The Good Shepherd

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group. 
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)

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8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

I want to say thanks to Julie for writing and presenting that spoken word piece—that was perfect for today.

We all have shepherds in our lives. We all choose people whose opinions we trust, and whose voice we listen to. And the shepherds we choose will have a major influence on the direction of our life. So we need to choose our shepherds wisely.

But let’s back up for a minute. Why does the Bible use the shepherd/sheep metaphor so often? Well, because in the ancient middle east, sheep were a big part of life. They used them for their wool; their meat; their milk; they used them for temple sacrifices. So there were lots of sheep, which means they needed shepherds. Because here’s the thing: sheep are notoriously stubborn. They’re not known as very intelligent animals. So they need shepherds to keep them from doing dumb things. But also, shepherds were necessary because Israel was bordered by desert; the desert bloomed briefly during rainy season, but most of the year, it was hard to find grass. So sheep needed a shepherd to guide them to food. Not only that, the desert was dangerous. There were wild animals who enjoyed lamb chops. There were lots of rocky places and drop-offs and cliffs.

So let me summarize: sheep needed shepherds because their capacity was limited and their world was dangerous. In other words: they’re exactly like us. We have a tendency to be stubborn; we can make really bad decisions, and we live in a dangerous world.
We are sheep! So we better choose our shepherds wisely.
John chapter ten, starting in verse 1. Let’s hear God’s Word…

1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand 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. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 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.”

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” This is the Word of the Lord.

Let’s talk first about The Shepherd’s Care. Throughout this passage, Jesus talks about three ways that he, as the Shepherd, cares for his sheep.

First, He knows us. Just a little more historical context: during the day, shepherds would have their sheep out in the fields or out in the wilderness, grazing. But at the end of the day, they would normally bring their sheep back into town to spend the night. So if you walked through a Middle Eastern town, you would often see sheep pens, where sheep spent the night. It would look something like this. (Ignore that man in the hard hat—apparently this picture was not taken during the time of Jesus). Now: it was common to have the flocks of several different shepherds sharing the same pen. So each shepherd would take their flock out to graze during the day, and then they would rent space in a sheep pen at night. During the night, there was a watchman who guarded the sheep pen. And then in the morning, the shepherd would come, and the watchman would recognize the shepherd, and open the gate.
And then, the shepherd would call his sheep. Remember I said sheep aren’t that intelligent? That’s true, but they recognize the voice of their shepherd. Verse 2 says 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Isn’t that amazing? Of all the different flocks in that pen, the sheep that belonged to that shepherd would recognize his voice, and they’d immediately follow him. All the other sheep would ignore the guy, or even get scared of him! But his sheep would follow.

There’s a pastor named Bill Donahue, who, during his seminary days, served as a part-time youth pastor in a rural area. And one day he was visiting a farm where two of his students lived. So the father of the kids decided to have some fun with the young pastor. He said, “Bill—would you help me call in the sheep?” Bill said, “I’ve never done that before—I’m kind of a city guy—but sure, that sounds like fun.” He looked over the fence, and there were about 25 sheep grazing in the field. And the dad said, “Go ahead—call them in.” Bill said, “What do I say?” And the farmer said, “Well, I just say, ‘Hey sheep—come on in!’”

So Bill looked at the sheep, and said, “Hey sheep, c’mon in!” But the farmer said, “Whoa, whoa, you’re 75 yards away, and the sheep have their back to you. Yell! You know, from the diaphragm—like they teach you in preaching class!” So Bill took a deep breath, and as loud as he could, he screamed, “Hey sheep! C’mon in!” The sheep didn’t budge. They didn’t even turn their heads! The farmer was barely controlling his laughter. And he said, “Do they even teach you the Bible in that seminary? Haven’t you ever read, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me? And then he raised his voice just a little bit, and he said, “Hey sheep! C’mon in!” And all 25 sheep turned and walked toward them. And that young pastor never forgot that lesson. The true shepherd knows his sheep, and his sheep know him.

So here’s the question for us: is that the kind of relationship we have with Christ? See, Jesus is offering something so much more than religion, or even accurate head knowledge. It’s a relationship, where you know him, and he knows you, and it’s personal. And here’s what I’ve found: the more time you spend in his presence—reading and meditating on Scripture, worshiping, praying, following the example of Mary the sister of Martha, just sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him…the more time you spend with him, the more you will recognize his voice.

