The True Shepherd

All right, well this morning we're finally coming back to our long-running sermon series

through the Gospel of John.

We started this series back around Christmas of 2019, and we've been kind of just working

through really slow, sometimes verse by verse.

For those of you who were there right from the start, I don't expect that you'll remember

everything that we've seen and discovered in John.

In fact, I don't even remember everything I've said.

But in case you want to go back and refer to a previous message, you can find them all

on the church website, and we're going to continue the story this fall.

So if you have your Bible with you, please open it up to John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

It's a familiar passage to many of us who have been in the church a long time, and this is

Jesus talking here.

We're going to start by reading the first 10 verses.

This is Jesus.

Very truly, I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate,

but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.

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

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him

because they know his voice.

But they will never follow a stranger.

In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore, Jesus said again,

Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

Father in heaven, as we look into your word, we pray and ask that you would open our eyes to see.

We ask that you would help us to take something good from this

and that you would strengthen our faith in you.

We ask this in your name.

Amen.

Well, as we come to these words of Jesus this morning,

the first thing that we want to figure out here is who Jesus is talking to

and what's going on here.

Verse 1 in the NIV says,

Very truly, I tell you Pharisees.

Now, in the original language, it doesn't say Pharisees,

and neither do most translations.

It just says, I tell you, plural.

But the NIV, I think, is on the right track

in trying to help us understand who Jesus is talking to.

We might assume that because it's a new chapter,

that this is a fresh story about Jesus

and that what's here is different from what was in chapter 9.

But actually, the chapter divisions, as some of you know,

were added to the Bible over a thousand years

after the New Testament was written.

So if you can bring yourself to kind of ignore those chapters and titles

and just kind of read back and forth from chapter 9 to chapter 10,

you'll notice that what happens in chapter 10

is just a continuation of the story from chapter 9.

So what happened back in chapter 9?

I'm not going to re-preach those three messages,

but basically we heard about how Jesus healed a man

who had been blind from birth.

And then we heard about how the Pharisees

conducted their own investigation of his healing.

They questioned the man repeatedly,

and they did not want to accept that Jesus, their rival,

had actually performed an amazing miracle,

something that only God can do.

And they wore this poor man out

trying to find some way to discredit this miracle

to the point where the man eventually got fed up

and told them what he really thought about Jesus.

And then they insulted the man,

and they excommunicated him from the synagogue.

They kicked him out.

And then we heard how Jesus, after that,

went and found this man who had been blind,

and Jesus revealed himself to the man,

that he was the Messiah,

the one who had healed him.

And the man believed and worshipped Jesus.

But back in chapter 9, verse 40,

we read that at that same time,

some Pharisees who were with Jesus

heard him say this and asked,

what, are we blind too?

Jesus responded to them.

He said, if you were blind,

you would not be guilty of sin.

But now that you claim you can see,

your guilt remains.

Very truly, I tell you.

So you see how it just flows right from

chapter 9 into chapter 10.

So this is the scene.

The blind man is there.

The man who was blind,

he's now healed.

Jesus is there.

And the Pharisees are there.

And there's been this exchange.

And Jesus is going to continue to speak

to the Pharisees.

And what does he say?

Verse 1.

He says,

Very truly, I tell you,

anyone who does not enter the sheep pen

by the gate,

but climbs in by some other way,

is a thief and a robber.

So as he's talking to these Pharisees,

these religious leaders,

Jesus launches into a sort of parable.

Kind of a figure of speech,

John tells us in verse 6.

Jesus used this figure of speech.

Maybe not quite the same

as some of Jesus' other parables,

but maybe kind of like an analogy.

And yeah,

he uses the everyday common stuff

of sheep farming to make his point.

And so we're going to try and walk with Jesus

through this and understand

a little bit of the common,

everyday stuff of sheep farming

back in the first century.

And then we'll try and see

what Jesus' point is in all this.

What's he saying to them?

So verse 1.

Very truly,

I tell you,

anyone who does not enter the sheep pen

by the gate,

but climbs in by some other way,

is a thief

and a robber.

