The Good Shepherd

Amen. If you would, please take your Bibles and open them up to John chapter 10 this morning.

John 10 · chapter mention

John chapter 10. This is one of the most beautiful pictures, I believe, in all of Scripture of who Jesus is and how He cares for His people.

John 10 · chapter mention

John chapter 10. Our passage this morning will be John 10, 1 through 21.

John 10 · chapter mention

And when you found that in your Bibles, if you would stand as I read the Word of God.

Amen.

He says,

I speak now, Lord, that your sheep would hear your voice in your Word. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

I hope that you realize the depth and the richness of what we just sang together.

We were talking about it with the music team before the service started and some of them knew the song, some of them didn't.

And Miss Ann called it an oldie but a goodie.

There's a lot of rich truth there in that hymn, isn't there?

And we see all of it here in our passage this morning in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

The question we've been asking, who is Jesus?

And the answer that we've seen time and time and time again as we've walked through the Gospel of John,

Jesus is the Christ.

Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus is the Son of God.

And here in our passage this morning, we see Jesus is the shepherd of his sheep.

He's the door of the sheep.

He's the owner and the Savior of his own.

Look there with me to chapter 10, verse 1.

And I want you to have your Bibles open.

I love that you might trust me, that what I'm telling you is God's Word.

I don't want you to trust me that much.

I want you to see it with your own eyes.

The Word of God, John 10, verse 1.

John 10:1

Jesus is continuing a conversation that he started last week.

You may remember last week that Jesus healed the man born blind.

He had mercy on him.

He saw him.

He opened up his eyes.

That man was then brought to the religious leaders, to the Pharisees.

And rather than glorifying God for this miraculous work that's been done in this man's life,

rather than receiving him and rejoicing in the work that's been done, what happened?

They interrogated him.

They ridiculed him.

They mocked him.

And then they rejected him.

They cast him out of the synagogue.

So the last thing that Jesus said to the Pharisees at the end of chapter 9 last week

was that they are spiritually blind

blind and that they are bearing their own guilt.

And it's in that context of that conversation that our passage this morning picks up.

Look there with me to verses 1 through 5.

1 through 5 set the stage for the rest of the chapter.

He says,

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 the door by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the gatekeeper opens.

The sheep hear his voice.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

And when he has brought out all his own, he goes before them.

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 a stranger.

Clearly, Jesus is again, he's telling them a sort of parable.

John calls it a figure of speech.

He's drawing from everyday experiences, everyday knowledge,

in order to make a point, to give a lesson about who he is.

And so here he's drawing from their common understanding of shepherding.

I don't know how much shepherding you have done in your life.

I know several of you are animal people,

and maybe you have a little bit of knowledge of what shepherding looks like,

but shepherding in ancient Israel was done a little bit differently than it's done today.

And we need to understand the cultural context here

so that we understand the fullness of the picture that Jesus is giving us here.

So in this culture, oftentimes an entire town or an entire village would share one sheep pen.

And during the day, the owners of the sheep, they would bring their sheep,

if they had other business to attend to during the day,

they would bring their sheep into this sheep pen.

They would bring them in through the door.

They would pay a gatekeeper there who would open up the door.

He would know who came and who went.

And at the end of the day, whenever it's time to come and collect your sheep,

the shepherd would come in through the door.

The gatekeeper would recognize the shepherd.

He would know who the shepherd was.

He would open up the door for the shepherd.

And here's what's amazing.

The shepherd would look into that sheep pen,

and out of all the town's sheep,

out of all the many sheep that were gathered together in that sheep pen,

he would look out,

and he would know exactly which sheep were his.

I know that one there.

That one's mine.

That one there.

That one's mine.

That one there.

Those two, three scattered here, here, here.

Those are mine.

And then, what's even more remarkable,

is he would begin calling out to the sheep,

even by name.

He would call them by name.

Come on, Wooly.

Come on, little Bo.

Come on.

And his sheep, out of every noise that they heard throughout the day,

would recognize the voice of their shepherd,

and they would come to him.

Follow him.

Follow his voice.

Go to be with him.

It's a beautiful picture, isn't it?

It's a beautiful picture of salvation.

It's a beautiful picture of who Jesus is,

of who his people are,

of how anybody becomes his people,

of how he knows and loves and cares for his people.

But verse 6, it tells us that the Pharisees,

they hear this,

and they still didn't get the message.

