WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.179 If you could open your Bibles back to John chapter 10 verses 1 to 21. 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:14.439 I think Ezekiel gives some sense of the background for what's going on in John chapter 10. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.300 But John 10 is where we'll be at. 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:23.960 How do you go with conflict? 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:27.580 What are you like as a person in conflict? 00:00:27.580 --> 00:00:28.560 We've just had Christmas. 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:30.279 Everyone gets together. 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:36.420 The whole family around a meal stays in the same place for an extended period of time, 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.439 far longer than we normally would, would normally tolerate. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:40.019 How did you go? 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:42.359 Did you manage to avoid conflict? 00:00:43.619 --> 00:00:45.079 I'm actually pretty good at avoiding conflict. 00:00:45.239 --> 00:00:48.219 I think I've pretended to sleep through conflict. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.280 I've tried, yeah, pled ignorance. 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.480 This is just with Joe alone, let alone other people. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:58.179 I've blamed. 00:00:59.839 --> 00:01:02.439 There's all kinds of different ways that we actually avoid conflict, aren't there? 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:06.179 And I think it's, well, it's basically because conflict is painful. 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:10.340 We do it badly when we do it. 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:15.060 And as we do it badly, we inflict blame and guilt, and that just kind of deepens the wounds 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:16.959 that we're already feeling. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:23.519 Or if we don't do it badly, we actually avoid it altogether, which is like sentencing that 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:25.799 relationship to a slow death. 00:01:27.399 --> 00:01:28.539 Conflict is painful. 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:32.039 Man, we do whatever we can to avoid it. 00:01:33.919 --> 00:01:34.819 But here's the thing. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.839 Even if we avoid it, that doesn't actually guarantee that we maintain that relationship. 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:45.859 Division can sometimes be the tragic result of conflict, the failure of actually being 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:46.600 able to resolve it. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:48.359 We find ourselves disoriented. 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:55.520 We're suspended in a perpetual state of unhappiness as we live in that broken down relational state. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:06.039 And we can struggle to trust again, kind of closing down or struggling to trust existing relationships, 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.379 cautious in them, or actually closing down to new relationships. 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:13.099 Division is tragic. 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:14.680 It leaves us traumatized. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:18.819 Guys, not all conflict is avoidable. 00:02:19.359 --> 00:02:22.500 Some is, and some is good to avoid. 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:27.699 But there are some conflicts that are absolutely necessary, and Jesus is in the middle of one 00:02:27.699 --> 00:02:28.219 right here. 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.580 Jesus' teaching in this chapter is meant to address the division that's just been opened 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:35.099 up so painfully in chapter 9. 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:40.719 The Pharisees hate Jesus, and they're demanding that everyone else do the same. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.479 But some who encounter Jesus are conflicted. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:48.659 They hear his voice, and they see hope in what he says. 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:54.120 So this passage, this teaching by Jesus, is meant to do two things. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.539 It's meant to comfort, on the one hand, and confront. 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:00.439 Comfort in the sense that he'll comfort his confused and harassed sheep. 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:05.479 As we look at this passage, I mean, he talks about theological, he alludes to theological truths 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.159 like propitiation, atonement, justification. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.019 They're implied in this passage. 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:16.640 But what Jesus chooses to say, the package he places his message in, is, I am the true shepherd. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:21.980 The good shepherd who loves his sheep, the provider of life, the protector through death. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.100 And the comfort that recognizing his voice and placing your life in his hands is the way 00:03:30.100 --> 00:03:30.800 to salvation. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.439 So he'll comfort, on the one hand, but he'll also confront. 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:41.260 Those who reject Jesus are actually outed as thieves, murderers, and destroyers. 00:03:41.320 --> 00:03:42.620 Jesus doesn't mince his words here. 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:46.920 They'll be shocked by his method of salvation, and they will discover that they were never actually 00:03:46.920 --> 00:03:48.640 part of God's kingdom in the first place. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:52.080 If that's not confronting, I don't know what is. 00:03:54.260 --> 00:03:59.360 And he begins by, Jesus begins this teaching by describing the character of a true leader. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.200 He does it in general terms, not specific terms. 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:05.440 He starts off with general terms, and he invites comparison by presenting three qualities of 00:04:05.440 --> 00:04:05.780 a shepherd. 00:04:06.480 --> 00:04:11.100 How he enters the sheepfold, whether he's recognized by the gatekeeper, and whether he's recognized 00:04:11.100 --> 00:04:11.780 by his sheep. 00:04:12.880 --> 00:04:18.500 So he starts off by saying, well, the one who breaks in, so how he enters the sheepfold, 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.259 the one who breaks in is a thief. 