The Good Shepherd's Voice (John 10:22-42)

We are in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, starting in verse 22.

John 10 · chapter mention

If you're able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word?

John 10, 22 through the end of the chapter.

Then the festival of dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's colonad.

The Jews surrounded him and asked, How long are you going to keep us in suspense?

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.

I did tell you, and you don't believe, Jesus answered them.

The works that I do in my Father's name testify about me, but you don't believe because you are not my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice.

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.

No one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.

No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

I and the Father are one.

Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.

Jesus replied, I have shown you many good works from the Father.

For which of these works are you stoning me?

We aren't stoning you for good works, the Jews answered, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.

Jesus answered them, Isn't it written in your law, I said you are gods?

If he called those to whom the Word of God came gods, and the scripture cannot be broken, do you say you are blasphemy to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world?

Because I said I am the Son of God.

If I am not doing my Father's works, don't believe me.

But if I am doing them, and you don't believe me, believe the works uh believe the works.

This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.

Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

He departed again across the Jordan and to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.

Many came to him and said, John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true, and many believed in him there.

You may be seated.

So, if you remember, last week we saw Jesus tell the religious leaders and the crowd that was there as well, that he is the good shepherd.

And he pointed to the relationship that he has with his sheep.

He said, His sheep know his voice and follow him.

And remember, this all comes after Jesus heals this blind man.

You know, this man is then rejected by the Jewish leaders.

He's excommunicated from his own community in the synagogue.

But Jesus received him.

Jesus welcomed that man into his flock.

You know, the flock of Israel and Jesus' flock were not the same.

And that is a point that we need to distinguish and that they needed to distinguish as well.

You know, because Jesus is now welcoming these outsiders, these excommunicated.

He's even welcoming Gentiles.

You know, this is unheard of what Jesus is doing, the people that he's welcoming into his flock.

You know, so last week we saw Jesus start to explain who his sheep are.

And he said that his sheep not only know him, but he knows them.

And he desires that they know him like he knows the Father.

Which should blow our minds.

Because think about that for a second.

Jesus and the Father are one.

And that's the whole concept, I think, of abiding.

Because Jesus wants that same oneness that he has with the Father.

He wants that oneness with us.

And that's a theme that we're going to continue to see today as we go on into our text.

And here's what I think we can glean from this specific passage here today.

So us here, Jesus' sheep that are here, right here in this room this morning.

I think the first thing that we can take away is to understand the importance of knowing the good shepherd's voice.

And I think the second thing is how we can know his voice better.

So those are the things I hope we walk out of here with today.

The importance of Jesus' voice and how we can get to know his voice better.

So let's jump in here on verse 22.

It says, then the festival of dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's colonad.

So the festival of dedication is Hanukkah.

So this is taking place in either late November or early December on our calendar.

So there is basically about a two or three-month gap between verse 21 and verse 22, the verse that we started with here this morning.

Because the previous events happened at the Feast of Tabernacles, and now it's Hanukkah.

So we get that big jump just between that one verse right now.

And maybe you were reading this and you're looking at that word winter.

You might have gotten hung up on that.

How could it be winter and late November, early December?

Well, winter here can also mean foul weather.

So it could be John's intent to just say it was at Hanukkah and it was foul weather.

We don't know for sure though.

But then timeline-wise, as we're looking at the life of Jesus and his ministry, Jesus' death is coming in the spring from this time.

So at Passover.

So it's not that far off.

We're, you know, in November, December, and it's coming in the spring.

So there's only a handful of months left for Jesus before the crucifixion.

So Jesus walks into the temple, it's Hanukkah, probably foul weather.

Look at verse 24.

And the Jews surrounded him and asked.

Just stop right there, real quick.

You know, this is interesting because it doesn't even say that Jesus was teaching.

You know, a lot of times he's teaching and then they confront him.

It says that he was walking in Solomon's colonnade and they surrounded him.

They were waiting, it looks like, to pounce on him.

You know, they don't approach him and start talking, they surround him.

You know, this seems like an aggressive move on their part.

And then they ask, look at the second half of verse 24, how long are you going to keep us in suspense?

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.

And I don't think Jesus did this, but maybe on the inside he was just saying, I cannot believe that they are asking this question right now.

Why were they trying to stone him all of this time?

Because he had been telling them and doing things and showing them that he was the Messiah.

But I'm wondering, you know, maybe Jesus hasn't been there in a couple months.

I'm wondering if these religious leaders are just trying to get something fresh to accuse him of so it doesn't look like they're just stoning an innocent man as he walks into the temple.

Maybe they're trying to stir up a fresh mob mentality of the people that are in the temple and that are watching this.

