The Good Shepherd

We have a problem with the text today, and just take my glasses off.

How many people here own sheep?

Gary just said that. You don't really own sheep, do you?

You do? His wife says no, so there you go.

Nobody here owns sheep.

How many people have ever owned sheep?

Oh, look at that. Three people here have owned sheep.

That's pretty neat, actually.

How many people here know a shepherd?

You know a shepherd. There you go.

Okay, you have one person.

And just as a, you know, I mean, this isn't a big stretch.

Between now and going home, probably none of us will see a sheep as well.

So we have a Bible text about sheep, like what's up with that?

It's a bit of a problem if you think about it, isn't it?

In fact, it sort of struck me all week.

If I had some of my non-Christian friends, if this was to be the Sunday that they were going to come,

I could just imagine them saying, George, what's up with the sheep?

Because it doesn't seem like a very 2018 post-modern urban Ottawa type of analogy.

And there's a really big cultural distance here.

And my family will tell you I am not good with animals.

We have animals because I have a wife who's good with animals and loves animals.

If it was just up to me, and I guess my kids are good at it.

If, you know, if my daughter moved out of the house and my wife died,

all of our animals would die just because of my incompetence.

Not on purpose.

I'm just not good with animals.

And here I'm going to have to talk to us about sheep and shepherds.

So I need your help.

We need to all be a little bit, you have to be a bit patient with me.

And we need a little bit of help to try to bridge this cultural difference.

But just before we get into it, what might seem like a weakness

that Jesus is going to spend a lot of time talking about sheep and shepherds,

what might seem like a bit of a weakness, if we think about it for a second,

is actually a bit of a strength.

Well, how does that work?

Well, it works in this way.

This isn't a George book.

And this isn't just a book written for 2018 people who live in Ottawa.

It's a world book.

And it's a history book.

It's a book that this biography of Jesus has spoken to people for 2,000 years almost

and in many, many, many different cultures.

And because the words of Jesus address not just people in Ottawa right now,

but many, many people throughout the world and throughout time,

it means that sometimes we're going to come to parts of the Bible

that don't resonate with us very well.

There's just a big cultural gap.

But for many other people, they would resonate with this very, very well.

They might have problems with other parts, but this part, they'd really latch on to it.

They'd catch some of the shock of what Jesus says.

And even the analogy, it's funny, he doesn't say, I am the shepherd of the llamas.

I'm not a llama herder.

I looked this up in an encyclopedia, so it must be true.

And in the encyclopedia, it said that sheep are probably the very first four-legged domesticated animal

in the history of human beings.

Very first.

And that basically, wherever the Bible has gone, there's always been sheep.

And there's a billion sheep in the world right now.

Other than a few little islands in the Pacific where it's very, very hot, sheep are very common.

It's the most common four-footed domesticated animal.

And so it's very interesting, isn't it?

Because if you've been following along, if you're a guest here, you might not know,

but if you've been following along with the way Jesus teaches,

he teaches with very, very simple, basic words and concepts and ideas.

He gives them very brand-new meanings, and he touches our hearts with them,

but he talks about a word.

He talks about light.

He talks about life.

He talks about bread.

He talks about water.

And now he talks about sheep.

A bit of a stretch for us, but for many people throughout the world and throughout history,

it would be something to go, oh, I know all about sheep.

I know all about animals like sheep.

What's he going to be saying about it?

So it's a bit of a stretch for us, but let's look at it.

And the first thing we have to understand in this text is that Jesus is critiquing religion.

That's the first thing.

Believe it or not, the very first thing he does is he critiques religion.

So if you turn in your Bibles to John 10, verse 1.

John 10:1

Actually, we're going to start looking a few verses before this,

because it's only if you see what went on before this that you realize that he begins by critiquing religion.

I love telling my skeptical friends this when I finally get a chance,

those who are very, very skeptical about religion.

I saw a great line about religion the other day.

religion is foolish questions, foolish answers to foolish questions.

And I love trying to tell my skeptical friends that actually that Jesus constantly critiques religion.