Let's start with the sheep pen.

Here's a picture of a sheep pen

or a sheep fold.

This is probably what Jesus had in mind.

Apparently it was common for them

to make them out of stones like this.

And there'd often,

there of course would be an entrance

for the sheep to get in.

And sometimes it'd be a little fancier

and it would have a gate.

And basically the idea was

that you could put the sheep in there

and keep them all in one place

and it would provide shelter for them.

And they would be safe,

especially at night.

So Jesus says,

anyone who does not enter the sheep pen

by the gate,

but climbs in by some other way,

is a thief

and a robber.

The one who enters by the gate

is the shepherd of the sheep.

So basically Jesus is saying

that there's a way to know

who is the shepherd of the sheep

and who is not.

Kind of like this,

you know,

if you were to see this

as you're walking by

your neighbor's house

or driving by

your neighbor's acreage,

you're probably going to wonder

what's going on there.

Could be that they locked themselves out.

But in ancient times,

they probably didn't have locks

on the sheep gate.

So you can know

who the shepherd is

versus who the thief is,

whether or not

they're using the gate.

If you see someone

in the middle of the night

dressed in black

slipping over the wall,

odds are pretty good

that they're up to no good.

Maybe they're slipping in

to pull a little heist.

Verse 3,

Jesus says,

the gatekeeper opens the gate

for him,

the shepherd,

and the sheep listen

to his voice.

He calls his own sheep

by name

and leads them out.

And the emphasis here

is on the shepherd.

It's to him

that the gatekeeper opens,

not to anybody else.

So there's another way

to recognize

who the true shepherd is,

whether or not

the gatekeeper recognizes him

and opens the gate for him.

Jesus then gives a third way

to know who

the true shepherd

of the sheep is

in this same verse.

And the sheep

listen to his voice.

And probably the sense

of listen there

is not just that they hear it,

but that they respond to it.

The shepherd calls

or gives his commands

and they respond,

they move,

they come,

or whatever it is

that he has told them to do.

They do it.

And this kind of seems

to be the main thrust

of Jesus' analogy.

He's giving a whole bunch

of different ways

that we can tell

the difference

between the true shepherd

of the sheep

and one who is not

the true shepherd

of the sheep.

Between the rightful owner

of the flock

or the imposter

who's trying to make off

with some of the plunder.

So three different ways

he's already given us

and then there are

a few more.

It says that he calls

his own sheep

by name

and leads them out.

So a fourth way

to know who the true shepherd is,

he calls them by name.

There is a bond

between shepherd

and sheep

that can be easily recognized.

He calls them by name.

There's a lot of significance

in naming things.

Traditionally,

you would name things

by their unique characteristics.

The things that set

those things apart

from other things.

And so my grandparents' dog

we called Skippy

because from the time

Skippy was a puppy,

he kind of skipped along

on the grass.

He ran in a funny way.

The true shepherd

has that kind of a bond

with his sheep.

He has spent enough time

with them

to know their unique characteristics.

Enough to name them.

And so that sheep

with the floppy ear

over there

is called Floppy.

And that one

that likes to roll around

is called Dusty.

And he leads them out,

says Jesus.

When the shepherd says,

all right guys,

let's go get you guys

some food.

And walks out the door,

they get up

and they go.

They follow him.

So Jesus says,

you know the true shepherd

from the thief

because the true shepherd

calls the sheep

by their names.

And it's obvious

that he knows them.

They listen to his voice.

They do what he says.

There's that bond,

that relationship.

Verse 4.

When he has brought out

all his own,

he goes on ahead of them.

And his sheep follow him

because they know his voice.

But they will never

follow a stranger.

In fact,

they will run away from him

because they do not recognize

a stranger's voice.

Kind of along the same lines

as what we've already heard,

but kind of spelled out

in more detail.

The shepherd goes out the gate

leading them

and continues on

in the field

or wherever they're going

and the sheep follow.

Jesus says,

it's because they recognize

the shepherd's voice.

In contrast,

the stranger,

they won't follow

the stranger.

The stranger may call,

but the sheep

will run away from him.

