October 13, 2024
Morning Service

Isa 40:10-11Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.  (11)  He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

            Isaiah paints a picture of the coming Messiah and how He will come to Israel as a Shepherd, to gather His people, love them, and gently lead them.  This again takes something we physically know and understand and applies it to the spiritual world.  This helps us understand the type of Leader Jesus is, not a dictator or authoritarian, but a loving caring Leader who is concerned mostly with His sheep’s wellbeing and their safety.  This leads us into our study today as John shares two more of Jesus’ “I AM” statements in His teaching here in chapter 10.

 

John 10:1-5 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  (2)  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  (3)  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  (4)  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  (5)  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

            Jesus here expounds even deeper upon Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah being “like a shepherd.”  The sheepfold is an enclosure in which the sheep are sheltered in the night.  It was a fenced in area with a single gate in which the sheep entered and it was controlled by the shepherd.  It is only He who opens the gate and when He calls them, they know His voice and they follow Him.  We are His sheep.

 

John 10:6-10 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  (7)  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  (8)  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  (9)  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.   (10)  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

            Jesus is very clear here in that entry into His sheepfold (salvation) comes only through Him. (Read verse 9) The world proclaims that there are many ways, religions that lead to God and salvation, but Jesus shows us here the truth.  In chapter 14:6, He states this even more clearly; “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  You would have to work awfully hard to be able to include any other religion into that statement.  Jesus is the door into the kingdom of God and everlasting life; period.  He alone holds the keys to the kingdom and salvation comes only through accepting and confessing Him as our Lord and Savior.  This is an area where our culture calls us “intolerant” of other beliefs and tries to influence the church to include everyone.  This, however, is not a doctrine according to our Fellowship alone, but this is “thus sayeth the Lord” and is not up for debated or even discussion.  The truth is the truth and cannot be compromised.  It is only through Jesus that we can attain forgiveness, restoration and ultimately salvation.

            He then shows us the motive of the thieves that try to enter any other way other than thorough Jesus.  “The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy.”  The thief’s (our enemy’s) motive is not to show us a better way of life but to “kill, steal and destroy” us.  The world and all its pleasures can look so inviting, but it is only a trap that pulls us away from the fold where our enemy awaits to try to destroy us.  Peter tells us that “the devil is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”  Be careful and don’t fall for his traps of offering to you something that looks beautiful, fun, and harmless but can destroy you.

            Jesus then contrasts His motives with those of our enemy to finish up verse 10; “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  When we begin to follow Jesus, all things become new (2 Cor. 5:17).   The light switch is turned on for us and we can see things as they relay are.  We see that truly abundant life is one that is lived for a greater cause than to please ourselves.  True joy, happiness, peace, and contentment comes from a life of putting God first and loving those around us as we love ourselves.  “We are complete in Him.” (Col. 2:10 We become “God centered” not “me centered.” This is the abundant life Jesus offers to us.  Jesus is the door to that life.  We now return to the teaching.

 

John 10:11-13 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  (12)  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  (13)  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

            Jesus here proclaims Himself the Messiah fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy.  He uses the commitment of a faithful shepherd to show us His commitment to us.  When danger comes, a hired man will run to save himself leaving the sheep behind.  The True Shepherd will fight, even to the point of giving His life, for His sheep because He knows, loves and values them.  Keep that in mind as you face a spiritual battle that seems overwhelming, your Shepherd is there to fight for you, protect you, guide you and comfort you. “The sheep know His voice and He calls his own sheep by their name and leads them out.”  I know His voice and He calls me by my name as He leads me out.  I know Him and trust Him to follow His leading anywhere even when the path looks dark or I don’t understand where He is leading me, yet I will follow.  Jesus now expands upon this teaching with a prophecy.

 

John 10:14-18 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  (15)  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  (16)  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  (17)  "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  (18)  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

            Jesus speaks deeply into theology here as He reveals to us that we are the reason He is doing this; “I lay down my life for the sheep (v15).” Secondly, He first foretells of His death and resurrection (verses 17-18).    Finally, He shows us that this is all a divine plan coming directly from the Father (v18).  Not everyone hearing this understood the depth of this teaching.

 

John 10:19-21 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  (20)  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"  (21)  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

            John is not writing this gospel to cause divisions, but to confirm and build our faith that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God.  Today we can clearly see through our two new “I AM” statements that Jesus is the “Door” that leads to salvation.  He is our “Good Shepherd” and we know His voice, He calls us by name, and we choose to faithfully follow Him.  King David, a former shepherd who fought for his sheep, wrote a very famous Psalm that we all know and brings to us an even deeper meaning to Jesus being our Good Shepherd.  I want to close with this today and I would ask that you read it along with me focusing on the fact that Jesus said “I AM the Good Shepherd.”

 

  Psalms 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  (2)  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  (3)  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  (4)  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  (5)  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.  (6)  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wonderful plan of salvation.  Thank You for Jesus who is the Door to it and our beloved Good Shepherd.  Open our eyes to see the true meaning behind this teaching today and take comfort knowing You are leading us.