Like they can't actually surpass Jesus in his critique of religion.

And so if you look at what just goes on right before what we're going to be looking at,

look at verse 35 of chapter 9.

And what's just happened here is Jesus has performed a miracle.

I know for many people in our culture, they have a hard time believing this,

but this is Jesus performs a miracle.

He performs it, and it's investigated by skeptics.

And the religious people just rejected out of court,

even though there's compelling evidence that Jesus has really performed a miracle.

For religious reasons, they just refuse to accept the evidence,

and they react to the evidence by casting abuse on the people who've been giving the evidence.

And so here's how it goes then.

Verse 35 of chapter 9.

Jesus heard that they had cast the man out.

And having found him, he said,

Do you believe in the Son of Man?

And the man answered,

And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?

And Jesus said to him,

You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.

And the man said,

Lord, I believe.

And he worshipped him.

He worshipped Jesus.

Verse 39.

Jesus said,

For judgment I came into this world,

that those who do not see may see,

and those who see may become blind.

He's really referring to those who believe they see.

They're really blind.

We talked about that last week.

I'm not going to go into it.

But here's the key thing coming up.

Verse 40.

Some of the Pharisees,

those are like experts and very, very religious people,

and just very religious, very knowledgeable, very devout.

And so some of these very devout religious people

heard him say these things,

verse 40,

and said to him,

Are we also blind?

And as I talked about last week,

it's a sneer.

It's not a sincere question.

It's sort of a put-down question.

And Jesus said to them,

If you were blind,

you would have no guilt.

But now that you say we see,

your guilt remains.

And now,

what happens next?

Now,

the way John writes,

it's not clear if this is immediately after that,

or maybe it's a day later,

and he's just talking to his disciples,

or an hour later.

But immediately after that,

what does Jesus say?

Right?

He's just said to these people,

the religious people,

the devout people,

the spiritual people,

the people who are experts and knowledgeable,

they've just been sneering to him.

And what does Jesus say?

Truly,

truly,

verse 1 of chapter 10,

Truly,

truly,

I say to you,

he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door,

but climbs in by another way,

that man,

that man is a thief and a robber.

That man is a thief and a robber.

It's a direct challenge to the religious people.

It's a direct challenge to the religious people.

And,

if they had been there to hear it,

they would have understood that he was directly,

I mean,

he was calling them thieves and robbers,

violent people who steal.

They look like they're really good,

but they're not.

They're not.

So,

but what's up,

George,

with the sheep thing?

You know,

that's very good.

Okay,

so Jesus is critiquing religion.

You know,

my skeptical friends always look a little bit puzzled at me

about how I would say that Jesus is critiquing religion

when they would say that I'm religious.

And sometimes I get a chance to talk about that.

Sometimes I don't.

But they might be saying here,

well,

George,

what's up with that?

I mean,

Jesus is a religious figure.

And,

I mean,

maybe,

George,

the way he's a religious figure is he just says absurd and fantastical things.

He answers foolish questions with foolish things.

And he starts talking about sheep.

And we don't relate to sheep here in Ottawa,

George.

It's just sort of not part of our life.

So what's going on?

Well,

let's look.

Like,

is there something here that Jesus is saying,

which is very pointed,

that helps to understand,

help us to understand our lives?

And why it is that he would critique religious people?

Well,

let's read verse one again.

Truly,

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 by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him,

the gatekeeper opens.

The sheep hear his voice,

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

When he's brought out all his own,

he goes before them,

and 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 the sheep.

The voice of strangers.

This is so cool,

then,

what John puts in here.

This figure of speech,

Jesus used with them,

but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

I love that little aside,

because there's lots of times I don't understand the Bible.

In fact,

I puzzled over this whole text of chapter one,

chapter 10,

verses one to 20.

It took me a while to sort of figure it out.

And it was very helpful that John just says,

by the way,

the people who were with Jesus right then,

they didn't understand what he was talking about.

But one thing he says,

you have to understand,

he's talking in figurative language.

He's using something like a parable.

