Well, good morning, those of you who are here in person and those who are online.
We're glad you have joined us.
Peter, thank you for those words.
I feel like we should just stop and meditate on those.
I don't need to preach.
I will anyway, but thank you for those.
I really appreciate them.
As we go to God's Word this morning, will you join me in prayer?
Lord, we thank you that as we gather this morning, Lord, we gather to know you more.
And we gather because you have been at work, Lord, being the loving Savior that we have just sung about.
Lord, we pray now that by your Spirit you would open our hearts and our minds to receive your Word.
Lord, I pray for your enabling power so that I might speak clearly.
And Lord, that you might use this time, Lord, to draw us closer to you.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So as Pastor Nick mentioned, it's Palm Sunday.
And on that day many, many years ago, the crowds gathered and lined the streets of Jerusalem
and laid down palm fronds and coats in honor of Jesus who rode in on a donkey.
The expectations were high.
People were looking for a king.
A king who would come and rescue them from Roman oppression.
A king who would come and free the nation of Israel to have independence again.
A king who would come like the king of old.
King David, the great shepherd king.
The one of whom it said in 2 Samuel 5,
It was you who led out and brought in Israel.
And the Lord said to you,
You shall be a shepherd of my people Israel.
And you shall be prince over Israel.
These people longed for someone who would come and lead them out and lead them in in victory.
One who would come to deliver them.
One that they could follow with confidence,
knowing that he would lead them to life and security.
I wonder if your heart resonates with that longing this morning.
Do you long for someone to come and to take you by the hand?
To raise you up?
To lead you out of darkness and into life and into light?
It's worth recognizing how easily our hearts look for this.
And how we latch on to things.
Sometimes we latch on to a religious leader.
Or a political head of state.
Sometimes we just latch on to the social leader of our high school group.
Or a mom's group.
We latch on to others to follow.
Because we know we need it.
Or maybe in this 21st century, we don't.
Because we are desperate to be the captains of our own ship.
And we latch on to ourselves to lead us into life.
And we deny our need for anyone else.
And yet, as this pandemic has so painfully shown many of us,
we end up suffering alone.
We don't choose well, often, when we look for leaders.
When we look for someone to follow.
When we look for someone to latch on to.
We don't know.
But we do need it.
And God has spoken into this human longing.
He has spoken by sending His Son, Jesus.
Which leads us to our text this morning.
We are in John.
The Gospel of John.
Chapter 10.
We are continuing in our series in the first 11 chapters of John.
Remember, last week, Pastor Nick preached on Jesus coming to the blind man and healing him.
Bringing sight to someone who had been blind from birth.
But then also, how that provoked controversy with the religious leaders.
Because Jesus did not fit into their paradigms.
Of how God would bring this life and light to the world.
In our passage this morning, in John 10, we see that Jesus alone is the good shepherd we need to lead us into life.
We'll look at this in two sections.
Verses 1 through 21.
Jesus being the good shepherd.
And verses 22 through 42.
How Jesus alone can be that for us.
So, let's look at these sections in sequence.
If you have your Bibles at home, or if you want to read along on the screen, we're going to read verses 1 through 21 first.
And reflect on that for a few minutes.
So, read along with me.
John chapter 1.
I'm sorry.
Chapter 10, verse 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.
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the gatekeeper opens.
The sheep hear his voice.
And he calls his own sheep out by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them.
And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of the strangers.
This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So, Jesus said, again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All who come before me are thieves and robbers.
But the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the door.
If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I come that they might have life.
I have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.
And the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me.
Just as a father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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 charge I have received from my father.
And there was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
Many of them said, he has a demon and is insane.
Why listen to him?
And others said, these are not the words of a demon.
These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon.
Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?
As we've seen in John, Jesus is using rich metaphors to try to help us understand who he is.
And he comes to us in this passage and he says, I am the good shepherd who leads us to life.
And we're going to walk through the passage and make some observations about what Jesus says.
Verses 1 through 5, Jesus simply paints a picture of what a sheepfold in the first century would look like.
It was often a pen or an enclosure.
Sometimes it would be a natural thing like a cave.
It might be put up against a house on the backside or on the side of a house with usually a single entrance.
And it might hold multiple flocks from multiple shepherds.
He describes how the sheep know their shepherd.
So that when a shepherd comes and he calls them out, they have a relationship and they know.
And the shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep know the shepherd.
And so the shepherd would come and give his whistle or his signal.
And his sheep would come out and the rest would stay.
And he says, and this is the relationship between healthy sheep and shepherds.
When people try to come in by another way.
Or people try to come and take other sheep that are not their own.
