WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.600 Our text for today as we continue our study of John's gospel is John chapter 10 verses 11 through 14. 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:09.000 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.479 Help us as we take up your word together this morning. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:43.880 We recognize that it was written for your glory and for our good and we rightly want to understand it and we recognize that we humbly need your help to do so. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:51.400 So I pray that you'd work in us and through us for the praise of Christ and we pray this in his name. 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:52.679 Amen. 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.980 So John 10 beginning in verse 1, Jesus says, 00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:06.640 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. 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:10.780 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:13.000 To him the gatekeeper opens. 00:01:13.699 --> 00:01:17.840 The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 00:01:18.539 --> 00:01:23.979 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:30.420 A stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:36.480 This figure of speech Jesus used with them but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:38.680 So Jesus again said to them, 00:01:38.820 --> 00:01:41.760 Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:47.120 All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not listen to them. 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:48.600 I am the door. 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:53.719 If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:58.159 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:01:58.739 --> 00:02:02.560 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:02:03.419 --> 00:02:04.879 I am the good shepherd. 00:02:05.419 --> 00:02:07.599 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:12.139 He who has a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:18.539 sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 00:02:19.359 --> 00:02:23.019 He flees because he has a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:24.879 I am the good shepherd. 00:02:25.519 --> 00:02:28.479 I know my own and my own know me. 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:34.060 Just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. 00:02:34.519 --> 00:02:36.560 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.779 I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:43.240 So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:48.520 For this reason, the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:52.860 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.180 I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:00.960 This charge I have received from my father. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:12.000 Now, in case that you are just joining us in our study of John's gospel or that you, like me, easily forget the details, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:20.300 I want to remind us where we find ourselves in this narrative of Jesus' life, just like I did last week. 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:25.140 In fact, word for word, copy and pasted as I did from last week. 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:30.639 So, in chapter 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:34.199 And this causes a lot of confusion and commotion. 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:39.019 So the man is brought before the Pharisees and put through a series of examinations. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:43.359 Two, there's one, then his parents come, and then he comes again. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:51.220 And at the end of that second interrogation, the man says, and this is John 9, verse 33 and following. 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:53.060 Sorry. 00:03:53.700 --> 00:03:58.760 They say of the man, if this man were, oh, sorry, he says, if this man were not from God, he could do nothing. 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:02.820 And then they answer him, you were born in utter sin. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:04.700 And would you teach us? 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:06.640 And they cast him out. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:08.920 So they throw him out of the synagogue. 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.979 And then verse 35 says, Jesus heard that they had cast him out. 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:18.680 And having found him, he said, do you believe in the son of man? 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.159 A reference to a vision of Daniel. 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:25.680 He answered, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:32.039 Jesus said to him, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:34.980 He said, Lord, I believe. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:36.399 And he worshiped him. 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:43.579 Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:49.039 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:54.060 Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. 00:04:54.599 --> 00:04:57.799 But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:07.620 So Jesus, having healed a blind man of his physical disability, and then, much more importantly, of his spiritual disability, 00:05:08.460 --> 00:05:13.520 uses this sight language to expose the prideful Pharisees. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.860 He's speaking with a massive amount of irony here. 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:23.300 It is the men who think they see who are truly the blind ones. 00:05:23.300 --> 00:05:27.620 And it is into this context that Jesus goes on in chapter 10. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:33.500 He is speaking to the Pharisees, blind men who were thrown out of the synagogue, a seeing man. 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:41.879 And he switches from sight language to hearing language, and then this rich shepherding metaphor. 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:49.800 He has presented himself as the shepherd of the sheep in verses 1 through 6, we looked at a couple of weeks ago. 00:05:50.159 --> 00:06:01.000 And as the door of the sheep in verses 7 through 10, as he's expanding his explanation and indictment of these men, 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:03.439 these Pharisees that he's speaking to. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:12.420 Before we consider any of the specifics of this text, I want to take a moment to show you its literary structure. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:22.000 Verses 7 through 10 are the chiastic center of chapter 10 and are themselves chiastic. 00:06:22.420 --> 00:06:27.339 Now, some of you are probably tired of the word chiastic or chiasm. 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:31.720 But if you're new, let me explain briefly what a chiasm is. 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:35.360 Because all over the scripture, it's a mnemonic device. 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:41.240 It's designed to help memorize and to draw our attention within a text. 00:06:42.020 --> 00:06:46.500 So the word chiasm is from the Greek letter chi, which is the X. 