I don't know exactly, but they're just trying to get something fresh out of Jesus, it looks like, so they can accuse him once again of blasphemy.

So Jesus responds, look at verse 25.

I did tell you, and you don't believe.

Jesus answered them.

Like what I was just saying, he tried many times to open their spiritual eyes from the blindness, their spiritual blindness that they were in the midst of.

He's spoken so many times in the temple.

He's claimed oneness with God.

He's gone as far as to say before Abraham was I am.

He told them a couple months prior, in the beginning of chapter 10, that he is the good shepherd.

And he told them that they are blind to these things.

And if you remember that his words have no place of entrance into them.

And they have the nerve to ask, so how long are you going to keep us in suspense?

You know, if you are the Messiah, why don't you just tell us plainly?

I think Jesus is just like, oh my gosh.

So at this point, they're only proving that it doesn't really matter what he says, doesn't it?

You know, I picture it like trying to plant a lawn on a concrete slab.

The seeds just keep bouncing off.

There's no place for the seeds to penetrate, and they just dry up and they dry out before they even get a chance to germinate.

Their hearts are already hardened to Jesus' words.

So Jesus will tell them, hey, if you can't, you know, believe my words, then look at my works.

Look at the second half of verse 25.

The works that I do in my Father's name testify, or they bear witness about me, he said.

You know, Jesus' signs and miracles were to assure people that he is from God.

They were to back up his words, his message to give physical illustrations of the spiritual things that he was teaching.

You know, his works were fulfilling all the prophecies that we see in Isaiah about what the Messiah would do.

Like opening the eyes of the blind or the ears of the deaf or healing the lame.

And if anyone should know those prophecies, it should be these accusers that are accusing him.

Shouldn't it be?

These religious leaders of Israel.

You know, Jesus already told them in chapter 5, verse 36, these very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent me.

So why don't they believe all that they have heard and witnessed?

Look at verse 26.

But you don't believe, because you are not my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice.

I know them and they follow me.

He's repeating what he said months ago in the first half of chapter 10 about his sheep knowing his voice and him knowing them.

They refuse to hear and follow his voice because he's not their shepherd.

Because they have not allowed him to be their shepherd.

You know, I've raised sheep since I was a kid, and now my kids are raising sheep all through 4-H.

You know, and when you get those lambs, when you first buy them from their owner, uh, you first get those lambs to raise them for the fares, it takes a little while for them to begin to trust you.

You know, when you uh when you feed them at first, you walk up to the pen and they run as far away from you as they can.

They huddle back in the corner because they don't trust you yet.

But it doesn't take long for them to recognize you and for them to recognize your voice as the one that feeds them and cares for them and the one that spends time with them and the one that protects them.

And then once that is established, and they start to understand who you are, they start to run up to the fence in excitement when they see you or hear you coming.

And then they let you freely start to pet them and handle them and care for them and treat their ailments and pick the foxtails out of their coat.

And the more you care for and you handle them, the more gentle and the more trusting they become with you.

As you earn their trust and they see that you are good.

But sheep are really jumpy animals.

They're easily scared, they're easily shook up.

And then once they're shook up, they're really hard to calm down.

Now, when Jesus calls us his sheep, it's not like, oh, my cute and cuddly lambs.

I mean, they can be like that, but sheep are dumb.

It was not a compliment when Jesus called us sheep.

They're not the sharpest animal in the barnyard.

And they can't take care of themselves.

And they don't have any defense mechanisms.

You know, they'll eat in the same spot until it's just dirt and then wonder where the food went.

If they don't have a shepherd, they're gonna eventually die.

They need to be taken care of.

But you know what they tell you when your sheep is shook up and your sheep is frightened?

You talk to them.

You let them hear your voice.

You soothe them with your voice because they know the voice of their shepherd, and they trust their shepherd if they have a good shepherd that they can trust.

In 27, it says, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me, because his sheep can trust him.

You know, when you first get these sheep, they hate having a halter on.

You you know, you gotta like pull on them and just yank on them.

They dig their their feet in when you're trying to exercise them or move them from place to place.

You know, when you first get them home, just getting them from the trailer to the pin, like you'll be sore tomorrow.

Like, I'm not even joking.

That's happened like pretty much every time we've gotten sheep, it's like a wrestling match with them because they just they don't trust and they're freaked out, and you're just yanking on that halter trying to get them into their pin.

But once they realize you're there to help them and feed them and protect them and care for them, then they let you lead them.

To where within a month or so their halter lead goes from like this to slack.

You don't have to pull on them anymore.

You know, it's from this tight rope that you're pulling them around on to, a rope that rarely has tension on it anymore.

