The Good Shepherd

[0:00] Well, Mark sets the scene for the telling of this event by noting how the disciples had recently returned from their evangelistic mission. You remember from our study earlier in the chapter, Jesus had sent the apostles out on their first kind of mini mission, and they were going about the regions of Galilee, and they were preaching his word, and they were performing his works.

[0:25] That's important. They were doing it in his name, and that's exactly what the focus of their mission was. They preached the gospel of the kingdom, and they performed the works that Jesus had given them authority to do, casting out demons and healing the sick and so on.

[0:40] And as a result of that, the name of Jesus spread even further than it had already spread. In fact, last week, we realized that the name of Jesus spread all the way to the courts of King Herod, or King Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea.

[0:56] And Mark uses the arrest and death and execution of John the Baptist really as a way of reflecting the passing of time. And now he's returning back to this issue of the disciples' mission as they are now gathering back to Jesus.

[1:13] And so if you're just really kind of outlining or sketching out what's actually happening in this chapter, Jesus teaches the lesson in Nazareth about rejection, and then he sends the disciples out, and he gives them the instructions there.

[1:25] And then Mark kind of reflects this passing of time, and he tells this story about John the Baptist, how he was arrested and how he was put to death, and how King Herod was struggling over who exactly Jesus was.

[1:35] Well, now that he's finished that particular story, he's returning to the disciples. The time has passed. Their limited time for their mission has passed, and they're gathering back to Jesus. And as they gather back to Jesus, there's really two things that they're doing.

[1:49] They're reporting, and they're resorting. They're reporting, and they're resorting. Let's first look at their reporting in verse 30. The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

[2:05] So you can probably imagine the excitement on the faces of these men as they gather back, and they're reunited with Jesus. They're reunited with one another. And you can imagine the stories that they begin to tell.

[2:18] Excitement about all that God had done through them in preaching the gospel, the people that they were able to heal in the name of Jesus, and the demons they were able to have authority over because of the authority that Jesus had given them.

[2:31] Perhaps even stories of rejection and the times that they did actually have to shake off the dust from their garments and pronounce judgment on a particular town or a particular group of people.

[2:43] Great excitement as they come back, and they begin to report, this is what happened as we were out accomplishing the will of Jesus. And we see that this pattern of reporting is actually clear in the New Testament.

[2:57] It wouldn't only happen in this case. It's actually a very natural thing. As we get into the later New Testament books in the book of Acts, we see the apostle Paul in particular and the other people who ministered with him occasionally and periodically circling back around to their home churches.

[3:13] And what were they doing? They were reporting and resorting, taking time for rest, reporting on all the work that God was doing in other places. And missionaries do that still today.

[3:25] They send letters or maybe videos or maybe they go on furlough assignments and they go around to some of the churches to which they've been connected to report on this is what God is doing. These are the blessings that we have seen as a result of his hand.

[3:38] These are the protections that he has given despite the difficulty, and they report back on what God is doing. And then we understand that God has built this into the fabric of the church.

[3:51] That it doesn't just relate to those who are missionaries and those who are going out on particular missions for the gospel's sake. This actually applies to each one of us.

[4:02] Think about this. Our time of gathering Sunday by Sunday, there should be some type of element of excitement to which we're gathering back again with the people of God in order to excitedly share with them what God is doing in us and what God is doing through us.

[4:22] In fact, we should be so engaged in gospel mission throughout the week that every time we gather back together, there is more to share. There is more about who we have been able to witness to the gospel with and how God has blessed our lives and how he's using our lives.

[4:38] The difficulties maybe that we're going through and that we're trusting God for. But how seldom does that actually happen? We don't have a lot of reports to give. And sometimes it may just be out of timidity.

[4:51] Sometimes it may be because we're not really all that engaged throughout the week in what God has called us to do. There's not really anything to report. I think about it. If this became the fabric of the culture of Lakeside Bible Church, every week as we're gathering, we're sharing what God is doing.

[5:09] We're talking of God's work in our lives and his work through our lives. And it becomes an encouragement in God's mission. It becomes exhortation for others to be involved in God's mission.

[5:21] It helps us know how to pray for one another because our lives are not just about what we want to do. Our lives are about Jesus and what he has called us to do.