You know, sometimes the Pharisees, bless them,

they're a little bit slow.

And so Jesus, here in verses 7 through 18,

almost the rest of the passage here,

he expands on the metaphor.

And he uses this shepherding imagery

to give us two more answers to the question,

who is Jesus?

This is our outline this morning.

If you're a note taker,

we're going to see two more answers to the question,

who is Jesus?

Jesus is the door of the sheep,

and Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep.

First, he says,

I am the door of the sheep.

Look there to verse 10 with me.

The Pharisees are confused,

and 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.

This is yet another one of the I am statements

in the Gospel of John.

We've seen a few of these already.

We'll see several more.

We have two of them here in this passage.

I am the door.

I am the good shepherd.

This is intentional language by Jesus here

to tell us,

to tell the Pharisees,

to tell any who's listening to him,

that he is the I am.

He is God in the flesh.

Here he says,

I am the door of the sheep.

What does that teach us about Jesus?

Let's think about this for a minute.

For one,

this teaches us that

Jesus is the one way

into the one flock of God.

I am the door of the sheep.

Jesus is the one way

into the one flock of God.

Now place yourself

in the Pharisees' shoes here.

This is very, very different

from how the Jews understood

how they belonged to God.

They thought that they belonged to God

by virtue of their physical belonging,

their physical, natural birth.

They were born into the Jewish people of God,

so they thought that they belonged to God.

Well, Jesus says,

not so fast.

There's a door,

and you have to enter through the door.

This is also very different

from the modern conception,

modern understanding

of how anyone might belong to God.

First of all,

we don't want to think

that we're sheep, do we?

We think that we're independent.

We're self-sufficient.

We got this on our own.

We don't need anybody to own us,

to lead us,

to guide us.

If there's a shepherd,

the shepherd does our bidding.

The shepherd serves at our pleasure.

That's what the modern mind thinks.

And more than this,

in the modern mind,

if there is a people of God,

and if there is a fence

that marks off the boundaries

of the people of God

from the rest of the world,

then surely that fence

is filled with doors.

That fence is covered with doors.

And certainly,

we can come in and out

as we please on our own terms.

We can enter any which way we want.

Jesus says again,

not so fast,

there is one door.

I am the door,

not a door.

And you must enter through the door.

Enter by the narrow gate,

he says in Matthew.

Enter by the narrow gate,

for the gate is wide,

and the way is easy

that leads to destruction,

and those who enter by it are many.

For the gate is narrow,

and the way is hard

that leads to life,

and those who find it are few.

It is not hateful,

despite what you may hear.

It is not bigoted.

It is not narrow-minded

to say that there is one way

in to the people of God.

We ought to instead marvel

that there is a door.

Be in awe of the grace of God

that there is a door.

There is a path.

There is an open door

for sinners like us

to enter into the people of God.

We ought to be astounded

by the grace of God

that he has given us a door.

Instead, the modern mind scoffs

and rejects

and laughs at the door.

Not only this.

We see that this teaches us

that Jesus is the one path

to true life.

Jesus is the one path

to true life.

Look again what it says.

He says,

I am the door.

If anyone enters by me,

what happens?

He says,

He will be saved

and will go in and out

and find pasture.

And again,

in verse 10,

he says,

The thief comes only to steal

and to kill

and to destroy.

I came

that they may have life

and have it abundantly.

Do you see the picture

of what Jesus offers

to his people here?

Why do you come to Jesus?

Why do you come to God

through the door of Jesus Christ?

I hope it's not just

to escape the wrath of God.

Certainly, that's part of it.

What does it say again here?

He says,

If anyone enters by me,

he will be saved.

Saved from what?

Saved from the wrath of God

against our sin.

That's good reason

to turn to Jesus,

but there is so much more here.

He will be saved, yes,

and he will go in and out

and find pasture.

These are happy,

healthy,

well-fed,

joyful sheep here.

He will be saved, yes,

and he will have

abundance of life.

He will be saved,

and he will have

true freedom,

true blessing,

true and lasting peace,

fullness of life

here and now

and into eternity.

I don't want us

just to come to Christ

once out of fear,

but to come to him again

and again

and again

and again

out of love for him,

out of satisfaction

in him,

that we would come

to the door

and come through the door

into the pasture

of God's presence

daily,

come to him

out of love.

Everyone in the world

is looking for

peace like this,

aren't we?

