The Good Shepherd
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
Throughout this allegory, there's been a distinct theme, and the theme is that Jesus Christ is the true Shepherd. He's a true Shepherd. In verses 1 through 6 of this chapter, He demonstrated already for us the fact that He's the true Shepherd by comparing the way He came to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel and the way He relates to the lost sheep of Israel as compared with false shepherds, counterfeit shepherds. He says in verses 1 through 6, you know a false shepherd because, or you know a thief or a robber, which is used to describe the false shepherd here in this case, He says, you know them because they don't enter through the door, but they climb up some other way.
"But He who enters by the door," —verse 2, — "is the shepherd of the sheep." Verse 3, "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." And we talked about this picture of this community sheepfold. The Shepherd, the true Shepherd, comes in, in the morning. He comes in to gather out His sheep to Himself. He calls them out, and He calls them out by name. And, you remember they were told that He recognizes, sorry, they recognize His voice, and they follow Him.
And Jesus is the true Shepherd, and He has sheep among the nation of Israel belonging to Judaism, but He's going to call them out unto salvation, unto Himself, unto the Father. And He knows His sheep, and they're going to know Him, and they're going to recognize His voice, and as a result, they're going to follow Him. And He comes legitimately. He's not ruling by means of deception. He's not ruling by means of violence, thievery, and robbery. No, He comes in truth. He's the true Shepherd of the sheep.
And then in verses 7 through 10, He changes the picture a little bit. They don't understand what He's saying. Verse 6 says, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but” —they did not get it — “they did not understand.” And so Jesus, moved with compassion, caring for them, He changes the imagery a little bit. Now you're not looking at the community sheepfold, now you're out in the field. And there is this sort of a temporary sheepfold. That is the picture where the sheep would go in at night, and they would go in for rest, and the shepherd himself would function as the door. He would literally put his body down in front of the opening, and he would be the gate, the door. He's the protector. He is the guardian of the sheep.
And so in verses 7 through 10, now Jesus says, “I am the door.” “I am the door of the sheep." Notice now the sheep aren't being brought out of this community sheepfold. Now He is the way in. He's the gate in. "I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me" —verse 8, — "are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me," —verse 9, — "he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
So again, what is He saying? He's the true Shepherd. The way that He came to gather His sheep speaks of Him as the true Shepherd. And He's now the one who provides for the sheep. He's now the one who cares for the sheep. He's now the one who protects the sheep. He's the way into the sheepfold, and He's going to make sure they're taken care of and they're fed and well cared for. He is the true shepherd.
Now you come to verse 11, and He uses another descriptive title here—another descriptive title to speak of Himself. In verse 11, He says, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 14, "I'm the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." A third picture in this continuing comparison—He's now declaring Himself to be the good Shepherd, the good Shepherd.
This morning, as we listen to Him, and as we pay attention to this comparison that He's using, there are two things that I want us to notice. First of all, we're going to look at the claim—the claim of the good Shepherd. This title that He uses for Himself, the good Shepherd. I mean, He's making a very important claim about Himself. What He's claiming when He says, "I am the good shepherd," He's making a significant claim. And we want to deal with the question: what is He claiming when He claims to be the good Shepherd? So we're going to look at the claim of the good Shepherd. And then following that, we will look at the characteristics of the good shepherd. Because not only is He going to claim to be the good shepherd, He's going to tell us what really characterizes Him as the good Shepherd. And what characterizes Him—and this is the foundation for His claim to be the good Shepherd—we will look at that in detail. So the claim of the good Shepherd, and then the characteristics. What characterizes the good Shepherd? Two main headings.
So let's begin together with the claim—the claim itself. He says in verse 11, "I am the good shepherd." Especially in the Greek text, and I love the way it is put, and it is very significant. It reads this way: "I am the shepherd, the good one." "I am the shepherd, the good one." And there are two articles—one before the word shepherd, and one before the word good. Two articles: "I am the shepherd, the good one." So what He's claiming, again, is to be the true Shepherd. Again, once again, He is the Shepherd: "I am the shepherd, the good one."
And as He's done throughout this allegory, He again is speaking of Himself in comparison with all the other false shepherds. He's described the false shepherds—all the shepherds, the false shepherds—as thieves, as robbers. But now in comparing Himself to all others, He compares Himself by saying that all others are hireling. They're hired hand—verse 12. They're hired hands. He does not own the sheep. The hired hand doesn't own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming. What does he do? He takes off. He leaves the sheep, flees. And what's the result? The sheep are snatched and scattered.
Why does he run? Why does he flee? Why does he run away? Verse 13 tells us: because he is a hired hand. Simple. He's a hired hand. He's not concerned for the sheep. And again, Jesus is casting an eye toward the Pharisees who are listening to Him. In this group—the religious rulers of the nation—they are thieves, they are robbers. And they are in it not for the sake of the sheep, but they're in it for their own sake, for their own benefit. It's just a way for them to make a living. They're hirelings. They're hired hands. But in contrast to them, He Himself is the shepherd. He's the real shepherd. He's the genuine Shepherd. He's, in fact, the good One.
Now, what is He claiming in that title beyond the fact that He's the true Shepherd? Well, first of all, when He claims to be the good Shepherd—in that claim, in that title—it's a claim of, number one, excellence. It's a claim of excellence. The Greek word here is a significant word. It's an interesting word. It's the Greek word ‘kalos’—good, ‘kalos.’ Now, there is another word in the Greek language for the word good. It's the word ‘agathos.’ So, you have two words. You have ‘kalos,’ ‘agathos.’
And in fact, outside of the Bible, you find those two words together a lot in the Greek writings around that time period: ‘kalos,’ ‘agathos,’ used together. In fact, in the Bible, you'll find them used together once. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, verse 15, you're familiar with that account. We read there, "But the seed in the good soil," —and the word translated good is the word ‘kalos,’ good, ‘kalos’ — "these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart," —that word there is ‘agathos,’ in English, you can't tell the difference— "and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
So what is the difference between those two words, ‘kalos’ and ‘agathos?’ And why does Jesus use the word ‘kalos’ here in the text when He describes Himself? "I am the shepherd,” — the ‘kalos’ one, — “the good one." What the words have in common first—first of all, let's begin with what they have in common. What they have in common is they both describe that which is noble, that which is upright, that which is good in terms of morality or good in terms of outcome, result. So both words mean good, but the word ‘kalos’ carries an additional meaning to it. It has to do with intrinsic goodness, intrinsic goodness. It has to do with something that is beautiful. It carries the idea of pleasantness, beauty, beautiful, sound, whole. In fact, the word symmetry is wrapped up in this word. It's a good word, symmetry. In other words, you could look at Jesus from any angle and there is perfect symmetry. There's symmetry. He is good from every angle. However you want to look at Jesus, He's good. He's good. He's demonstrated to be the good Shepherd. No matter how you look at Him, He's the good Shepherd. He's good. He's always good. He does good.
In Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, there's a lengthy discussion about the origin of this word and the words that are used to describe this word ‘kalos.’ Listen to these words used to describe this one word ‘kalos:’ sound, powerful, vigorous, excellent, organically healthy, fit, useful, sensible, genuine, sterling, flawless, beautiful, pleasant, attractive, lovely. There are many more words. Jesus says, I am the ‘kalos,’ the good One. I am the Shepherd, the good One. So He's claiming excellence.
Commenting on this word, Kittel says, "‘Kalos,’ the word has nothing to do with a romantic conception of the good Shepherd. It expresses the absolute claim of Jesus to His uniqueness. The Shepherd, the good, is the true Shepherd who really has a right to the title." “The primary point of the passage,” — he goes on, — “is the contrast of this right with the many contemporary claims to be shepherds on the one side and those of the leaders of the people who were regarded as shepherds on the other.” In other words, people claiming all the time, saying, I'm a shepherd, and these religious leaders being regarded by the people as being shepherds—and in contrast to all those, Jesus comes and says, no, I am the shepherd, the good one, the true one.
He is, beloved, He is sterling. He's genuine. He's genuine. He is authentic. He is sound. He's not a shepherd in superficial terms. Jesus is the true Shepherd. He is the good One. And so the excellence of His person in that He's genuine, He's authentic, it also speaks to the fact that He is the perfect Shepherd. The perfect Shepherd. He's not only the genuine One, but He's the perfect One. In fact, He's the model Shepherd. As mentioned a moment ago, the idea of symmetry—no matter how you look at Jesus, He's perfect—and that means something. You know what it means? It means He has no peer. He has no peer. There is no one, no one to compare with Him. Absolutely no one, not even close. I'll talk more about that in a moment.
This also says He's the beautiful Shepherd. He's a beautiful shepherd. Now let me stop here and say, if you're sitting here and say, well, the application—listen, you're missing the point. Just be taken up with the person of Christ. He's beautiful. He's perfect. He's the good One. There's no one to compare with Him. No one. He's the beautiful Shepherd. You look at Jesus and you're going to see the beauty of God. He's the Shepherd worthy of admiration. He is the Shepherd who's worthy of adoration. He's worthy of submission. He's worthy of our worship.
And so when He says here, He is the good One, the good, He's claiming this lofty excellence. He is true. He is perfect. He is beautiful. And because of that, He is worthy. He is worthy of admiration. He is worthy of adoration. He is worthy of submission, and He's worthy of worship. But not only is it a claim of excellence, I want us to see in the second place, it's also a claim of exclusivity—exclusivity. That is, when He says He is the shepherd, the definite article before the word shepherd, the good one as well, He's claiming something exclusively for Himself. He did not say, I am a shepherd, a good one. No, no. He is the Shepherd. He is the good One.
Not only Jesus is to be distinguished from false shepherds, we realize this morning that He is to be distinguished even from under-shepherds who are good in their own right. That is, the Lord has given under-shepherds to His people. Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, you find that God has given shepherds. He calls men, gives men to watch over His people, His own flock. And so you have good, godly under-shepherds—good under-shepherds who were talked about in Scripture.
Just to give you an example, you go back to the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 3:14, it says, "Return, O faithless sons, declares Yahweh; for I am a master to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds,"—plural—"after My own heart, who will shepherd you on knowledge and understanding." You fast forward to Jeremiah 23:4, "I will also raise shepherds over them, and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be left unattended, declares Yahweh.” That is, I'm going to really give you shepherds who will watch out for the sheep so that no one is left out and no one is lost. And you come to the New Testament, Ephesians 4:11, "And He Himself,"—the living head of the church, Jesus Christ—"He Himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists," —and here it is, —-"and some as pastors,"—literally shepherds—"and teachers." “Poimen” is the Greek word for pastors; it's the word for shepherds. What is a pastor? A shepherd. Not a CEO, by the way. Not a business manager, but a shepherd. An under-shepherd.
In Acts 20:28, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders—the Ephesian shepherds, under-shepherds—and he says to them, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,"—there's that imagery again—"among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers," —and notice what the next word is, — "to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." What do pastors do? Well, they shepherd the flock, realizing that they shepherd a blood-bought people—people who have been purchased with the blood of Jesus.
First Peter chapter 5, verse 1: "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing, not under compulsion but willingly, according to God, and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock." And now watch this, verse 4: "And when the Chief Shepherd” — the Chief Shepherd — “appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." There it is. There's the difference. There's the difference. You have shepherds given to watch over the souls of the people, but all they are is what? Undershepherds, undershepherds, because there's only one chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Shepherd, the good One, the perfect One, and all others are incomparable to Him. In fact, all the undershepherds, even the best one you could imagine, the best undershepherd you could imagine, the best undershepherd God could ever give to us—do you realize, beloved, the best undershepherd doesn't even seem like a shepherd compared with the Shepherd? Jesus is not only claiming excellence, He's claiming exclusivity. He is the Shepherd, the good One.
Ezekiel 34, verses 11 through 15: We read those words, "For thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I Myself will seek My sheep,’” — “‘I Myself,’” “‘I Myself,’” He says, “‘will seek My sheep’” — “‘and care for them, as a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his sheep, which are spread out, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will shepherd on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will shepherd them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. They will lie down on good grazing ground and be shepherded in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will shepherd My flock, and I will make them lie down,' declares the Lord Yahweh. ‘'‘I will search for the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick.'" Isn't it amazing? Ezekiel says there's one Shepherd, Yahweh Himself, and what does Jesus say here in John 10, verse 11? "I am He." That's Me. That's Me. I am the Shepherd, the good, the ‘kalos.’ So you have the claim of the good Shepherd, and it is a lofty claim. Jesus says He is the One, He is the promised One, He is the Shepherd of God's people.