[5:33] And why wouldn't we talk about that? So they're reporting and they're reporting excitedly. And then they're resorting. Look with me at verse 31. And he said to them, come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.

[5:48] For many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat. And so despite the excitement from the reports, they were weary. They were tired.

[6:00] Crowds were continuing to press upon them insofar as they were unable to even have a meal. They couldn't stop even for just a few minutes to sit down and eat some bread.

[6:11] And it's a helpful reminder to us as if we need the reminder that life in the church at times can be draining, can't it? These men are weary. They're tired. They're tired.

[6:22] And they have no moment for a break. But then we see Jesus is not a heavy-handed taskmaster, is he? He understood the men's exhaustion.

[6:34] And he insisted that they withdraw for a while to rest. We can't pass this up. But I want you to notice the two components of this rest.

[6:48] They were to be with Jesus. And they were to go to a quiet place of solitude. Now, the intention of this from Jesus' perspective was not to give these men a vacation.

[7:05] That's not what this is about. It's not that we go, and of course, I'm not saying that we shouldn't vacate. We need to do those things. We need to do that. God cares about our physical rest.

[7:17] Certainly does. That's why he's given us a Sabbath. And we need to understand that. But that's not what Jesus is doing here. He's not saying, you guys have been working hard. Let's go for a week to the beach. Okay, that's not what he's saying.

[7:28] Here's the rest that they needed. They needed to be with him. And they needed to be with him alone. James Edwards said this. The gathering of the disciples to Jesus means that in the midst of business and busyness, they are accountable to him alone.

[7:46] And the greater the demands on them, the greater their need to be alone with Jesus. So don't miss the lesson here. We regularly need quiet solitude with Jesus.

[8:02] Jesus, no effort in this life, no matter how noble it may be, should ever prevent us from nurturing our personal walk and fellowship with God.

[8:14] And if we're not careful, busyness will very quickly become the enemy of spiritual growth. And even good and necessary things like work and parenting and even ministry can devolve into forms of idolatry when we allow those things to become the priority even over our personal walk with the Savior.

[8:39] We need to resort daily in solitude with Jesus. We need time in his word. We need time in prayer. And we need to make that time.

[8:50] We need to find rest in the weekly gathering of God's people. That's a part of what our worship is. It's a time of spiritual rest. Perhaps even it would do some of us good to take a day off and go away somewhere for the sole purpose of spending time with Jesus.

[9:11] to spend time in his word and time in prayer and not do anything else but refresh ourselves in our Savior.

[9:22] And it was in this pursuit of this rest that the story unfolds here. And Mark writes in verse 34 that when Jesus saw these people, he viewed them as if they were sheep without a shepherd.

[9:36] And that's the lens through which I want to view the main body of this text. that Jesus is the good shepherd that all of us desperately need. And so let's look at it together.

[9:48] Number one, the good shepherd cares for the sheep. The good shepherd cares for the sheep. Look with me at verse 32. They went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

[10:00] Many saw them going and recognized them. And they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

[10:15] And he began to teach them many things. And we often think of these voyages on the Sea of Galilee as if they are being taken across the open waters, literally crossing the entire length or breadth of the lake.

[10:29] And there are certainly times in the scripture where we can be confident that that is the case. However, most of the time, these small fishing vessels, as they're traveling from town to town, maybe perhaps more than anything else, just to get off their feet, they would follow the shallow shorelines of the Sea of Galilee or the Lake of Galilee.

[10:48] Luke tells us that they were actually specifically heading toward the area around Bethsaida. And so Bethsaida is just northeast of Capernaum.

[10:59] And it's reasonable for us to conclude based on the movements of Jesus and his disciples at this point, that where they started was somewhere southwest of Capernaum. And Capernaum is right, almost directly north of the lake.

[11:11] And so you can imagine they're somewhere southwest of that. And they begin to follow the shallow waters of the shoreline, kind of around the top part of the lake, on their way to a desolate place near Bethsaida.

[11:24] And as they're going past these towns, these fishing villages, particularly Capernaum, where Jesus had really set up his home base, as they pass through these areas, people began to recognize who it was.

