JOHN 10

John 10:1-39
Good morning. If you have your Bible, please turn to John chapter 10. We are going to study a very familiar & comforting passage of Scripture this morning. John chapter 10 (if you don’t know) is the good shepherd chapter.
The Bible gives us so many pictures to help us grasp who Jesus is, but can you think of a more comforting description of Jesus than the good shepherd? I led a graveside service for a dear friend earlier this week. Those are holy moments & few words are sufficient in time like that. But Psalm 23 fits the occasion perfectly. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod & your staff the comfort me. | When Laura & I got married 17 years ago, the song that we wanted at our wedding was “Savior like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care.” We wanted Jesus to guide our marriage. | (Kid’s book?)
When we say that Jesus is our good shepherd, we mean that he protects us. He guides us. He provides for us. He calms our anxious souls. John 10 is such a rich passage because for the entire chapter – all 42 verses – Jesus will explain what he means when he says that he is the good shepherd. These are some of the richest promises in the Bible.
John 10 is one of the most comforting messages that Jesus ever preached. You would expect that at the end of the chapter, the crowds would (no pun intended) flock to Jesus & put their trust in him. But that is – surprisingly – not the reaction that you find in the text. In v6, the Pharisees were confused by his analogy. In v19, a division had broken out, & some of the Pharisees said that he was insane & had a demon! By v31, the Pharisees were so angry that they literally picked up stones to execute him.
This is the good shepherd chapter. Jesus said some hard things to the Pharisees throughout his ministry. He called them a brood of vipers & told them that Sodom & Gomorrah would have it easier in the judgment. You could understand if they picked up stones to kill him after those speeches. But this is the good shepherd chapter. What in the world is going on? Perhaps there is more to this metaphor than meets the eye. Perhaps Jesus is more than a gentle shepherd with a weak smile & soft hands. I want to make the case this morning that the good shepherd metaphor is way more offensive than we realize because Jesus is saying way more than we realize. But because of that, it is more comforting than we could possibly imagine. Jesus will make God-sized claims about himself and that will offend the Pharisees. But these God-sized claims will lead to God-sized promises for you & me.
We will be all over the chapter this morning, but for now, let’s read the first 11 verses.
[1] “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. [2] But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus has 2 goals in this text. He wants to let people know who he is, and what he provides. This will serve as our outline this morning. Who Jesus Is. What Jesus Provides.
First, who is Jesus? If you know anything about the book of John, it is structured around 7 “I Am” statements. I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world; I am the resurrection & the life. John wants us to know who Jesus is. John 10 is unique because Jesus packed 2 of the I Am statements in the same paragraph. In vs. 7 & 9 he said that he was the door (or the gate) for the sheep, and in vs. 11 & 14 he said that he was the good shepherd.
Is this what Jesus is doing? Is he mixing up his metaphors in the shepherding world, & trusting that we’ll be able to work it out? That’s not how Scripture works. We need to drill deeper & explore these images, because I believe that Jesus is making the same shocking point with 2 separate pictures. This will help us understand why they picked up stones.
The gates of the temple were significant. This is where God’s people entered into God’s presence. So, when Jesus said (standing in the temple) that he was the gate for the sheep, he was making an astonishing claim. Worshippers would no longer access God through the temple gates; they would access God through this man who stood before them. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said that he was the gate. Jesus was blowing up the entire system.
The good shepherd image is just as offensive. Now, this seems like the least offensive analogy Jesus could have made, until you realize that he was quoting one of the most fiery sermons in the OT, from the great prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel 34 would have been well known to his audience. It was a blistering critique of the self-serving “shepherds” who led the nation of Israel. They had terrorized the sheep that God had placed in their care. Instead of feeding the sheep, they fed on the sheep. Instead of protecting them, they got fat & rich literally off the backs of the sheep. Here’s a sample of that sermon. – [10] Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
The whole thing is stunning. As a pastor, there are few passages that terrify me more than this one. God was fed up with the self-serving leadership of his people, so in Ezekiel 34 he promised to come himself as a shepherd to rescue his sheep from these wicked leaders. When Jesus declared he was the good shepherd, they knew what he was saying.
Perhaps you are beginning to see why this produced so much rage from the Pharisees. They didn’t pick up stones because he mixed metaphors! When Jesus said he was the good shepherd, he was not claiming to be some weak, non-threatening figure on the fringes of society. He was claiming to be God. He was doing things only God could do & saying things only God could say. He was greater than the temple. He was the very source of salvation! I told you this was way more offensive than we typically think!
But now that we have established this, I want to move to the 2nd point of our outline, because when we understand who the good shepherd is we can fully appreciate what the good shepherd provides. His God-sized claims spill over into God-sized promises. Let’s spend the next few minutes considering what Jesus offers his people. Verses 9-10 are the key. Let’s read these again – [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The primary gift that Jesus offers his sheep is life. But as amazing as the word life is, it wasn’t enough to capture all that Jesus meant. So, he qualified it: I have come that they may have abundant life. But if you can imagine, it gets even better. Later in the chapter, he will qualify it again. Look at vv27 – [27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. [30] I and the Father are one.”