But then He begins to talk about what characterizes the good Shepherd. So let's move to the characteristics of the good Shepherd, the characteristics. So in what sense is He perfect? In what sense is He good? And the first thing that He mentions, the thing that is most prominent as He describes His character here in this portion of God's Word, the thing that He wants to stand out above all else—I mean, here it is, you can see this by means of repetition because He repeats it—and it is this: that He is the One who gives His life for the sheep. He's the One who gives His life for the sheep. Look at how often He says this. Verse 11: "I am the good Shepherd; The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 15: "Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." Verse 17: "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again." Verse 18: "No one takes it away from Me, but from Myself, I lay it down."
What is true of the perfect Shepherd, of the Good Shepherd, is that He loves His sheep sacrificially. He loves His sheep sacrificially. He loves His sheep to the end. He loves His sheep to the death. In fact, He's going to give His life to save them, and in each place here, by the way, where He says, "I lay it down," the picture is like laying aside clothing, and it always speaks of a voluntary laying down. And here's the first thing that we could say about His death: He gives His life voluntarily, voluntarily. "No one," —verse 18, — "no one takes it away from Me." Jesus, beloved, was not a victim. Jesus was not some great story of tragedy when men overcame Him, overpowered Him, took His life from Him. No, no. No one could do a single thing to Him that the Father did not allow. In fact, not only that the Father did not allow, but that the Father had not planned from before time. He's the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Jesus died according to the predetermined plan of God.
In fact, notice what He says in verse 18: "I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." He gives His life voluntarily. But secondly, He gives His life vicariously, vicariously. That is, He gave His life in the place of, in the stead of sinners. "I lay down My life” ‘huper,’ the Greek word: for. "I lay down My life” ‘huper,’ in the place of, in the stead of. "I lay down My life for the sheep," in the place of the sheep, on behalf of the sheep, instead of the sheep (verse 11). He says that more than once—verse 11, verse 15—on behalf of, in the place of, in other words, as a substitute. The sheep should have died, but the Shepherd is going to die in their place. He takes their place.
But He also gives His life not only vicariously, but He gives His life victoriously, victoriously. Now, this is incredible—in their place, voluntarily, vicariously—and He gives His life knowing before He ever gives His life that He's going to take it up again. In other words, the resurrection was in view long before He ever died. Where do we see that? Well, we see that in the end of verse 17: "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that,” —in order that, — “I may take it again.” And He says in verse 18, "I have authority to lay it down," and guess what else He has? I have authority to do what? “to take it up again." He knows before He dies that He's going to be raised from the dead. Again, not a victim—a victor—someone who came to win redemption, someone who came to win victory on behalf of God's sheep, and He's going to accomplish that purpose. Period.
But also, He gives His life submissively, submissively—sacrificially, vicariously, victoriously, submissively—submissively, because at the end of verse 18, He describes the commandment that He received from His Father. He dies according to the commandment of God, and we'll see that when we get there, and He's going to be raised according to this commandment that has been given to Him. What characterizes the Good Shepherd? He is the true Shepherd because He's the one who's going to purchase the sheep with His own blood.
We are blood-bought people, aren't we? This church is the blood-bought possession of Christ. That's why all under-shepherds cannot be compared with the Shepherd, because all we do is we serve the Chief Shepherd, shepherding people who belong not to us, but to Him—to Him. We're all His sheep. We belong to Him. He bought us with His own blood, and this is what characterizes Him above all else in this discussion: the fact that He's going to love His sheep to the death.
And He contrasts that with the hired hands. He says in verse 12, "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees - and the wolf snatches and scatters them." What happens because of false shepherds? Well, sheep are devoured, they're injured, they're damaged, they're hurt badly. And even as we take what we see now in our Savior and apply it now to men—true under-shepherds and false under-shepherds—you see this characteristic: that the true under-shepherds love the sheep. The false under-shepherds don't give a care about the sheep. All they care about and all they love is themselves, their own interests. And if it comes between rescuing sheep and saving their own skin, well, they save their skin, they run, they flee, they take off.
Notice this contrast down in verses 27 and 28. Remember what He says happens to the sheep because of the false shepherds—they're snatched in verse 12. But look at verse 27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish- ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." Jesus died to be raised from the dead to save forever His sheep. Because of His death and His resurrection, we are now in the hand of the Savior and in the hand of the Father, if indeed we've trusted in Christ. And because of our Good Shepherd, we will never, ever be snatched away. We'll never be devoured. He died to save us and to keep us safe forever.
So what characterizes the good Shepherd? He gives His life for the sheep. He gives His life for the sheep. Something else characterizes Him, the Bible tells us: He knows His sheep. He knows His sheep. Look at verse 14: "I am the good shepherd," He repeats it. Here's another characteristic of the Shepherd, the good One: "And I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."
Did you notice? He puts this knowledge in the context of His dying. He puts this knowledge in the context of His dying, and this is very significant. Don't miss it. He says, "I know My sheep, My sheep know Me, just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep." So this knowledge is being discussed in the context of the cross—His death.
What is this knowledge that He's talking about? Now here's the significance of this—the context of His death—here's the significance: it's not just a knowledge that His sheep exist. He's not just saying, Well, I know you're there. It's not what He's doing. This is the knowledge of love, beloved—the knowledge of love. This is the knowledge of a relationship. This is a pre-planned love relationship.
And this word "know," translated “know,” is a significant word, ‘ginosko,’ used that way many times in God's Word, not just to speak of awareness, but to speak of affection, to speak of intimate relationship. For example, God said to the nation of Israel back in the Old Testament in Amos 3 and verse 2, "You only have I known," and the Septuagint uses the same word. "You only have I known"—now this is very significant—"among all the families of the earth." And we need to let that sink in. He said to Israel, out of all the families of the earth, only you have I known."
Now here's the question: does that mean God was only aware of one nation? It can't mean that, can it? Is God aware of all nations? Of course He is. So what does the word "know" mean there? It can't just mean, I know about you. He says, I have a relationship with you, an intimate relationship with you. Out of all the nations, I have a special relationship—in other words, a saving, redemptive relationship, a revelatory relationship—with you and you only, out of the whole. In fact, that gave them a heavy responsibility. He goes on to say in that verse, "Therefore"—that's the outcome, right? That's the "in light of this"—"therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Why do I deal with you in a disciplining way? Because “you only have I known." That's why a father disciplines his own children, not illegitimate children. Hebrews 12 talks about that.