And so,

John mentions this,

and maybe if you'd gone back in the time machine,

Jesus could have just told by the glazed look in the eyes of the disciples

that they weren't getting it.

Maybe one of them asked a question,

and John just doesn't record it.

But Jesus now makes it clear to them what he's talking about.

Look what he says in verses seven to 10.

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.

And just sort of pause there.

Just before I make my first point,

the way this is written in verse 10,

verse 10 is like a hinge.

It connects the sort of the imagery of the sheepfold in the door

with an other set of images that Jesus is going to give in a moment.

And so in a sense,

verse 10 summarizes those first images,

and verse 10 also helps us to understand the following images.

It's like a hinge.

And it's a very important hinge,

because while Jesus critiques the religious people,

he doesn't critique religious people or spiritual people because he hates them.

He's for you.

He's for me.

He's for us.

His goal and his desire is that we will have abundant life.

And so even when he says things which are a bit offensive to us,

even when he says things which are confusing,

even when he says things that we don't like,

everything he says and everything he does

is motivated by the fact that he's really for you.

He's completely for you,

and he loves you.

Everything.

It's one of the reasons why it's always worth your time

to try to puzzle over what on earth is going on,

because if we puzzle through it,

and pray through it and try to obey it,

it will take us to a place

where Jesus begins to give us more abundant life.

So,

what's up with all this stuff, George?

You said it sort of makes some sense,

but there's sheep flocks and gatekeepers

and all of that type of stuff.

Well,

I'm just going to warn you,

the first thing that we're going to see

when we actually think about this

is that it's going to be very offensive to us,

to Canadians,

but if we just take a moment with it,

because it's all about abundant life,

and think about it for a second,

we'll realize that what begins to offend Canadians

is actually something which is profoundly good news.

It's very, very wonderful, important news.

If you could put up the first point, Andrew,

what is it that Jesus is talking about here?

The first point is this.

There is a great unbridgeable wall

between God and me,

and Jesus is the door

by which I can enter into God's realm,

and his realm can enter into me.

There is a great unbridgeable wall

between God and me,

between God and you,

and Jesus is the door

by which I can enter into God's realm,

or you can enter into God's realm,

and his realm can enter into you

and enter into me.

That's what he means.

Look at it here in verse,

the very first few words of verse 9.

I am the door.

Now,

this is a,

this is a very, very big claim

that Jesus is the door,

and there's no other way

to enter into God's presence

than by him,

and there's no other way

for God's presence

to really enter into us

except by him.

And part of the problem we have,

I mean,

it's offensive to us,

especially in Canada.

We're very, very used to pride

and arrogance.

We're very, very used to favoritism.

We're very, very used to

exclusive claims

that causes all sorts of violence

and all sorts of wars.

And so,

the initial way

that we hear something like this

is actually very frightening.

But once again,

it's very, very interesting

what Jesus says here.

The door is, in fact,

one of the most common things

we can come across, isn't it?

He is the door.

I mean,

the door is the way

we get from outside of the building

into the world outside.

It's the way we entered

into this building.

It's a passageway.

And in movies

and in stories

for centuries and centuries,

not obviously movies

for centuries,

but in stories

and in movies,

it's a very, very common idea,

isn't it?

Like,

just about every fantasy novel,

doesn't just about

every fantasy novel

involve some person

who gets to enter

through a door

and through entering a door

goes into some other type of world?

Maybe there's a person,

a young girl

who's just,

I don't know,

she's having sort of

a miserable life

and someday she goes,

she gets a ring

or she gets a staff

or she gets a diamond

or she has some old keepsake

from her great, great granny

and she comes to something

and she enters through a door

and in that other world,

she's not just a nobody,

but in fact,

she's some very special person,

some very, very powerful person,

absolutely essential

to that world.

How many science fiction movies

involve,

I mean,

right now in Netflix,

you could go to Lost in Space

and watch Lost in Space.

It's a common trope

that there's some terrible tragedy

afflicting Earth

and there's going to be

some way into another place

which is safe,

but once again in that,

it's not that everybody

on Earth gets to go,

but only a special person

or a special few,

only the best,

get to go on the spaceships

to get through it

in a sense a door

into that better world.