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:54.800 And the idea here is that the text can be folded on itself with a center point and the beginning and end, 00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:59.120 and then as you step in, corresponding to one another. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:06.600 Again, meant to draw us to the center of that text as an interpretive tool. 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:13.300 The structure of this text is so easily discernible that I want to show it to you. 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:16.720 From time to time, I've given you the outline in your notes. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.640 But I actually want to walk it through as you're looking at your Bible to show you how you can recognize, 00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:26.800 at least in this case, a very evident chiastic structure. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:30.280 And then we'll note what it says to us. 00:07:30.760 --> 00:07:39.420 So take a look in your Bibles at verses 11 through 14 and note the characters that we find in those four verses. 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:45.460 So firstly, Jesus speaks of himself as the good shepherd. 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:48.759 He says, I am the good shepherd. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:51.080 Look down at verse 14. 00:07:52.520 --> 00:07:56.980 Not just an allusion to that, but we see the exact same sentence. 00:07:57.439 --> 00:07:59.400 I am the good shepherd. 00:07:59.580 --> 00:08:05.379 So note, verse 11 and verse 14 correspond to one another. 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:14.420 If you step in towards the center, you see at the beginning of verse 12, a hired hand. 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:16.259 What else do you see? 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:18.879 That exact same character. 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:25.219 Verse 13, he flees because he is a hired hand. 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:28.659 So there's a B and a B prime. 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:30.180 Then you step in a little bit more. 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:36.279 Notice in the next part of verse 12, a wolf. 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:38.340 The wolf comes. 00:08:39.560 --> 00:08:44.580 And then later on in that verse, the wolf snatches. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:46.019 Are you seeing it? 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:48.399 The good shepherd, the good shepherd. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:50.519 The hired hand, the hired hand. 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:51.399 The wolf, the wolf. 00:08:51.399 --> 00:09:01.959 Leaves at the center of the chiastic structure, a phrase, which is, he leaves the sheep and flees. 00:09:03.199 --> 00:09:03.419 Hmm. 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:07.840 He leaves the sheep and flees. 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:13.659 Is that the most important phrase of these four verses? 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:22.399 Is Jesus speaking and John recording for us here trying to draw our attention to this particular phrase because it matters most? 00:09:23.199 --> 00:09:24.759 Well, certainly not. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.600 Certainly not the most important thing that's being communicated in these verses. 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:32.379 So how then does the structure serve us? 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:35.719 It's an interpretive lens. 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:41.740 Sheep are entirely helpless to defend themselves from a wolf. 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:46.379 They have no strategy for an attack from a wolf. 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:53.320 The only possible thing that they can do is bunch together and hope that they're not the one who's going to get picked off. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:55.379 That's all they've got. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.840 Become a mass and somehow hope that you're not at the edges and the prey. 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:06.799 They need protection from another if they are to be preserved. 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:11.440 God's people are the sheep of this metaphor. 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:12.879 Vulnerable. 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:14.000 Helpless. 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:15.879 In imminent danger. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.279 Unable to save ourselves. 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:30.720 And at the center of this text, this phrase, he leaves the sheep and flees, is meant to have us looking for one who will not abandon us to the wolf. 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:32.279 That's the tension. 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:35.600 That's the interpretive lens that it sets for us here. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:37.820 So, and I would encourage this. 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:39.580 I'm going to encourage it for my own sake. 00:10:40.040 --> 00:10:43.279 This would be a great four verses to memorize. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:48.580 And it's laid out for us in a way that should be relatively easy to do so. 00:10:48.680 --> 00:10:56.379 And this centerpiece of it is for, to move a desire in us not to be abandoned. 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:02.419 Not to be abandoned and helpless and vulnerable and then ultimately destroyed. 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:06.379 So you see how it serves in this way. 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:09.019 The structure highlights. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:18.799 It magnifies and communicates something significant about the claim that Jesus makes at the beginning and at the end of the text. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.299 Which is the most important part of these verses. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:25.279 Do you see this? 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.199 I hope you won't get tired of me pointing it out. 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:32.099 We've got a lot of verses to go in John's gospel. 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:37.339 The hired hand cares nothing for the sheep. 00:11:37.939 --> 00:11:43.299 Because they do not belong to him, he cares nothing for them. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:54.359 So when they see the wolf coming, he sees no need to risk his life for the sheep and abandons them to be devoured and scattered. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:57.539 Which makes them all the more vulnerable. 00:11:58.459 --> 00:12:04.179 In verses 7 through 10, we see a thief and a robber coming in, certainly to work an evil. 00:12:04.599 --> 00:12:11.179 And now Jesus turns the lens a little bit and says, there's also this hired hand who just cares nothing for them. 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:18.559 He's willing to be self-interested and to abandon the task because they don't belong to him. 00:12:19.699 --> 00:12:26.299 Verses 12 and 13 show us the goodness of the good shepherd. 