00:04:22.020 --> 00:04:23.639 And we see that straight up in verse 1. 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:29.219 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs 00:04:29.219 --> 00:04:33.500 in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:39.039 Now a thief, we know, is someone who takes what isn't rightfully his, usually either by 00:04:39.039 --> 00:04:40.539 stealth or by force. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:43.159 A robber, this is an interesting word. 00:04:43.219 --> 00:04:46.479 It kind of means the same thing, but it can also have the connotation of being a rebel, 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:50.479 an insurrectionist, revolutionary, a terrorist. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:50.640 Forced. 00:04:52.140 --> 00:04:55.939 Thieves and robbers are people who seek to upset the rightful order. 00:04:56.220 --> 00:05:00.120 They're trying to take something that isn't theirs by force, if necessary. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.160 Thieves and robbers are willing to deny the truth. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:09.140 They'll do anything to lead people, in this context, away from Jesus. 00:05:11.780 --> 00:05:16.480 And they did it, in this context, by pointing to something that they could control. 00:05:17.780 --> 00:05:18.580 The law. 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:21.300 They made themselves the gatekeepers. 00:05:21.419 --> 00:05:23.279 They extended the law with added rules. 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:28.539 Rules that were such a burden that only the elite could actually keep in any kind of general 00:05:28.539 --> 00:05:29.019 sense. 00:05:31.039 --> 00:05:34.680 They made themselves the gatekeepers of a law that was such a burden to the people. 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:37.699 But I don't think that's how things work now. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:40.120 I don't think that's how people point away from Jesus these days. 00:05:40.919 --> 00:05:45.099 I don't think people tell us that we're guilty and that we're not able to live up to a standard, 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:46.519 this high standard. 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:47.539 I think people do the opposite. 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:50.479 I think they point, they say to us that we don't need to, that we're okay. 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:58.419 People who point away from Jesus these days, they don't tell us we're guilty. 00:05:59.539 --> 00:06:00.939 They tell us we aren't. 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:05.139 They tell us that sin isn't such a big problem. 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:11.620 Our daughter Hannah, she moved down to Sydney last year and in moving to Sydney, she tried 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:14.680 out a bunch of different churches, went to churches with friends and acquaintances. 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:23.000 She was just saying to me, the day before yesterday, that as she had done that trip around the different 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.439 churches, one of the things she noticed was that the church that she's actually attending 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.280 regularly and our church, Grace, she said, we talk about sin. 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:34.100 And a whole bunch of these other churches didn't at all. 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:40.120 Why is that? 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:42.700 Why is it that we talk about sin? 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:47.180 Are we avoiding it? 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.280 I could go further and say that we're not just avoiding it, but I could say that our generation, 00:06:53.280 --> 00:06:56.180 our current generation, actually struggles with criticism. 00:06:56.580 --> 00:06:57.460 It crushes us. 00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:02.699 We want to be taught but not rebuked, corrected or trained in righteousness. 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:09.439 But guys, if we play down the danger, then why do we even need a shepherd in the first 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:09.819 place? 00:07:10.479 --> 00:07:14.979 If we play down sin, why would we need this Jesus? 00:07:19.599 --> 00:07:20.039 How? 00:07:21.299 --> 00:07:22.459 The shepherd enters. 00:07:22.659 --> 00:07:23.899 Does he enter by the gate? 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:27.819 But the true shepherd is also known by the gatekeeper. 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:30.439 It's the next point Jesus makes in verse 2. 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.199 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:34.959 To him, the gatekeeper opens. 00:07:36.219 --> 00:07:39.919 At every point in Jesus' ministry, he is recognizable as the true shepherd. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.759 John says in chapter 20, verses 30 to 31, he says these words, 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:49.060 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:53.800 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:56.819 and that by believing, you may have life in his name. 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:00.379 And John finishes his gospel with the words, 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:03.360 Now there are many other things that Jesus did, were every one of them to be written. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.439 I suppose the whole world itself could not contain the books that could be written. 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:08.840 Do you get the picture? 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:16.579 The signs that Jesus did, that we know about, they're just the tip of the iceberg. 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.379 He was traveling through Israel, performing miracle upon miracle everywhere. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.759 Sick people touched him and were healed. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.339 People traveled on behalf of others, and they were told, 00:08:26.479 --> 00:08:27.620 Oh, go home, it's sorted. 00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:30.740 Dead people were told to wake up. 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.699 These things were just happening time and time again. 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:36.319 An abundance of miracles. 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:39.419 So many that they couldn't all be written down. 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:46.799 Jesus' own works declare, I am the true shepherd. 