Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

John 10:11-18 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I 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 shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh 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 commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus spent a great deal of time describing Himself and His mission by using every day items that people would understand. For instance, last week Jesus described Himself:

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Everyone knows what a “door” is. We go into and out of buildings using doors. We do not climb in through windows – that’s something you’d do if you were trying to bypass the lock. There have been times when I’ve accidentally locked myself out of my home, and climbed in through an open window. That’s not normal, though. The only person who normally enters a horme by any way but the door is “a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). Jesus is THE Door. He is THE Door to Heaven.

Jesus is THE Door to life, both eternal and abundant.

As we’ve studied through John, we’ve seen Jesus use other “I Am” statements describing Himself and His ministry. He said:

John 6:35 … (ESV) I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

If you try to live your life on this earth without Jesus, you will never be satisfied. Why? Because the God Who made you, made you incomplete without Jesus. Jesus also said:

John 8:12 (ESV) … I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life …

Before Jesus said this, people thought that “the light of the world” was the sun by day and the moon by night. But here Jesus is not speaking of physical darkness, but spiritual darkness. The Bible says:

1 John 5:19 (NIV) We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

From Adam’s fall until the rise of Christ, the whole world was dominated by satanic darkness and wickedness. But Jesus came to lead us into the Light of God. Jesus Christ is the Messiah Who, having come in the flesh, “tells us all things” (John 4:25). Today Jesus tells us that He is “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”.

Jesus is not the mediocre Shepherd.
Jesus is not ONE of the Good Shepherds.
Jesus is THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

Jesus Is THE Good Shepherd Who Voluntarily
Lays His Life Down For His Sheep

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

First we note that Jesus is the “GOOD Shepherd”. It is not humans, but God Who determines what is good or evil. As God created all things, He declared at each stage of creation “God saw that it was GOOD” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). When God created man and woman and finished what He started, God said “it was VERY GOOD” (Genesis 1:31). God established what was good, and what was evil. God told Adam that he could eat of any fruit, but:

Genesis 2:17 … the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Man could do good, which is what God said, or choose to do as he saw fit. Adam did as the serpent suggested. He ate of that which God said was bad. This caused man to die spiritually, and to lose Paradise. The Bible says:

Genesis 3:22 … the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil

This does not mean that man can now determine what is GOOD or EVIL, but that man THINKS he can determine GOOD and EVIL. Man cannot know good, because good is only defined by God. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 19:17 (also Mark 10:18) there is none good but one, that is, God

If there are none good but God, then how can humans determine good? We cannot apart from God. We think we can. We think we are gods, but we are not. Only God is God. Only God is good. The Scripture says:

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

If it is GOOD, then it comes from God. Our good, our human goods, are stained and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ is GOOD. He is GOOD because He was sent from the Father. John the Baptist said of Jesus:

John 3:31-36 (ESV) He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus Christ is the GOOD Shepherd because He comes from above. Jesus Christ is God the Son. He said, “No one has seen the Father, except He WHO IS OF GOD, He has seen the Father”. He said, “He that has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 6:46; 14:9).

Jesus is not only GOOD, but He is the
SHEPHERD of God’s people.

He is the GOOD SHEPHERD. In the Old Testament, God alone was said to be the Shepherd of His people. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 80:1 Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

Psalm 95:7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

And through the Prophet God said,

Ezekiel 34:31 “As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Jesus is not the Shepherd because He has to be, nor because He is paid to be, but is the Shepherd because He wants to be. Jesus said:

John 10:12-13 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

Word Study: The “hireling” (Greek misthōtos, hired servant, wage worker) does what he does because he is paid money for it. He is a sharecropper or a steward of the sheep. He has no personal invested interest in those sheep. When that misthōtos sees a wolf or a bear coming, some type of threat that might hurt him, the misthōtos leaves the sheep. Why would he be willing to die for another man’s sheep.

Jesus is not a misthōtos, a hired laborer. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 2:9-11 (ESV) But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers…

Jesus Christ is the co-creator of all that you see, whether in the heavens or on the earth. When Adam sinned, he subjected all creation to darkness and the devil. Jesus Christ came to redeem that which He created, to restore creation to its rightful owners. He did not come because God the Father offered Him some reward or cash price for coming. Jesus willingly volunteered to come to restore and redeem us to Him. Jesus by the Grace of God “taste(d) death for everyone”. It was His intent to “bring many sons to glory”. Not everyone, but those who believed in Him.

