Well, as we come to the word of God this morning, may the Lord give us receptive hearts and help us to hear what he has said.
We're continuing on in the gospel of John chapter 10.
If you have your Bible, you can open it up to John chapter 10.
If you don't have a Bible, there are Bibles in front of you in the seats there that you can grab onto.
And we're in John chapter 10.
We've been listening and thinking about the words of Jesus and how he is the good shepherd.
And we're just now coming down to verses 17 and 18.
So let's read that.
I'll start in verse 14 just to give us some of the context again and then we'll follow along with what Jesus is saying here.
John chapter 10 verse 14.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Just as the Father knows me.
And I know the Father.
And I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.
I must bring them also.
They too will listen to my voice.
And there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to 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 authority to take it up again.
This command I received from my Father.
So in verse 17 Jesus says,
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.
Now this might sound a little strange to us.
As we said last week, the Father and his son Jesus have a very unique relationship with each other.
It's unlike anything that we know or experience.
And if you haven't been with us since the beginning of this series,
some of this might sound very strange to you.
What does Jesus mean by calling God his Father?
Well, this is the mystery of God that the Bible clearly reveals.
There is one God.
And this one God exists simultaneously all at once in three persons.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It's beyond anything that we know or understand.
There's no analogy that can perfectly illustrate this mysterious nature of God.
And I can tell you that we probably would not believe this,
that God was anything like this,
except that that's what God has revealed to us in his word.
That's what he said he is like.
We could go to all kinds of scriptures.
We won't do it this morning,
but we see very clearly in the pages of the Bible
that the Father is divine, truly God.
The Son is divine.
He's truly God.
And the Holy Spirit is divine, truly God.
And yet, not three gods, but one God.
One Lord.
One Yahweh.
And Jesus has been telling us specifically here about this special relationship that he has with God the Father.
I'll read it again.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life.
Now, we should know that, of course,
this is not the only reason that the Father loves the Son.
Even before we've come to this verse,
we've heard from Jesus and even from the Father
that theirs is a relationship in which love is flowing back and forth all the time.
It's a relationship characterized by love.
We saw this in John 3.35.
The Father loves the Son
and has placed everything in his hands.
We saw it in John 5.20.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him all he does.
We saw this at Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3.17.
The Father himself speaks from heaven audibly.
This is my Son whom I love.
With him I am well pleased.
But now here in John 10.17,
Jesus is drawing our attention to one particular reason why
the Father loves the Son.
Jesus says quite literally,
on account of this,
the Father loves me.
That I lay down my life.
And we have to really chew on this a bit.
It's not that God only loves his Son
because his Son does what the Father wants him to do.
That's a sad reality that we see sometimes
in human relationships in our world.
No, it's not that.
Neither is it that the Son is desperately trying to win
and keep the love of his Father
by doing what his Father has asked of him.
That too is a sad reality that we sometimes see
lived out in our world today.
This is neither of those.
And it kind of brings us to the question,
well then,
what is so love-worthy,
what is so lovely
about the Son laying down his life?
Why does the Father love that?
The Son does this.
Well, let's ask the question again.
Why does Jesus lay down his life?
To accomplish what?
We need only to go back a few verses
and listen to what Jesus has been saying
in verse 13.
I am the good shepherd, said Jesus.
The good shepherd lays down his life.
Why?
For the sheep.
The hired hand, he said,
is not the shepherd
and does not own the sheep.
So when he sees the wolf coming,
he abandons the sheep
and runs away.
Then the wolf attacks the flock
and scatters it.
The man runs away
because he's a hired hand
and cares nothing for the sheep.
So Jesus lays down his life.
Why?
For his sheep.
Because unlike the hired hand
in this illustration,
he cares deeply about them.
He loves them.
And that's a glorious
and beautiful thing.
Love.
True, selfless love
like Jesus has for his sheep
is a lovely thing.
The Father sees that
and he loves that.
Let's talk for a moment
about the love
that Jesus has for his sheep.
Jesus loves his sheep
not just a little bit
but a lot.
So much that he will put down his life
and give himself up to death
in order to save them
from the spiritual danger
that they are in.
That's not just love
like the kind of family
or friend love
that we are familiar with
in our world today.
That's true love.
That's great love.
That's deep love.
That's the kind of love
that's rare to see
on earth today
in a world where people
usually put themselves first.
in John chapter 15
verse 13
Jesus says
greater love has no one
than this
that a man lay down his life
for his friends.
The greatest of loves
is seen
in the greatest of self-sacrifices
for another.
Take a good look
at the man in this picture.
The man seated on the left.
There's a reason
that this soldier is sitting.