They're thieves and robbers.
And so helpfully, John in verse 6 points out, he used this as a figure of speech.
So we know this is a metaphor.
This is helpful.
John hasn't always told us that.
But here, it's very clear.
He uses the finger of speech to help us understand what a lot of Old Testament Jews would have already understood some of.
Because this image of shepherd and sheep is a very well established one in the Old Testament.
I want to spend a few minutes just laying out a few of the scriptures, not even exhaustively, that point to or use this imagery.
So back in Numbers 27.
So we're at the people of Israel have been wandering in the wilderness.
They've come to the edge of the promised land.
And God tells Moses, because of his disobedience and faithlessness, he is not going to enter into the promised land.
And Moses says this to God,
Let the Lord appoint a man over the congregation, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as a sheep that have no shepherd.
Psalm 23 is a well-known psalm that many, many of us have heard.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
In the prophets in Isaiah chapter 40, as Isaiah is beginning to look ahead to the renewing and what it will take for God to renew his people.
He says,
Say to the cities of Judah,
Behold your God.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd.
He will gather the lambs in his arms.
He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young.
And as Andrew read earlier in Ezekiel 34,
this is in the context of judgment of the exile when God had come and removed Israel from the promised land because of their faithlessness and disobedience.
And yet he said,
and he specifically in that chapter is condemning the leaders of Israel because they had not led the people to worship God,
but it led them astray to worship other gods.
And he says,
Those shepherds have been faithless,
but I,
your God,
will be your faithful shepherd.
But then he says later in that chapter,
in verse 23 of Exodus 34,
And I will set up over them.
This is a prediction coming in the future.
I will set up over them one shepherd,
my servant David,
and he shall feed them,
and be their shepherd.
And I,
the Lord,
will be their God,
and my servant David shall be prince among them.
I am the Lord.
I have spoken.
Now friends,
this was written long after David was dead and in his grave.
He was not talking about the resurrection of David.
He was talking about one in the line of David who would come and fulfill this.
So Jesus steps into this long history and says,
I am the good shepherd who has come to lead you to life.
And he says four things about him,
and I want to move quickly through these because there's a lot to go here.
First, he says,
I am the way to life.
I am the door.
In verses 7 through 10,
he says,
if anyone enters by me,
he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
But I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Jesus has come to lead his sheep to life.
When he leads them out to eat the grass,
that is their life.
If they don't eat,
they die.
Think about what Jesus has done to the people that he's encountered.
In chapter 9,
the blind man.
In chapter 5,
the cripple at the pool of Bethesda.
The crowds in chapter 6,
who he fed food,
bread from heaven,
manna,
and then reminded them of a greater food.
The Samaritan woman who comes out for water in the heat of the day.
Jesus offers a greater water.
When Jesus comes,
he brings life to his sheep.
He is reversing the curse of death.
He is fixing the fallenness of the world.
And he says,
following me will lead you to life.
In contrast to the leaders of the day,
in contrast to the Pharisees who are contending with him in chapter 9,
he says,
follow me and I will lead you to life.
That's the first thing he says.
The second thing he says is in verse 14.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own.
Know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.
Jesus says,
I am the good shepherd who knows who are mine.
And again,
in this context,
the Old Testament people of Israel,
the greatest privilege was to be God's people,
to be God's flock.
And Jesus says,
I know my flock
because I know the Father.
And he's being provocative when he says this.
He says,
if you don't know me,
you don't know my Father.
And these Jews were claiming to know him
and yet reject Jesus.
Claiming to know God
and yet rejecting Jesus.
So Jesus comes with this image to say,
I know them.
I know my own.
And if you're rejecting me,
don't fool yourself that you are my own.
But he says,
but to all who do listen,
to those who follow me,
they are my own.
And verse 3 reminds us,
I know them by name.
Friends,
do you know what it's like?
Do you remember what it's like
to walk into a room
and have someone know you by name?
To walk into school the first day
after a long summer
and for your friend to say,
hey, Matt,
it's great to see you.
To walk into a family reunion,
your in-laws family reunion
where you've never been before
and have the host come up and say,
wow, Matt,
it's great to have you here.
We're so glad you're a part of this family.
When you are welcomed
is one who is known.
There's a sense of belonging,
a sense of identity,
a sense of welcoming,
a sense of safety and of comfort.
Jesus says,
I am the good shepherd
and I know my own.
The third thing that he says
in verse 16
is that he will gather
all of his own to himself.
And I have other sheep
that are not of this fold.
I must bring them in also
so that they will listen to my voice
so there will be one flock
and one shepherd.