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.059 The Jewish leaders kept trying to put it down to Satan, 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:52.240 but the goodness of Jesus was undeniable. 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:55.079 This shepherd is recognized by the gatekeeper. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:08:59.519 And he's also recognized by the sheep. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 The final thing that Jesus says in this first section is, 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.659 the sheep will recognize their true shepherd. 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:08.259 In the second part of verse 3 and onwards, 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:12.759 The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:16.919 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. 00:09:17.719 --> 00:09:20.819 The sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:25.120 Ancient Near Eastern way of shepherding was very different to our way. 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:28.000 You can probably see it from the analogy that Jesus is using. 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.199 The shepherd didn't drive this massive flock of sheep, 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:33.439 amorphous massive sheep before him. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:35.700 He led his sheep. 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.420 This only worked because the sheep knew him. 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:41.780 They recognized his call and they would follow him. 00:09:42.260 --> 00:09:43.380 They would move toward him. 00:09:45.040 --> 00:09:47.320 But Jesus actually goes one better even than this model. 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:50.480 The shepherd's call was usually kind of a generic call. 00:09:50.560 --> 00:09:52.960 So as a shepherd walked, he would make this call and the sheep would know, 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:55.200 okay, we're on the move and they would follow him. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:10:06.320 But here Jesus says that he calls each sheep by name and each sheep hears and follows. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.860 That is the nature of our true shepherd. 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:10.340 He knows us. 00:10:11.400 --> 00:10:12.759 He knows us. 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.220 And we know him. 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:20.860 But we find out that the people hear all this and they're confused. 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:23.600 Jesus is talking in general terms and they're not sure what he's saying. 00:10:24.299 --> 00:10:29.559 So Jesus moves from those general principles and he gets specific from verse 7 onwards. 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:30.559 Jesus says to them, 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:47.079 So he's taking this shepherding imagery and he's just turning around a little bit and looking at it from a slightly different angle this time. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:51.800 It's not just one continuous parable like we see in some of the other gospels. 00:10:52.540 --> 00:10:53.960 He's actually turning this around and he's saying, 00:10:54.180 --> 00:10:54.820 Now I'm the door. 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:57.840 Unambiguously, I am the door. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.879 And as he does, he paints a stark contrast to his opponents. 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:08.300 The Pharisees forced the blind man to choose them or Jesus in chapter 9. 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:11.040 And now Jesus is saying, 00:11:11.560 --> 00:11:12.800 Time to make a choice. 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:14.520 It's them or me. 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:16.200 It's thief or saviour. 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:20.740 Where the thief comes to destroy. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:27.200 Jesus takes this contrast to the level of motives or goals when he says in verse 10, 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:32.480 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:11:33.420 --> 00:11:37.040 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:40.379 A thief uses stealth or force. 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.060 These thieves use force. 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:46.360 They use, they consume, they feed themselves. 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:48.180 Just like Ezekiel described. 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:50.759 But Jesus is different. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:53.320 Jesus comes to give his life, to save. 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:56.480 He said in verse 9, 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:57.879 I am the door. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:03.340 If anyone enters by me, he'll be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:06.500 We see here that the door has two functions. 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.620 It lets the sheep in and it lets them out. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.340 In is the way to salvation. 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.120 Jesus is the way we enter into salvation. 00:12:14.300 --> 00:12:15.240 The only way. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.040 We'll break that open a little bit more when we get to chapter 14. 00:12:18.560 --> 00:12:21.360 But there are no alternative options here. 00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:22.620 This is it. 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:23.320 The door. 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:27.440 So Jesus is the way into salvation. 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:31.000 And he is the way out to good pasture. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:37.580 When we enter by Jesus, we have access to a new life. 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:41.700 The imagery is kind of broad at this point. 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:44.139 It could mean the life to come in the future. 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:46.580 So heaven, new heaven and new earth. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.720 Or it could mean life beginning right now. 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.500 But Jesus tips it in favor of right now when he says in verse 10, 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:56.899 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:01.620 All the life we experience through Jesus is abundant life. 