Everyone in the world

is looking for blessing,

for satisfaction,

for pasture.

church,

they need to be led

to the door

and through the door

into the joy

of knowing God.

A good shepherd

will lead the sheep

through the door

into the blessing

of the flock.

This is exactly

what Jesus has

against the Pharisees

here,

isn't it?

Look there,

look there again.

It says,

Jesus says,

the leaders

of the people

of Israel

have not been

good shepherds.

There's a contrast

here in the passage,

isn't there?

Between Jesus Christ

who is the door

and all the thieves

and the robbers

who came before him.

That's the contrast

that we see.

Verse 8,

all who came before me

are thieves and robbers

but the sheep

did not listen

to them.

These thieves

and robbers,

they don't come

through the door.

They hop the fence,

they avoid the door,

they sneak in

any which way

they can,

and they try

to come in

undetected,

not to bless

the sheep,

not to love

the sheep,

but to steal

them away,

to harm the sheep,

to destroy the sheep.

Who's he talking

about here?

Who's he talking

about here?

There's a few options,

they're good options,

but I think he's

talking about

the religious leaders.

If you think

about the context

here again,

remember,

at chapter 9,

Jesus has just

healed this man

born blind,

called him

to faith in himself,

and how did

the religious leaders

respond?

Those who were

supposed to care

for the sheep,

how did they respond?

They brutalized

the sheep,

discarded him,

humiliated him.

We should know

that God does not

mess around

with this.

in every generation,

God has given

his people

leaders,

shepherds,

not the shepherd,

but under shepherds,

those who are stewards

to care for

the flock

of God,

and they are

accountable to God

for how they care

for God's sheep.

I want you

to flip over

to Ezekiel 34.

I want you

to actually go there.

because this is

a longer passage.

I want you to see it

with your eyes.

It's a longer passage.

I think that it would

help you to see it,

and when you get there,

if you mark in your Bibles,

in the margin there

beside Ezekiel 34,

I want you to

just write a note

that says John 10,

and then when you

get back to John 10,

I'd love for you

to write a note

that says Ezekiel 34.

I want you to see

the connection here

between these two passages,

and I'm rambling

so that you can find it

in your Bibles.

Have you got there yet?

All right.

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?

Do you see it?

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 over them.

So they were scattered

because there was no shepherd,

and they became food

for all the wild beasts.

My sheep were scattered.

They wandered over all

the mountains and on

every high hill.

My sheep were scattered

over all the face of the

earth with none to search

or seek for them.

Verse 7,

Therefore you shepherds

hear the word of the Lord.

As I live,

declares the Lord God,

surely because my sheep

have become a prey,

and my sheep have become

food for all the wild beasts,

since there was no shepherd,

and because my shepherds

have not searched for my sheep,

but the shepherds

have fed themselves

and have not fed my sheep.

Therefore you shepherds

hear the word of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God,

Behold,

I am against the shepherds,

and I will require my sheep

at their hand,

and put a stop

to their feeding the sheep.

No longer shall the shepherds

feed themselves.

I will rescue my sheep

from their mouths

that they may not be food

for them.

This is an indictment

on the bad shepherds

of Israel.

So what's the solution?

What's God's answer

to the bad shepherds?

Verse 11,

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've 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.

Then they shall lie down

in the 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 will make them

lie down,

declares the Lord God.

I will seek the lost.

I will bring back the strayed.

I will bind up the injured.

I will strengthen the weak

and the fat and the strong.

I will destroy.

I will feed them in justice.

God says,

you religious leaders

who pride yourself

on being shepherds

have avoided the door,

have climbed in

every which way you could,

have failed to care

for my sheep.

You harm the sheep,

and you care for yourselves.

A good shepherd

would not do that.

A good shepherd

would lead the sheep,

love the sheep,

by leading them

through the one door

into the blessing

of God.

There's a lesson here,

isn't there?

For shepherds

and for sheep.

For shepherds,

you know that's the word

for pastor.

Shepherds.

Good shepherds

point the sheep

to Jesus.

every opportunity

that they have.

Good shepherds

feed the sheep

with the words

of Christ.

Direct them

to the blessing

of Christ.

Remind them

of their belonging

to Christ.

Teach them

to live

as God's sheep.

Good shepherds

lead the sheep

through the door

to God

as often

as they can.

They point the sheep

to Jesus,

not to themselves,

because ultimately

shepherds

are sheep too.