And so it's a very,

very familiar idea

that Jesus talks about.

It's something that we are

very, very familiar about

and it's funny

because on one level,

when we see the same idea

in fantasy,

we don't find it problematic,

do we?

When we see the same idea

in science fiction,

we don't find it problematic.

And part of the reason is

is that the way the movies

and the stories are designed

is for me to think,

yes, I'm that unimportant person

that nobody really matters

and I can enter into this world

and I can pretend

that I'm very, very special

and I get to go

into this different world.

But you see,

here's the thing about this story.

Those stories might be all right.

We might think,

oh yeah,

I'm that special person

that goes into that special world,

but after we close the book

and go about our daily life,

we go back to our job

at Starbucks

or we go back to our job

at Tim Hortons

or we go back to cubicle land

and our boss thinks

we're a nobody

and doesn't like us,

like we come back

to real world.

But here's the thing,

Jesus is,

Jesus,

this,

he really lived,

he really existed

and his death upon the cross

and his resurrection

vindicates what he says.

And he doesn't just say,

like,

in this world,

in this world,

for many of us,

we're often passed over

and maybe if we're blessed

to have a wife

or a husband

or some really good friends

who think we're special,

many, many people

in our world

don't feel very special

and are constantly passed over.

And Jesus says,

he doesn't say,

I'm just the door

for the special people.

I'm the door

for the unique people.

I'm the door

for the exceptional people.

I'm the door

for the beautiful people,

the rich people,

the powerful people.

He is the door.

And the implication is

is that ordinary people

like you and me,

if we respond,

he wants us to come through.

Ordinary people.

And this whole idea,

I mean,

it's,

we would rather hear

Jesus say to us

that we have the spark

of the divine in us

because we're all special

and wonderful,

but that flatters our vanity.

But we know it's not true,

don't we?

Like,

we know it's not true.

And in our culture,

we don't really like the idea

that there's this inseparable,

unbridgeable wall,

a wall that we cannot climb,

that we cannot dig under

to be into God's presence.

But on one hand,

isn't that what we experience?

Like,

Jesus isn't saying something

which goes against our experience.

He speaks to what is our experience.

There is this great divide

between God and human beings.

And the wonderful news here

is that Jesus says,

I am the door.

Yes,

there's this unbridgeable wall,

unscalable wall,

a wall that you cannot batter down

and a wall that you cannot dig under.

And it keeps human beings from God.

But I am the door.

I am the way by which

when you enter through the door,

you enter not just

into God's presence,

but into his realm.

And that God's realm

enters into you

and to me.

Jesus is going to talk more about this

in a couple of chapters.

But it's a very,

very important world.

You see,

it would just be like

a refugee

in a refugee camp.

And maybe they don't speak

any English

or any French,

one of the two official languages

of Canada.

But one day,

they get the good news

that they've got this

means by which

they can come into Canada.

And they come to Canada

to be Canadians.

They come to Canada

and they usually want

very,

very quickly,

as fast as they can,

to start to learn

English or French

and to learn how to drive

on the right-hand side

of the road

and to learn how to fit in

with our culture.

You see,

that's what God does with us

is that Jesus causes us

not to enter through the door

where we enter into God's realm

and we start to learn

his language.

We start to breathe his air.

We start to eat his food.

We start to learn his customs.

We start to learn his character.

We start to learn his habits.

We start to become citizens

of his realm.

And Jesus isn't just a door

by which we enter

into God's realm,

but he is also the means

by which God's realm

enters into me

and into you.

But there's more here than this.

And here,

just before we say

about this other part,

before we move on

to the latter part of the story,

here's a full disclosure.

And for those of you

for this,

this is Church of the Messiah

is your church home.

This isn't a surprising statement,

but if you're a guest,

I have to say this

because of the very next thing.

We are a very imperfect church.

And I am a very imperfect pastor.

And if you're a guest here

and you've come here

because you're looking

for a perfect church

with perfect people,

you're going to be

very, very unhappy with us

because we are an imperfect church

with imperfect people

with an imperfect pastor.