And think about what Jesus is going to say one day when people appear before Him and find out from His own mouth that they are condemned forever. What does He say to them in the Sermon on the Mount? You remember? Matthew 7:23: "And then I will declare to them, I never knew you;” — I never knew you — “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." Does it mean that, does it mean that I didn't know about you whatsoever? I wasn't aware of you"? Is that what He means? Is Jesus aware of everybody? Of course He is. But what does He mean? I didn't have a saving relationship with you. I never had it. In other words, you were never Mine. You were never Mine. I did not save you, you didn't know Me, and I don't know you.
Galatians 4:9 says, "But now, having known God, or rather having been known by God..." What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be saved? Simply put, to use the language of Paul, it means to be” known by God,” to have a relationship with God. “How is it that you turn back again?" —He goes on to say in Galatians 4:9, — "How is it that you turn back again,” “now having been known by God, rather having known God,” “or rather having been made known by God?" Let's start this again: "But now, having known God, or rather having been known by God, how is it that you now turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things to which you want to be enslaved all over again?"
How do you come to know God and be known by God? Do you want to be enslaved again to the sins that really marked your life before you knew Him, before He knew you, before your relationship with God? That's how He uses the word "known" in that context. So when Jesus speaks of the fact that He knows His sheep, His sheep know Him, He's talking about a special relationship with His people—the people for whom He's going to die. He's going to lay down His life for these people, His sheep.
In fact, in John 14:21, you see, He's going to disclose Himself to these people: "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him” — what is he going to do? — “and will disclose Myself to him." I'm going to make Myself known to him all the more. Jesus knows His sheep, His sheep know Him, and they recognize His voice, and they follow Him. In fact, do you notice what Jesus compares it to in John 10? Look at John 10 again. Verse 14, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me," notice, “even as.” You see the comparison? Here's a comparison: "Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." Now obviously, obviously, Jesus is not saying that we're going to know Him right now on this side of glory, or ever for that matter, that we're going to know Him to the same degree that the Father knows Him or know the Father to the same degree that He knows the Father.
But what He's talking about here is this: just as the Father and the Son have a love relationship, so He and His sheep have a love relationship. Just as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have, or ever in the Godhead, in the one God, there's been this love, this mutual knowledge among the persons of the Godhead, He says in the same way, so the sheep know the Shepherd, and the Shepherd knows the sheep. I love what John Calvin said concerning this. He said this, and I quote, "It's as if He said that it's no more possible for Him to be oblivious of us than for the Father to reject or neglect Him." I love that. Could the Father ever neglect or reject the Son? No, never. Nor is it possible for the Shepherd to reject or neglect His own sheep. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
A couple of things to note from this, by way of conclusion. One is, isn't it wonderful, isn't it a wonderful thing to know that we are known by Christ individually? Isn't it? We are known by Christ individually. All sheep are not the same. That's what I'm told—they're not the same. Sheep are all different, and you see that even in the text, because in the first picture, verses 1 through 6, the shepherd, when He comes to the sheepfold to call out His sheep, how does He call them out? By name. By name. Isn't that comforting? Isn't that wonderful? Do you mean He assigns a different name to each and every single one of His sheep? Yes, because they're all different. Look around you—they're all different. Isn't it wonderful that our Shepherd knows us individually? He didn't just look down and say, okay, here's a group of people I'm going to redeem, and there's no individuality to it, and there's no distinction among them. No, no. He knows His sheep individually, and He's going to lay down His life for them.
All sheep are not the same. We’re different, aren't we? We believers have everything in common in terms of our salvation—one Father, one Savior, one Holy Spirit, one faith, one baptism. We have all of that in common, yet we're still different. And let me say this: the Shepherd, the good Shepherd, the good One, doesn't shepherd us all exactly the same. Did you know that? He doesn't. He doesn't shepherd us all exactly the same. He's doing something in your life today, and He's doing something in my life today, and He's doing something in the life of the person sitting in front of you or next to you or behind you if they're believers. And He's dealing with us, all of His sheep, as His sheep, and He knows what we need—each and every single one of us.
James Montgomery Boyce said it well. He said, and I quote, "I sometimes think that half our problems in the Christian church come from our trying to be exactly like another person or from other people trying to make us to be like them." Isn't he right? If you really love the Lord, you'll be exactly like me. And that's how some people treat other believers sometimes.
But you know what it is really, fundamentally? I'll be honest. It's pride and selfishness. Because if everybody has to be exactly like you, guess what? Then you don't have any adjustments you need to make. Then you've got it all figured out. Everybody else has to adjust. But if you realize that we're all different and the good Shepherd is shepherding differently, now we all have to grow, don't we? All of us. Because the image that we're being conformed to is not our own. It's not my own. It is His. We're all being conformed to the image of the Chief Shepherd, and we all have to change. We all have to grow.
So not only do we learn that He knows us individually, but in the second place, we were known by Him individually when He died. When He died. Because He lays down His life for the sheep. It's not just some sentimental line for a song, "When He was on the cross, I was on His mind," that we sing. Beloved, it is true. It is true. When He was on the cross, He was dying for His sheep. He knows you by name. What's sad is that there are so many who sing that, but they don't really believe that. They sing that, but then they deny the doctrine of sovereign election. No, no, no. You really were on His mind when He gave His life. He really knew who He was dying for when He died. And we can sing with the veracity of the words, "My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His heart."
You know, people who deny that truth, it really amazes me, because every Christian should be able to acknowledge—at bare minimum—should be able to acknowledge that God is omniscient. What does that mean? He knows everything, right? He isn't discovering things today at all, is He? He knows. He knows everything. He knows it before time. He's always known, always. There was never a time when God didn't know. Has there ever been a time when God didn't know all that He knows right now, this minute, this moment? He knows it from before time began. So even if you go at it from that angle, from that standpoint—the standpoint of God's omniscience—didn't Jesus know who He was dying for when He came to this earth? He did. And He died for His sheep. And so His claim is that He died for His sheep. His claim is that He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
There is this relationship established between the Shepherd and the sheep, and it's a saving relationship. It's a forever relationship. It's one that He brought to pass by His own death and resurrection. And thirdly, He cares for His sheep. He cares for His sheep. Verse 13 emphasizes this. Back up to the end of verse 12: the hired hand “sees the wolves coming, and leaves the sheep and flees.” Verse 13, "because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep."
In fact, in verse 12, He puts it this way: the hired hand “is not the owner of the sheep." You know, it's a sad truth about sinful humanity, but isn't it true among human beings that people tend to take better care of their own things than other people's things? This speaks of the sinfulness or selfishness of the human heart. Men in general—not everyone, of course—but in general, that's true. If it's theirs, they'll take good care of it.