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.379 Because it is through Jesus. 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:07.580 It's with Jesus, under God's care. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:14.960 So all of life now, whether good or bad, joyful or sorrowful, painful or pleasure, 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:18.720 sickness or health, ease or persecution, 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:24.980 all of these things exist as the abundance of life that God intended for us. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.320 And we can say this because in Jesus we have God again. 00:13:31.700 --> 00:13:35.139 We are under his care, enjoying his love and protection for eternity, 00:13:35.560 --> 00:13:38.700 growing through his discipline, joining him as his kingdom is built. 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:42.139 Now we know this kind of thing. 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:48.600 We know the warmth and friendship of being alongside someone in good times and bad. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:54.680 I played in the soccer team only a couple of times last year. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.360 And even though we lost pretty much every game, 00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:59.940 just playing with that team of other 11 guys, 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.879 we built a bond, a friendship, 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:08.240 a mutual trust in each other and enjoyment of each other's company. 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:13.139 I've been married to Joe for nearly 24 years. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.259 We've faced challenges and moments of immense joy. 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:21.580 But, you know, both the challenges and the moments of immense joy 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:24.960 have been enriched by the fact that we've shared those things. 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:27.919 We know what it's like to share, 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:32.980 to share the challenges and the struggles and the joys of life with other people. 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:35.899 And we know how that just kind of seems to lift them out 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:37.460 and make them three-dimensional. 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:46.040 But think again on how much more this is true for us 00:14:46.040 --> 00:14:48.620 when we're united with God again, 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:51.440 the one who we are created in the image of, 00:14:52.040 --> 00:14:56.460 the one who we were created to be in relationship for all eternity. 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:01.680 Far more is on offer here 00:15:01.680 --> 00:15:08.620 than a couple of fortunate experiences in life. 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:14.860 Salvation means that we get God. 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.379 And this God is a good shepherd. 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:21.519 Jesus turns a shepherd theme one last time in this section. 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:22.540 He says in verse 11, 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:24.500 I am the good shepherd. 00:15:24.579 --> 00:15:25.819 He says it twice in this section. 00:15:26.339 --> 00:15:29.099 And as he does, he explores the divisions that all can see. 00:15:30.819 --> 00:15:33.059 And these divisions are actually played out 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:37.799 at the level of leadership and within families. 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.559 It's the division between Jesus and the Jewish leaders 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:41.379 and the level of leadership. 00:15:42.219 --> 00:15:44.139 We saw that in chapter 9 and chapter 8. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:46.399 And we'll continue to see that. 00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:49.639 But we also see the division between the sheep who hear 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:52.279 and those who are hostile that starts to come to the surface. 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:56.019 Those who hear and those who say he's insane. 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:02.699 So let's look at these contrasts. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:04.319 The good shepherd and the hired hand 00:16:04.319 --> 00:16:06.840 are the first way he takes on this Jesus 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:09.899 and the Jewish leaders and our conflict. 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.179 Jesus starts with the essential difference 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.059 between these two groups in verse 11. 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:16.120 And he says this, 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:17.100 I am the good shepherd. 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:20.540 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:22.320 Jesus says, 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:23.620 I will die for my sheep. 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:26.139 They will run. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:28.060 Why? 00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:29.899 Well, Jesus diagnoses the reason. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.060 In verse 13, he says, 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:33.220 He flees because he's a hired hand 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:34.980 and cares nothing for the sheep. 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:36.759 He doesn't know the sheep, 00:16:37.139 --> 00:16:38.700 so he doesn't care about them like the shepherd. 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:39.519 He doesn't own them. 00:16:39.580 --> 00:16:40.159 They're not his. 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:42.720 This is a crucial point of difference. 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:44.480 Because he doesn't care for the sheep, 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.200 he won't put his life on the line for them. 00:16:48.680 --> 00:16:50.500 His life will always come first. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.820 But Jesus is different. 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:55.340 He says again in verse 14, 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:57.639 I am the good shepherd. 00:16:58.420 --> 00:17:00.920 I know my own and my own know me, 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.879 just as the Father knows me 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:05.700 and I know the Father 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:08.559 and I lay down my life for the sheep. 