And sheep,

those who belong

to Christ,

those who temporarily

are placed

under the care

of earthly

sheep shepherds,

fix your eyes

on Christ.

Listen for the voice

of Christ

through the voice

of your shepherds.

Listen to the voice

of Christ

and flee

as far

and as fast

as you possibly

can

from any

shepherd

who would

lead you

away from him.

God says

to the leaders

of Israel,

you shepherds

have failed

miserably.

But you know what?

I'm going to do it

myself.

I'll do it

myself.

I will seek

out my sheep

and I

myself

will care

for them.

I will be

the shepherd.

And so Jesus

here in our

second point

this morning,

second answer

to the question,

who is Jesus?

He says,

I

am the good

shepherd.

shepherd.

I

am the

shepherd

of the

sheep.

Look there

to verse 11.

He says,

I am the good

shepherd.

The good

shepherd lays

down his

life for

the sheep.

And where

before the

contrast was

between the

door and

the thieves

and the

robbers who

attempt to

avoid the

door and

come in to

harm the

sheep,

here the

contrast is

between Jesus,

the good

shepherd,

and those

who he

calls a

hired hand.

So look

there at the

contrast here

in verse 12.

He says,

he who is a

hired hand

and not a

shepherd,

who does not

own the

sheep,

sees the

wolf coming

and what

happens?

He leaves

the sheep

and he

flees.

And the

wolf comes

and snatches

them up and

scatters them.

He flees.

Why?

Because he's a

hired hand and

he cares nothing

for the

sheep.

You realize

it's so hard

to find good

help?

Anybody

have that

problem?

Hard to

find good

help?

I was

talking with

Treg this

week about

his land.

We had

breakfast

Wednesday

morning.

He and

Regina bought

some land

over here

planning on

building and

building a

house developing

over there.

They had

their last

pre-construction

meeting this

week and

Treg said,

I am so

excited that I

have a rental

unit that's

close by my

land because I

cannot wait to

get over there

every single

day and

check in on

the contractors.

I was like,

man,

they're going

to hate

you.

But I

get it.

Right?

Because it's

so easy for

the hired

hand to

cut corners,

to make

mistakes,

to cover it

up, to not

care deeply

about what

ultimately does

not belong to

him.

But the

owner of the

land, he's

going to be

by there every

day.

Make sure

that what

belongs to

him is

taken care

of.

And so it

is here with

Jesus.

Jesus says he

is the good

shepherd of

the sheep.

He owns

the sheep.

The sheep

belong to

him.

God the

Father gave

them to

Jesus and

Jesus purchased

the sheep at

great price.

1 Corinthians

6 tells us

you are not

your own

Christian.

you were

bought at

a price.

And so

Paul tells

pastors,

shepherds in

Acts 20

28, be

careful, pay

careful attention

to yourselves

and to all

the flock in

which the

Holy Spirit

has made

you overseers

to care for

the church

of God

which he

obtained with

his own

blood.

Ephesians 5,

Paul tells

husbands in

Ephesians 5,

husbands love

your wives as

Christ loved

the church and

gave himself

up for

her.

Christ Jesus

paid a

high price

for his

bride, the

church.

He gave

his life to

purchase a

people for

himself.

Christ Jesus

loved the

church and

gave himself

up for the

church.

The good

shepherd laid

down his

life for the

sheep which

means believer

if you are in

Christ.

You are the

blood bought

possession of

God.

Christ Jesus

gave himself

for you,

for your

salvation,

for your

good.

And don't

you think

that that

which he

paid such a

high price

for that he

is going to

care for?

Don't you

think that

what he paid

such a high

price for he's

going to protect

and to guard

and to love

and to cherish

and to make

sure that he

accomplishes what

he started in

you?

I'll tell you a

quick story.

I've not paid

much for just

about anything.

But when I was

in high school I

wanted an electric

guitar more badly

than I could

possibly tell you.

And I spotted

it, I knew what

I wanted, I

identified it, I

had to have it

custom ordered, it

was not a

normal kind of

in stock guitar.

I worked extra

hours as much

and as often as I

could to save up

as much money as

I possibly could

to purchase that

guitar.

When I walked

into the music

store and looked

at all the

guitars that were

there, do you

think I could

pick out which

one was mine?

100%.

I knew which

one was mine.

I walked up to

it, I very

carefully grabbed

it, I put it

in the case, I

put the case over

the top, I

closed up the

case, I locked

the case with a

key, I carried

it with two

hands to my

car, I put it

in the back seat

of my car, I

put a seat belt

over the case

and very

carefully I

brought it

home.