They don't know him.

They don't recognize

his voice.

Now,

if this was all

Jesus had said

right here,

we'd probably all

be scratching our heads

wondering,

what is Jesus

talking about?

In fact,

that's exactly

what the Pharisees

were doing.

In verse 6,

right after this,

John tells us,

Jesus used this figure

of speech,

but the Pharisees

did not understand

what he was telling them.

What does all this

have to do with anything?

Why are you telling us

about sheep

and pens

and shepherds

and thieves?

I bet you they were

listening very carefully,

like,

is all of this

some clever way

of trying to

insult us

or say something

against us?

What does Jesus

mean by all this?

And we'll get to

unpacking it

in a minute,

but first,

Jesus has more

to say.

I'm going to read

from verse 7

to verse 11.

Therefore,

Jesus said again,

Very truly,

I tell you,

I am the gate

for the sheep.

All who have

come before me

are thieves

and robbers,

but the sheep

have not listened

to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters

through me

will be saved.

They will come in

and go out

and find pasture.

The thief

comes only

to steal

and kill

and destroy.

I have come

that they may

have life

and have it

to the full.

I am the

good shepherd.

shepherd.

Okay,

so here

in verse 7

and in

verse 9

as Jesus

continues,

he tells

them that

he is

the gate.

It's kind

of a strange

thing.

We're not

expecting maybe

Jesus to say

that.

I am the

gate for

the sheep.

He says it

twice.

We're going

to come back

to that

in a couple

weeks.

But for now

we want to

focus more

on this idea

of the true

shepherd versus

the thieves

and robbers.

So we're just

going to look

at verse 8

and verse 10

of this section.

In verse 8

Jesus says

this,

All who have

come before

me are thieves

and robbers,

but the sheep

have not

listened to

them.

That's quite a

statement to

make.

All who have

come before

me are thieves

and robbers.

There's a fair

bit of discussion

here.

But most

Christians agree

that Jesus

when he says

all who came

before me

does not mean

all is in

every person.

He's not

referring to

the faithful

prophets

and priests

and kings,

men like

Abraham and

Moses and

Isaiah.

He's not

calling them

thieves and

robbers.

He's already

talked about

them in the

pages that

came before

this as

being some

of the

faithful men

whom God

sent.

So all

probably refers

to the many

who have

arisen in

the past

and have

taken up

a role of

leadership

in Israel

but were

not chosen

by God

or sent

by God.

I'm guessing

that Jesus

is talking

about false

prophets,

illegitimate

priests,

and wicked

kings.

prophets.

Let's look

for a moment

back to

what God

said hundreds

of years

earlier through

the prophet

Ezekiel.

Ezekiel chapter

Ezekiel 34 · chapter mention

34.

This is

Ezekiel

writing,

The word

of the Lord

came to

me,

Son of

man,

prophesy

against the

shepherds

of Israel.

Prophesy

and say

to them,

this is what

the sovereign

Lord says,

Woe to

you shepherds

of Israel

who only

take care

of yourselves.

Should not

shepherds

take care

of the

flock?

You eat

the curds,

clothe

yourselves

with the

wool,

and slaughter

the choice

animals,

but you

do not

take care

of the

flock.

You have

not strengthened

the weak

or healed

the sick

or bound

up the

injured.

You have

not brought

back the

strays or

searched for

the lost.

You have

ruled them

harshly

and brutally.

So they

were scattered

because there

was no

shepherd.

And when

they were

scattered,

they became

food for

all the

wild animals.

My sheep

wandered over

all the

mountains and

on every

high hill.

They were

scattered over

the whole

earth and

no one

searched or

looked for

them.

Therefore,

you shepherds,

hear the

word of the

Lord.

As surely

as I live,

declares the

sovereign Lord,

shepherd,

because my

flock lacks a

shepherd and

so has been

food for all

the wild

animals.

And because my

shepherds did

not search for

my flock but

cared for

themselves rather

than for my

flock,

therefore you

shepherds hear

the word of

the Lord.

This is what the

sovereign Lord

says.

