John 10:1-21

Let us pray.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a loving Heavenly Father.

! You are a great and mighty God, enthroned on high in the heavens,

!

I usually say there are two kinds of people who should never apologise,

and that's cooks and preachers,

because the recipients of what they provide may not know any better.

However, I'm going to break my own rule this morning with an apology to the children,

that you haven't got a set of notes, and that is my fault.

You'll just have to listen very hard and carefully, I'm afraid.

Jesus saying, I am the Good Shepherd, which we read,

and Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd,

are among the best known of all Scriptures.

But I want us to look this morning at what does it mean to have God as our Shepherd.

And look at this through the Scriptures.

In fact, quickly from Genesis to Revelation.

Now, there is, first of all, we must understand a huge difference.

between shepherding in the Bible,

and in our culture in Britain today.

Psalm 80, verse 1 says,

Psalms 80:1

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel,

You who lead Joseph like a flock,

You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,

Shine forth.

What do we hear there?

The shepherd of Israel leads the flock,

leads his people.

If you've ever seen a shepherd at work in this country,

you'll know it's different.

He drives the sheep, probably with the aid of one or two dogs.

If you ask me a picture of the shepherd in this country,

it's seeing my cousin in the Yorkshire Dale,

standing with me on one side of a small valley,

and he's whistling to two dogs,

that are rounding up the sheep on the other side of the valley.

It was something to wonder at, the control.

But that was driving sheep.

Not like we hear God doing in the Bible,

which is leading.

The Lord is my shepherd.

He leads me beside still waters.

He leads me in paths of righteousness,

for his name's sake.

What we see in Israel is,

the shepherd is the leader.

It's the same with Jesus,

when he says,

I know my sheep,

my sheep know me,

they follow me.

The shepherd is the leader.

And the first reference we have in the whole of Scripture,

to shepherding,

is God shepherding his people.

It's in a verse in Genesis 48,

where the patriarch Jacob,

is blessing his son Joseph.

And remember, the patriarchs were shepherds.

They were a shepherd people,

with large flocks.

Well, in Genesis 48 and verse 15,

Jacob blessed his son Joseph and said,

May the God before whom my fathers,

Abraham and Isaac, walked,

the God who has been my shepherd,

all my life to this day.

God is the shepherd of Israel,

of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac.

God being their shepherd,

there it meant their ruler.

They followed God as their ruler,

as he led them from place to place,

as he led Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans,

as he led them into Egypt,

and eventually out of Egypt.

God the ruler shepherds Israel.

And the striking thing is,

that when God talks about leaders in Israel,

when he talks about kings in Israel,

they are to be shepherds.

Ruler and leader,

come together as the king, the shepherd.

So Moses talks in Numbers 27 and verse 15,

Moses said to the Lord,

May the Lord,

the God of the spirits of all mankind,

appoint a man over this community,

to go out and come in before them,

one who will lead them out and bring them in,

so the Lord's people will not be

like sheep without a shepherd.

He was going to give them a leader,

to shepherd them.

And we remember that David,

that most famous king of Israel,

before he became king,

he was a shepherd.

Literally, a shepherd.

Psalm 78 and verse 71 says,

From tending the sheep,

he brought him to be the shepherd

of his people Jacob,

of Israel his inheritance.

David the shepherd king.

And what does God tell David?

Well, he speaks to him in 2 Samuel chapter 5

2 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

and verse 2 and says,

In the past,

while Saul was king over us,

you were the one who led Israel

on their military campaigns.

And the Lord said to you,

You will shepherd my people Israel,

and you will become their ruler.

I think it's very interesting

where we see this parallel,

that the shepherd was a leader,

and the shepherd was a king.

And it says something about how

that king was to lead

the people of God.

Rulers commanded to shepherd

my people Israel, God says.

So it is David the shepherd king

who says,

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not be in want.

You see that background

gives more significance

to what David is saying

in Psalm 23.

The Lord is his shepherd.

And the fact that the Lord

is the shepherd,

I think also means that

when Jesus says,

I am the good shepherd,

not just the use of the words,

I am,

which speak of God,

but the shepherding part

speaks of how God

had been to Israel as well.

So I believe that

when Jesus says,

I am the good shepherd,

he is in fact speaking

about him being God's Messiah,

him being God come

to lead his people.

But David,

still in the Psalms,

Psalm 28 verse 9,

Psalms 28:9

he prays to God,

Save your people

and bless your inheritance.

Be their shepherd

and carry them forever.