This hired hand doesn't own the sheep, and so when the wolf is coming, he doesn't love the sheep, he doesn't care about the sheep as if they were his own. He didn't name them. He doesn't know them by name, you see, so he runs, he flees. Not our Shepherd. Not the good Shepherd. Not the true Shepherd. Our Shepherd. Our Shepherd saw the wolf coming. The wolf of sin, the wolf of death, the wolf of judgment, which would have devoured us. Sin would have devoured us. Death would have been for eternity. Judgment would have been our end forever. And Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, the good Shepherd—He saw the wolves and He faced them head on, and He gave His life to rescue us from them. He cares for us.
This is the word used—cares. He's concerned, cares. Verse 13, ‘meli’ is the Greek word. That's such a sweet word to our hearts, to our minds, especially when we go through hard times. He really does care for you, child of God. He does. If you're His, if you're His, if you know Him, if you're known by Him, He knows you. You know He cares for you. And by the way, it's the same Greek word used in 1 Peter 5:7—"He cares for you."
So when you face that health issue, when you find out that you have a serious illness, something that's going to change your life for as long as you're facing it, and may in fact be your doorway even at times into the presence of your Shepherd, you know one thing for sure: it is not an expression of God not caring about you when you face the suffering. And when you have financial hardship, and things are tough and tight, and you don't know how you're going to make it, one thing you never have to doubt is that God cares for you. He cares. And if He hasn't supplied what you think you should have supplied, it's not because He lacks the ability to do it, which means He has another plan. There's something, something else, something He's teaching you through it, you see. There's something more valuable than money that He's working in your life because of what you're facing. There's something more valuable than temporary health. Beloved, there's an eternal weight of glory that can't be compared to the things, the flipsies, the tribulations, the afflictions that we go through in this life.
There's an incomparable treasure that He's working that you will see one day, that you will realize it one day. He was doing this all along. Yes, this is what He's doing all along. Yes. He loved me all along. Yes, you will see it. He loved you beyond what you can imagine all along. And He's working in your life. And He cares. 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” In other words, stop grumbling. Stop complaining. Oh, if God really loved me… "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time." How? "Casting..." —How do you do this? — "Casting all your anxiety on Him." — Why? — "Because He"—the same word used in John 10—"cares for you."
What do you do with all your worries? What do you do with all your troubles? What do you do with all your anxieties? What do you do with all your fears? You throw them, you cast them upon the Chief Shepherd—your Shepherd, your good Shepherd, the good One—knowing, He really, really, really does care for me. And you cry out to Him, Lord, I don't understand it. I don't understand it. I don't get it. I don't see it. It doesn't make sense. I can't make sense of this, Lord. And if it were within my power, I would change it. But I'm so thankful that I don't have the power to dictate my own life, because I would have taken so many wrong turns. Lord, You know my heart is troubled. I want to take all those troubles and roll them on You. All of them, Lord. All of them.
And if I don't know anything else in this situation, I can be assured of this: You care for me. That's what Your Word says. You cared enough for me to die in my place. You bought me with Your own blood, Lord Jesus. You'll take care of me right now in my suffering, in my need, in my trouble. “For we,” — beloved, —- “do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15. Listen, beloved, just because Jesus was sinless on this earth and He was perfect, spotless, doesn't mean that He was anything less than a real human being who's fully God. And so He's able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He's gone before us, hasn't He?
We don't have a shepherd who drives us from the rear. We have a Shepherd who leads the way. He's gone before us. He knows us. He knows what our struggles are. He knows how we experience the weakness of humanity, and He is your Helper. He cares for you.
And so “we confidently say”—”we confidently say”—this is the Word of God, “we confidently say,” Hebrews 13:6, “the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will men do to me?” And this is where many of men's fears lie. We're afraid of other men. We're afraid of what might happen. We're afraid of what someone else has. We think that they have control over us. My boss has control over my future. No, he doesn't. No, she doesn't. What can men do to you? Don't you know the Lord is your helper? Who's your helper? What's His name? The Lord. What does that mean? ‘Kyrios.’ You know what it means? He rules. It means He reigns. Who's your Helper? The sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth is your helper. I am the Shepherd, the good One, the perfect One, the true One, the model Shepherd.
Let me ask you, do you know Him today? Does He know you? How do you know if you're known by Jesus? How do you know today if you're known by Christ? Here's how you know: you repent of your sin and you believe in Him. That's how you know. Repent and believe. Repent and believe. We preach the gospel to all men knowing that Christ died for His own sheep, knowing that the Holy Spirit will draw them to the Savior and they will repent of their sins and believe in the Son of God. So the question for you today is not whether you're elect or not. The question for you is, will you repent and believe in the Son of God? We sow the seed indiscriminately. Will you turn from your sins even this morning and trust in God's Son for eternal life? And when you come to Him truly with an honest, sincere heart produced by the Holy Spirit, you won't be coming just for fire insurance. You'll be coming to Him because you love Him. You see your need of Him and you will count Him to be the greatest treasure, the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in the field, and willing to lose all if need be just to have Him. Do you know Him? Are you known by Him?
Let's pray.
"But He who enters by the door," —verse 2, — "is the shepherd of the sheep." Verse 3, "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." And we talked about this picture of this community sheepfold. The Shepherd, the true Shepherd, comes in, in the morning. He comes in to gather out His sheep to Himself. He calls them out, and He calls them out by name. And, you remember they were told that He recognizes, sorry, they recognize His voice, and they follow Him.
And Jesus is the true Shepherd, and He has sheep among the nation of Israel belonging to Judaism, but He's going to call them out unto salvation, unto Himself, unto the Father. And He knows His sheep, and they're going to know Him, and they're going to recognize His voice, and as a result, they're going to follow Him. And He comes legitimately. He's not ruling by means of deception. He's not ruling by means of violence, thievery, and robbery. No, He comes in truth. He's the true Shepherd of the sheep.
And then in verses 7 through 10, He changes the picture a little bit. They don't understand what He's saying. Verse 6 says, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but” —they did not get it — “they did not understand.” And so Jesus, moved with compassion, caring for them, He changes the imagery a little bit. Now you're not looking at the community sheepfold, now you're out in the field. And there is this sort of a temporary sheepfold. That is the picture where the sheep would go in at night, and they would go in for rest, and the shepherd himself would function as the door. He would literally put his body down in front of the opening, and he would be the gate, the door. He's the protector. He is the guardian of the sheep.
