John 10:11-18

And this evening we find ourselves in the fourth I am statement here in chapter 10. But the first I am statement came in chapter six where Jesus says that he is the bread of life. He, Jesus is saying that he is the greatest satisfaction to the deepest longings of their souls. And Jesus is pointing out there that their greatest need is not a physical one, but it's a spiritual one. And then the second I am statement comes in chapter eight, where Jesus says that he is the light of the world. And this light has now come down from the Father, but he's also come to reveal the Father to us. And now we can share in that light by following after Jesus. Then the third I am statement is found in the first 10 verses of this chapter, where Jesus says that he is the door of the sheepfold, and all who enter by him will find abundant spiritual life.

So here in chapter 10, Jesus has just finished healing a man born blind in chapter nine, and it sparked this whole debate with the religious leaders over who Jesus truly is. Is he God, or does he have some demon? And what you see in chapter nine is that the tables are turned. The uneducated man who was born blind, he sees the evidence and comes to believe that Jesus is the son of God because no one but God can heal the blind.

But the religious leaders, on the other hand, who have the law and the prophets, who should see the telltale signs that Jesus is the sent one by God, the Messiah, are stubborn in their unbelief and end up casting out the man born blind, who Jesus healed, because he confesses Jesus's divinity. So with that as our context, let's read our passage in John chapter 10, verses 11 through 18.

Here Jesus says,

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, he sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd.

I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. and I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

So from our passage tonight, John wants you to know that you can trust the good shepherd who knows you and who has laid down his life for you. So we're gonna see this in three ways.

The shepherd's cross

One, the shepherd's cross in verses 11, 13, then again in verses 17 and 18, the shepherd's care in verses 14 and 15, and the shepherd's church in verses 16. So the shepherd's cross, the shepherd's care, the shepherd's church. First notice the shepherd's cross. In verse 11,

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

So here he's using the more encompassing word for good. It's not just a quoting moral quality, but it carries along with this an idea of beauty and magnificence. So Jesus is not just another shepherd, but he is the shepherd. the one who is preeminently excellent. He's above all others. He is the good one. But also notice he begins with a statement of identity, I am. So like the burning bush in Exodus 3, here this echoes the divine name. Yahweh himself is speaking through the lips of his son. But what defines his goodness? It's not just simply gentleness or guidance, but notice it's sacrifice.

He says he lays down his life for the sheep. This idea of for the sheep carries this idea of substitution. This shepherd here is standing in harm's way, taking upon himself the danger that threatens the flock. So in the ancient world, a good shepherd was expected to defend the sheep from predators, even at great personal risk, but usually not to death. But here Jesus goes beyond expectations and he is the shepherd who is willingly giving up his life so that his sheep might live.

But also notice in verses 12 through 13 the contrast with the hired hands. In first century Palestine, most families kept small flocks, but a true shepherd was usually the owner or family member, and they're deeply invested in the flock's survival. But when the flocks grew large, When shepherds needed help during lambing or travel, they would hire day laborers to watch over the sheep. And these hired men were paid for their time, not for their devotion.

So when the danger comes, the hired hand, he flees. But the true shepherd, Jesus is saying, is different. He owns the sheep, the light. Their lives are bound up with his. So when danger comes, he doesn't run. He stands in their place. So here, Jesus is quietly predicting the cross. The enemy will not simply scatter the sheep, but he will strike the shepherd.

Yet, by laying down his life, he will protect the flock forever. but also this imagery of shepherd and sheep was not new to Jesus' listeners. And so for centuries, Israel's kings and priests were known as the shepherds of God's people. So turn with me, if you will, quickly to Ezekiel 34. And in Ezekiel 34, God, through the prophet Ezekiel, is indicting the leaders of Israel for abusing their position. So if you notice in verse two, he says,

woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves.

Should not the shepherds take care of the flock?

So instead of feeding the flock, here these shepherds are feeding themselves. They're ruling harshly, they're neglecting the weak, they're failing to seek the lost. But then God says in verse five,

so they were scattered because there was no shepherd. And when they were scattered, they became food for all the wild beasts.

So here the leaders have become predators, not protectors.

But a few verses later comes a stunning promise in verse 15 where God says,

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.

So God is declaring that since every human leader has failed, he himself would come to gather and heal and protect and restore his scattered people. In verse 16 he says,

I will seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak.

This is the heart of divine shepherding. And the people of God were longing for the day when God himself would come and be their shepherd. So now, fast forward to John chapter 10, when Jesus is standing before them, and he says, I am the good shepherd, He's picking up that very prophecy and he's placing it squarely upon himself. He is saying the promise that God made in Ezekiel has now arrived. The Lord himself has come to shepherd his people. But he's also implying something else.

The Pharisees and priests who claimed to be the shepherds of God's people were now standing in the same position as these condemned leaders of Ezekiel's day. They were the modern embodiment of these fall shepherds. So when Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and describes the hired hands who sees the wolf come and they flee, his audience is hearing more than a simple illustration. They're hearing a prophetic judgment. The Pharisees were the hired hands of Ezekiel 34 all over again. They were entrusted with the flock, but they had turned inwards. and they'd use their position for gain and status. So now Jesus is standing before them and he's both fulfilling God's promise and also pronouncing God's indictment. He is the divine shepherd, come in the flesh, confronting the false shepherds who have failed his people.