And I mention this

because of the other powerful image

that Jesus uses here

as he gives a description

of the church.

If you could put up

the next point, Andrew,

that would be very good.

Jesus says,

Jesus calls you

to be led by him

and belong to a good local church

as his sheep

in his flock,

in his fold,

with a shepherd

led by him,

the good shepherd.

See, Jesus begins

by critiquing religion.

He begins by critiquing

the spiritual people,

the religious people.

And he does it

because at the end of the day

he wants them to understand

that what they're doing

is endangering their souls

and it's robbing them

of abundant life.

Everything he says

is connected to his desire

that even the religious,

even the spiritual

will have abundant life.

That they'll actually know God.

That they won't just sort of

invent religions

on one side

of an unbridgeable wall,

which is just what

religion and spirituality is.

It's inventing stories

to give themselves power

on one side

of an unbridgeable wall

that doesn't actually

take them to God.

But once we enter

through the door

and enter into his realm,

well, there's this other

very powerful image,

which is the image

in verse 8.

Verse 7,

we'll read it.

Truly,

Jesus said to him,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

I am the door

of the sheep.

Verse 7,

I am the door

of the sheep.

So Jesus isn't just

the door by which

we enter into God's realm.

He's the door

by which we enter

into the sheepfold.

How we become his sheep

who are part of his flock,

who enter into a sheepfold.

It's an image of the church.

It's an image in a sense

of what the local church

is supposed to be,

that we are to be,

understand that,

well, I'm a sheep.

I'm part of a flock.

I'm both,

the images get a little bit

mixed up here,

but I'm also a shepherd.

In the original language

here,

if you look at verse 2,

he who enters by the door

is the shepherd of the sheep.

In the original language,

there's no the.

And when they write it

into English,

they have to add something there,

otherwise it doesn't

make any sense.

But what it's describing

isn't the good shepherd,

it's just describing

a shepherd.

It's describing a pastor.

The word we get pastor from

is the same word

that we get shepherd from.

And so Jesus says

that we become saved

by entering through him

into the presence of God

and into his realm,

and his realm begins

to enter into us.

And Jesus doesn't call us

just to follow him

all by ourselves,

all by our lonesome.

We're not saved alone,

but that he always leads us

into a good local church.

You see,

being part of a good local church

isn't an option

for Christians.

Sheep don't survive

in the wild by themselves.

Domesticated sheep

don't survive in the wild

by themselves.

They die.

It's a general rule.

They die very quickly.

Sheep have to be part

of a flock,

and they need a shepherd

to care for them,

and they need to have a fold.

And so this is an image

of the church.

Jesus calls us

to know him,

and it's the way

that we enter

into the sheep fold

as sheep,

part of his fold.

And his intent is

that Christians

are in a fold,

a local church,

with other sheep

as part of a flock,

and the shepherd

is to be led by him.

That's why at the beginning

of this I prayed

not that you would want

to hear more of my voice,

but want to hear more

of the voice of Jesus,

because it's the voice

of Jesus that we need

to follow.

And we hear that

by hearing the scriptures.

So,

some of you might say,

well, George,

that's all very,

very interesting,

but there's one thing

I do know about sheep,

George,

is that,

as a general rule,

George,

sheep aren't pets.

And the little I know

about farmers

is that farmers

are very practical people,

and if they have a dog,

it's probably a dog.

I mean,

it might be that they're

affectionate towards the dog,

but the dog has some things

that they want the dog to do,

and if they have chickens,

well, George,

those chickens

will eventually

be on their table.

even if they let the kids

name the chickens,

the chickens will be

beheaded and plucked,

and then eventually

cooked and eaten.

And the cows,

and, well,

George,

sheep are for the,

first they'll be shorn,

and then eventually

they'll do something

that involves eating,

and some aren't even

really for shorn very much.

They're just really,

so we can have

really tasty lamb chops.

So it's a bit of a gruesome image,

George,

isn't it,

to think this?