[11:36] And they started to follow them on the shore. Now the topography of the Galilean region made this easy for them to do. So as the ship is slowly maybe sailing the shallows, more and more people realize and recognize who it is because they've been following him for some time now.

[11:51] And they begin to follow along on the shore, just waiting for him to stop somewhere. And as they go from town to town and from village to village, more people add to the mass of people. And it just becomes this huge crowd.

[12:03] And as they sailed along and they got closer and closer to the regions of Bethsaida, the crowd really grows considerably. And so it's at the point where they're actually waiting on the shore, not because they knew where Jesus and these men were going, but they just literally followed them.

[12:19] And the men had to stop somewhere. And wherever they were going to stop, there was going to be a whole lot of people. And so as they're traveling around, they get to the area. Thousands of people are now gathered to see Jesus.

[12:32] Now remember, the intention of this trip, at least from the disciples' perspective, was not to engage in ministry. They needed rest and solitude with Jesus.

[12:43] And I can imagine, because I know my own tendencies, that there were feelings of frustration that began to grow among these 12 disciples that were with Jesus.

[12:55] Now one option for them would have been just to keep sailing. Eventually, they're going to come to a place where it would be more difficult for those people to cross. And maybe they would eventually go so far as the people would just stop following.

[13:08] And perhaps that is what the disciples hoped that Jesus would do. Just keep sailing. Just keep sailing until we have a place where we can just be alone. But instead of passing on, Jesus was determined to minister to the people.

[13:23] Why? Mark says it was because of his heart of compassion. Because he cared for those people deeply.

[13:36] This word for compassion, it literally, it's the Greek word for guts. Like we could say that I love you with all my heart and it would be the equivalent of saying I love you with all my guts is how it would have, the nomenclature that they would have used in that particular time.

[13:50] When it says that he's moved with compassion at this moment, it's the fact that Jesus sees all these people on the shore, they're looking for him and he can't help but care compassionately for those people.

[14:01] He needed rest too. But when he saw them, he couldn't help but feel his heart move towards them. Feel his heart of compassion and those fires flare up once again in order to go to those people and serve those people and teach those people.

[14:16] Why? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. No one was leading them in truth. They didn't understand.

[14:27] They were all looking for the wrong things. They all said they were looking for the same thing, the Messiah, but they were all looking for it in the wrong places. They had a misunderstanding of what that really was and Jesus so moved with compassion towards them, abandons this moment of rest in order to go to these people and minister to them.

[14:46] Why? Because the good shepherd cares for his sheep. And there's not the only place in the Gospels that we see this language used. Matthew chapter 9, 36 through 38.

[15:00] Matthew wrote, when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them for they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. And in that compassion, he turns to his disciples and he says, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.

[15:18] Pray therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send more laborers into his harvest. One thing that we know everywhere Jesus goes is his heart of compassion.

[15:29] And his main concern in this compassion was that the people were not being led in truth. And there's this sense of overwhelming compassion was the product of his desire for them to know the truth of salvation and the truth of the kingdom of God.

[15:47] And we know this is the case because at the very end of the verse, his response to their need was to do what? Teach them. Teach them.

[16:00] When the disciples saw the crowd, they likely saw an obstacle to their rest. When Jesus saw the crowds, he saw another opportunity to preach the gospel and help the people.

[16:16] Why? Because he cares. He cares. Infinitely about our souls, he cares. He cares for you.

[16:27] It's not by happenstance that you sit in this service today when we come to a passage that specifically deals with the compassionate heart of our Savior.

[16:43] That's not by chance. You're here because he cares for you. You hear this message today because he cares for you. Because he has moved with compassion on you.

[16:58] And the compassion that he feels for you begins with your knowledge of the truth. He wants you to know the truth. The truth of who he is.

[17:09] The truth of how he alone can provide salvation and forgiveness and eternal life. Charles Weigel knew this well.

[17:21] He wrote about it in a song in 1932. You may know it. I'm sure you do. I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus. For I've found in him a friend so strong and true.

[17:37] I can tell you how he changed my life completely. He did something that no other friend could do. And what was it? Charles wrote. No one ever cared for me like Jesus.

