2018 Harvard Business School study, they interviewed more than 4,000 millionaires. They said the price of happiness is pretty steep, when you have 8 to 10 million dollars. But even that wasn’t enough. The article said,
“millionaires said just a bit more wealth wouldn’t be enough. Respondents most frequently said that they would need to increase their wealth by a whopping 1,000 percent, followed by 500 percent for total happiness.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/03/harvard-study-how-much-money-millionaires-need-to-be-happy.html
It sounds terribly greedy, and it probably is. But if you were at the same school and you came from the same background and you had the same teachers, would you be any different?
You’re watching your son play a baseball game on a beautiful day. You’re looking forward to spending a nice afternoon at the ballpark. But the parent next to you is yelling at the ump and angry at the coach for his play calling. You notice the same mistakes and start yelling too. You came to enjoy watching your son play ball, but before you knew it the thief climbed over your wall and stole joy from it, managing to take a beautiful day and turn it into sheer misery, as all you could do was focus on the mistakes being made.
Think about what you listen to on the radio and the TV when it comes to the news. Some people are angry over the people who aren’t following the proper social distance rules. Others are angry over the governor for her regulations. More blame President Trump. Some are in panic over the virus while others are in panic over the economy. 97 percent of the people are reported to show no symptoms at all. But over 62,000 people have died from it. When I mention one thing it might make you angry and another it might make you glad. How much of your response is fed by who you listen to? The thief wants to take everything you hear and see and drill it into your ears, work you up into a frenzy, so that you are consumed by worry or anger or revenge.
Think of what he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. They were living in PARADISE! They had everything they could have wanted: a perfect husband, a perfect wife, perfect atmosphere, perfect trees. Yet the devil climbed the wall and convinced them, in the midst of all of that perfection, that God was being CHEAP with them and HOLDING back on them in order to keep them down. He told them they could have MORE, and they ended up losing it ALL! Satan wanted to take it all from them. Why? All because he himself is miserable, and he hates God. He can’t stand to see any of God’s children content or happy. Misery loves company.
What a contrast it is to have a Good Shepherd! The Good Shepherd is not trying to take anything from the sheep. He’s only protecting them, guiding them, and feeding them personally. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. . . . He will come in and go out, and find pasture. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. The picture isn’t anything elaborate. It’s nice and simple. It’s just some sheep coming in and going out and finding plenty of green pastures. They have food and shelter. They are blessed because of it. It reminds me of what Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6–8 “Godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
There’s freedom too, they are not just locked in the pen and told they can’t go anywhere. They don’t have to be afraid, because the Good Shepherd is with them. Their freedom comes from a FAMILIARITY with His voice and TRUST in what He says. They trust in the SHEPHERD more than the walls they are staying behind. If He says, “Let’s go,” they go. If He says, “Come in,” they come. They trust that He will get them to pasture to get them what they need, that He will protect them, and they are happy and content to listen to His voice and follow Him.
Isn’t it a reminder to us that the LORD is our shepherd too? He will protect us and feed us and take care of us as best as we need in order to get us to heaven? His angels will do their job and keep us safe until it’s time for us to go. I think of what Isaiah promised the Israelites in Isaiah 43:1–3,
1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
Couldn’t we apply the same thing to ourselves? Don’t we need to apply these promises to ourselves now more than ever so that we aren’t locked up by fear?
It reminds me of what happened this past Sunday for the Joe Rechsteiner funeral. Here I had before me a sad widow and her children who were very saddened over the death of Joe. But as I spoke the simple words of God and spoke of the death and resurrection of Jesus, for Joe, I could sense in most of them a peace over Joe’s salvation. I spoke to them of life after death and the resurrection of the dead: of serving God day and night in His temple. Several of them called me after the funeral to thank me for the words of comfort that I gave them. It wasn’t my words that comforted them. It was God’s promises. That’s a kind of peace that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. It’s worth more than any riches can give.
There was a man whose wife was working hundreds of miles away from home at a nice job. He had lost his job. Their son had moved away to college. He was a strong Christian, but it seemed that his life was empty and he was falling apart as he was at home all alone. When the coronavirus hit, everything changed. His wife was laid off, so she just quit her job and moved home. Their son came home from college. They found themselves playing board games and enjoying a simple life again, something they hadn’t done in years. In a situation where so many people feel death and desperation, he was given a fresh renewal on life. He didn’t need millions of dollars. The Lord blessed his life by simplifying it.
In a similar way, we have eaten more dinners together and spent more time together than we ever would have if none of this had come. This has been a great blessing for us, at least so far. Our children aren’t gone at school until 10 at night. Even though we had hoped to see our children compete in track, life goes on! It may seem basic, but there are blessings in the basics of life. Locked up at home, I have a greater appreciation for the life in our house than I have in many years.
The same rings true in my relationship with some of you. What a nice thing that I’m able to personally meet with people on Thursdays and give them the Lord’s Supper one on one, feeding them with the bread of life in Jesus, assuring them that their sins are forgiven through the body and blood of Jesus. I’ve had more time to prepare a midweek Bible study on Hebrews, something I’ve always wanted to go through. What a blessing!
Whereas many people may be panicked over what is happening with the virus and the economy, there’s freedom with Jesus. We know that we are in the Lord’s hands, no matter whether we get sick or not. Ultimately, Covid-19 could take your life, but it can’t take away your salvation, your forgiveness, or your hope in Jesus. You can come in and go out, knowing that the living Lord is with you in sickness and death, in happiness and wealth. You can’t put a price on that.
How many times does God try to assure you that He is taking care of you? That He is generous with you? I think of what Paul said to the Corinthians when he encouraged them in their giving in 2 Corinthians 9:8 where he writes, God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Listen to his voice. ALL that you need to ABOUND in every good work. Isn’t this true? Does God lie? No, He doesn’t lie. The Good Shepherd takes Good Care of Us, in His own simple and live giving way. Amen.