Have you ever watched a TV preacher, or a YouTube preacher, and you find yourself saying, “That’s not the voice of Jesus. Something is off.” And sometimes you don’t even know exactly what’s off, but you say to yourself, “I’m not going to trust that voice, because I can just tell this is not the Shepherd’s voice.” And that’s a good thing, to be able to discern that, because you’re so familiar with the voice of the true Shepherd.

I actually made a change to my personal devotional habits this past year. I still read systematically through the Bible, but now, every morning, before I read the next passage in my read-through, I always read a chapter of a Gospel—Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. So no matter where I am in the Bible, I’m always reading specifically about Jesus, and hearing the teaching of Jesus. Because I want to be so familiar with the Shepherd’s voice that I can immediately distinguish it from the voice of counterfeits.

So the Shepherd knows us. Here’s the second thing: He leads us. Verse four says 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Notice: the shepherd doesn’t drive the sheep, like a cattle rancher. He doesn’t go behind them, and push them forward. He goes ahead of them, and he leads them by example. If you study the life of Jesus, you’ll see that he always led by example. He never asked his followers to do things that he wasn’t already doing. He lived a certain kind of life, and then he invited people to follow.

So my question for you is…who’s leading you? Whose voice are you following? Is it the voice of your favorite podcaster? Is it the voice of a self-help guru? Is it the voice of a Fox news host, or talk radio host? Is it the collective voice of your social media feed? Who is, really, leading you? I hate to do this to you, but there’s a really simple way to answer that question. You know what it is, right? When you look at your day, are you spending more time listening to the voice of your favorite podcaster, or a self-help guru, or Fox news host, or talk radio host, or your social media feed…or, are you spending more time in Scripture and prayer and worship and abiding in the presence of Christ? It’s really that simple.

And the stakes are so high. Because when we allow the true Shepherd to lead us, look what happens—verse 10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. When sheep follow their shepherd, they find life: which, for a sheep, is fresh water and green grass. The shepherd guides them to life. When you and I follow Christ, we find true life. Life that makes sense. Life that has a moral compass. Life that’s characterized by contentment and peace in midst of storms. Life to the full.

When we allow another voice to lead us, we experience the opposite. Picture this: you get up in the morning, and you immediately reach for your…everybody? Your phone. And because the algorithms know your views and your hot buttons, you start reading a steady stream of posts and updates that are designed to make you angry and stay on for as long as possible. Some people are saying, “No, I don’t do that—I’m not obsessed with my phone.” Okay, so you turn on the news, and you choose a news channel that makes you angry and keeps you watching for as long as possible. You haven’t even had breakfast yet! You haven’t even brushed your teeth! And you’re already mad at the world, your blood pressure’s up, and you’re irritable and on edge.

Guys, the voice we choose to follow affects us immensely. Choose wisely.
The Shepherd knows us; he leads us; and one more thing: He protects us. Look at verse 7: 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. For years, I read this passage, and I thought, “This is strange. Jesus calls himself the Shepherd, but then he calls himself The Gate. Why does he mix those images? It’s confusing.”
So I looked into it, and here’s what I found. We talked about those sheep pens—that were in town. Well, when the weather was nice, sometimes shepherds did not bring their flocks back to town for the night. Sometimes they would keep them out in the fields overnight. And out in the fields, they used a different kind of pen that looked like this: (SHOW PICTURE). It was basically made by piling up rocks in a square or a circle, with an opening for a doorway.
So there was an Old Testament scholar named Sir George Adam Smith. And he tells the story of traveling in Middle East with a guide. He came across a shepherd and his sheep, and he started talking with him. And the shepherd showed him the little pen where he kept the sheep at night—a lot like this. And the shepherd said, “When my sheep are in there, they’re completely safe.” And Smith said, “But there’s no gate.” And the shepherd said (you ready?), “I am the gate.” Now—keep in mind—this shepherd was not a Christian man—he wasn’t quoting the Bible—he was an Arab shepherd. He said, “I am the gate.” And Smith said, “What do you mean, you’re the gate?” And he said, “When it gets dark, and I’ve put all my sheep inside, I lie down in that opening, and if a sheep wants to get out, he has to go through me, and if a wolf wants to get in, he’s got to go through me. I am the gate!”

And I finally got it! Jesus wasn’t mixing his metaphors; he wasn’t switching between calling himself the shepherd, and then calling himself the gate. The shepherd was the gate! The shepherd was the door! And the shepherd made it his business to protect his sheep.