[17:51] There's no other friend so kind as he. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. Oh how much he cares for me.

[18:07] If there's nothing else you get from this passage get this. He cares for you. And his main concern for you is not that you get a little bit of bread and a little bit of fish for lunch today.

[18:19] what he cares is that you understand who he is and that you would turn from your sin and that you would believe him and trust him for eternal life.

[18:30] For eternal life. That you would follow him as Lord. Without his care we'd all be without hope. But the good shepherd cares for the sheep.

[18:41] Secondly the good shepherd provides for the sheep. The good shepherd provides for the sheep. So these verses verses 35 to 41 really make up the main body of the narrative and I want to examine it with two headings in mind.

[18:57] First is a human crisis. A human crisis. Look with me at verse 35. And when it grew late his disciples came to him and said this is a desolate place and the hour is now late.

[19:10] Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. So at this point the teaching had probably gone on for several hours and a legitimate crisis was beginning to mount.

[19:26] Daylight was fleeting. It was probably about four in the afternoon this time of year somewhere around April. The sun would have gone down around six o'clock so we're somewhere in the middle to late afternoon.

[19:38] The disciples can tell that the day is coming to a close. They're in a remote place. There's no towns or villages near and there was no place for the people to get any food. So the disciples recognized a legitimate need but you can't help but get the feeling that this is more than about the need of the people.

[19:56] You get the sense that they saw this as a way to finally get these people to go away so that they could do what? Get the rest that they wanted and really that they needed. They knew as long as Jesus kept teaching the people were going to stick around.

[20:12] And so they come to Jesus interrupting whatever may have been going on and then they take more of a commanding role over Jesus and they instruct him on what they feel he needs to do at that moment.

[20:27] I don't want to disparage the disciples in a way that's unnecessary but I can't help but read this with flashbacks to chapter one. You remember in Capernaum when all of those people were coming to Jesus for healing and he healed people all throughout the night and he gets up super early the next morning before everybody else gets up and he goes into a solitary place to pray and then everybody is trying to find him and the disciples finally find him in order that they can control his movements and then he shocks them and he says no we're going to go to other towns because I came to teach and we need to go teach them also.

[21:00] And so we get flashbacks here the disciples are frustrated they're tired and they're weary but Jesus knew the needs of the people better than anyone but they still felt that it was necessary to take action that seems to undermine Jesus' authority here.

[21:17] Now let's look at how Jesus responds verse 37 but he answered them you give them something to eat and they said shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat and he said how many loaves do you have go and see and they had found out and said five and two fish now can you imagine the immediate reaction on the disciples face when Jesus told them to feed the people the whole reason that they tried to instruct Jesus anyways is because they couldn't feed the people and they're trying to get Jesus to send these people away in order so that they can get some dinner and you can sense that their frustration reaches its peak at this point and it's not very difficult to sense the sarcasm in this right Jesus looks at them and says you give them something to eat a denarii was a day's wage for a common laborer and so 200 denarii would have been like two-thirds year salary these men just got back from a mission trip where Jesus told them don't take anything with you they have no money there's no money that these men have so it's not that they're coming to Jesus and saying all we have here is 200 denarii do you think we should go and and buy some bread for all these people with this money that's not what they're saying they're saying this is absurd we have no food we have no money we have no provisions how are we supposed to feed these people this is sarcasm on their part this is frustration on their part they didn't have the kind of money it would take and even if they did there was no place to buy it they're in the middle of nowhere so Jesus moves to his second instruction and he says well tell me what you do have go and find out and they come back

[23:15] John tells us that it's Andrew Simon Peter's brother that comes back and he has with them the lunch of a little boy there's five small cakes and two fish so do you see what Jesus is trying to get across to his disciples here there was a crisis at hand and they were powerless to help that's the point why did he say give them something to eat because he knew they didn't have anything to give them to eat he knew they didn't have any money he knew there were only five pieces of bread and two fish that are out there in the crowd he knew it that was the point you can't feed them it's an impossible task they can't feed themselves there's nothing and nowhere for them to go Jesus wasn't losing his mind and nor was he trying to push the disciples buttons he was making it clear no one could meet the needs of those people except him that's the point you can't help these people but I can now I want to note before we move on this was not a lack of faith on the disciples part sometimes we think that we think that they bring this this lunch to Jesus and