I mean,

that all sounds

very,

very nice,

and probably when you

city people are all,

we're all,

we city people,

we're all listening

to this image,

and maybe we think

of our pet puppy

or our cat,

which,

of course,

here in Ottawa,

we don't generally,

in fact,

not generally,

I don't think anybody

in Ottawa eats their dog

or eats their cat,

and so,

George,

this is a very,

very,

this is a gruesome image,

really.

It's not very helpful image

to think that I'm a sheep,

and,

in fact,

George,

this just sort of fits

with what often goes

with religion.

Doesn't often religion

involve some people

thinking they're special

and they use all these

religious languages,

but all it's doing

is leading sheep

to the slaughter.

George,

isn't it true

that in much of Indian history

there were these Hindu princes

and religion sort of validated

that they could live

unbelievably rich

and opulent lives

where most of the rest

of the people

just suffered.

George Buddhism,

I mean,

it's very popular here

in North America,

but didn't functionally,

Buddhism,

and in most of the countries

that were Buddhist,

once again,

allow some people

to live very,

very,

very,

very opulent lives

while the rest

of the people

had to just suffer

with what they were doing.

If you've read,

if you've seen that thing

on Netflix yet,

the Wild Wild Country

about the Bogwan,

George the Bogwan

had 94,

I looked it up

just to check,

some debate is

whether it had 93,

94,

or 96 Rolls Royces

while his people

worked 12-hour days

in bunks.

And George,

we don't have to go that,

isn't it?

You know,

George,

haven't you been corrected

about speaking a little bit

about financial giving

in the church

and how for many

French Canadians

it's a hard thing

to hear a priest

talking about giving money

because for so many

generations in Quebec

the priest

kept the people poor

so other people

could continue

to be rich.

And I could add

my own stories.

I've had to counsel

lots of different women

who've talked to me

when they found out

that I was a pastor

because they've come

from very,

very conservative churches

where they were

in an abusive marriage.

The man was abusing them

and the elders

of the church

told the woman

she couldn't leave

her husband

or divorce him

that even though

he was terribly abusive

she had to go back

to him.

And those are often

from people

who are very reformed

and believe the Bible

is God's word.

And George,

you know,

George,

what can you say to that?

George,

the images just don't work.

Well,

that's,

you know,

it's so amazing.

Jesus is just so wise.

And because he begins

with these images

and remember,

I mean,

I say these things

but all of the people

who are there,

they know sheep,

they know that sheep

are for sacrifice

and for eating.

And some of those things

must have been going

through their mind.

They say,

Jesus,

why don't you call,

this is me,

not,

I mean,

I don't know

what they would have said.

Like,

we would be much more

comfortable if he said,

you know,

I am Dr. X

and I'm going to make you

mutant superheroes.

Or,

you know,

I am Steve Job

and I'm going to make you

all Google engineers

cool with lots of money.

You know,

or,

you know,

I am whatever

and I'm going to make you

all supermodels.

Or,

you know,

I am,

I am,

I am the Bill Belichick

of the New England Patriots

and I'm going to make you

football stars.

I'm going to make you

all into Tom Brady's.

Like,

that's what we'd like,

not defenseless sheep

that just get eaten.

But listen to how Jesus goes on.

Look at,

look at,

we'll read verse 10 again.

The thief comes only to steal

and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life

and have it abundantly.

He knows that that's what

religious people do

and spiritual people,

and not just religious

and spiritual people.

I mean,

if,

if what I sometimes say

to my,

my secular friends is,

you know,

listen,

I,

I know that Christianity

has a pretty terrible history

but I just have to mention

Mao and Stalin

and Hitler

and Cambodia

and the great carnage

that's going on

in our own country

around life issues as well.

So it's a human problem

and Jesus is very familiar

that there's this problem

powerful human problem

of thieves and robbers

and wolves.

And he says again in verse 10,

the thief comes only to steal

and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life

and have it abundantly.

Then listen to what he says,

I am the good shepherd.

Verse 11,

the good shepherd lays down

his life for the sheep.