So, what does that mean for us? Does that mean if you follow Christ, you’ll never get hurt? Of course not. Faithful believers get hurt all the time, in all kinds of ways. Okay, so what does it mean that he protects us? At least two things. First of all, nothing slips by him. Anything that comes into my life is not random; it’s not chance; it’s not outside his control. Whatever happens to me is at least allowed by Jesus, if not actually brought him, for his purposes and ultimately for my good. Man, that changes the way I think about every hard thing my life. Nothing slips by Him.

But it also means that at the deepest level, I’m completely safe. My life—my soul—are completely secure in the hands of Christ. No one can take that away. I could lose my money; I could lose my health; I could lose my ability to walk or see. But I cannot lose my relationship with Christ. And the worst thing that could happen in this life—which is death—is just an entry into his presence! So at the deepest level, I am completely protected. Totally safe!
And the reason for that—the reason we can have that level of security—is repeated over and over again. Look at verse 11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd (what does it say?) lays down his life for the sheep. And that’s repeated in verse 15 and verse 17 and verse 18. The reason I am eternally protected is because Jesus laid down his life for me. Isn’t that cruel that God made Jesus do that? Look at verse 18: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Jesus didn’t go the cross reluctantly. He was not the unwilling victim of a corrupt justice system. He willingly laid down his life for you and for me. Never forget that—he chose it! And on the cross, he experienced judgment and abandonment from his Father…why? So we would never have to. He did it in our place. The Good Shepherd lay down his life for the sheep.

He knows us; he leads us; he protects us.

That’s the Shepherd’s care. Now let’s talk quickly about The Shepherd’s Credentials. What gives Jesus the right to ask us to follow him? Look at verse 24: 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me… In other words, “Of course I’m the Messiah. Every miracle I do testifies that I’m the One.” When you look at the Hebrew Sciptures, and all the promises about the coming Messiah, and you put that up against the life of Jesus—the parallel—the fulfillment—is staggering. You cannot reasonably come to any other conclusion!

But it’s not just that he’s the Messiah; he ratchets it up even further—look at verse 28: 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” Remember, in the first verse of this Gospel, Jesus is referred to as “The Word,” and it says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then in chapter 8, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” And then just last week, the man who was healed of blindness worshiped Jesus, and Jesus didn’t stop him—he received the worship. Because he and the Father are one. Jesus is God in the flesh.

And because of that, he gives this awesome picture of security. He says, “I’m holding you in my hand so securely that no one can snatch you out. In fact, my Father is holding you in His hand as well.” Picture the hand of Christ, surrounded by the hand of the Father, holding on to you. That’s how secure you are in Christ.

The reason Jesus can stand up and say, “I am the Good Shepherd. Out of all the voices out there, I’m the one you can trust. I’m the only one who has what your heart is longing for…”—the reason he can say that is that he is one with the Father, and he’s the only one who died in your place. Maybe it’s time to demote some of those other voices, and put Jesus at the center.

Can I show you a picture? I received this gift years ago from someone who took a trip to Israel and they brought this back for me—really thoughtful. It’s carved from olive wood, and it’s a shepherd carrying a sheep. This means a lot to me, because I’m a pastor, and the word “pastor” literally means “shepherd.” God has called me to know and lead and protect the flock. But here’s what I’ve found: my ability to lead as a shepherd is only as good as my willingness to be led by the true Shepherd. Does that make sense? In other words, I'm a sheep first. My soul needs a Shepherd. I need to be known and led and protected by Jesus. I need to get so familiar with his voice. And only when living in that can I be a good shepherd (small-“g” good shepherd) to others.

So here’s the last thing I want to say: you are called to be a shepherd, too. You might not be a career pastor, like me. But God calls every one of us to some kind of shepherding role. Are you a parent? You’re a shepherd. Are you a grandparent? You’re a shepherd. Are you a manager? You’re a shepherd. Coach? Shepherd. Teacher? Shepherd. Boss? Shepherd.

Director of a play? Shepherd. RA in a college dorm? Shepherd. Small group leader? Shepherd. Chapel Kids teacher? Shepherd. You get the idea, right? With very few exceptions, God has a shepherding call on all of our lives. He’s calling you to know and lead and protect some precious people.

So never forget this: your ability to lead as a shepherd is only as good as your willingness to be led by the true Shepherd. Turn down the volume of some of those other voices, and make his voice the clearest and loudest one in your heart. You will become a really good shepherd, and you will have life to the full.