And so in verses 7 through 10, now Jesus says, “I am the door.” “I am the door of the sheep." Notice now the sheep aren't being brought out of this community sheepfold. Now He is the way in. He's the gate in. "I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me" —verse 8, — "are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me," —verse 9, — "he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
So again, what is He saying? He's the true Shepherd. The way that He came to gather His sheep speaks of Him as the true Shepherd. And He's now the one who provides for the sheep. He's now the one who cares for the sheep. He's now the one who protects the sheep. He's the way into the sheepfold, and He's going to make sure they're taken care of and they're fed and well cared for. He is the true shepherd.
Now you come to verse 11, and He uses another descriptive title here—another descriptive title to speak of Himself. In verse 11, He says, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 14, "I'm the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." A third picture in this continuing comparison—He's now declaring Himself to be the good Shepherd, the good Shepherd.
This morning, as we listen to Him, and as we pay attention to this comparison that He's using, there are two things that I want us to notice. First of all, we're going to look at the claim—the claim of the good Shepherd. This title that He uses for Himself, the good Shepherd. I mean, He's making a very important claim about Himself. What He's claiming when He says, "I am the good shepherd," He's making a significant claim. And we want to deal with the question: what is He claiming when He claims to be the good Shepherd? So we're going to look at the claim of the good Shepherd. And then following that, we will look at the characteristics of the good shepherd. Because not only is He going to claim to be the good shepherd, He's going to tell us what really characterizes Him as the good Shepherd. And what characterizes Him—and this is the foundation for His claim to be the good Shepherd—we will look at that in detail. So the claim of the good Shepherd, and then the characteristics. What characterizes the good Shepherd? Two main headings.
So let's begin together with the claim—the claim itself. He says in verse 11, "I am the good shepherd." Especially in the Greek text, and I love the way it is put, and it is very significant. It reads this way: "I am the shepherd, the good one." "I am the shepherd, the good one." And there are two articles—one before the word shepherd, and one before the word good. Two articles: "I am the shepherd, the good one." So what He's claiming, again, is to be the true Shepherd. Again, once again, He is the Shepherd: "I am the shepherd, the good one."
And as He's done throughout this allegory, He again is speaking of Himself in comparison with all the other false shepherds. He's described the false shepherds—all the shepherds, the false shepherds—as thieves, as robbers. But now in comparing Himself to all others, He compares Himself by saying that all others are hireling. They're hired hand—verse 12. They're hired hands. He does not own the sheep. The hired hand doesn't own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming. What does he do? He takes off. He leaves the sheep, flees. And what's the result? The sheep are snatched and scattered.
Why does he run? Why does he flee? Why does he run away? Verse 13 tells us: because he is a hired hand. Simple. He's a hired hand. He's not concerned for the sheep. And again, Jesus is casting an eye toward the Pharisees who are listening to Him. In this group—the religious rulers of the nation—they are thieves, they are robbers. And they are in it not for the sake of the sheep, but they're in it for their own sake, for their own benefit. It's just a way for them to make a living. They're hirelings. They're hired hands. But in contrast to them, He Himself is the shepherd. He's the real shepherd. He's the genuine Shepherd. He's, in fact, the good One.
Now, what is He claiming in that title beyond the fact that He's the true Shepherd? Well, first of all, when He claims to be the good Shepherd—in that claim, in that title—it's a claim of, number one, excellence. It's a claim of excellence. The Greek word here is a significant word. It's an interesting word. It's the Greek word ‘kalos’—good, ‘kalos.’ Now, there is another word in the Greek language for the word good. It's the word ‘agathos.’ So, you have two words. You have ‘kalos,’ ‘agathos.’
And in fact, outside of the Bible, you find those two words together a lot in the Greek writings around that time period: ‘kalos,’ ‘agathos,’ used together. In fact, in the Bible, you'll find them used together once. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, verse 15, you're familiar with that account. We read there, "But the seed in the good soil," —and the word translated good is the word ‘kalos,’ good, ‘kalos’ — "these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart," —that word there is ‘agathos,’ in English, you can't tell the difference— "and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
So what is the difference between those two words, ‘kalos’ and ‘agathos?’ And why does Jesus use the word ‘kalos’ here in the text when He describes Himself? "I am the shepherd,” — the ‘kalos’ one, — “the good one." What the words have in common first—first of all, let's begin with what they have in common. What they have in common is they both describe that which is noble, that which is upright, that which is good in terms of morality or good in terms of outcome, result. So both words mean good, but the word ‘kalos’ carries an additional meaning to it. It has to do with intrinsic goodness, intrinsic goodness. It has to do with something that is beautiful. It carries the idea of pleasantness, beauty, beautiful, sound, whole. In fact, the word symmetry is wrapped up in this word. It's a good word, symmetry. In other words, you could look at Jesus from any angle and there is perfect symmetry. There's symmetry. He is good from every angle. However you want to look at Jesus, He's good. He's good. He's demonstrated to be the good Shepherd. No matter how you look at Him, He's the good Shepherd. He's good. He's always good. He does good.
In Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, there's a lengthy discussion about the origin of this word and the words that are used to describe this word ‘kalos.’ Listen to these words used to describe this one word ‘kalos:’ sound, powerful, vigorous, excellent, organically healthy, fit, useful, sensible, genuine, sterling, flawless, beautiful, pleasant, attractive, lovely. There are many more words. Jesus says, I am the ‘kalos,’ the good One. I am the Shepherd, the good One. So He's claiming excellence.
Commenting on this word, Kittel says, "‘Kalos,’ the word has nothing to do with a romantic conception of the good Shepherd. It expresses the absolute claim of Jesus to His uniqueness. The Shepherd, the good, is the true Shepherd who really has a right to the title." “The primary point of the passage,” — he goes on, — “is the contrast of this right with the many contemporary claims to be shepherds on the one side and those of the leaders of the people who were regarded as shepherds on the other.” In other words, people claiming all the time, saying, I'm a shepherd, and these religious leaders being regarded by the people as being shepherds—and in contrast to all those, Jesus comes and says, no, I am the shepherd, the good one, the true one.