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:28.759 Verses 11 and 14. 00:12:29.939 --> 00:12:30.859 Chiastic structure. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:33.659 Pretty cool, I think. 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:39.179 So we're going to spend most of our time looking at verses 11 and 14. 00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:39.819 14. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.179 Where Jesus declares, I am the good shepherd. 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:47.000 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:12:47.339 --> 00:12:47.459 Right? 00:12:47.839 --> 00:12:49.579 In juxtaposition to the hired hand. 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:50.879 Then verse 14. 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:52.019 I am the good shepherd. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:56.459 I know my own and my own know me. 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:03.699 If you don't memorize the entirety of these verses, just those two would be good for your soul. 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:11.860 Jesus here makes the fourth of his seven I am statements that John records. 00:13:13.060 --> 00:13:16.440 First he says, I am the bread of life in chapter 6. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.440 Then I am the light of the world in chapters 8 and 9. 00:13:20.920 --> 00:13:25.800 Then I am the door of the sheep in chapter 10, verse 7 and 9. 00:13:25.880 --> 00:13:28.140 We looked at last week. 00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:30.000 And here the fourth. 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.340 I am the good shepherd. 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:47.440 These statements are extraordinarily significant because the I am phrase declares Jesus' deity in relation to God's name as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3. 00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:52.100 And then adds some quality of his deity. 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:55.620 Here, repeated twice. 00:13:55.620 --> 00:13:57.560 Yes, I am the good shepherd. 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:05.060 This may be lost on you, but it certainly was not lost on his original hearers. 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:11.960 They fully recognized what he was declaring when he said, I am the good shepherd. 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:19.060 Now, the word kalos, here translated good, needs a little bit of work. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:23.960 It's a good and fair translation to use the word good here. 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:35.180 But in other places in the New Testament, it's translated better, right, honorable, beautiful, noble. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:40.120 And then there's some other really minor translations as well. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.879 In the same translation, in these different ways. 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:52.900 So, it's a word that has a bit more semantic range than we might initially assign just the word good. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:15:01.820 This adjective carries the idea of having positive qualities suitable for a thing specified. 00:15:02.180 --> 00:15:04.379 Good for something. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:10.740 Now, without spending a bunch of time walking us through all of the various texts that use this same word, 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:15.300 I just want to maximize this word in your thinking. 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:22.639 I thought, as I sat down to prepare for this sermon, I thought, why only good? 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:24.679 Why not great? 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:28.620 There's the inclination of our English language. 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:33.399 After all, the author of Hebrews calls Jesus the great shepherd. 00:15:34.479 --> 00:15:36.959 You think, well, why does Jesus only call himself good? 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:44.460 If I try a new food and I call it good, I typically don't mean much with that adjective. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.080 Good versus not bad. 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.240 Edible, maybe, I mean. 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:58.019 I will find a different adjective altogether if I really want to express my appreciation for something. 00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:04.300 And so, good feels insufficient to speak of Jesus as our shepherd. 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:10.500 So, what is he doing here, calling himself the good shepherd? 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:16.579 Well, I suggest that he is showing himself to be the fitting shepherd. 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:22.120 The right shepherd for the sheep of this context. 00:16:22.939 --> 00:16:30.299 He's expanding on his exclusive claim to be the door of the sheep in verse 7. 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:32.819 Note verse 9, John 10. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:34.419 I am the door. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:41.000 If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:16:41.979 --> 00:16:44.899 This idea of being the good shepherd is unrolling that. 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:51.419 Note that Jesus is not a door, not a singular option, but he is the door. 00:16:51.419 --> 00:17:01.339 However, if the sheep have any hope of being saved, it will be because the good shepherd, the fitting shepherd will save them. 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:12.019 In declaring this title, I suggest that he certainly has in mind the worthless shepherd of Zechariah chapter 11. 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:17.099 Even though the character he is juxtaposing himself with is a hired hand. 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:18.500 Listen to Zechariah chapter 11. 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.200 This is verse 16 and following. 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:22.900 God says, 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:52.640 I think that Jesus has this. 00:17:52.900 --> 00:18:00.100 This shepherd in mind as he calls himself good and declares that he will not abandon his sheep. 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:09.300 The self-interested, only concerned with preserving their own good, uninterested in caring for the flock of God. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.259 This is not Jesus. 00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:16.660 Jesus is the good shepherd. 00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:24.820 And what is it that makes him the fitting shepherd, the right shepherd for the sheep? 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:28.380 And he tells us, and he tells us two things. 00:18:28.580 --> 00:18:35.480 The first in verse 11, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:41.940 And the second, I know my own and my own know me. 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:46.339 He does something very intriguing here in this first one. 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:50.079 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:58.740 A shepherd who would sufficiently protect their sheep certainly would have had to be willing to die for their sheep. 