I am against

the shepherds

and will hold

them accountable

for my flock.

I will remove

them from

tending the

flock so that

the shepherds

can no longer

feed themselves.

I will rescue

my flock from

their mouths and

it will no longer

be food for

them.

For this is what

the sovereign

Lord says.

I myself will

search for my

sheep and look

after them.

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 a day of

clouds and

darkness.

I will bring

them out from

the nations and

gather them from

the countries and

I will bring them

into their own

land.

I will pasture

them on the

mountains of

Israel, in the

ravines and in

all the settlements

in the land.

I will tend them

in a good pasture

and the mountain

heights of Israel

will be their

grazing land.

There they will

lie down in good

grazing land and

there they will

feed in a rich

pasture on the

mountains of

Israel.

I myself will

tend my sheep

and have them

lie down, declares

the sovereign

Lord.

I will search for

the lost and

bring back the

strays.

I will bind up

the injured and

strengthen the

weak.

I will shepherd

the flock with

justice.

Now there's a lot

there, but I

think it helps us

understand what

Jesus is talking

about here.

the leaders or

the shepherds of

Israel is who

the Lord was

speaking against

through Ezekiel.

Not the good

kind of leaders

like King David,

but the wicked

ones.

The ones who

use their

positions of

leadership just

for personal

gain.

The ones who

took from the

sheep so that

they could live

in comfort and

luxury.

Think of men

like Samuel's

sons or King

Ahab or men

like the bunch

of false

prophets that

Micah prophesied

about.

These are the

people that I

think Jesus has

in mind and

there were lots

of them.

When he says

all who came

before me are

thieves and

robbers, it's

these kinds of

people that he's

talking about.

But Jesus

says the sheep

have not listened

to them.

All along, the

true faith-filled

people of God

through the ages

did not listen

to those wicked

men.

They knew that

they were corrupt.

They knew that

they were wicked

leaders.

They weren't

led astray.

Are you beginning

to see where

Jesus is going

with this?

And here's the

clue.

The sheep have

not listened

to them.

this man who

had been blind

has just had

this investigation

with the

shepherds of

Israel, the

religious leaders,

the Pharisees.

They've been

trying to tell

him how he

should be

thinking about

Jesus and

shepherd and

guide him to

certain conclusions

about Jesus.

But even

though they're

in positions of

spiritual authority

and leadership,

the man who

had been blind

won't listen

to them.

How utterly

frustrating.

In fact, the

Pharisees even

said to the man,

how dare you

lecture us?

And instead,

they come out

the door and

find him on

his face

worshiping

Jesus.

and he

just accepts

every word

that Jesus

says.

It's as though

Jesus is

saying,

you want to

know why

this man

and others

will not

listen to

you,

Pharisees?

It's because

you Pharisees

are thieves

and robbers.

You are not

the ones

whom God

has appointed

to be the

shepherd of

his flock.

And so they

don't listen

to you.

Verse 10,

Jesus goes

on.

He says,

the thief

comes only

to steal

and kill

and destroy.

That's the

only time

he comes

around,

is for that

purpose.

I have

come that

they,

the sheep,

may have

life and

have it to

the full.

I am the

shepherd,

the good

one.

Jesus

finally lays

it on the

table.

You want

to know

the big

difference

between me

and you,

Pharisees?

He doesn't

say it that

directly.

It's all

in the

analogy.

The thief,

you guys

come only

to steal

and kill

and destroy.

But I

have come

so that

they,

people like

him,

the man

who had

been blind,

might have

life and

have it to

the full.

You Pharisees

are in

it for

yourselves.

And when

you come

around,

it's to

take from

my people.

It results

in nothing

but loss

and damage

and hurt

and destruction

for my

people.

But I

have come

so that

they might

have life

and have

it to

the full.

And Jesus

flat out

tells them,

I am

the shepherd,

the true

shepherd,

the good

shepherd.

shepherd.

This, I

think, is

the meaning

of this

parable of

Jesus.

There are

thieves,

robbers,

strangers,

imposters.

That's the

Pharisees.