He is, beloved, He is sterling. He's genuine. He's genuine. He is authentic. He is sound. He's not a shepherd in superficial terms. Jesus is the true Shepherd. He is the good One. And so the excellence of His person in that He's genuine, He's authentic, it also speaks to the fact that He is the perfect Shepherd. The perfect Shepherd. He's not only the genuine One, but He's the perfect One. In fact, He's the model Shepherd. As mentioned a moment ago, the idea of symmetry—no matter how you look at Jesus, He's perfect—and that means something. You know what it means? It means He has no peer. He has no peer. There is no one, no one to compare with Him. Absolutely no one, not even close. I'll talk more about that in a moment.
This also says He's the beautiful Shepherd. He's a beautiful shepherd. Now let me stop here and say, if you're sitting here and say, well, the application—listen, you're missing the point. Just be taken up with the person of Christ. He's beautiful. He's perfect. He's the good One. There's no one to compare with Him. No one. He's the beautiful Shepherd. You look at Jesus and you're going to see the beauty of God. He's the Shepherd worthy of admiration. He is the Shepherd who's worthy of adoration. He's worthy of submission. He's worthy of our worship.
And so when He says here, He is the good One, the good, He's claiming this lofty excellence. He is true. He is perfect. He is beautiful. And because of that, He is worthy. He is worthy of admiration. He is worthy of adoration. He is worthy of submission, and He's worthy of worship. But not only is it a claim of excellence, I want us to see in the second place, it's also a claim of exclusivity—exclusivity. That is, when He says He is the shepherd, the definite article before the word shepherd, the good one as well, He's claiming something exclusively for Himself. He did not say, I am a shepherd, a good one. No, no. He is the Shepherd. He is the good One.
Not only Jesus is to be distinguished from false shepherds, we realize this morning that He is to be distinguished even from under-shepherds who are good in their own right. That is, the Lord has given under-shepherds to His people. Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, you find that God has given shepherds. He calls men, gives men to watch over His people, His own flock. And so you have good, godly under-shepherds—good under-shepherds who were talked about in Scripture.
Just to give you an example, you go back to the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 3:14, it says, "Return, O faithless sons, declares Yahweh; for I am a master to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds,"—plural—"after My own heart, who will shepherd you on knowledge and understanding." You fast forward to Jeremiah 23:4, "I will also raise shepherds over them, and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be left unattended, declares Yahweh.” That is, I'm going to really give you shepherds who will watch out for the sheep so that no one is left out and no one is lost. And you come to the New Testament, Ephesians 4:11, "And He Himself,"—the living head of the church, Jesus Christ—"He Himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists," —and here it is, —-"and some as pastors,"—literally shepherds—"and teachers." “Poimen” is the Greek word for pastors; it's the word for shepherds. What is a pastor? A shepherd. Not a CEO, by the way. Not a business manager, but a shepherd. An under-shepherd.
In Acts 20:28, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders—the Ephesian shepherds, under-shepherds—and he says to them, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,"—there's that imagery again—"among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers," —and notice what the next word is, — "to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." What do pastors do? Well, they shepherd the flock, realizing that they shepherd a blood-bought people—people who have been purchased with the blood of Jesus.
First Peter chapter 5, verse 1: "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing, not under compulsion but willingly, according to God, and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock." And now watch this, verse 4: "And when the Chief Shepherd” — the Chief Shepherd — “appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." There it is. There's the difference. There's the difference. You have shepherds given to watch over the souls of the people, but all they are is what? Undershepherds, undershepherds, because there's only one chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Shepherd, the good One, the perfect One, and all others are incomparable to Him. In fact, all the undershepherds, even the best one you could imagine, the best undershepherd you could imagine, the best undershepherd God could ever give to us—do you realize, beloved, the best undershepherd doesn't even seem like a shepherd compared with the Shepherd? Jesus is not only claiming excellence, He's claiming exclusivity. He is the Shepherd, the good One.
Ezekiel 34, verses 11 through 15: We read those words, "For thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I Myself will seek My sheep,’” — “‘I Myself,’” “‘I Myself,’” He says, “‘will seek My sheep’” — “‘and care for them, as a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his sheep, which are spread out, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will shepherd on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will shepherd them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. They will lie down on good grazing ground and be shepherded in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will shepherd My flock, and I will make them lie down,' declares the Lord Yahweh. ‘'‘I will search for the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick.'" Isn't it amazing? Ezekiel says there's one Shepherd, Yahweh Himself, and what does Jesus say here in John 10, verse 11? "I am He." That's Me. That's Me. I am the Shepherd, the good, the ‘kalos.’ So you have the claim of the good Shepherd, and it is a lofty claim. Jesus says He is the One, He is the promised One, He is the Shepherd of God's people.
But then He begins to talk about what characterizes the good Shepherd. So let's move to the characteristics of the good Shepherd, the characteristics. So in what sense is He perfect? In what sense is He good? And the first thing that He mentions, the thing that is most prominent as He describes His character here in this portion of God's Word, the thing that He wants to stand out above all else—I mean, here it is, you can see this by means of repetition because He repeats it—and it is this: that He is the One who gives His life for the sheep. He's the One who gives His life for the sheep. Look at how often He says this. Verse 11: "I am the good Shepherd; The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 15: "Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." Verse 17: "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again." Verse 18: "No one takes it away from Me, but from Myself, I lay it down."
What is true of the perfect Shepherd, of the Good Shepherd, is that He loves His sheep sacrificially. He loves His sheep sacrificially. He loves His sheep to the end. He loves His sheep to the death. In fact, He's going to give His life to save them, and in each place here, by the way, where He says, "I lay it down," the picture is like laying aside clothing, and it always speaks of a voluntary laying down. And here's the first thing that we could say about His death: He gives His life voluntarily, voluntarily. "No one," —verse 18, — "no one takes it away from Me." Jesus, beloved, was not a victim. Jesus was not some great story of tragedy when men overcame Him, overpowered Him, took His life from Him. No, no. No one could do a single thing to Him that the Father did not allow. In fact, not only that the Father did not allow, but that the Father had not planned from before time. He's the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Jesus died according to the predetermined plan of God.
In fact, notice what He says in verse 18: "I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." He gives His life voluntarily. But secondly, He gives His life vicariously, vicariously. That is, He gave His life in the place of, in the stead of sinners. "I lay down My life” ‘huper,’ the Greek word: for. "I lay down My life” ‘huper,’ in the place of, in the stead of. "I lay down My life for the sheep," in the place of the sheep, on behalf of the sheep, instead of the sheep (verse 11). He says that more than once—verse 11, verse 15—on behalf of, in the place of, in other words, as a substitute. The sheep should have died, but the Shepherd is going to die in their place. He takes their place.