It's a little bit tough
to see in the picture
but if you look closely
you'll notice
that part of his left leg
is missing
as well as his right arm.
His name was Harry Jackson.
It was March 1945.
He was stationed
out on the island
of Iwo Jima
along with 70,000
other U.S. Marines.
The Japanese troops
attacked the island.
The battle lasted 36 days.
27,000 American Marines
were killed or injured.
On the 19th of March
seven days before
this battle ended
Harry Jackson's squad
was on outpost duty
with a rifle platoon.
During the night
Japanese soldiers
infiltrated the perimeter
and threw a grenade
into the foxhole
where Harry Jackson
and his comrades were.
Without hesitation
he took off his helmet
put it on top
of the grenade
and then jumped
on top of that
with his body.
He saved the lives
of the three men
next to him.
And amazingly
he survived as well.
He lost his left leg
his right arm
his left eye
and he ended up
with powder burns
all over his body
for the rest of his life.
Can you imagine that?
As one U.S. Marine
commenting on the story
said
the natural instinct there
is to jump away
to get away from it
and nobody would have
faulted him
for doing that.
But he knew
in that moment
that if he smothered
that grenade
there was a chance
that his friends
might live.
And so he did.
Even if it would kill him.
That's the greatest
of loves
Jesus says.
To lay down your life
for your friends.
And that's rare
to see.
Paul in Romans chapter 5
verse 7 says
very rarely
will anyone die
for a righteous person
though for a good person
someone might possibly
dare to die.
Paul's about to contrast
the rarest
and best
of human loves
with the love of God
and the love of Christ.
But his point is that
when it comes to choosing
to die for someone else
like to save them
it's very rare.
even if the person
who could be saved
is known to be
a good and righteous person
it's very rare
almost always
people will just act
in their own best interests
to preserve themselves.
And this is what is glorious
and beautiful
about Jesus Christ.
He has
the rarest
and most beautiful
of loves
for us.
unworthy
sinners
that we are.
Here in John chapter 10
we're still a ways off
from
the cross.
That day
Jesus will lay down
his life
but already
Jesus is talking
about it.
He's thinking
about it.
I'm going to lay down
my life
for my sheep.
He's intent
on doing it.
In fact
all the way back
in chapter 6
back in Capernaum
he was thinking
about it.
He said
this bread
is my flesh
which I will give
for the life
of the world.
In fact
all the way back
in chapter 3
when Jesus was talking
to Nicodemus
he said a similar
kind of thing
about how he would
be lifted up
so that everyone
who believes
might have
eternal life.
even before that
Jesus
the Son of God
right from the start
had it on his heart
to lay down
his life
to rescue us.
Mark 10
45
the Son of Man
did not come
to be served
but to serve
and
to give
his life
as a ransom
for many.
and what makes
Christ's
love
really stand out
is that
he will die
for sinners
like you
and me.
We might think
that we're pretty good
some days
probably the truth
is
that we all
have no idea
just how deplorable
our sins
really are
to a holy
and righteous
God.
We are
quite
unworthy
we are
quite guilty
we are
quite deserving
of punishment
that's what's
right
that's what's
fair
and yet
Jesus
looks at us
with compassion
and tender
pity
and he says
I'm going to
go down
and I'm going
to suffer
the shame
and the agony
of the death
that they deserve
for their sins
so that they
can be saved
and rescued
from it
and Jesus
did
he laid down
his life
on the cross
he was crucified
to atone
for our sins
this love
of Christ
for his sheep
for you
for me
is glorious
it's beautiful
it's wondrous
have you felt
it
do you know
it
and the father
as he watches
all of this
unfolding on earth
he loves
his son
all the more
for doing it
for going
through
with it
it's the most
lovely thing
in his sight
there was
already
great
deep
love
for his
son
and now
there's even
greater
even deeper
love
for Jesus
his son
so Jesus
tells the Pharisees
and anyone else
listening in
that he's going
to lay down
his life
for his sheep
he's going to
die for them
but in the same
breath
he says
I'm also going
to take up
my life
again
very strange
thing to say
maybe unexpected
we'll come back
to that
another message
we'll keep
tracking
with Jesus
as he talks
about laying
down his life
for his sheep
down into
verse 18
the reason
my father
loves me