Our Great Shepherd gave His life for us because He loves us. We are His purchased possessions. He is not paid to watch over us, but Himself paid a GREAT PRICE for us. The Scripture says:

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession (peculiar people in the KJV)

1 Corinthians 3:23 (ESV) you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Galatians 3:29 (ESV)And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Romans 14:8 (ESV) For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

When the Bible says “we are the Lord’s”, we are not just a possession – but someone the Lord intimately loves. Jesus said:

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Word Study: The word translated “know” is the Greek ginōskō, which means “to have an intimate knowledge of”. This word is so intimate that it is sometimes used of sexual intercourse between husband and wife (Matthew 1:25, “and KNEW her not”, or Luke 1:34, “I KNOW not a man”), or to deeply understand something (Mark 5:29, “she FELT”). Jesus has an intimate and ongoing relationship with His Sheep, His people.

Illustrate: In one episode of M*A*S*H Colonel Potter relates to his friends how he met and fell in love with Doris Day. He states that he’s never been to a Doris Day movie with his wife Mildred. But whenever he feels bad about his love affair with Doris Day, he remembers that Doris never knew him, either. He loved her from afar! Many people profess to be Christian, and say they are saved. But like Potter did with Doris Day, they love Jesus only from afar. They never acquainted themselves with the Lord. They never loved Him, nor gave their lives to Jesus. They are like those Jesus speaks of in:

Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew {ginōskō} you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY walk in the light of God with Him. Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY know that He died for our sins, so they do not rejoice in wickedness. Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY will imitate Him and do His Word. What saith the Scripture?

1 John 1:7 … if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

We are cleansed from sin when we walk WITH our Shepherd and WITH other of His Sheep!

Our Shepherd Is Not Only Our PROVIDER And PROTECTOR, He Is Our POTENTATE

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

The Sheep under the Shepherd obey the voice of their Shepherd. The Apostle wrote:

1 Timothy 6:14-15 … our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

Jesus is the “Potentate” or autocratic Ruler of His Sheep. He is AUTOCRATIC, not DEMOCRATIC. The Sheep have no voting power. What Jesus says is true and right, regardless as to what the world or the majority might say. Jesus is the ultimate “King of kings, and Lord of lords”, and He expects us as His Sheep to obey Him. He said:

Luke 6:46-49 …. why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

There are far too many deluded professors of the faith who will not follow the Shepherd.

Do you know what a sheep is called who will not follow the Shepherd? Lamb Chops!

As Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, they interrupted Him and demanded:

John 10:24 …. How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus replied,

John 10:25-27 …. I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know {ginōskō} them, and they follow {akolouthéō} me:

The mark of the genuine Christian is that they (1) intimately know the Lord, and (2) follow (akolouthéō) or “walk in the same way with, to join as a disciple”. The concept that salvation and discipleship are two phases of the Christian life is a product of heretical easy believism. Pastor John MacArthur notes:

“Faith obeys. Unbelief rebels. The fruit of one’s life reveals whether a person is a believer or an unbeliever.”

Jesus is not just a passing fad for the Sheep – He is everything to us. His Word guides us. We live our lives loving Him. We hear His voice, and follow Him. And because we are His and He is ours He has promised:

John 10:28-30 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.

The saved are God’s Sheep. God’s Sheep follow the Shepherd. The Shepherd is Christ. We walk in the way with Him, believing and loving Him until we pass over into eternity. In eternity we will see Him face to face.

But let me be blunt.

If you have no love for Jesus now, and do not care to follow Him in this life, do not expect to be in glory with Him in the next life. John MacArthur put it this way:

“Christians believe in a holy law which provides complete freedom, a joyous freedom which is slavery to righteousness. Christians believe in a kingdom on earth with a capital in heaven. Christians believe in a little flock of innumerable saints. Christians believe they are wretched outcasts who became saints. They are enemies who became sons. They are slaves who became kings. They are poor who became wealthy. They are bankrupt souls who are given eternal riches. They are rebels who became friends. They are haters who became lovers and even lovers of those who hate them. .. Christians believe they are victims who became victors. They are strong who rejoice in their weakness. They are the despised who receive honor. They are souls who die once but live twice. They are mortals who become immortal. They are corrupt who become incorruptible. They are the sorrowful who have eternal joy. And all of these realities have come to us because the giver of life gave up His life so that those dead in sin would live forever. .. We’re in the world, we’re not of the world. We have a King and a Lord, and His name is Jesus Christ. And Scripture is crystal clear as to how we are to submit to our Lord. In Romans chapter 10, familiar words: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Salvation comes to those who confess Jesus as Lord.”

If He is not your Lord now, He is not your Savior in eternity. Salvation is by faith alone unto works. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of His Sheep – and His Sheep follow Him. Amen? Amen!