They'll naturally stay one step beside you or one step behind you wherever you walk, allowing their shepherd to lead them with no tension on the halter anymore.

They just want to be with you.

They want to be next to you, and wherever you're going, they want to go as well.

They feel safe and provided for and protected when they are with the shepherd, so they want to stay with the shepherd.

That's why Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

You know, I think in all of this, there's a parenting lesson as well.

Because there's a difference between a lamb that's born with a shepherd and a lamb that's not born with a shepherd.

You know, these sheep that we get for the fares, they aren't really shepherded before we get them.

You know, they're a bit wild.

They're more like livestock because they are livestock, that's what we're raising them for.

But a sheep that is born into a flock where their mother and father is being shepherded well, they take on the trust of the good shepherd that their parents have.

You know, if you as parents are followers of Christ and you trust and you follow the Good Shepherd, and that is demonstrated to your kids, they learn from your example.

You know, well, mom and dad trust this person, so I guess I can too.

You know, their faith in the Good Shepherd is built by watching your faith and what they witness in your relationship with the Good Shepherd.

You know, I think it's just another reason to follow Jesus closely because your kids are watching.

Jesus goes on, look at verse 28.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.

No one will snatch them out of your hand.

You know, I only know sheep, if I'm being honest, in the context of feeding them, caring for them, protecting them until they're butchered.

That's what 4-H really is, you know.

But that's what these shepherds of sheep were doing in Israel at the same time as well.

They were raising these sheep for sacrifices and some of them for food, and some of them for their wool.

But that's not what Jesus does to his sheep.

Instead, he gives them eternal life.

Think about it this way.

He was butchered so we wouldn't have to be.

So, this can be foreign, and you know, if you've never raised sheep or anything, but I want you to place yourself in modern day, say you're driving home from church here in a Tascadero, and you're driving by a pasture next to somebody's house in front of their house, whatever it might be, and you look out, and you're like, oh, look at the sheep.

But then you see this ferocious mountain lion, and it just jumps on one of those sheep and it's attacking it.

Would you stop your car and run out into the pasture and pick up a rock and a stick and get in between that mountain lion and that sheep?

I think most of us would be like, poor sheep.

But King David had the heart after God's own heart, and he intervened on his sheep's behalf.

Jesus said, No one will snatch them out of my hand.

And he laid down his life to ensure that.

You know, as a side note, the word snatch that we see right here, it's the same word used in Thessalonians 4.17 for caught up, speaking of the rapture.

Think about this.

The enemy won't snatch us from Jesus' hand, but Jesus will snatch us from this world.

That's the kind of shepherd that we have.

Jesus goes on, look at verse 29.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.

No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

I and the Father are one.

You know, I think if any of you have ever struggled or known somebody that struggled with the security or the assurance of their salvation, I think these words should be so comforting to you.

You know, to me it's so sad to see somebody that believes in Jesus and desires so much to follow him and to be one with him, then they fall into a trial or they commit a sin and then they wonder if they're still saved.

Like that just grieves my heart when people, you know, come to that point.

You see, when you're in the fold of God and you're following the Good Shepherd, no one and nothing is able to snatch you out of the Father's hand.

You know, here's what I've observed.

If you're a follower of Christ, if you are concerned with what God thinks and your salvation, and you're desiring and trying to abide in Christ, you're saved.

Even when your sin and struggle and trials come up, and you start to wonder, those things cannot snatch you out of the hand of the good shepherd.

Here's another way to think about it.

For you parents out there.

You may have a kid, you know, a little kid living with you, um, a little toddler, say, a young child, and they're being careless, and they accidentally drop a glass of milk in the kitchen, and it shatters, the milk goes everywhere, and they make a huge, dangerous mess in your kitchen.

Would you ever want your child to think, man, I messed up so bad, I wonder if my parents still love me.

I wonder if they're gonna still let me live here.

I wonder if they will still call me their child and if I can still call them my father and mother.

You know, there might be consequences for their carelessness, but you would never want them to doubt that relationship or love, would you?

Not if you're good parents.

You would never want them to doubt your love.

You'd never want them to doubt the security of their relationship with you or the future of their relationship with you based on a careless mistake that they accidentally made.

You know, it's the same with our Heavenly Father.

We're gonna mess up, we're going to be careless.

But he's a loving father that doesn't let go.

No one, it says, is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Or think about it this way.

You know, when my kids were young and we were in public places or crossing the street, I can't even remember how many times I said, hold my hand, hold my hand, hold my hand, hold my hand, right?

Trying to keep them safe.

Why?

Because if they saw something shiny, you know, they're just off.