is that I lay
down my life
only to take
it up again
no one
takes it
from me
no one
takes my life
from me
but I lay
it down
of my own
accord
now this may
sound strange
but let's keep
listening to Jesus
no one
takes my life
from me
he says
I lay it
down of my
own accord
it's as though
he's saying
let the record
be clear
even before
the day
comes
when you
Pharisees
will see me
up on that
cross
you did
not take
my life
from me
I laid
it down
the Pharisees
and the
religious leaders
who plotted
against Jesus
they did
not take
Jesus life
from him
as if they
could
the mob
who shouted
crucify him
until Pilate
finally gave
in and handed
Jesus over
they did
not take
Jesus life
from him
as if
they could
Pilate
who granted
the request
did not
take Jesus
life from
him
as if
he could
and even
the Roman
soldiers
who pounded
the nails
into Jesus
hands and
feet
did not
take
Jesus life
from him
as if
they could
no
no one
takes my
life
from me
I lay
it down
of my
own
accord
the Roman
soldiers
Pilate
the religious
leaders
could scheme
they could
do their
their hardest
to try to
kill Jesus
the son of
God
but if
Jesus
had not
surrendered
himself
to their
plots
and even
in those
final moments
if Jesus
had not
surrendered
his body
over to
death
they couldn't
have killed
him
they would
have failed
no one
takes my
life from
me
I lay
it down
of my
own
accord
they're
strange
words
and yet
magnificent
unless
Jesus
chooses
to lay
down
his
life
and die
he's
immortal
he is
invincible
he cannot
be beaten
he cannot
be outsmart
he cannot
be outflanked
by their
schemes
and their
plots
all of
which he
sees
right through
he is
the sinless
son
of the
most
high
God
and unless
Jesus
allows
himself
to be
bound
and chooses
to humble
himself
before them
and willingly
surrenders
his body
to death
he will
not die
we see
glimpses
of what
Jesus
could have
done
like in
the garden
when Jesus
commanded
Peter to
put his
sword
away
as he
says in
Matthew's
gospel
do you
think I
cannot
call on
my
father
and he
will at
once
put at
my
disposal
twelve
legions
of
angels
oh I
could get
out of
this
and yet
he didn't
because he
was instead
choosing
to surrender
himself
into their
hands
no one
takes my
life from
me
I lay
it down
of my
own
accord
or like
on the
cross
when the
people were
mocking
Jesus
Matthew
27
verse 40
they were
saying
you who
are going
to destroy
the temple
and rebuild
it in three
days
come down
from the
cross
and save
yourself
if you
are the
son of
God
could he
have come
down from
the cross
in that
moment
oh yeah
could he
have saved
himself
absolutely
but instead
he chose
to surrender
his body
to death
to fulfill
the scriptures
to accomplish
the mission
the rescue
mission
planned long
ago
no one
takes my
life from
me
says Jesus
but I lay
it down
of my own
accord
there's
another
angle
that I
want to
talk about
just briefly
here
sometimes
you may
run across
someone
who
mocks
God
who says
what kind
of father
would kill
his own
son
Richard
Dawkins
is an
example
of such
a person
he's the
most arrogant
and truth
suppressing
man
I've ever
heard of
his book
maybe you've
heard of it
the God
delusion
I refuse
to even
quote how
he describes
God in
that book
but one
of the
things that
he accuses
God of
being is
filicidal
so think
homicidal
the tendency
to kill
people
filicidal
having the
tendency
or bent
towards
killing
your own
children
according
to Dawkins
that's God
that's
his
nature
and we
should be
clear
did God
kill
Jesus
on the
cross
many
passages
of
scripture
say
yes
God
poured
out
his
wrath
on
Jesus
he
punished
Jesus
but not
because
he's
some
evil
sicko
of a
father
who
gets
kicks
out of
doing
things like
that
to his
own
child
no
God
punished
Jesus
for our
sins
and he
did it
because
Jesus
willingly
agreed
to be
our
substitute
to take
the punishment
that we
deserve
to be that
sacrificial
lamb
Richard Dawkins
view of God
is twisted
and false
God
is not
some
vindictive
or violent
bully
who just
gets kicks
out of
making
people
suffer
that's
what the
devil
wants us
to believe
about God
it's the same
sort of lie
that Satan
used back
in the
garden of
Eden
is God
really good
does he
really have
your best
interests
in mind
no
God
is good
he is
just
he is
compassionate
he is
gracious
and he
did not
force
his son
Jesus
onto that
cross
hear the
words of
Jesus
again
and make
no mistake
no one
takes
my life
from me
I lay
it down
of my
own
accord
of my
own
accord
we've
heard that
before
this is
something
that Jesus