And again,
the Jewish people thought
that they were,
because they were physically
the descendants of Abraham,
the special people.
And Jesus is reminding them
as he has in multiple other ways.
No,
the people of God
are going to come from
every tribe and tongue and nation.
It's not just going to come
from the people of Israel.
It's going to come from
everyone,
everywhere.
And they're not going to have
to come and find me
because I'm going to take
the initiative to go
and find them
and bring them in.
I'm going to find
the scattered people
throughout the world
and I'm going to call them in
to the people of God,
which will ultimately
be the church.
Friends,
wandering sheep
don't find their ways home.
Shepherds have to go
and find them
and bring them back.
And Jesus says,
I'm going to go
and find those of you
who are looking for me
and I'm going to draw you in
and I'm going to bring you back
with love and devotion
and sacrifice.
And my people will be one flock
and they will be led
by one shepherd.
Friends,
in the kingdom of God,
in Jesus,
under Jesus shepherding,
there is no insider,
no outsider.
There is no ethnic policy.
There is no income restriction.
There is no educational barriers.
All are welcome.
Finally,
the fourth thing
and the most important thing
that Jesus says
about his shepherding
is that he says
repeatedly throughout this
that he is a good shepherd
because he will lay down
his life for his sheep
so that they might live.
This is the extended contrast
in verses 11 through 18.
I will lay down my sheep.
He repeats it four times
in those verses.
And he contrasts it.
He contrasts it with hired hands.
A hired hand is someone
who is brought in
but doesn't know his sheep.
And he does not care for them.
And when they're out in the fields
and danger comes
and the wolves come
to attack the sheep,
the hired hand says,
well, this is too much.
I don't really care enough
about this sheep to die.
And the hired hand runs away
and the sheep are ravaged
by the wolves.
Jesus is not a hired hand.
Jesus comes
and with great love
he says,
I am willing to lay down
my life for the sheep.
I will trade my life
for yours.
This is a rebuke
of the leaders
who sought to consolidate
their own power
rather than receiving Jesus
who had come from God.
Jesus comes
and he says
to these people
on this day
and to us today,
I have come
to lay down my life
for you.
To rescue you
from the wolves.
To rescue you
from the false leaders
that will lead you astray
into paths
that are not life.
And even more so
to lead you
out of the darkness
of sin
and out of the slavery
to fear of death.
Your greatest enemies,
the wolves that most have
the ability
to destroy your soul.
I will come
and I will lay down
my life.
In the book of John
we are close
to the end.
The turning point.
If you've ever thought
through the map
of the book of John
the first 11 chapters
all happen
within like 3 years.
The last 11 chapters
have it in 7 days.
And it's all heading
towards the cross.
And Jesus knows that
and he's saying
I am coming
to lay down my life
at the cross for you.
I will die in your place.
I will die for your sin.
And I will rise again
to be eternally
your good shepherd
who can lead you to life.
Jesus declares
that he is
the good shepherd.
And he offers
an invitation.
Will you hear his voice?
Will you respond?
Will you come to him
and follow him?
And we see in verses
19 through 21
that the people
are divided.
Some people look at him
and say
you're crazy.
You are a possessed man.
Whatever you are thinking
that's ridiculous.
I'm not listening to you.
But others look
at his works
and say
could someone
who had healed
a blind man
be powered
by the devil?
That's not one
who brings
death
but life.
So Jesus
says
I am the good shepherd.
But he goes on
in this conversation
with the people
in verses 22
through 41
Jesus explains more
of the basis
on how he can be
the good shepherd.
Why he alone
is the good shepherd.
And it's linked
specifically
to his relationship
with God the Father.
So let's read
verses 22
through 41
together.
It will be
on the screen here
you can read it
along at home.
Chapter 10
verse 22.
At that time
the feast of dedication
took place in Jerusalem.
it was winter
and Jesus
was walking
in the temple
in the colonnade
of Solomon.
So the Jews
gathered around him
and said to him
how long
will you keep us
in suspense?
If you are the Christ
tell us plainly.
And Jesus
answered them
I told you
and you did not believe.
The works
that I do
in my Father's name
bear witness
about me.
But you do not believe
because you are not
part of my flock.
My sheep
hear my voice
and I know them
and they follow me.
I give them
eternal life
and they will
never perish
and no one
will snatch them
out of my hand.
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.
I and the
Father are one.
The Jews
picked up stones
again to stone
him.
Jesus answered
them
I have shown
you many good
works from the
Father.
For which of
these are you
going to stone
me?
And Jesus
answered them
it is not
for a good
work that we
are going to
stone you
but for
blasphemy
because you
being a man
make yourself
God.