He was a hired hand

and not a shepherd

who does not own the sheep

sees the wolf coming

and leaves the sheep

and flees

and the wolf snatches them

and scatters them.

He flees

because he has a hired hand

and cares nothing

for the sheep.

Just pause.

Jesus knows the world

is filled with thieves

and robbers and wolves

and he knows

that there's thieves

and robbers and wolves

and that they're present

in universities

and they're present

in churches

and they're present

in religion,

they're present

in spirituality.

to think that being spiritual

means that you'll never

come across a thief

and a robber

and a wolf.

Jesus says that's foolish.

There are people,

hired hands are people

who are only in it

for themselves.

And thieves and robbers

are people who are only

in it for themselves

and they'll take it from you

in whatever way

they possibly can.

And wolves,

they just seem to like

to wreck things.

And then he says it again

in verse 14.

I am the good shepherd.

I know my own

and my own know me

just as the Father knows me

and I know the Father

and I lay down my life

for the sheep.

He says it twice.

He lays down his life

for the sheep

and I have 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.

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

four times.

I have authority

to lay it down

five times

and I have authority

to take it up again.

This charge I have received

from my Father

five times.

He says I lay down my life

five times

to make sure we hear it

five times.

Andrew,

could you put up

the point please?

sheep are killed

for the good

of the shepherd.

Jesus knows this.

Sheep are killed

for the good

of the shepherd

but the good shepherd

died

for the good

of the sheep.

See,

that would have been

the shocking thing.

We don't catch

the shock of this

as much

because we don't

have sheep.

This would have been

the shocking thing

to them.

I mean,

for Jesus' hearers

in many cultures

they would want

to have more

and more sheep

because the more

sheep you have

the richer you are.

And for many,

many cultures

you use sheep

for a sacrifice

to appease the gods.

You appease the gods

so that after

you've paid off

the gods

it allows you

to live the life

that you want to live

and to be as rich

and powerful

as you want.

And so the sheep

have this double thing.

On one hand

it pays off the gods

so they don't punish you.

On the other hand

you have the sheep

so you have lots

to eat.

You can get nice

and plump

and you can sell

the extra sheep

for money

and you can have

lots of really,

really good things.

The sheep die

for the good

of the shepherd.