They needed to have that hand being held.

Now, a question for you.

Was my confidence in their safety based on them holding on to me or me holding on to them?

My confidence was in me holding on to them.

No one, it says, is able to snatch them out of the father's hand.

You know, and in those times where we may try our best to escape his grasp and choose to wander, the good shepherd will still go after us.

Just like I would go after my kid if we're in a public place and I saw him running off.

That's what Jesus is saying about his sheep.

We are the Father's sheep.

He's saying that about us.

Because look at verse 30.

Jesus says, I and the Father are one.

Meaning they are one in essence.

They're their own person within the Trinity, but one God, one essence.

The Jewish leaders know exactly what Jesus just said.

They got what they were looking for.

They got that fresh accusation against Jesus, that he's calling himself equal with God.

So, look at verse 31.

Again, the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.

Seems like that's their course of action every time they lose an argument, isn't it?

Verse 32.

Jesus replied, I have shown you many good works from the Father.

For which of these works are you stoning me?

You know, this goes back again to verse 25.

For what good works do you want to kill me?

You know, Jesus is kind of asking, you know, is it when I healed the blind man or the lame?

Or cast out demons?

Or healed the paralyzed, or the guy with the withered hand?

Was it when I raised Lazarus from the dead?

It's like, which one is it?

Like, which one are you going to try and kill me for?

So they reply, verse 33, we aren't stoning you for a good work, the Jews answered, but for blasphemy, because you being a man, make yourself God.

You know, it seems they're expecting the Messiah to be a little more angelic, aren't they?

You know, maybe that they thought the Messiah, in all reality, maybe they thought he was going to show up with white robes and, you know, with a trumpet announcing every time he entered a room or entered into a city.

Sounds like they were expecting the Jesus of the transfiguration in all of his glory.

Not a humble man of no form or comeliness.

You know, and Jesus is sitting there being both at the same time, fully God and fully man.

And that's just not computing in their heads.

You know, like I said, it's like the seeds bouncing off the concrete is Jesus' words to them at this time.

Look at verse 34.

Jesus answered them, Isn't it written in your law, I said you are gods.

Little G gods.

You know, this may seem really strange, that the first pass, you know, when we're first reading this, but the easiest way to look at this is to just plug in the word judge for gods.

You know, this is an Old Testament word that could be used for capital G God, for the one true God, but also for little G gods, but also for judges, and also for mighty ones.

So it's a word that kind of covered a vast uh amount of titles.

So it's a term used for God, but also for those that God allowed to be elevated on his behalf as judges and leaders and mighty ones within Israel.

Think like modern day in a courtroom, what do we call the judge?

Your honor, right?

Back then it was these little g God would have been the title for these guys.

So it's a term used for those in authority over God's people.

Just like the religious leaders that Jesus is talking to.

And all of this is coming from Psalm 82, verses 6 through 7, where it's talking about the judges of Israel.

Psalms 82:6–7

And it says, I said, You are gods.

You are all sons of the Most High.

However, so here's the humanity, you will die like humans and fall like any other ruler.

Basically, you're not immortal because God has given you a place of authority.

So Jesus is saying, you are okay with men in authority being called gods.

In fact, they were probably okay with people calling them little g gods.

So Jesus' argument is, why are you upset if the Messiah calls himself a man and a capital G God?

That's what he's getting across to them.

He continues on with his argument in verse 35.

He says, If he calls those to whom the word of God came gods, and the scripture cannot be broken, do you say you are blaspheming to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world?

Because I said, I am the Son of God.

You know, if these guys in front of him could be called little G gods because of their position, then the Son of God, who is set apart by God and sent into the world by God, who happens to also be the capital G God, he should be called God.

And notice they never once questioned Jesus' humanity.

Because they had the humanity right in front of them.

But it seems they think he was too human to be a capital G God.

So Jesus is using the Word of God to show them that their argument is broken.

The Word of God is not broken, their argument is broken.

So Jesus says in verse 37, If I'm not doing my father's works, don't believe me.

But if I am doing them and you don't believe me, believe the works.

This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.

Really, what he's saying is the proof is in the pudding.

You know, if Jesus was a blasphemer, he'd be exalting himself.

But instead, God is doing the exalting in him and for him.

You know, if he was demon-possessed, he'd be doing evil and leading others to destruction.

But he's bringing hope and he's bringing healing and he's bringing life.

If he was a sinner, they would be able to bring at least one accusation of sin against him that's actually found in God's law, not their own law.

But they can't.

They have nothing to bring against him, and only have good works to judge him by.

So they, look at verse 39.

Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

We've been seeing this a lot in John.