I paid a high

price for that

guitar, but

church, Christ

Jesus bought you

with his own

blood.

Don't you

think he's

going to care

for you?

Don't you

think he's

going to bring

you safely

home?

Don't you

think that he

loves you?

The good

shepherd owns

the sheep and

the good shepherd

cares for the

sheep.

There's another

old song, oh

how he loves

you and me,

oh how he

loves you and

me.

He gave his

life, what

more could he

give?

Oh how he

loves you,

oh how he

loves me,

oh how he

loves you and

me.

It is

shockingly

easy to

forget, isn't

it?

When struggles

of this life,

when distractions

and difficulties

creep in and

weigh heavily

upon us, that

this is the

greatest news

in the

world.

God loves

you.

Christ gave

himself for

you.

You are his

blood-bought

possession.

God cares

for you.

We see how

deeply he

loves you because

he gave his

life for you on

the cross.

He owns you,

he cares for

you, not only

this, he knows

you.

The good shepherd

knows his

sheep.

Look at verse

14.

I am the good

shepherd, I know

my own and my

own know me.

Listen to this,

just as the

father knows me

and I know

the father and

I lay down my

life for the

sheep.

This isn't

general knowledge,

is it?

This isn't

hypothetical

knowledge.

How deep and

how personal and

how perfectly does

God know the

son?

He knows him

completely,

inside out,

totally,

perfectly.

This is

specific,

person by

person,

particular

knowledge of

his sheep.

Jesus knows

his sheep.

He looks out

into the

sheep pen of

the world,

filled with

people and

says,

Jonathan,

you're mine.

Come with

me.

Sally,

you're mine.

Come with

me.

Dick,

you're mine.

Come with

me.

Randy,

you're mine.

Come with

me.

And there's

an intimate

knowledge here

between Jesus

and his

sheep.

He knows

his sheep

and his

sheep know

him.

And we're

going to get

here next

week.

I'm going to

rob from

Treg's sermon

next week,

just for a

minute.

Okay,

maybe I'm

going to

prime the

pump,

get you

ready.

I don't

know.

We'll

find out.

But it

is the

shepherd's

perfect

knowledge of

his specific

sheep in

eternity

that precedes

and secures

our hearing

his voice

and our

coming to

him and

our following

him and

our loving

him and

our trusting

him in

time.

God's

perfect

knowledge of

his sheep,

not generally,

not hypothetically,

not potentially,

God's specific

perfect knowledge of

his sheep

personally precedes

and secures the

sheep believing

and entering the

fold in time.

Look with me to

verse 26 real

quick.

We really are,

Treg, I'm

sorry, I'm

going to rob

you.

Look to

verse 26.

He tells the

Jews, listen

to this,

you do not

believe because

you are not

among my

sheep.

You hear

that?

We sometimes

tend to want to

read that the

other way around

and there are

other verses,

other passages

that speak the

other direction

and that's true.

We want to read

that you're not

among my sheep

because you

don't believe.

That's a true

statement.

Again, other

passages speak

that way in

that order.

When we get

there, we'll

preach that.

But that's not

what it says

here, is it?

Again, it says

you do not

believe because

you are not

among my

sheep.

Belonging

precedes

believing,

not the other

way around.

here's where

this is good

news for us.

Believer,

you are

known

and you

are loved

by God

completely,

personally,

just as

personally,

just as

completely as

the knowledge

of God

the Father

and God

the Son.

For all

of your

sinfulness,

for all

of your

faults,

He chose

you and

loves you

and cares

for you

and gave

Himself to

redeem you

and to

welcome you

into that

knowledge of

God.

That's what

the Good

Shepherd has

done for

His sheep.

Jesus is

telling these

Jews that

He's making

His own

sheep pen.

He's going

to the

Jewish pen

and He's

calling out

of the

Jewish pen

all of

those sheep

that belong

to Him

and all

of those

Jewish sheep

that belong

to Him

are going

to hear

His voice

and will

follow Him

out,

but He

says His

flock

will not

be entirely

Jewish.

I have

other sheep,

He says

in verse

16,

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.

The Good

Shepherd owns

His sheep.

The Good

Shepherd purchased

the sheep.

He cares

for the sheep.

He knows

His sheep

and He

pursues

the sheep

and they

will listen

to His

voice.