00:18:59.159 --> 00:19:03.619 To place themselves in harm's way to protect the vulnerables. 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:05.759 Part of the job requirement. 00:19:06.179 --> 00:19:07.859 You had to be tough. 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:09.699 Have a measure of machismo. 00:19:09.899 --> 00:19:13.079 You had to be willing to take on the wolf or the bear. 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:15.559 He'd have to be brave. 00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:23.720 In 1 Samuel, David defends his bravery as a shepherd, as a qualification to face Goliath. 00:19:24.439 --> 00:19:26.699 1 Samuel 17, verse 34 and following, 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:27.779 David said to Saul, 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:30.779 Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:35.240 And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from his flock, 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:38.919 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:43.960 And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:46.920 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears. 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:50.519 And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, 00:19:50.580 --> 00:19:54.000 for he has defiled the armies of the living God. 00:19:55.700 --> 00:20:00.880 Brave, a shepherd, had to be willing to die for the sake of the sheep. 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:07.460 But Jesus doesn't say the good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. 00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:10.600 But that he does. 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:12.900 But that he does. 00:20:13.620 --> 00:20:17.319 Speaking about his death on the cross. 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:24.299 A dead shepherd, in temporal terms, is no longer any help to the sheep. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.299 The shepherd lays his life down. 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:29.819 If he goes and sacrifices himself to the wolf, 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:33.660 then the wolf is free to devour the sheep. 00:20:33.660 --> 00:20:37.920 And that's what's so intriguing about what he's doing with this metaphor. 00:20:38.600 --> 00:20:44.380 Teaching what will be necessary to accomplish the safety of his flock. 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:49.160 He will die so that they will live. 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:55.120 Perhaps it is this very text that the author of Hebrews has in mind 00:20:55.120 --> 00:20:58.640 in writing the benediction at the close of his letter. 00:20:58.860 --> 00:21:01.560 I mentioned it in brief earlier. 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:04.519 This is Hebrews 13, verse 20 and 21. 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:12.500 Now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:18.480 So the God of peace, who has made peace between God and man, 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:23.900 through the death of Jesus, has brought him back alive again. 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:24.980 And then he says, 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.640 The great shepherd of the sheep. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.220 The great shepherd of the sheep. 00:21:32.100 --> 00:21:33.620 By the blood of the eternal covenant, 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:36.480 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, 00:21:36.600 --> 00:21:39.820 working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, 00:21:40.280 --> 00:21:41.860 through Jesus Christ, 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:45.320 to whom be glory forever and ever. 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:46.700 Amen. 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:50.860 So Jesus is the good shepherd. 00:21:50.859 --> 00:21:51.979 He declares of himself, 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:53.740 I am the good shepherd, 00:21:54.379 --> 00:22:00.099 because the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:03.899 He also tells us that he's the good shepherd, 00:22:04.479 --> 00:22:06.819 and that he knows his own, 00:22:06.919 --> 00:22:09.599 and that his own know him. 00:22:10.659 --> 00:22:12.419 In verse 11, 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:15.559 Jesus says the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:18.699 Not my sheep, 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.660 but that they are his sheep, 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.080 is clearly implied, 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:23.460 for these sheep, 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:24.279 but they're his. 00:22:24.620 --> 00:22:25.519 We know they're his, 00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:28.220 because the hired hand does not own them, 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:29.580 verse 12 says, 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:34.759 and is made unmistakably clear in verse 14. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.039 Why is it that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep? 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:41.920 Because they are his. 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.960 They're valuable to him. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.880 Now this should be familiar language, 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:51.660 as we have studied chapter 10 so far. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:54.180 Verse 2 through 4 of chapter 10, 00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:57.039 He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:59.279 To him the gatekeeper opens, 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:00.519 the sheep hear his voice, 00:23:00.620 --> 00:23:03.640 and he calls his own sheep by name, 00:23:04.360 --> 00:23:05.920 and leads them out. 00:23:06.620 --> 00:23:09.160 And we talked about the picture of this sheep fold, 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:12.220 that most often this would have been a group of families 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:15.240 partnering together to put their sheep away at night, 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.339 and hiring somebody to keep that gate secure, 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:21.680 to only let the shepherd in through that gate. 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:25.160 And so Jesus calls out from amongst those sheep, 00:23:25.600 --> 00:23:27.319 his sheep. 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:28.380 And then verse 4 says, 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:30.980 when he has brought out all his own, 00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:32.680 he goes before them, 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:34.480 and the sheep follow him, 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:36.360 for they know his voice. 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:38.439 And there's this picture, 00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:40.799 a reality in this day, 00:23:40.979 --> 00:23:43.799 that the sheep knew the voice of their shepherd, 00:23:43.939 --> 00:23:45.639 and a shepherd could call them out, 00:23:45.899 --> 00:23:46.919 and they would follow him. 00:23:46.959 --> 00:23:47.839 Not another shepherd, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.139 but their shepherd. 