Picture of the tender shepherd

picking up the lamb

from the flock.

And so we see that God,

he is the shepherd king

of Israel,

and he takes

the shepherd David

to be shepherd

to his people.

And when they look

to the future,

when the prophets

speak of the future,

when they speak

of God's Messiah

saving his people,

it's as a coming shepherd.

Among the most beautiful

verses in scripture

are Isaiah 40 verse 11.

Isaiah 40:11

In Isaiah 40 verse 11,

Isaiah 40:11

it says of the Messiah

to come,

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.

What have we got here?

What is God doing

through his Messiah?

He is gathering his flock,

gathering his people together.

There is an intimate

caring,

a gentle leading.

Isaiah gives us

a beautiful picture

of what Jesus,

the Messiah,

the good shepherd,

will do

for us,

his people.

Jeremiah the prophet

speaks of this as well.

Jeremiah in 31.10 says,

Hear the word

of the Lord,

O nations.

Proclaim it

in distant coastlands.

He who scattered Israel

will gather them

and will watch over

his flock

like a shepherd.

Israel going into exile,

judged by God,

taken captive

by Nebuchadnezzar,

scattered,

will be gathered

in the coming days

by God,

by his Messiah,

like a shepherd.

Ezekiel says,

as a shepherd,

this is Ezekiel 34.12,

as a shepherd

looks after

his scattered flock

when he is with them,

so will I

look after my sheep.

I will rescue them

from all the places

where they were scattered

on the day of clouds

and darkness.

There is hope

for God's people.

They will be gathered

together

with God,

the Messiah,

as their shepherd.

verse 16

of that chapter,

Ezekiel 34.

I will search

for the lost

and bring back

the strays.

I will bind up

the injured

and strengthen

the weak,

but the sleek

and the strong

I will destroy.

I will shepherd

the flock

with justice.

There is the hope

for Israel,

the Messiah to come

to gather the people

to shepherd

the flock

with justice.

And again,

in that same chapter,

Ezekiel 34,

Ezekiel 34:23

verse 23,

I will place

over them

one shepherd,

my servant David,

and he will tend them.

He will tend them

and be their shepherd.

So there is to be

a coming

David-like

king,

to look after

God's people

as a shepherd.

Confirming this,

Ezekiel says

in chapter 37,

verse 24,

My servant David

will be king

over them,

and they will all

have one shepherd.

They will follow

my laws

and be careful

to keep

my decrees.

Jesus,

the good shepherd,

is to be

David the king

over them,

the one shepherd.

And lastly,

from the Old Testament,

the prophet Micah

says,

in Micah 5,

4,

He will stand

and shepherd

his flock

in the strength

of the Lord,

in the majesty

of the name

of the Lord,

and they will

live securely,

for then his

greatness will reach

to the ends

of the earth.

So the great

shepherd king

is coming,

and he will

protect his people,

and his people

will not just be

in one little

land of Israel.

His greatness

will reach

to the ends

of the earth.

This is a verse

about the mission

of the great shepherd.

So this great

shepherd king

is coming,

and when Jesus

was born,

the Jews

understood that

Messiah would

be a shepherd

ruler,

because when

the kings

from the east

went to Herod

and asked

where the Messiah

was to be born,

the religious

leaders said,

Matthew 2,

6,

But you,

Bethlehem,

in the land

of Judah,

are by no

means least

among the

rulers of

Judah,

for out of

you will

come a

ruler,

who will

be the

shepherd of

my people

Israel.

Right from

the beginning,

the babe of

Bethlehem,

to be the

shepherd ruler.

And of course

that was quoting

from the Old

Testament.

So now do

you see more

of the significance

of what it

means when

Jesus says,

I am the

good shepherd.

It's the one

who's going to

lead for,

lead,

care for,

provide for,

protect,

his sheep,

his people.

But there's

something more

he's going to

do,

which no other

shepherd could

possibly do.

I am the

good shepherd.

The good shepherd

lays down his

life for the

sheep.

Jesus says

he's come to

lay down his

life for the

sheep.

Now,

because we are

so familiar

with this,

we can pass

over the

amazing

significance

of it.

Because if

the shepherd

lays down his

life for the

sheep,

if he dies,

what's going to

happen to the

sheep?

Isn't the

flock going to

be savaged?

Aren't they

going to be

attacked and

scattered?

Not with this

good shepherd.

Because this

good shepherd,

who gives his

life for the

sheep,

is the one who

rises to

life again.

As we read,

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.