But Jesus says

you have to understand

the whole point

of this analogy,

the whole point

of me being a door

by which you can

bridge this unbridgeable

wall between God

and human beings

by entering through me

and come into his realm

and into his presence

and have his presence

come into you

and the fact

that I am going

to call people

who have come

into my presence

into understanding

that they're sheep

who are to be part

of a flock

who are to be part

of a fold

who are to follow

a shepherd

who is following

the good shepherd

and the good shepherd

will lead his church

and you need to be sheep

who are always

calling out

to know Jesus

to hear his voice

to hear his voice

to hear his voice

and to hear his voice

and you have to understand

that this is not

an analogy

of me doing anything

so that it's going

to please me

where it's

I am not a hired hand

I am not a thief

I am not a robber

I am not a wolf

how do you know that

I die for the sheep

I die for the sheep

how is it that

you know

that you can trust

that my words

that even if my words

seem a bit offensive

or a bit hard

or a bit of a stretch

that they're actually

leading me

into abundant life

I die for the sheep

I die for the sheep

well Jesus

do you know

that I'm a bit

of a failure

do you know that

do you know

that I'm same sex attracted

do you know

that I've had

lots of abortions

do you know

that I'm

not very religious

and not very spiritual

I died for the sheep

I know all that

I died for the sheep

look what he says

again in verse 14

Andrew could you put up

verse 14 and 15

on the screen

that's the fourth point

I am the good shepherd

I know my own

I know my own

if you come to Jesus

and say

Jesus I've had

I've had five abortions

you can't toss

be possibly talking

about me

Jesus

I've tried so many times

to find somebody

who would just

find me attractive

and nobody finds me

attractive

you know

some of us

we're scarred

by maybe the fact

that we never

could make a sports team

we fail

just about every

Jesus knows us

he also knows

if you're success

he knows you

and he knows you

and he laid down

his life for you

verse 14

I am the good shepherd

I know my own

and my own know me

and just as the father

knows me

and I know the father

and I laid down

my life for the sheep

I have other sheep

that are not of this fold

he's speaking to Jewish people

and he's

when it's such a wonderful thing

when he says here

I have other sheep

that are not of this fold

he's speaking about

you and me

who aren't Jewish

I must bring them also

and they will listen

to my voice

it's one of the reasons

why missionaries

go to Angola

and it's why

we should have missionaries

that go to the gay

and lesbian community

and the transgendered community

and the Rockcliffe community

and the Google community

and the community

maybe in Perth

because there are sheep

there

that Jesus knows

there are sheep

they don't know

that they're going to be a sheep

they don't know

that they've been longing

to hear his voice

but he knows

that they're there

longing to hear his voice

and he wants to take

really imperfect

and impossible people

like you and me

to be the ones

by which his voice

is heard

and it's not your voice

that they hear

it's Jesus' voice

that they hear

it's not my voice

they hear

it's Jesus' voice

and then look at this

still

verse 17

for this reason

the Father loves me

because I lay down my life

that I may take it up again

it's a prophecy

of his resurrection

this isn't just

a fantasy tale

this is something

that actually happened

in history

on a day

in the spring

in either the year

of 30

or the year 33

in the spring

April probably

of 30 or 33

outside a city

in Jerusalem

Jesus was crucified

by Roman soldiers

with charges

written above his head

and he was crucified

in real time

in real history

between two thieves

and because of the

approaching feast

they went

to kill

as an act of mercy

they went to kill

the

the

the victim

so that

because the crucifixion

could last for days

and they broke the legs

of the two thieves

but they found out

that Jesus was already dead

and they pierced his spear

with a

his side with a spear

and

and

and the guy

who records that

he doesn't know

what medical science

now knows

that

what he records

is what doctors

now know

showed

helped to show

that his heart

had failed

when he says

that blood and water

ran out

and he really did

get put in a grave

he was embalmed

he was handled

he was embalmed

and

and on the third day

the people

who didn't believe

that

Jesus would rise

from the dead

start going to the tomb

and discovering

that the tomb is empty

and he starts to appear

to them as alive

and Jesus really does

in real time

in the spring of

in April of 30

or 33

he really does rise

from the dead

and when it says

he lays it down

with authority

it means that

it's not just

some random act

but it's an act

of power

that's right

that fits

that's authoritative

and authoritatively

he can give us life

it's this wonderful story

that

we are known

by God

and that we can begin

to get to know him

please stand

Jesus is the good shepherd

and he lays down

his life for the sheep

and we are to hear

his voice

and we are to learn

what it means

to live together

as a flock

hearing his voice

following him

we don't just live

the Christian life

by ourselves

I mean one of the things

that we are going to be

praying for in a moment

not only is that

we would be more courageous

in telling others

about Jesus

and that we would be

more fervent

and regular in prayer

but also that the Lord

would put within our hearts

a desire to connect

with each other

as a flock

to be part of a community

maybe to be part

of a small group

or the men's group

or just in other ways

just in friendships

but those are the things

that we can pray into

let's just bow our heads

and let's pray

Father

thank you for Jesus

thank you that he died

on the cross

thank you that he laid down

his life for the sheep

thank you Father

that the closer we get

to Jesus

the closer we are

to abundant life

thank you Father

that Jesus

will never hurt us

he will never demean us

he will never

Father

frighten us

that he will only

be our shepherd

who guides us

and feeds us

and protects us

Father

we will have many

we know that we will have

very very hard things

to endure in this life

sometimes

but we thank you Father

that we can live

each day with Jesus

as our good shepherd

that he can lead

and guide us

each day

that he will be with us

even when we are

in the valley of the shadow

of death

that we will

we can fear no evil

for he is with

he is with us

he is with me

he is with you

Father

draw us to Jesus

as our good shepherd

who cares for us

and this we ask

in the name of Jesus

your son and our savior

amen

is with

he is with you