00:23:51.139 --> 00:23:52.279 And I have shared with you, 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:54.579 this metaphor would have been vivid 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:56.719 in the minds of Jesus' original audience. 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:59.259 We considered Ezekiel 34, 00:23:59.899 --> 00:24:01.099 and Psalm 23, 00:24:01.479 --> 00:24:04.519 which once again was read this morning. 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:07.960 Listen now to another text. 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:09.519 This is Jeremiah chapter 23, 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:11.400 verse 1 through 5. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:13.240 There Jeremiah says, 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:16.259 Woe to the shepherd to destroy and shatter 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:18.680 the sheep of my pasture, 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:19.819 declares the Lord. 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:21.980 Therefore thus says the Lord, 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:22.839 the God of Israel, 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:25.220 concerning the shepherds who care for my people, 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:27.240 you have scattered my flock 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:28.379 and have driven them away, 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:30.339 and you have not attended to them. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:32.680 Behold, I will attend to you 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:33.819 for your evil deeds, 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:35.740 declares the Lord. 00:24:36.439 --> 00:24:39.419 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock 00:24:39.419 --> 00:24:40.759 out of all the countries 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:41.619 where I have driven them, 00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:43.599 and I will bring them back to their fold, 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:46.079 and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:48.460 I will set shepherds over them 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:49.339 who will care for them, 00:24:49.379 --> 00:24:51.000 and they shall fear no more, 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:52.799 nor be dismayed, 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:54.939 neither shall any be missing, 00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:57.059 declares the Lord. 00:24:57.139 --> 00:24:57.319 Right? 00:24:57.399 --> 00:24:58.939 So, all of this sheep metaphor. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:24:59.480 Right? 00:24:59.639 --> 00:25:01.679 Very alive in the Old Testament. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:03.860 It would have been in their minds. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.360 And then verse 5 of Jeremiah 23 says, 00:25:06.620 --> 00:25:08.320 Behold, the days are coming, 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:09.100 declares the Lord, 00:25:09.360 --> 00:25:11.100 when I will raise up for David 00:25:11.100 --> 00:25:12.640 a righteous branch, 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:15.100 and he shall reign as king, 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:16.380 and deal wisely, 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:18.220 and shall execute justice 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:19.480 and righteousness 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.960 in the land. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:21.560 Right? 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:22.559 Jesus, 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:25.299 the good shepherd. 00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:28.579 And Psalm 100 and verse 3, 00:25:29.679 --> 00:25:30.839 Know that the Lord, 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:31.779 he is God, 00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:33.599 it is he who made us, 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:35.480 and we are his. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:37.259 We are his people, 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:41.139 and the sheep of his pasture. 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:46.240 Jesus is both exposing the hypocrisy 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:47.380 of these religious leaders 00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:49.000 who should have known their Bibles, 00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:51.100 seen Jesus as the Messiah, 00:25:51.560 --> 00:25:54.460 heard and heeded his words. 00:25:55.520 --> 00:25:57.040 And he's also making claim 00:25:57.040 --> 00:25:59.300 to accomplish without variance 00:25:59.300 --> 00:26:00.920 exactly what God says 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:02.480 that Jesus speaks to this reality 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:06.420 as John presents his words to us. 00:26:06.420 --> 00:26:09.600 So go back to John chapter 6 with me. 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:17.660 Verse 37 and following. 00:26:18.540 --> 00:26:19.160 Jesus says, 00:26:19.340 --> 00:26:21.460 All that the Father gives me 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:23.140 will come to me, 00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:24.840 and whoever comes to me 00:26:24.840 --> 00:26:26.480 I will never cast out. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:28.740 For I have come down from heaven 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:30.259 not to do my own will, 00:26:30.340 --> 00:26:32.900 but the will of him who sent me. 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:35.440 And this is the will of him who sent me, 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:37.900 that I should lose nothing of all 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:38.840 that he has given me, 00:26:39.280 --> 00:26:40.120 but raise it up 00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:41.599 on the last day. 00:26:42.639 --> 00:26:44.299 The sheep metaphor is not in here, 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:45.259 but you can see the connection 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:47.979 being made in chapter 10. 00:26:49.179 --> 00:26:50.219 Gathering them together, 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:51.759 leading them out, 00:26:51.899 --> 00:26:52.699 leading them in, 00:26:52.819 --> 00:26:55.419 because they are mine. 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:58.139 The Father has given them to me. 00:26:59.419 --> 00:27:00.639 Now further on, 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:02.079 past today's text, 00:27:02.219 --> 00:27:03.079 John chapter 10, 00:27:03.159 --> 00:27:05.059 verse 27 and following. 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:08.940 We'll look at this in a couple of weeks. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:09.500 Lord willing, 00:27:09.639 --> 00:27:10.220 he says there, 00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:11.619 My sheep hear my voice, 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:13.379 and I know them, 00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:15.220 and they follow me. 