What is He

talking about

here?

What is He

talking about?

He's

talking about

the spread

of the

gospel

through the

nations.

From

Jerusalem

to Judea

to Samaria

to the

uttermost

ends of

the world.

The plan

of God

from the

beginning

of time

was not

simply to

build a

physically

Jewish

people,

but from

the seed

of this

one Jewish

people to

grow one

multi-ethnic

global flock

of God

joined together

under one

good shepherd,

Jesus Christ.

It's the

church.

Jesus

calls His

sheep from

the flock

of Israel.

They hear

His voice

and then He

looks out

to the

mountains

here,

to the

valleys

here,

to the

country

here,

to the

fields

here,

and He

says,

I have

other

sheep.

I must

bring them

in.

Do you

hear that

confidence?

Do you

hear that

determination?

I must

bring them

in,

and they

will

listen to

my voice.

This is

rock-solid

determination

to accomplish

the plan

of God,

the missionary

plan of God,

and He

says,

for this

reason,

for this

reason,

the Father

loves me.

Not,

of course,

that God

wouldn't love

Jesus apart

from this,

but that the

love of the

Father overflows

for the Son

because of

the deep

dependence of

Christ to

fulfill the

eternal plan

of God for

the redemption

of His

people to

the praise

of His

glorious grace.

So God

says,

this is my

beloved Son

with whom I'm

well pleased.

This plan,

He says,

will be

accomplished,

which means

Jews,

all you who

are about to

pick up rocks

to stone

me,

all you who

are trying

to kill

me,

you cannot

kill me.

I lay

down my

life that I

may take it

up again.

My death

and my

resurrection

are mine

to accomplish.

The Father

has given me

this charge.

No one

takes it

from me.

I lay it

down of my

own accord.

I have the

authority to

lay it down.

I have

authority to

take it up

again.

Why?

It's the plan.

I've come

to accomplish

the plan

for the

purchase of

all of

my sheep.

And the

reason why

we're gathered

here this

morning,

church,

not a

physically

Jewish

person in

the room,

it's because

Christ accomplished

the plan.

Christ lay

down His

life for

the sheep.

Christ rose

from the

grave for

the sheep,

and Christ's

voice has

gone out to

each one

of you,

and called

you in

to His

one flock,

the church.

Jesus is

talking about

the Gentiles

here, but I

have a question

for you.

How does

Christ plan

to bring

in His

sheep from

every corner

of the earth?

What's the

plan?

How does

Christ plan

to call

into His

flock all

of His

sheep?

Christ

builds

His

church

through

His

church.

Christ

builds

His

people

through

His

people.

It's

through

us.

You want

to know

our brilliant

plan for

reaching all

in all

with the

gospel?

Our

brilliant

plan for

reaching Mount

Pleasant

and Hugee

and McClellanville?

Preach the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

Share the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

Proclaim it

here behind

a pulpit and

there in the

streets and in

our neighborhoods.

Tell our

friends about

Jesus with

confidence and

joy that His

sheep will hear

His voice and

enter the fold

and the plan

will be

accomplished and

God will be

glorified as

His church is

built.

Our passage

this morning

ends yet

again with

a division,

doesn't it?

Some say

He has a

demon.

It is insane.

Why listen to

Him?

Others say

these are not

the words of

one who is

oppressed by

a demon.

Can a demon

open up the

eyes of a

blind?

They're torn

in their

opinion.

Again,

the question

who is

Jesus?

That same

question

again is

put to

us this

morning.

Who is

Jesus?

Is He the

door through

whom you

have entered

into salvation?

Into the

peace and the

blessing and

the presence

and the

knowledge of

God?

Is He your

shepherd who

loves you and

leads you and

guides you and

cares for you and

lay down His

life for you,

who purchased

you with His

own blood?

Are you

resting and

rejoicing in

the joy of

being Christ's

sheep?

Savior, like a

shepherd, lead

us much we

need, thy

tender care.

In thy

pleasant pastures

feed us for

our use, thy

folds prepare.

Blessed Jesus,

blessed Jesus,

thou has bought

us, thine we

are.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we

praise You.

We thank You.

We rejoice that

You are our

shepherd.

That You have

led us through

the door

into the

pasture

of knowing

God.

We thank You for

the forgiveness

and the peace

and the joy

as found

only in You

and that You

offer up freely

to any who

believe.

We love You

and we praise

You for this

in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.