[24:36] I think it's Andrew that says what are these among so many okay I don't think that's that's a lack of faith thinking that Jesus can't do anything with this this is just frustration because they don't want him to do anything with it really is what it is think about everything they've seen they've seen Jesus cleanse lepers that's impossible but he did it they've seen Jesus heal sick people everywhere that they went they've seen Jesus cast out demons they were on a boat thinking they were about to die and Jesus says three words and all of nature obeys his voice they've seen all of that just after they watched him raise a little girl from the dead okay there's no question in their mind of what Jesus can do this isn't a matter of faith it wasn't that they doubted Jesus's ability to feed the people it's that they didn't care if he did or not they were exhausted they were hungry they were now hangry and they were so caught up in their circumstance that they just preferred that the people try and find provision in another place now how many of us have that same tendency we know that

[25:52] Jesus can save people and we know that Jesus will save people and he'll save anyone who comes to him genuinely in faith and repentance but do we care if he saves people and do we care if they come God forbid that we ever get so wrapped up in our own circumstances that we would sooner send people away to find help on their own than actually make the effort to lead them to the Savior that can save their soul but we're too tired to do that we're too exhausted to do that there's other things we'd rather do and we'd just sooner Jesus send them to somebody else no he was a compassionate shepherd he's a compassionate Savior and he demands that we be the same compassionate toward those whom he can save so there's a human crisis and now there's a divine solution divine solution look at verse 39 then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass so that they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties taking the five loaves and two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people and he divided the two fish among them all so they he's established the fact that the people can't help themselves he's established the fact that the disciples can't help them either so it all relies on

[27:23] Jesus now it always relied on Jesus he takes control and after organizing the people in smaller groups he initiated a solution that only the almighty God could accomplish it was an act of creation you realize that we don't know exactly how he did this we don't know exactly the the the process by which he multiplied all of this food all we know is that it was an act of creation well there's only one creator what does that say about Jesus he is the creator notice the sequence of this miracle he took the bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he gave it now it's probably not an unusual table manner for first century Jews but there's foreshadowing in this there's another passage where Jesus followed the same sequence it's in Matthew 26 says now as they were eating this is the last supper Jesus took the bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he gave it and he said take eat this is my body and he took the cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying drink all of it for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins say what is this all about when Jesus broke the bread on the night of his arrest he was symbolizing how his body would soon be broken for the sins of man when he looks up with these 5,000 people or more gathered around him and he takes these five lobes and he looks up to heaven and he blesses it and then he breaks it and then he gives it to the disciples to distribute out to all of the people he's foreshadowing this supper he's foreshadowing the fact that he himself is the one that will be broken for those people listen this is not about how we should be willing to give Jesus our lunch it's about him giving us what he has to offer it's not about how he will meet our material needs if we just trust him it's about how he alone can meet our eternal need of salvation from sin and death this miracle is not about Jesus providing 5,000 people with bread it's about how he has provided eternal life for an innumerable number of people in fact this is exactly how Jesus himself interpreted the miracle in John chapter 6 the very next day John says Jesus and his disciples go to another place and the people find him and they ask him for more bread and he says you didn't you didn't care to find me today to see a sign you just want more food and they essentially said yeah give us some more food listen what Jesus said John chapter 6 verse 29 he answered them this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent and then they said to him then what sign do you do that we may see and believe now wait a minute they were part of the 5,000 the day before they saw this sign they're not looking for a sign they're tempting Jesus they're placing they can play against any potential pride that he may have to provide them with more food they