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:17.500 I give them eternal life, 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:18.639 and they will never perish, 00:27:18.779 --> 00:27:20.859 and no one will snatch them 00:27:20.859 --> 00:27:22.099 out of my hand. 00:27:22.639 --> 00:27:23.619 My Father, 00:27:23.859 --> 00:27:25.440 who has given them to me, 00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:26.559 is greater than all, 00:27:26.659 --> 00:27:28.679 and no one is able to snatch them 00:27:28.679 --> 00:27:30.679 out of the Father's hand. 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:34.380 I and the Father are one. 00:27:35.340 --> 00:27:36.220 They're my sheep. 00:27:36.620 --> 00:27:37.740 They belong to me. 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:40.880 I am the Lord of Psalm 23, 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:45.380 and no one will subvert that plan. 00:27:46.560 --> 00:27:47.660 And then you can go on 00:27:47.660 --> 00:27:48.860 in John's Gospel, 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:49.820 to chapter 17. 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:50.700 Jesus prays, 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:51.339 To the Father, 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:52.960 I have manifested your name 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:53.500 to the people 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:55.099 whom you gave me 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:56.119 out of the world. 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.919 Yours they were, 00:27:58.339 --> 00:27:59.720 and you gave them to me, 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.759 and they have kept your word. 00:28:02.659 --> 00:28:02.960 Now, 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:03.960 they know that everything 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.700 that you have given me 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:05.539 is from you. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:06.740 For I have given them 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.879 the words that you gave me, 00:28:07.939 --> 00:28:08.859 and they have received them, 00:28:08.919 --> 00:28:10.200 and have come to know 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:10.899 in truth 00:28:10.899 --> 00:28:11.960 that I came from you, 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:13.220 and they have believed 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:14.200 that you sent me. 00:28:14.899 --> 00:28:16.119 I am praying for them. 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:17.859 I am not praying for the world, 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:20.919 but for those whom you have given me, 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:24.199 for they are yours. 00:28:25.639 --> 00:28:26.039 Beloved, 00:28:26.159 --> 00:28:29.919 what a thing to belong to God, 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:30.519 right? 00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:33.299 To be given to Christ, 00:28:33.399 --> 00:28:35.059 and for Christ to be 00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:38.039 our good shepherd. 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:40.359 Jesus is the good shepherd 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:43.579 because he is the redeemer 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:46.779 of his people, right? 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:48.859 bought them out of slavery, 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:49.379 right? 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:51.680 Moved them from death to life. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.420 The people who were 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:53.440 not his people, 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:56.339 now his people. 00:28:56.920 --> 00:28:58.539 All of this found 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:00.420 in these precious words, 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:01.200 in this title, 00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:05.359 I am the good shepherd. 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:09.180 So what are we to do with this? 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:12.139 It's good just to reflect upon it, 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:13.380 but what does it mean 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:14.660 as we move on 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:15.580 into our afternoon 00:29:15.580 --> 00:29:17.560 and into the rest 00:29:17.560 --> 00:29:18.620 of this week? 00:29:18.780 --> 00:29:20.500 There's three things, 00:29:20.600 --> 00:29:22.560 points of application here. 00:29:24.320 --> 00:29:24.880 First, 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:27.920 if you are in Christ, 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:29.759 you've placed faith in him, 00:29:31.060 --> 00:29:33.920 rest in the sacrificial love 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:36.560 of the good shepherd. 00:29:37.280 --> 00:29:39.620 Rest in the sacrificial love 00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:41.059 of Christ. 00:29:42.459 --> 00:29:43.500 Jesus does not merely 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:45.379 care about his sheep 00:29:45.379 --> 00:29:46.619 in a general sense. 00:29:46.899 --> 00:29:48.839 He lays his very life 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:51.039 down for them. 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:54.479 His death was intentional 00:29:54.479 --> 00:29:55.659 and it was voluntary 00:29:55.659 --> 00:29:59.239 and it was effective 00:29:59.239 --> 00:30:01.000 to accomplish all 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:02.079 that God has purposed 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.359 for his people. 00:30:04.659 --> 00:30:06.039 The believer's assurance 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:07.179 is not rooted 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:08.200 in the strength 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:09.860 of his own grip 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:11.580 to hold on to Christ, 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:13.840 but in Christ's 00:30:13.840 --> 00:30:15.060 sacrificial commitment 00:30:15.060 --> 00:30:16.440 to his people. 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:17.799 The good shepherd 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:19.320 holds on to us. 00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:22.880 When doubts arise, 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:25.340 Christians should not 00:30:25.340 --> 00:30:26.539 look inward, 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:28.100 but outward 00:30:28.100 --> 00:30:30.279 to the finished work 00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:30.779 of the shepherd 00:30:30.779 --> 00:30:31.960 who purchased them 00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:35.000 with his own blood. 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.259 I've been very tired 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:39.980 these few days. 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:42.460 I've had a lot going on. 00:30:42.539 --> 00:30:43.140 Most of you know 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:44.660 that we're remodeling a house. 