00:17:10.019 --> 00:17:10.840 Notice this here. 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:13.100 The good shepherd knows his sheep. 00:17:14.120 --> 00:17:15.720 And the foundation for this relationship 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:17.180 is nothing other 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:19.819 than the already existing relationship 00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:21.259 between the Father and the Son. 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:24.620 That is the foundation 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:27.559 for the Son's relationship with us as his sheep. 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:30.420 It's a rich relational foundation. 00:17:30.420 --> 00:17:33.420 And because it's such a rich relational foundation, 00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:35.060 we get to share in the richness 00:17:35.060 --> 00:17:36.620 of the benefits of that. 00:17:39.860 --> 00:17:41.840 Now there are some people in this room 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:43.180 that I would die for. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:45.340 I would like to think that I would die for unquestioningly. 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:47.860 Some of you, 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:50.460 I'd have to think a little bit longer about. 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:54.640 Some of you might not even pass that test. 00:17:55.340 --> 00:17:56.440 That's a failing in me. 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:01.340 But Jesus doesn't just say that he might 00:18:01.340 --> 00:18:03.740 or that he would die for his sheep. 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:07.900 He says that he is going to die for his sheep. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:09.059 It's going to happen. 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:11.059 And on his terms, 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:12.320 he says in verse 17, 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.220 For this reason the Father loves me, 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:17.960 because I lay down my life 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:19.180 that I may take it up again. 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:21.400 No one takes it from me, 00:18:21.820 --> 00:18:23.740 but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:18:24.360 --> 00:18:26.019 I have authority to lay it down. 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:28.220 And I have authority to take it up again. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:31.500 This charge I have received from my Father. 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:33.960 This is the good shepherd. 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:37.259 The one who is willing to die for his sheep. 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:38.519 A purposeful death. 00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:39.400 One that rescues. 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:40.900 A voluntary death. 00:18:41.580 --> 00:18:42.480 He's not coerced. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.380 In his own timing. 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:48.039 Backed by the authority to take it up again. 00:18:49.340 --> 00:18:52.420 All because he cares for his sheep. 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:56.720 This love that the Father has for the Son 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:57.600 has always been there. 00:18:58.180 --> 00:18:58.840 In verse 17, 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:00.200 it's there before the Son dies. 00:19:00.560 --> 00:19:02.360 It's linked to the unqualified obedience 00:19:02.360 --> 00:19:03.759 that the Son has for the Father. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:05.840 And it's reciprocated 00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:07.420 in the authority Jesus receives 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:09.240 to take up this life again. 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.859 The good shepherd 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:18.539 compared to the hired hands. 00:19:20.019 --> 00:19:21.180 And then the sheep. 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:23.480 The sheep who hear. 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:25.900 This is the final contrast that Jesus uses. 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:26.880 And it's fair to say, 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:28.460 as we go into this, 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:29.140 it's fair to say 00:19:29.140 --> 00:19:31.579 that being described as a sheep, 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:35.160 in any analogy really, 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:38.060 is not going to be a flattering one. 00:19:38.800 --> 00:19:39.740 Anyone here a farmer 00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:40.920 or lived on a farm? 00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:43.460 Sheep are stupid, aren't they? 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:46.620 Sheep are stupid. 00:19:48.820 --> 00:19:50.400 Sheep need looking after. 00:19:50.660 --> 00:19:51.960 They're a domesticated animal. 00:19:52.080 --> 00:19:52.820 So domesticated 00:19:52.820 --> 00:19:55.240 that they cannot survive on their own. 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:56.820 They actually need to be looked after. 00:19:56.820 --> 00:19:58.519 To be shorn regularly. 00:19:58.620 --> 00:19:59.400 To be shown pasture. 00:20:01.980 --> 00:20:03.120 Sheep are stupid. 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.580 And in this passage, 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:06.240 they're relatively passive. 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:08.619 Relatively. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.460 There is an active component to it though. 00:20:10.879 --> 00:20:11.500 See, actively, 00:20:12.199 --> 00:20:13.559 the main role of the sheep 00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:14.579 is to respond. 00:20:14.939 --> 00:20:16.199 To hear the shepherd's voice 00:20:16.199 --> 00:20:17.539 and to follow him. 00:20:20.639 --> 00:20:21.079 As I've said, 00:20:21.159 --> 00:20:23.000 because sheep are generally stupid, 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:24.859 they can't survive without a shepherd. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:26.500 So this is a really trusting thing. 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:27.299 This isn't just, 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:29.000 oh, you know, 00:20:29.099 --> 00:20:30.759 plug into Jesus a little bit. 