said
back in
John
chapter
five
I don't
know if
you remember
this one
Jesus was
talking to the
Pharisees
there too
he said
very truly
I tell
you
the son
can do
nothing
by himself
that's the
same language
in the
original
language
of his
own
accord
he can
only do
what he
sees
his
father
doing
because
whatever
the father
does
the son
also
does
for the
father
loves
the son
and shows
him all
he does
so we
read there
that the
son can
do nothing
of himself
nothing
on his
own
nothing
independent
from the
father
and yet
here
in John
10 17
and 18
he says
I lay
down my
life
of my
own
accord
what do we
need to
make of
this
but we
must not
make the
mistake
of trying
to pit
Jesus
against
the
father
just as
Jesus
said
he and
his
father
act
and work
together
they can't
be divided
they can't
be separated
on this
yes
Jesus
lays his
life down
of his
own
accord
but it's
also the
father's
plan
and the
father's
will
too
yes
the father
has sent
the son
and given
the son
and delivered
him up
for us
all
but it's
also the
son's
will
and desire
to go
and to
be sent
and to
be given
and to
be delivered
up
for us
all
you can't
separate
father and
son
they always
work
together
says
Jesus
they act
together
they accomplish
together
at the same
time as
Jesus
willingly
lays down
his life
so too
his father
delivers him
up
to death
they do
have a
different
role
the father
commands
and the
son obeys
those commands
but it's
not a
begrudging
or dutiful
obedience
that Jesus
has
of his
father
Jesus
loves his
father
and it's
his own
heart's
will
not only
to obey
his father
but to do
all the same
things
that the
father is
commanding
him to
do
he would
do
those
anyway
because
they are
good
they are
beautiful
they are
right
you cannot
separate
father and
son
in their
willing
or in
their
working
so what
do we
take
from all
this
well I
want to
point us
back to
the heart
of Christ
we know
most of
us that
God the
father
loves us
we know
that he
sent and
gave Jesus
to save
us
John 3
16
for God
so loved
the world
that he
gave his
one and
only son
but do
you know
that Jesus
the God
man
the one
with flesh
and blood
like we
have
do you
know that
Jesus
himself
loves
you
in his
heart
of hearts
so much
that he
laid down
his life
of his
own
accord
because
he
wanted
to do
it
for you
sometimes
we might
get that
mixed up
in our
minds
we might
think
well did
Jesus
just go
to the
cross
and die
for me
because
he
had
to
because
it's
what
the
father
wanted
hear
these
words
I
did
it
I
do
it
of my
own
accord
because
I
want
to do
that
for
you
I
care
about
you
I
love
you
I
want
to
see
you
have
life
and
be
forgiven
and
be
saved
he
wants
you
to
have
life
just
like
God
the
father
wants
you
to
have
life
or
maybe
it's
the
other
way
around
in
your
mind
maybe
you
tend
to
think
of
it
a
little
differently
well
I
know
that
Jesus
loves
me
I
mean
look
at what
he
did
for
me
at
the
cross
but
the
father
does
he
really
love
me
or
is
he
just
angry
with
me
and
Jesus
is
there
like
my
older
brother
standing
in the
gap
and
making
a
case
for
me
let
me
point
you
back
to
verse
17
again
the
reason
my
father
loves
me
is
that
I
lay
down
my
life
and
we
can
fill
in
the
blank
for
the
sheep
God
the
father
loves
that
Jesus
willingly
lay
down
his
life
to
save
you
because
God
the
father
himself
loves
you
and
wants
you
to be
saved
just
the
same
as
Jesus
the
two
are
one
father
and
son
together
both
love
you
love
me
in
fact
it's
all
three
father
son
and
holy
spirit
all
working
together
in
love
on
this
rescue
mission
it's
a
beautiful
thing
the
only
words
I
could
think
to
wrap
all
this
up
are
the
words
of
Fanny
Crosby
to
God
be
the
glory
great
things
he
has
done
so
loved
he
the
world
that
he
gave
us
his
son
who
yielded
his
life
an
atonement
for
sin
and
opened
the
life
gate
that
all
may
go
in
praise
the
Lord
praise
the
Lord
let
the
earth
hear
his
voice
praise
the
Lord
praise
the
Lord
let
the
people
rejoice
oh
come
to
the
father
through
Jesus
the
son
and
give
him
the
glory
great
things
he
has
done
let's
pray
what
more
can
we
say
to
you
Lord
to
your
name
be
the
glory
I
thank
you
that
there's
no
darkness
in
you
there's
no
malicious
intent
there's
no
evil
there's
no
secret
agenda
to
hurt
or to
harm
or to
deceive
there's
goodness
there's
love
right down
to the
very
depths
of
your
heart
for
us
oh
I
pray
that
each
one
of
us
here
would
feel
that
and
know
that
and
that
we
would
surrender
ourselves
completely
to
your
care
in
Jesus
name
amen
to
listen
hung
warz
și
Yah
Simply