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:47.000 Just a massive amount 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:48.059 of things on my plate. 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:49.180 I could close my eyes 00:30:49.180 --> 00:30:49.960 and go to sleep 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:51.640 at any moment. 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:54.400 I don't feel as zealous 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:55.740 as I often feel. 00:30:56.619 --> 00:30:57.019 I just am. 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:59.440 Everything is being done 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.599 in neutral, 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:01.900 it feels like, 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:03.299 these days. 00:31:03.299 --> 00:31:04.839 There could be a temptation 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:05.779 in my own heart 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:06.399 to then go, 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:08.159 I used to be so fervent. 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:09.839 What is going on with me? 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:11.419 And I'm thankful. 00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:13.299 I don't have to look within. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:15.200 I can fight unbelief 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:16.619 by meditating 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:18.379 on the sacrificial work 00:31:18.379 --> 00:31:18.899 of Jesus 00:31:18.899 --> 00:31:20.519 on my behalf. 00:31:21.099 --> 00:31:21.879 It is finished. 00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:22.960 The good shepherd 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.180 has laid down his life 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:24.799 for the sheep. 00:31:25.139 --> 00:31:26.079 I am his 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:27.599 and he is mine 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:28.299 because he 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:29.919 has done the work 00:31:29.919 --> 00:31:31.059 for me. 00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:32.879 And while my body 00:31:32.879 --> 00:31:33.539 may not be getting 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:34.639 the rest of these days, 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:35.619 my soul 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:36.779 can find deep 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:38.399 and satisfying rest 00:31:38.399 --> 00:31:39.779 in Christ. 00:31:41.159 --> 00:31:42.440 So remind yourself 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:43.819 daily 00:31:43.819 --> 00:31:45.599 that your salvation 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:46.740 rests upon 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:47.539 the shepherd's 00:31:47.539 --> 00:31:48.779 sacrifice 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:50.279 and not your own 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:51.480 performance. 00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:53.299 Remind one another 00:31:53.299 --> 00:31:53.859 of that. 00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:54.839 Come together 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:55.839 on the Lord's day. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:57.799 Press the gospel 00:31:57.799 --> 00:31:59.259 into one another's 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:00.639 lives. 00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:02.899 Secondly, 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:05.799 we ought to beware 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:08.119 of false teachers 00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:09.399 and we ought to 00:32:09.399 --> 00:32:10.899 listen to the voice 00:32:10.899 --> 00:32:12.179 of Christ. 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:14.139 It's not what we 00:32:14.139 --> 00:32:15.159 spent most of our time on, 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:15.859 but the contrast 00:32:15.859 --> 00:32:16.819 between the good shepherd 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:17.919 and the hired hand 00:32:17.919 --> 00:32:19.200 should remind us 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:20.619 that not all people 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:21.619 who claim to be 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:22.339 spiritual leaders 00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:24.019 are trustworthy. 00:32:24.879 --> 00:32:25.879 Some are serving 00:32:25.879 --> 00:32:27.740 for personal gain, 00:32:28.139 --> 00:32:28.720 reputation, 00:32:29.159 --> 00:32:29.599 platform, 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:31.799 some measure of comfort 00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:33.899 rather than a genuine 00:32:33.899 --> 00:32:35.839 love for God's 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:36.980 people. 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.439 A trustworthy 00:32:39.439 --> 00:32:41.259 Christian leader 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:42.399 is going to point you 00:32:42.399 --> 00:32:45.159 to the good shepherd. 00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:46.740 It's going to remind you 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:47.639 that there is a shepherd 00:32:47.639 --> 00:32:50.299 who will not abandon you. 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:52.839 evaluate every teacher, 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:54.079 pastor, 00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:55.599 author, 00:32:57.440 --> 00:32:58.399 YouTube platform 00:32:58.399 --> 00:33:00.019 by the word of God, 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:02.559 the word of Christ. 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:04.359 Follow leaders 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:05.559 only insofar 00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:06.899 as they faithfully 00:33:06.899 --> 00:33:07.659 lead you 00:33:07.659 --> 00:33:09.099 to the good shepherd. 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:11.939 thirdly, 00:33:12.439 --> 00:33:13.459 take a moment 00:33:13.459 --> 00:33:14.019 to consider 00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:14.480 that 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:16.259 Jesus knows 00:33:16.259 --> 00:33:16.799 his own 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:17.659 and his own 00:33:17.659 --> 00:33:18.500 know 00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:19.899 him. 00:33:20.459 --> 00:33:21.339 And he's speaking 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:22.359 in this 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:23.539 case 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:24.559 of a 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:25.779 positional 00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:27.039 reality. 00:33:27.919 --> 00:33:29.219 These are 00:33:29.219 --> 00:33:29.959 his 00:33:29.959 --> 00:33:31.199 sheep. 