I have

authority to

take it up

again.

This charge

I have

received from

my Father.

Jesus

willingly

gives up

his life.

In the

Gospels,

when Jesus

dies upon the

cross,

he doesn't

use ordinary

words for

dying.

It talks

about him

sending away

his spirit.

Why?

Because death

had no

dominion over

him.

Death had no

control over

him.

He was

sinless,

but he had

taken our

sin upon

him.

But he

remained in

charging control.

He is

willingly

sacrificing

his life.

The shepherd

laying down

his life for

the sheep,

knowing that

on the third

day,

the Father

will gloriously

raise him

again from

the dead.

for him to

go on

shepherding

his people

and to

gather a

flock from

other lands

than Israel,

from other

peoples.

Hebrews 13,

20 says,

May the

God of

peace,

who through

the blood

of the

eternal

covenant,

brought back

from the

dead our

Lord Jesus,

that great

shepherd of

the sheep.

The

rising,

the

resurrection

of Jesus

as shepherd.

We have

a risen

shepherd who

died for

us.

We will

remember

his death

at his

table,

but we

rejoice that

he is

risen,

ascended,

now at

the right

hand of

his Father

in heaven.

And we

have,

if we

trust in

him,

this personal

relationship

with him.

I am the

good shepherd,

I know my

sheep,

and my

sheep know

me.

Do you

know Jesus

Christ as

your

saviour,

your shepherd?

Jesus says

he is going

to bring

sheep together

from many

sheep pens.

10.16 in

John,

I have

other sheep

that are

not of

this sheep

pen.

I must

bring them

also,

they too

will listen

to my

voice,

and there

shall be

one flock,

one shepherd.

And that

is the

church of

God,

brought in

from many

lands,

tribes and

tongues and

nations,

to be one

new flock

of the

great shepherd

of the

sheep.

The question

is,

are you

part of

God's

people?

Are you

part of

Jesus'

flock,

the follower

of the

good shepherd,

part of

his sheep?

The

apostle Peter

says,

you were

like sheep

going astray,

but now

you have

returned to

the shepherd

and overseer

of your

souls.

Have you?

Have you

returned to

the Lord

Jesus Christ

and know

him today

as your

shepherd?

Can you

look forward

to the

future with

him?

Peter writes,

when the

chief shepherd

appears,

you will

receive the

crown of

glory,

but will

never fade

away.

And this

is the

last but one

reference,

to a

shepherd.

The final

reference to

the shepherd,

I said I was

going to take

you from

Genesis to

Revelation,

and here is

the Revelation

one, which

in some ways

is the most

amazing reference

of all.

Revelation

7, 17.

For the

lamb at

the center

of the

throne will

be their

shepherd.

He will

lead them

to springs

of living

water,

water, and

God will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes.

Leading to

springs of

living water

reminds us

to think

back to

Psalm 23.

But here

the shepherd

is the

lamb at

the center

of the

throne.

What a

wonderful,

stupendous,

mixed metaphor

really,

of the lamb

being the

shepherd.

And who

is the

lamb?

Jesus, the

lamb of

God, who

takes away

the sin of

the world.

Jesus, who

sacrifices

himself on

the cross

for our

salvation.

He who

has done

this, he

is now the

lamb of

God at

God's right

hand in

heaven, at

the center

of the

throne, and

he is

going to

shepherd us

for all

eternity.

Lead us

to living

water, and

God will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes.

We live in

a fallen

world, we

live in a

world where

there is

much sickness

and sorrow.

But one

day we

learn from

the scriptures

this will

end.

God will

wipe away

every tear

from our

eyes.

The question

this morning

is, do

you know

Jesus Christ,

the shepherd?

Is he

your leader?

Is he

your king?

Do you

know his

providing?

Do you

know his

protection?

Do you

look forward

to his

appearing?

Let us

pray.

Lord God,

we thank you

that you

are a

great and

marvelous and

gracious God.

You

shepherded your

people Israel.

You

shepherded David,

the shepherd

king.

You promised

the Messiah,

and you

sent us the

Lord Jesus,

the Lamb

of God,

the shepherd

of the

flock,

who laid

down his

life for

the forgiveness

of our

sins.

We thank

you that

our Savior

is now

risen,

he is now

ascended,

he is at

the center

of your

throne in

heaven.

We look

forward to

his appearing.

Help us to

be strong in

the faith,

trusting in

him,

and giving

thanks for

all that

you have

done for

us,

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

the great

shepherd of

the sheep.

Amen.