That's all

the corrupt,

wicked leaders

of Israel

over the

ages.

And then

there is the

true shepherd.

That's

Jesus,

the one

sent from

heaven by

God to

shepherd his

people.

people.

There's the

Pharisees who

burden the

people and

find religious

ways to

take from

the people

who don't

give a rip

about the

weak or

the sick

or the

injured.

And then

there's Jesus

who loves the

sheep dearly.

He has

come to

shepherd the

flock,

to search

for the

lost,

to bring

back the

strays,

to bind

up the

injured and

strengthen

the weak.

And lead

them into

good pasture.

We'll get to

next week,

what Jesus

means when

he says,

I am the

good shepherd.

But for

this morning,

we're focusing

on this

truth that

Jesus is

the true

shepherd.

He's not

like the

Pharisees,

who were

thieves and

robbers.

He is the

one to whom

the sheep

really belong.

The one

whom God

has appointed

and sent

to shepherd

his flock.

And unlike

the thieves

and robbers,

as we see

in this

verse,

Jesus,

the true

shepherd,

actually cares

for the

sheep.

He loves

them.

What a

contrast we

see here.

Jesus'

disciples didn't

have a whole

lot of

compassion for

the man who

had been

blind.

They were

busy arguing

about who

sinned that

he got that

way.

The Pharisees

had nothing

but pride

and contempt

and insults

for that

man,

man.

Especially

when he

wouldn't

cooperate

with them

and falsify

his own

miraculous

healing.

But Jesus

truly loved

that man.

Not only

did he

heal him,

but he

revealed

himself to

him.

He went

out and

found him

and brought

him into

the flock.

Jesus says,

I have

come so

that people

like him,

my sheep,

may have

life.

And not

just any

old life,

not just a

bare minimum

disappointment

filled kind

of life,

but life

to the

full,

says Jesus.

Life the

way it was

meant to

be,

long ago

in the

beginning

when God

created us

for relationship

with him

kind of

life.

The

prosperity

gospel has

abused this

verse greatly.

So I do

want to say

a couple

words about

that here.

Jesus is

not saying

that he

came to

make us

all rich

with earthly

riches.

That's not

what life

to the

full means.

Most of

us know

that.

It is

what some

people in

our world

think of

when they

hear this

verse,

but not

God.

However,

at the

same time,

we shouldn't

try to

eliminate all

possibility of

material

blessing

from this

promise

that Jesus

gave.

The life

that Jesus

has come

to give

us may

include some

of that

here and

now.

What did

Paul tell

Timothy?

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6:17

chapter 6

verse 17.

He said,

command those

who are rich

in this

present world

not to be

arrogant,

nor to put

their hope

in wealth,

which is so

uncertain,

but to

put their

hope in

God,

who richly

provides us

with everything

for our

enjoyment.

You hear

that?

He says,

command them,

those who are

rich,

to do good,

to be rich

in good

deeds,

and to be

generous

and willing

to share.

In this

way,

those who are

rich will

lay up

treasure for

themselves as

a firm

foundation for

the coming

age,

so that

they may

take hold

of the

life that

is truly

life.

Notice that

Paul makes

it very clear

that worldly

wealth,

at least in

part,

is intended

to meet

our needs,

even to

increase our

joy,

so long as

we receive it

as a gift

from God

that it is.

But part

of the

abundant

life,

the full

life,

also includes

being generous

with whatever

he has

given us

and willing

to share.

So life

to the full

is not just

about having

whatever we

want or

having lots

of money

or stuff.

Sometimes

God will

provide us

with that

out of his

generosity

and goodness

and for our

enjoyment.

But maybe

I could say

it this way,

part of

the fullest

life that

God gives

is learning

to enjoy

whatever he

gives us,

whether spiritual

or material,

as a gift

from him

and being

willing to

joyfully

share and

give away

to meet

the needs

of others

and to

bless others.

So the

thief cares

only about

himself.

He doesn't

care what

it costs

you.

He's only

there to

take from

you.

Jesus

says,

it's the

opposite

with me.