But also notice down in verse 17 and 18, the voluntary nature of his death. These verses make something unmistakable. The cross was not an accident. He wasn't caught in a trap of political forces or mob violence, but every moment of his passion was deliberate.

Notice five times in this passage, Jesus says,

I lay down my life.

It's his choice. It's his mission. And he adds,

I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.

Only the son of God can speak that way. So his death and his resurrection are acts of divine power. But also notice that this is a charge that he has received from his father. So the father sent the son to atone for sin through the son's death, but the son also has agreed to lay down his life. So he willingly sacrifices himself so that we might live.

The shepherd's care

Secondly, notice the shepherd's care. We're seeing the shepherd's cross, now the shepherd's care in verses 14 and 15, where Jesus says,

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.

Notice that Jesus says, I know my own. So this idea of know is more than awareness. It's personal and covenantal intimacy. Jesus knows his sheep in the fullest sense. He knows their fears. He knows their frailties. He knows their failures. And still, he calls them his own. But also, notice that he says, my own know me.

So this relationship is reciprocal. Think back to verse four, where the sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. So too, also, the believers are responding to the call of Christ. The sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Here comes the real kick in the pants. Notice how he grounds this relationship.

Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.

So here this is mind shattering.

The shepherd's church

Jesus grounds the bond between himself and his sheep in the very relationship between the Father and the Son. So the intimacy here of the Trinity is the pattern for the intimacy between Christ and his people. So Jesus knows you to the same degree that he knows the Father, the one who he has been with for all eternity, the one whom he has been daily delighting in. So Jesus knows us to the uttermost. Thirdly, notice the shepherd's church in verse 16, where Jesus says,

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in also, and they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

So here Jesus is widening the horizon. This fold will likely refer to Israel, the old covenant people of God. But here Jesus says there are other sheep beyond Israel's boundaries. And so notice the shepherd's global mission.

I must bring them also.

A must signals divine necessity. Jesus is under the Father's command to gather his flock from every nation. And the prophets foresaw this. Think of Isaiah 49, verse six, where it said that the servant would be the light for the nations. And now Jesus, here in John 10, is declaring that this mission is underway.

But notice the certainty of the response.

They will listen to my voice.

not might, but will. So the same voice that called creation into being, think John 1, now calls his people to himself. His word carries power to awaken faith. So wherever his gospel is preached, his sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd. And then notice the result.

Three points of application

There will be one flock and one shepherd.

So the divisions that mark the ancient world Jew from Greek, slave from free, they begin to dissolve here in Christ. Under one shepherd, there was one flock. The shepherd's goal is to form a people, a community, marked by his voice and his care. So as we conclude our time, I just want to end with three points of application. One, the call here from this passage is to live out the unity of the flock.

So Jesus ends this vision with one flock and one shepherd. So the gospel is bringing people together who otherwise would never walk side by side. We're from different backgrounds, we have different stories, we all have different struggles, but we have one savior. And in a divided world, this church is meant to be a living picture of this unity. The shepherd's voice is what gathers us to himself.

And we preserve this unity by fixing our eyes upon the one shepherd. Two, second point of application is rests in the shepherd's care. Jesus' words here remind us that our security is not in our grip on the Savior, but in his grip on us. The sheep's safety is not found in our strength or in our vigilance, but it is found in the shepherd's watchfulness. And here in this text we see that he does not abandon us when danger approaches. And so in a world that's filled with uncertainty, this is our confidence.

The shepherd who laid down his life for us will never leave us. This is the shepherd's promise to you. Think of John, writing in Revelation 7, who says,

for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

So this is our hope that we rest in, that our shepherd, one day, will lead us into perfect and lasting joy with him forever.

Finally, take comfort in being known by Christ. I know my own, Jesus says. To be known by the Son of God is to be seen in your entirety, in your weakness, your failures, your hidden fears, but yet to be loved completely. And many of us, we fear being fully known because then we face rejection. But in Christ, in the Good Shepherd, you are known and never rejected. So if you do not know Christ, if you have not responded to Christ in faith, which yields the result of eternal life, from our text, see the Good Shepherd standing before you with his arms wide open. He's beckoning to you. He's calling to you, come unto me.

I will satisfy the deepest longings of your soul. I will lead you to pastors full of life and abundance, and I will protect you from the wiles of sin, Satan, and the flesh. And how can we be sure of this? Well, Jesus answers that in our passage, because I have laid down my life for you.

So there is no safer place for us to be than in the hands of the good shepherd. who loved you, who sought you, who bought you, and will one day bring us all home. Will you pray with me? Gracious God and Heavenly Father, thank you that your Son has come to be our Good Shepherd. that he has laid down his life to redeem us, that he fully knows us and all of our sins and failures, and yet he has set his love upon us. Help us to follow you faithfully until you bring us all home. In Jesus' name, amen.