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:32.359 These sheep 00:33:32.359 --> 00:33:33.119 know who 00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:34.219 he is. 00:33:35.019 --> 00:33:35.579 I just want to 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:36.159 step out 00:33:36.159 --> 00:33:37.039 beyond the text 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:37.920 just a bit 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:38.519 to say 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:39.779 in closing 00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:40.379 that we ought 00:33:40.379 --> 00:33:40.720 to be 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:41.720 cultivating 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:42.759 a personal 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:43.740 and growing 00:33:43.740 --> 00:33:44.399 relationship 00:33:44.399 --> 00:33:45.920 with the good 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:46.220 shepherd. 00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:48.259 Jesus 00:33:48.259 --> 00:33:49.000 describes 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:49.619 this 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:50.599 mutual 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:51.539 knowledge 00:33:51.539 --> 00:33:51.940 that's 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:52.379 happening 00:33:52.379 --> 00:33:53.099 here. 00:33:53.659 --> 00:33:54.279 Later, 00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:55.920 John 15 00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:56.240 is going to 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:56.779 talk about 00:33:56.779 --> 00:33:57.420 the need 00:33:57.420 --> 00:33:57.779 for us 00:33:57.779 --> 00:33:58.599 to abide 00:33:58.599 --> 00:33:59.019 in him, 00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:00.180 to tarry 00:34:00.180 --> 00:34:01.740 with him. 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:02.740 And this 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:03.039 is 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:04.940 a covenantal 00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:05.799 relational 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:06.579 bond 00:34:06.579 --> 00:34:06.859 that he 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:07.259 has 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:08.159 with his 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:08.480 people. 00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:09.119 And because 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:09.380 of it, 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:09.860 because of 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:10.779 the status 00:34:10.779 --> 00:34:11.199 that we 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:11.819 are his 00:34:11.819 --> 00:34:12.219 and he 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:13.159 is ours, 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:13.960 we ought 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:14.360 to want 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:14.920 to know 00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:15.639 him in 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:16.059 growing 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:17.179 degree. 00:34:18.739 --> 00:34:19.500 He knows 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:19.920 us better 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.199 than we 00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:20.380 know 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.039 ourselves. 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:22.299 He knows 00:34:22.299 --> 00:34:23.380 our great 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:24.119 frailty 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:25.079 of mind 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:25.460 and of 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:25.900 body, 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:26.639 all of the 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:27.259 things that 00:34:27.259 --> 00:34:27.799 we struggle 00:34:27.799 --> 00:34:28.139 with, 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:28.900 our weaknesses, 00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:30.860 our great 00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:31.259 need of 00:34:31.259 --> 00:34:31.599 him. 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:32.179 He knows 00:34:32.179 --> 00:34:32.559 how much 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:32.960 we need 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:33.360 him more 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:33.659 than we 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.380 ever realize 00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:34.860 how much 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:35.800 we need 00:34:35.800 --> 00:34:36.900 him. 00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:39.200 We ought 00:34:39.200 --> 00:34:40.140 to pursue 00:34:40.140 --> 00:34:41.059 knowledge 00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:41.599 of him, 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:42.579 to take 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:43.079 up his 00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:43.500 word, 00:34:43.640 --> 00:34:43.860 and to 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:44.620 pray, 00:34:44.740 --> 00:34:44.980 and to 00:34:44.980 --> 00:34:45.220 gather 00:34:45.220 --> 00:34:45.579 with his 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:45.960 people, 00:34:46.180 --> 00:34:47.300 and be 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:48.099 obedient to 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:48.820 all that 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:49.519 he commands. 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:51.059 Eternal 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:51.559 life is 00:34:51.559 --> 00:34:52.340 not merely 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:52.840 escaping 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:53.780 judgment, 00:34:54.180 --> 00:34:54.360 it is 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:55.059 knowing God 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:55.539 the Father 00:34:55.539 --> 00:34:56.579 and Christ 00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:58.900 who sent 00:34:58.900 --> 00:34:59.140 him. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:00.240 What a 00:35:00.240 --> 00:35:01.380 pleasure and 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:02.240 joy it is 00:35:02.240 --> 00:35:02.720 to be a 00:35:02.720 --> 00:35:03.920 sheep of 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:04.139 his 00:35:04.139 --> 00:35:04.659 pasture. 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:06.300 Jesus 00:35:06.300 --> 00:35:06.539 says, 00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:06.960 I am the 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:07.500 good shepherd. 00:35:07.680 --> 00:35:08.139 The good 00:35:08.139 --> 00:35:08.720 shepherd lays 00:35:08.720 --> 00:35:09.360 down his 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:09.900 life for 00:35:09.900 --> 00:35:10.280 the sheep. 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.220 I am the 00:35:11.220 --> 00:35:11.960 good shepherd. 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:12.539 I know 00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:13.400 my own 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:14.220 and my 00:35:14.220 --> 00:35:14.619 own 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:15.800 know me. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:16.920 Let's pray 00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:17.240 together.