Jesus answered
them
is it not
written in
your law
I said
you are
gods
if he
called them
gods
to whom
the word
of God
came
and the
scripture
cannot be
broken
do you
say of
him
who
father
consecrated
and sent
into the
world
you are
blaspheming
because I
said I
am the
son of
God
if I
am not
doing the
works of
my father
then do
not believe
me
but if I
do them
even though
you do
not believe
me
believe the
works
that you
may know
and understand
that the
father is
in me
and I
am in
the father
again they
sought to
arrest him
but he
escaped from
their hands
he went
away across
the Jordan
to the place
where John
had been
baptizing at
first
and there
he remained
and many
came to
him
and they
said
John
did no
sign
but everything
that John
said about
this man
was true
and many
believed
in him
there
in this
interaction
with the
leaders
Jesus is
explaining
how he
can be
and must
be the
only
good
shepherd
for us
the timing
is a feast
of dedication
which is not
a feast
you will find
in the
Old Testament
law
but it
comes from
the history
of the
Jewish
people
when in
173
BC
the Roman
emperor
Antiochus
Epiphanes
IV
invaded
Rome
desecrated
the temple
sacrificed
a pig
on the
altar
and did
great
damage
a few
years later
there was
a rebellion
the Maccabees
rose up
against Roman
rule
and pushed
out the
Romans
and they
rededicated
the temple
and when
they
rededicated
the temple
that's what
he's talking
about here
it's the
feast of
dedications
also called
the festival
of lights
which is also
called
Hanukkah
which is
probably
what many
of you
know it
as
so this
is where
we're at
in the
Jewish
calendar
in the
year
and the
people
come
with a
question
are you
the
deliverer
just as
we celebrate
this
deliverance
from
Rome
are you
the
deliverer
the one
that God
has anointed
the one
that we
are waiting
for
and at
the heart
of his
answer
is verse
30
I
and the
father
are one
what does
this mean
well there's
been a lot
of ink
spilled
throughout
history
on this
one
theologically
but let's
make a few
observations
first of
all
the oneness
includes
both a
distinction
there's a
father
and there's
Jesus
and they're
separate
and yet
he says
we are
one
and there's
an ongoing
theological
discussion
throughout
history
about whether
this is
the unity
of purpose
or oneness
of purpose
or whether
it's a
oneness
of a
greater
oneness
of essence
I'm not
going to
answer that
question
today
it's way
too deep
to try
to get
into the
weeds
of it
but
clearly
Jesus
is saying
we have
a oneness
of purpose
and I
think that
there's
at least
signs
that he's
pointing to
what we
would now
understand to
be the
doctrine of
the Trinity
that God
the God
of the Bible
is one
God
a unified
God
in three
persons
and those
three persons
are co-equal
in value
they have
different roles
in the Trinity
but this is
why we
worship
in the
Christian
church
a triune
God
Bible verses
like this
where show
clear distinction
and yet
absolute
commitment
to the
unity
of God
as one
and friends
rather than
trying to
sort out
the hairs
I hope
that this
morning
at least
we can
stop
and revel
in the
mystery
and the
wonder
of the
word of
God
made
flesh
that we
can think
about this
being God
come to
earth
taking on
human form
so that
he might
accomplish
a redemption
for us
that God
had determined
before the
beginning of
the world
and that
we would
worship
him
and one
of the
reasons I
don't want
to spend
all my
time talking
about that
is that's
not Jesus
purpose in
bringing this
up
Jesus purpose
in bringing
it up in
this context
is to say
you want to
know why
I'm the
good shepherd
why I'm
the fulfillment
of all those
Old Testament
prophecies
it's because
I'm from
God
he has sent
me and he
and I are
one in
working together
and he says
three things
about that
first he appeals
to his good
works as
proof
you see
this in
verse 25
and 32
and 37
and 38
do you want
to know
who I am
look at
what I've
done
simply stop
and look
at what I
have done
he says
the source
of my power
is not
demonic
because I
bring life
to all
who interact
with me
the source
of my
goodness
as a good
shepherd
is that I
am one
with the
father
you have
seen
these
you cannot
deny
them
and if
you were
here this
morning
you're
exploring
who Jesus
is
or you're
wondering
who Jesus
is
I encourage
you look
at what
he's done
and pay
a lot of
attention
next week
as we
celebrate
good
Friday
and as we
celebrate
Easter
and we
think about
his death
and his
resurrection
for these
are the
greatest
works that
Jesus
will
do
and Jesus
is preparing
us to
see those
things
so that's
the first
thing he
says
the second
thing he
says
is that
my
oneness
with the
father
anchors
the security
of my
sheep
I am a