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:32.139 He's got some good advice to give me. 00:20:32.139 --> 00:20:33.139 This is saying, 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:35.680 I'm going to place my whole life 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.100 into his hands. 00:20:37.300 --> 00:20:40.440 It's the most trusting possible thing you can do. 00:20:41.600 --> 00:20:44.080 To place your life completely 00:20:44.080 --> 00:20:45.480 into the good shepherd's hands 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:46.820 is a huge thing. 00:20:48.620 --> 00:20:49.800 This is what it means 00:20:49.800 --> 00:20:50.180 to follow, 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:51.520 to hear our shepherd's voice, 00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:52.220 to follow him. 00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:55.720 Even when that voice says things 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.380 that we're not so sure about. 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:00.059 And that quite often happens for me. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:00.559 I don't know about you, 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:02.160 but it quite often happens for me 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:03.200 that I read 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.059 truth in the Bible 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.079 and I look at it 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:06.460 and I think, 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:07.059 man, you know, 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:10.680 I can see an easier way through life 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:12.039 than following this path. 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:16.519 But to place your life 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:18.500 completely into the good shepherd's hands 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:20.420 is the active role 00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:21.879 that we're given here. 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:25.240 Passively, 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:27.019 there are also some things 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:27.200 to, 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:28.220 important things to draw out 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:29.079 that are really important here 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:29.740 and really comforting. 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:30.859 You see, 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:31.740 these sheep are owned 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:32.519 by the good shepherd. 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:33.420 They're owned 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:34.019 in the sense that 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:35.200 they are known before they're called, 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:36.879 they're owned before they respond 00:21:36.879 --> 00:21:38.000 and they're gathered 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.019 from many folds. 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:40.859 Let's just go through those. 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:41.759 known before they're called. 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:42.879 These sheep are known 00:21:42.879 --> 00:21:44.179 before they're called. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:44.699 Jesus says, 00:21:44.699 --> 00:21:46.000 I know my own 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.399 in verse 14. 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:48.559 Known in the sense that 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.939 he knew so intimately 00:21:50.939 --> 00:21:52.979 that he already knew 00:21:52.979 --> 00:21:54.599 he was going to die for us. 00:21:55.159 --> 00:21:55.839 Known in the sense 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:57.279 that the Father knows the Son 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.439 with the kind of intimacy 00:21:59.439 --> 00:22:01.019 that the members of the Trinity share. 00:22:03.479 --> 00:22:05.559 That closeness of relationship 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:08.219 known to such a depth. 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:11.500 It's not reciprocal 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:12.100 in the sense that 00:22:12.100 --> 00:22:13.059 we don't know God 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:13.720 quite so well 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.680 as he knows us. 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:16.319 But it's something 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.079 we'll grow into 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:17.880 throughout eternity. 00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:20.299 I remember when I was dating Joe, 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:21.740 I've got to have been 00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:23.759 at least two weeks 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.319 into dating 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:25.100 that I started to walk 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:26.400 slowly past jewellery shops 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:27.120 and look at, 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:28.380 just point out, 00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:29.180 engagement rings. 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:31.120 Was it two weeks? 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:32.380 Give or take a few hours? 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:33.380 Yeah? 00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:36.180 I knew I was on to a good thing. 00:22:36.340 --> 00:22:36.640 I knew, 00:22:36.800 --> 00:22:38.040 I got to know Joe 00:22:38.040 --> 00:22:41.060 in part through her friends. 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:42.580 So I actually worked 00:22:42.580 --> 00:22:43.820 with her housemate. 00:22:44.100 --> 00:22:44.800 So I got to know Joe 00:22:44.800 --> 00:22:45.560 through her housemate 00:22:45.560 --> 00:22:46.740 and then when we started dating 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:47.440 I found that she was 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:48.380 absolutely everything 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:49.280 that her housemate had said 00:22:49.280 --> 00:22:50.180 and even better. 00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:52.060 I knew, 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:52.940 I was committed. 