The good shepherd came to bring his sheep life. Abundant life. Eternal life. Now, on one hand, the promise of life is not unique to Christianity. Every religion & every philosophy exists to bring its people life. If you follow this set of rules & regulations, you will live. If you obey these passions & desires, that’s where you’ll find the good life. Every system, no matter how good or bad it is, promises life. Every person in this room is trying to figure out the best way to live.
But the life that Jesus offers is profoundly different than any other system. Jesus does not simply present the best vision of life in a competing marketplace of ideas; he offers a profoundly different vision of what life is. And it is directly connected to who he is. Because the good shepherd came from beyond our world, he can offer his sheep a life that is not tied to this world. This is why Jesus calls it eternal life. Let me briefly summarize 2 important details of this abundant life that the good shepherd brings. This is the nature of the Christian life.
First, abundant life is found in a person, not a place. It’s not about what; it’s about who. Throughout this chapter, Jesus will hardly refer to the physical benefits of salvation, as if life were found in the quality of the pasture or the ease of the sheep’s life. Those details are there, and they are important, but they’re not the point. They’re not the source of life. Instead, Jesus will focus almost exclusively on his relationship with the sheep because this is where life is located. He says over & over that the sheep hear his voice. The shepherd knows the sheep intimately & calls them each by name. The sheep do not listen to the voice of a stranger; they only listen to the shepherd’s voice. According to John 10, abundant life is not found in stuff; it is found in the shepherd. (Life is unthinkable apart from the shepherd).
Here's the 2nd detail: Abundant life is found in the death of Christ. Jesus stresses this point throughout the chapter, so we must pay attention to it. In some mysterious way, our life is directly tied to his death. Look at vs. 11 again. – [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He will say this on 2 or 3 other occasions.
Jesus is the good shepherd because he lays down his life for the sheep. He does not abuse the sheep like the religious leaders. And he does not run at the first sign of danger like the hired hand! The good shepherd died so his sheep can live! Our life was purchased by his sacrificial love. It’s amazing.
This should radically reshape our vision of what abundant life is. If our entry point into abundant life is the death of Christ, our lives will be marked with humility & repentance. Humility is not a one-time entry fee to the Christian life. If the only time you ever repented of your sins was the day you got saved, you do not understand what the good life is. The good life is humility. The good life is laying down your weapons. The good life is thinking less about yourself. As soon as we graduate beyond a life of humility, and begin to focus on ourselves & our dreams, we leave all the promises that the good shepherd provides. We were purchased by his blood, & no longer belong to ourselves. Humility is the good life.
Giving is the good life. I think there are so many Christians who have never grasped this. They are holding on to some vision of their old life & they refuse to let it go. They want to be happy on their own terms, and they are frustrated at Jesus because he isn’t helping them. But if they can find the grace to plant that old life in the ground, and die to old dreams, and give up their selfish, Christ-less pursuits of happiness, I believe that they would experience the power of the resurrection and new life would grow.
Let me summarize. Jesus is our good shepherd, and he offers us abundant & eternal life. This life is not found in stuff; it’s found in a relationship with him. The abundant life is humble & generous because it came into existence through the death of Christ. That’s the good life. I told you at the beginning of the sermon that this is way more comforting than we typically think. But it’s a different type of comfort, isn’t it? The good shepherd gives us abundant life, but that doesn’t mean that we will be free from troubles & that everything will go according to plan. It means that our lives are wrapped up in his eternal arms, and nothing can take us away from him. Jesus promised us that no one can snatch us out of his hands. We are safe in the hands of Jesus.  
I also told you that these words are more challenging than we typically imagine. In v.39, the Pharisees had heard enough. They made a move to arrest Jesus, but – very ironically – he slipped out of their hands. I think this was a final jab at the weak and insecure leadership of these thieves who were preying on God’s sheep. They have no power. If you try to put your faith in anything you find here on this earth, it will always let you down.
Friends, there is no one like Jesus, our good shepherd. Only he can give us abundant & eternal life! Let’s pray.
John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
This is the first Sunday of the month, which means that we get to celebrate communion together. If you have a relationship with Christ, we invite you to participate with us. I hope you were able to get the elements on your way in, but if not, we have some ushers who will bring you some. 
As we turn to the table, let me remind you of the quote I gave earlier. “As long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us.” This meal is a powerful symbol of our communion with the Triune God. We have been united with Christ, and this meal represents our oneness.
Now, how does that happen? It’s a mystery. There are some traditions that believe that the bread and juice become the body and blood of Jesus, or that Christ is somehow physically present in the elements. We do not find that view in the Bible, so we do not hold that. And yet, that doesn’t mean that Christ is far off & distant off from. We really are united with him, and his life is ours. The bread & the juice are powerful & meaningful symbols of our communion with him. Because we have an intimate relationship with the Lord, let us quiet our hearts before him & listen to the voice of our good shepherd.
Take the bread and hold it in your hand. I will read from 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
[23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Let us eat together.
Take the cup. 
[25] In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Let us drink together.