I have

come to

give to

you the

life that

you need

and even

more.

the

fullest

possible

expression

of life

that you

could

ever

have.

A

life

that's

deep,

rich,

vibrant,

and full.

That's

the difference

between the

true shepherd

and the

phonies,

the

imposters,

the con

men,

and the

thieves.

Well,

how do we

apply all

this to

ourselves

today?

There's

so much

in these

ten

verses.

We could

find some

helpful

wisdom about

how to

identify

dangerous

spiritual

imposters

in churches

and in

ministries

today.

We could

focus in

on that

very special

relationship

between

shepherd and

sheep and

talk about

how we

who believe

in Jesus

must listen

to our

shepherd and

follow his

voice and

obey his

commands.

we could

talk about

how Jesus,

our true

shepherd,

knows us

intimately

and deeply

exactly what's

going on in

our hearts

and thoughts

and lives.

But here's

what's on my

heart this

morning,

maybe a

little bit

of a

different

angle.

I don't

know if

any of

you watched

the leadership

debate on

Thursday night.

I did.

I watched

the major

party leaders

trade barbs

and take

shots at

each other.

all the

while trying

to convince

me why I

should vote

for their

political

party.

And I

couldn't help

but wonder,

is this the

best that

we've got

to lead

our nation

in the

coming weeks,

years?

They're all

promising to

be that

ideal shepherd,

leader,

prime minister

that Canada

needs right

now.

And don't

vote for those

other guys

because they

won't keep

any of their

promises.

They've all

shown that

they're just

in it for

themselves.

They're all

saying that

about each

other.

But I

think we

see through

that,

don't we?

And we

know that

truly they're

all in it

for themselves.

They're all

playing the

political game,

trying to

say enough

of what

people want

to hear in

order to

secure their

vote and

hopefully get

to that

position of

greatest

prominence and

influence in

the nation.

I didn't get

a sense from

any of them

that they

really,

truly cared

about the

Canadian people

or really

understood what

is best for

the people

that they're

seeking to

govern and

lead.

This one

over here

would take

half of my

hard-earned

money if I

was super

rich and

then vilify

me as a

greedy

billionaire.

That one

over there

thinks it's

good for

women to

continue to

have the

choice to

kill me if

I'm a

seven-month-old

baby in

my mother's

womb.

Most of

them think

that I

should lose

my job if

I'm employed

by the

irredeemable

oil extraction

industry.

Almost all

of them seem

to believe that

the greatest

threat to

mankind is

climate change

caused by

human pollution.

I mean,

seriously,

is this the

best that

we've got to

lead our

nation?

I don't know

about you,

but a deep

longing was

stirred up in

my soul

from watching

this for the

true shepherd,

the one who

truly cares

about me

and knows

what's going

on in my

life,

the one who

only ever

speaks the

truth and

always keeps

his promises

100%,

the one to

whom I

belong,

the one who

will shepherd

his flock

with justice

and provide

for their

every need.

God's flock,

the one who

gives life

to the

full,

something that

can never

be taken

away.

Jesus is

the true

shepherd of

God's flock,

God's people,

and the good

news is this,

he is not

done shepherding

his flock

yet.

He's coming

back,

and when he

does,

he will lead,

he will shepherd,

and he will

govern like

the Pharisees

never could,

like all of

those people

on Thursday

night never

can and

never will,

and his

kingdom will

last forever.

Do you know

the true

shepherd,

the one who

deeply cares

for you?

Are you one

of his sheep?

If you are,

you have this

hope and this

confidence that

Jesus gives,

and if not,

then the best

you've got are

the men and

women you

saw on Thursday

night.

I'll have

Jesus as my

shepherd.

Will you?

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you.

Thank you

again for

sending Jesus.

Thank you

that you love

us,

that you

know us,

thank you

that you

have come

to lead

us,

to guide

us,

to help

us,

to heal

us,

and all

those wonderful

things that

we heard.

We long

for that

day when

Jesus will

return.

Help us to

have our hope

and our

confidence and

our focus

on that,

even as we

go to the

ballot boxes

this coming

weekend.

We ask

this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.