00:22:55.560 --> 00:22:56.640 Joe on the other hand, 00:22:57.560 --> 00:22:58.760 she took a little bit longer 00:22:58.760 --> 00:22:59.740 to come round. 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.900 It's kind of a little bit like that. 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:04.079 But here's the thing is, 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.319 this shepherd is fully invested, 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:08.279 fully invested 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:09.640 in his relationship with us 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:11.599 way before, 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:13.120 if we read Ephesians 1, 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.420 way before he even created us. 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:18.559 Cannot match that 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.400 in our relationships. 00:23:20.120 --> 00:23:21.019 We cannot imagine 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:22.000 what it must be like 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:23.500 to be known 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:26.099 and to be so utterly cared for. 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:29.779 This shepherd is fully invested 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:31.279 in his relationship to us. 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:32.839 We are known 00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:33.699 before we're called 00:23:33.699 --> 00:23:35.399 and we're owned 00:23:35.399 --> 00:23:36.959 before we respond. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:38.639 Jesus says 00:23:38.639 --> 00:23:39.699 in verse 3, 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:40.759 he calls his own sheep 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:41.240 by name. 00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:42.719 In verse 4 and 16 00:23:42.719 --> 00:23:43.519 he says that his sheep 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.740 will recognise his voice. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.179 We are his own, 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:49.299 he says in verse 14. 00:23:49.299 --> 00:23:52.079 In some way 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:54.559 we belong to Jesus 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:58.519 before we even hear his voice. 00:24:00.639 --> 00:24:02.559 And this concept comes up 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:03.659 time and time again 00:24:03.659 --> 00:24:04.619 throughout John's Gospel. 00:24:05.019 --> 00:24:05.980 It's not an accident. 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:07.960 It's really the only way 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:09.180 the Gospel can work 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:11.299 if God knows us 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:13.019 and God calls us 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:16.440 and that our response 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:18.779 is to trust in him 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:20.019 because we already are his. 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:23.240 Perhaps you've heard 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:24.519 the words predestination 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:25.119 or election. 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:28.379 People struggle 00:24:28.379 --> 00:24:29.119 over these words 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:29.980 unnecessarily. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:31.059 But I'm actually going 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:31.700 to talk about that 00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:32.980 when we come back 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:35.079 to John 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:36.099 in the weeks to come. 00:24:37.879 --> 00:24:38.879 So more on the next week. 00:24:38.899 --> 00:24:39.480 A bit of a spoiler 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:40.559 so you can get ready for that. 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:45.119 We are known 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:46.440 before we're called. 00:24:47.379 --> 00:24:48.720 Owned before we respond. 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:50.319 And gathered 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:51.399 from many folds. 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:54.359 Now what Jesus says here 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:56.160 is actually quite shocking 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:57.299 to the people 00:24:57.299 --> 00:24:57.859 who are listening. 00:24:58.200 --> 00:24:58.879 Far more shocking 00:24:58.879 --> 00:24:59.599 than it is to us 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.440 because Jesus says something 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:01.220 really startling 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:01.680 about his flock. 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:03.099 In verse 16 he says, 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:04.960 I have other sheep 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.539 that are not of this fold. 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:08.399 This fold being the Jews. 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:10.399 Other sheep 00:25:10.399 --> 00:25:12.379 from outside the Jews. 00:25:13.379 --> 00:25:14.680 I must bring them also, 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:15.160 he says, 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:15.779 and they will listen 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:16.500 to my voice. 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:17.319 So there will be 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:17.960 one flock, 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:18.660 one shepherd. 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:21.599 The Jews thought 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:22.539 the law was the path 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:22.980 to God. 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:23.940 They thought that 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:25.160 they were the chosen ones 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:26.480 but they weren't listening 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:27.339 to the good shepherd, 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.140 the promised saviour. 