[31:23] go on and they say what sign do you do that we may believe what work do you perform our fathers ate manna in the wilderness as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eat in other words hint hint Jesus the sign we'd really love you to perform is why don't you give us manna from heaven what did Jesus say truly truly I say to you it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven but my father gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world and they said oh this is what we're talking about Jesus thank you give us this bread always they say Jesus says I am the bread I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst they say just give us some more bread and he says listen the bread of God is he who who he has sent to give life to the world they say oh yeah this is what we're talking about and he says no you don't get it I'm the bread I'm the bread believe me and you'll never hunger believe me and you'll never thirst and he's not talking about a physical hunger he's not talking about a physical thirst he's talking about their spiritual soul believe me and your soul will never be hungry again believe me and your soul will never thirst again the miracle yesterday wasn't about feeding you it's about me I am the bread people often come to Jesus seeking the goods that may come from his hands but what we all truly need is Jesus himself we got all these churches and these pastors that are trying to manipulate people into thinking if you will just come here if you will come and submit yourself here God will give you everything that you want no we won't no we won't but he'll give you everything that you need because what you need is him material gain and success are not guarantees of the gospel nor does Jesus always provide it to those who come to him in faith these were prosperity gospel seekers in John 6 he is the guarantee of the gospel and all who come to him in faith and repentance will receive eternal life that's you later in John 6 he says all that the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will not cast away ever come to him not for more money or for success or for happiness because you may not get any of those things come to him come to him for him because when you have him you have a life real eternal life thirdly the good shepherd is sufficient for the sheep cares for the sheep he provides for the sheep remember we're framing this around the good shepherd because of what Jesus noticed they were without a shepherd and he is the shepherd that they needed he's the shepherd that we need and he's sufficient for the sheep look at verse 42 and they all ate and were satisfied and they took up the 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish and those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men

[35:23] now I don't have a lot to say about these verses except to note that every person that came to Jesus was satisfied every person that came to Jesus was satisfied 5,000 men ate that day according to Mark Matthew's quick to point out that there were plenty of women and children there as well we don't know exactly how many people were there there's lots of suggestions we don't know what we do know is that everybody that was there left full full and as we consider this in light of its gospel meaning we need to recognize that Jesus alone is sufficient to satisfy fully the need of our souls those people ate bread that day and they got hungry again but anybody that comes to Jesus he's sufficient so that you will never again hunger and thirst no person ever comes to him in faith without being totally satisfied we sing about this

[36:39] I rejoice in my redeemer greatest treasure wellspring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone we sing that it's an interesting note about the 12 baskets that were remaining I don't think that this was Jesus's way of throwing the whole ordeal back in the disciples face I don't think this was an I told you so moment I don't think that's what he's doing I really think it's just an earnest reminder to them of his identity who he is because they didn't get it we know they didn't get it because when we come to the next passage next Sunday Mark plainly says their hearts were hardened and they did not understand about the loaves and we'll deal with that then but they didn't get it but this is just another reminder earlier they had acknowledged the lack of provision but now they were forced to see the abundance that was left over yet another sign that the man that they followed was not only a man he is God he is the Messiah now tell me who fed the 5,000

[38:05] Jesus did right who gave the people the food the disciples did did you notice that Jesus didn't walk through each group of 150 with that little bit of fish and bread and hand it to the people that's not what he did he probably stayed in one place and he gave it to his disciples and they took it to the people now they didn't make the food what'd they do they just took it to the people they couldn't force the people to eat all they could do was take what Jesus had given them to somebody else this is what each of us are called to do we don't make the food we can't feed anybody we're just the servers we take what he has given and we give it to everyone else now how good of a server are you it's not the point of this passage but I can't help it

[39:26] I can't help it because we always think of the fact that Jesus fed the 5,000 but Jesus didn't hand a piece of bread and fish to anybody there except for the people that already belong to him guess what if you know Christ you belong to him so take this gospel meal and give it to somebody else miracle took place because Jesus saw the people as sheep without a shepherd and he knew that he was the only one sufficient for them so I think it'd be helpful for us to close in John chapter 10 you can turn there if you want John chapter 10 beginning at verse 14 Jesus said I am the good shepherd he just plainly states it

[40:27] I'm 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 that's how he feeds us you realize that that's the food 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 I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again this is the charge

[41:27] I have received from my father what makes him the good shepherd that he laid down his life for the sheep his death is our death and because he has authority to take his life up again as he did in his resurrection he has authority to give life to all who will come to him in faith he said there are still people not of the fold of Israel that he intends to bring into his flock are you one of them do you hear his voice because he said my sheep hear my voice and they know me do you hear his voice if you do harden not your heart listen and believe and obey