good shepherd
because I am
one with the
father
so verse 28
I give them
eternal life
and they will
never perish
and no one
will statch
them out of
my hand
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
pastor
John
Piper says
this about
this passage
speaking in the
words of
Jesus
the father
and I
are one
no one
can take
you from
me
because I
am stronger
than all
and no one
can take you
from my
father
because my
father is
stronger than
all
when you
are in
my
hand
you are
in his
hands
when you
are in
his
hand
you are
in my
hand
our
omnipotence
and our
unity
are your
safety
and your
salvation
friends
what great
comfort
this is
to know
Jesus as a
good shepherd
our relationship
with God
is secured
based on
his
initiative
him
finding us
and drawing
us in
him
knowing us
and calling
us to be
him
because our
salvation
is dependent
on his
work in
our hearts
we have
great security
and great
joy
and great
comfort
the wonderful
thing about
this truth
is that
the confidence
we have
is not
because this
is an
abstract
system
of logic
and of
theology
but it
is a
trust
in a
person
our good
shepherd
who has
come to
save us
so in
just a
minute we
will sing
when I
fear my
faith will
fail
Christ will
hold me
fast
when the
tempter
would prevail
he will
hold me
fast
I could
never keep
my hold
through life's
fearful path
for my
love is
often
cold
he
must
hold me
fast
Jesus
says
because I
am one
with the
father
if you
follow me
as your
good shepherd
I will
hold you
fast
the final
thing that
he says
here
the final
thing that
happens in
this is
that his
claim to
oneness
provokes a
response
you see it
in verse
31
they pick up
stones again
to stone
him
for blasphemy
how dare you
call yourself
God
and he
challenges
them
and this
doesn't seem
like a
great theological
debate
it actually
seems like
it might be
a debate
tactic
to say
well wait
a minute
in Psalm
82
6
the
psalmist
refers to
the people
of God
who received
the revelation
at Sinai
that's the
context of
that verse
that they
are like
gods
little g
gods
and if
God is
willing to
do that
in his
word
why are
you
stoning
me
for calling
myself
the son
of God
that doesn't
make any
sense
at all
as one
commentator
says
in the
heat of
their
opposition
to what
Jesus
is saying
they are
partly
right
that is
he does
make himself
equal to
God
they're
partly
wrong
his
equality
with
God
does not
make him
a rival
to God
which is
what they
think
and they're
profoundly
mistaken
because they
don't understand
that the drift
of their own
scriptures
reveals how
he is the
fulfillment
of them
and they have
not known
God well
enough to
perceive
that this
revelation
that he
is
and brings
in
is continuity
with
and a
capstone
of the
revelation
that he's
already
provided
that Jesus
is the
fulfillment
of all
the things
that these
people have
been longing
for
and they're
rejecting him
because they
don't understand
them
and again
there is a
divided response
in verse 38
they seek to
arrest him
verse 39
I'm sorry
verse 40
through 42
people come
out
though the
religious leaders
seek to
squelch
Jesus
the people
hear
and they
long
and they
say
John never
did a sign
but this
man he is
everything that
John said
he would be
he is the
lamb of God
who takes
away the
sin of the
world
he is the
one to
bring life
and friends
this is the
this is then
the question
for all of
us
how do
we respond
Jesus
in verse
37 and
38
says this
look at the
works that I
do
if I didn't
do them
then they'll
believe in me
but if I
did
see the
father in
them
believe that
I am one
with the
father
and because
I am one
with the
father
I am a
good shepherd
and come
and believe
in me
for those
of you who
are here
this morning
and you
have already
said yes
to Jesus
know what
great comfort
it is
to know him
means that he
knows you
and if he
knows you
he will never
let you go
take great
comfort
in his love
for you
in his knowing
your name
and him
holding you
fast
and the
call
the call
for us
who are
seeking
the call
for us
who are
wondering
who he
is
look at
his words
look at
his works
look most
importantly
at his
death
and
resurrection
because what
we proclaim
this morning
is that the
good shepherd
has come
and he
calls us
to turn
to him
and in
faith
come to
him
and find
him to be
our good
shepherd
let's pray
lord we
thank you
this morning
for this
word
we thank you
for the
encouragement
that it
is
lord we
pray that
we would
find comfort
in you
lord we
pray for
those who
are seeking
lord that
they would
lord behold
your goodness
and embrace
you as their
good shepherd
we pray these
things in
jesus name
amen
very soon
you
thank you
for the
DP
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