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:30.960 And Jesus wasn't 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:31.940 containing himself 00:25:31.940 --> 00:25:34.259 to calling out his flock 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:35.660 from just among them. 00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:37.920 He was going to go 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:38.740 beyond the borders 00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:39.160 of Israel. 00:25:39.300 --> 00:25:40.880 He was redefining Israel 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:42.740 ultimately to include us. 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:45.980 A huge comfort 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:46.640 for the sheep. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:48.680 He knows us. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:50.380 Even us 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:51.600 who were not a part 00:25:51.600 --> 00:25:52.500 of the people of God 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:53.420 for those centuries. 00:25:56.840 --> 00:25:58.120 He knows us. 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:00.660 He's laid claim to us. 00:26:00.660 --> 00:26:03.160 He's gathering us together 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:04.840 and he's rescuing us 00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:06.820 from death itself. 00:26:12.540 --> 00:26:13.720 But in verse 19 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:15.400 we read the inevitable words really. 00:26:16.100 --> 00:26:17.200 There's an expected division. 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.540 There was again 00:26:19.540 --> 00:26:20.640 a division amongst the Jews 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:21.700 because of these words 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.800 in John 10, 19. 00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:25.960 The division was not resolved 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:27.040 by Jesus' words, 00:26:27.320 --> 00:26:28.800 not resolved by his acts. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.919 But I hope you can now see 00:26:31.919 --> 00:26:33.240 that that division is necessary. 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:34.759 It is that important 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.539 that we choose Jesus, 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:39.559 that we don't miss him 00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:41.220 in our whole understanding 00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:42.619 of what it means 00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:43.359 to be a Christian. 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:45.460 We don't go past him 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:47.240 into beyond him even, 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:48.980 into new ground 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:50.680 after we've accepted him. 00:26:54.619 --> 00:26:56.000 There's no glossing over 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.259 the choice that needs 00:26:57.259 --> 00:26:57.960 to be made here. 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:59.160 Only Jesus 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:00.299 is the good shepherd. 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:01.640 Only he would, 00:27:01.840 --> 00:27:02.779 could and did 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.720 die for us. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:09.059 So let's hear the voice 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:09.720 of the good shepherd 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:10.500 and trust him. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.000 Follow him 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.740 knowing 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:16.100 that as we do 00:27:16.100 --> 00:27:17.200 we walk with God 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.779 in deepening intimacy, 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:22.160 in fullness of life 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:25.140 for eternity. 00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:29.120 praise God for that. 00:27:29.120 --> 00:27:29.820 Let me pray. 00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:34.680 Father God, 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.200 we thank you 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:36.020 that you know us. 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:38.160 We thank you 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.640 that you've lifted 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:39.480 the burden off us 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:40.980 in such a significant way 00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:42.860 in initiating 00:27:42.860 --> 00:27:43.780 a relationship with us 00:27:43.780 --> 00:27:44.140 that we 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:46.200 wouldn't have gone there 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:46.540 at all. 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:49.740 But you've sought us out 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:50.420 throughout eternity 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:52.220 and you've rescued us 00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:54.120 at your own expense. 00:27:55.900 --> 00:27:57.240 You've proven yourself 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:58.960 beyond any shadow 00:27:58.960 --> 00:27:59.340 of doubt 00:27:59.340 --> 00:27:59.840 that you are 00:27:59.840 --> 00:28:00.420 the good shepherd. 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:04.440 and yet, 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:04.600 Lord, 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:05.740 we struggle to trust you. 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:08.360 So we pray 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:09.700 that in light of 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:11.940 the truth of these words 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:13.240 that you would teach us afresh 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:15.380 how good it is 00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:16.740 to trust in you, 00:28:16.800 --> 00:28:17.400 our good shepherd. 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:19.940 How full life is 00:28:19.940 --> 00:28:22.100 living with you 00:28:22.100 --> 00:28:22.900 as our good shepherd. 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:25.860 and how joyful 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:26.940 we can be 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:28.740 because 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:29.940 you are a good shepherd 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:31.720 regardless of what comes. 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:33.840 In Jesus' name. 00:28:34.180 --> 00:28:34.440 Amen.