Somehow, we don't know exactly, he gets away, and they're not able to grasp onto him or corner him or hold on to him because it was not Jesus' time.

Again, he was able to slip away from them, and they couldn't do anything about it.

But look at what Jesus' true followers did.

Look at verse 40.

So he departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.

Many came to him and said, John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true, and many believed in him there.

So this is John the Baptist that's being referred to here.

He's the one that came before the Messiah to pave the way for the Messiah.

And I wonder if Jesus chose this spot specifically to remind them of John and the things John did, and the things John said regarding him.

So that, you know, in verse 42, so that could take place.

Many believed in him there.

And this is the believe that means trust, to place your faith in something.

You know, many came to that believing faith in Jesus.

Their eyes were opened spiritually, and they became a part of Jesus' flock as well.

This group of religious leaders wouldn't allow the word of God to penetrate their hearts.

But many in this crowd that can probably be described as simple or uneducated compared to these religious leaders, they allow the word of God to penetrate their heart.

And as a result, they came to faith in Jesus, like hopefully all of us here today.

These people understood and accepted the love of the Good Shepherd.

They heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and they followed him.

That's the first step of following the Good Shepherd.

Having that attitude of, you know, Jesus, I heard you, I've seen you in the things you do, and now I trust you.

That's the believing faith we're talking about.

But there is a trust faith that needs to continue to grow after that as well.

That only comes from spending more and more time with the Good Shepherd.

Spending more and more time hearing his voice.

And if you're asking, you know, what his voice sounds like, you're holding it in your hands right now.

It's the word of God.

Jesus is the word of God.

Remember the opening of John that we went through?

The word of God is Jesus' voice given to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

And now the Holy Spirit is inside of us to be his voice and to speak that word back to us as our counselor.

Jesus left us his voice.

We're holding it right now.

You know, read the word.

Walk by the Spirit and watch what happens.

When we know his voice, we experience his goodness.

And that ends up being the only place that we want to be.

Right in step with him.

Just following, no tension in the halter.

Just wanting to stay so close that we're just step for step with him.

You know, and if we're being honest, there's gonna be moments where we tug on the halter, huh?

Because we're stubborn.

There's gonna be moments where we're gonna squirm because Jesus wants to remove a painful foxtail, or he wants to shear our wool, or he has to rub some ointment in our eyes because there's an infection or bandage of painful wound, whatever it might be.

But as we trust him more and more, it's when that's when we realize that everything that he does is for our own good.

It's for our benefit.

Even when we squirm and we want to put tension on that halter, the longer we walk with him, the more we realize we just need to stay with him and stop pulling on that halter.

Because there's no better place for us to be as the sheep of the good shepherd than to be right with him step for step.

He desires oneness with you.

And even if you're not his sheep, he desires you to become one of his sheep.

He wants to be your good shepherd.

You know, he already laid down his life for you.

And you simply need to accept the invitation to come join his flock and follow him.

You simply need to say, I believe, Lord, and follow and abide in him.

Will you pray with me?

Jesus, we're never gonna be able to grasp the fullness of your love, the side of eternity.

But I pray each day we would grasp a little bit more.

That we would walk a little bit closer, that we would realize that everything you do is for our own good, and you always have what's best in mind for us.

So, Lord, I pray that you would help us in those moments where we instinctively want to freak out and start pulling on that halter, that we would realize it just means we need to get one step closer to you, to cling to you a little tighter, to abide even closer to you.

So, would you help us in those moments to not run, Lord, but to cling to you as our good shepherd.

We thank you that you've loved us so much that you were butchered on the cross so that we wouldn't have to be.

That you took our place, that you were the perfect sacrifice, the only one that could do it.

Fully God, fully man.

And you stood in our place in that time.

We thank you so much that you loved us that much and you continue to love us and you continue for us to become more and more one with you as you are one with the Father.

Lord, whatever it is in our life that we need to lay down at your feet right now, whatever it is that that causes us to pull on that altar, whatever it is that makes us want to run and to wander away from you, Lord, I pray today that we would surrender those things.

We would lay those things down at your feet, that we would repent of those things, and that that would no longer be a part of our life.

That we would continue to cling to you and to abide in you, and that those old things that made us wander and pull away from you would become disgusting to us.

So, Lord, help us to lay those things down.

Teach us how to abide closer and closer to you on a daily basis, we pray.

And Lord, if there's anybody here that is not one of your sheep, I pray that you would put it on their heart to say, I believe, and to follow you.

Lord, to confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that you are Lord and that you are sent by the Father for our sins.

God, we love you so much.

Have your way in our hearts this morning, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.