But He also gives His life not only vicariously, but He gives His life victoriously, victoriously. Now, this is incredible—in their place, voluntarily, vicariously—and He gives His life knowing before He ever gives His life that He's going to take it up again. In other words, the resurrection was in view long before He ever died. Where do we see that? Well, we see that in the end of verse 17: "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that,” —in order that, — “I may take it again.” And He says in verse 18, "I have authority to lay it down," and guess what else He has? I have authority to do what? “to take it up again." He knows before He dies that He's going to be raised from the dead. Again, not a victim—a victor—someone who came to win redemption, someone who came to win victory on behalf of God's sheep, and He's going to accomplish that purpose. Period.
But also, He gives His life submissively, submissively—sacrificially, vicariously, victoriously, submissively—submissively, because at the end of verse 18, He describes the commandment that He received from His Father. He dies according to the commandment of God, and we'll see that when we get there, and He's going to be raised according to this commandment that has been given to Him. What characterizes the Good Shepherd? He is the true Shepherd because He's the one who's going to purchase the sheep with His own blood.
We are blood-bought people, aren't we? This church is the blood-bought possession of Christ. That's why all under-shepherds cannot be compared with the Shepherd, because all we do is we serve the Chief Shepherd, shepherding people who belong not to us, but to Him—to Him. We're all His sheep. We belong to Him. He bought us with His own blood, and this is what characterizes Him above all else in this discussion: the fact that He's going to love His sheep to the death.
And He contrasts that with the hired hands. He says in verse 12, "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees - and the wolf snatches and scatters them." What happens because of false shepherds? Well, sheep are devoured, they're injured, they're damaged, they're hurt badly. And even as we take what we see now in our Savior and apply it now to men—true under-shepherds and false under-shepherds—you see this characteristic: that the true under-shepherds love the sheep. The false under-shepherds don't give a care about the sheep. All they care about and all they love is themselves, their own interests. And if it comes between rescuing sheep and saving their own skin, well, they save their skin, they run, they flee, they take off.
Notice this contrast down in verses 27 and 28. Remember what He says happens to the sheep because of the false shepherds—they're snatched in verse 12. But look at verse 27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish- ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." Jesus died to be raised from the dead to save forever His sheep. Because of His death and His resurrection, we are now in the hand of the Savior and in the hand of the Father, if indeed we've trusted in Christ. And because of our Good Shepherd, we will never, ever be snatched away. We'll never be devoured. He died to save us and to keep us safe forever.
So what characterizes the good Shepherd? He gives His life for the sheep. He gives His life for the sheep. Something else characterizes Him, the Bible tells us: He knows His sheep. He knows His sheep. Look at verse 14: "I am the good shepherd," He repeats it. Here's another characteristic of the Shepherd, the good One: "And I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."
Did you notice? He puts this knowledge in the context of His dying. He puts this knowledge in the context of His dying, and this is very significant. Don't miss it. He says, "I know My sheep, My sheep know Me, just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep." So this knowledge is being discussed in the context of the cross—His death.
What is this knowledge that He's talking about? Now here's the significance of this—the context of His death—here's the significance: it's not just a knowledge that His sheep exist. He's not just saying, Well, I know you're there. It's not what He's doing. This is the knowledge of love, beloved—the knowledge of love. This is the knowledge of a relationship. This is a pre-planned love relationship.
And this word "know," translated “know,” is a significant word, ‘ginosko,’ used that way many times in God's Word, not just to speak of awareness, but to speak of affection, to speak of intimate relationship. For example, God said to the nation of Israel back in the Old Testament in Amos 3 and verse 2, "You only have I known," and the Septuagint uses the same word. "You only have I known"—now this is very significant—"among all the families of the earth." And we need to let that sink in. He said to Israel, out of all the families of the earth, only you have I known."
Now here's the question: does that mean God was only aware of one nation? It can't mean that, can it? Is God aware of all nations? Of course He is. So what does the word "know" mean there? It can't just mean, I know about you. He says, I have a relationship with you, an intimate relationship with you. Out of all the nations, I have a special relationship—in other words, a saving, redemptive relationship, a revelatory relationship—with you and you only, out of the whole. In fact, that gave them a heavy responsibility. He goes on to say in that verse, "Therefore"—that's the outcome, right? That's the "in light of this"—"therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Why do I deal with you in a disciplining way? Because “you only have I known." That's why a father disciplines his own children, not illegitimate children. Hebrews 12 talks about that.
And think about what Jesus is going to say one day when people appear before Him and find out from His own mouth that they are condemned forever. What does He say to them in the Sermon on the Mount? You remember? Matthew 7:23: "And then I will declare to them, I never knew you;” — I never knew you — “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." Does it mean that, does it mean that I didn't know about you whatsoever? I wasn't aware of you"? Is that what He means? Is Jesus aware of everybody? Of course He is. But what does He mean? I didn't have a saving relationship with you. I never had it. In other words, you were never Mine. You were never Mine. I did not save you, you didn't know Me, and I don't know you.
Galatians 4:9 says, "But now, having known God, or rather having been known by God..." What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be saved? Simply put, to use the language of Paul, it means to be” known by God,” to have a relationship with God. “How is it that you turn back again?" —He goes on to say in Galatians 4:9, — "How is it that you turn back again,” “now having been known by God, rather having known God,” “or rather having been made known by God?" Let's start this again: "But now, having known God, or rather having been known by God, how is it that you now turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things to which you want to be enslaved all over again?"
How do you come to know God and be known by God? Do you want to be enslaved again to the sins that really marked your life before you knew Him, before He knew you, before your relationship with God? That's how He uses the word "known" in that context. So when Jesus speaks of the fact that He knows His sheep, His sheep know Him, He's talking about a special relationship with His people—the people for whom He's going to die. He's going to lay down His life for these people, His sheep.
In fact, in John 14:21, you see, He's going to disclose Himself to these people: "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him” — what is he going to do? — “and will disclose Myself to him." I'm going to make Myself known to him all the more. Jesus knows His sheep, His sheep know Him, and they recognize His voice, and they follow Him. In fact, do you notice what Jesus compares it to in John 10? Look at John 10 again. Verse 14, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me," notice, “even as.” You see the comparison? Here's a comparison: "Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." Now obviously, obviously, Jesus is not saying that we're going to know Him right now on this side of glory, or ever for that matter, that we're going to know Him to the same degree that the Father knows Him or know the Father to the same degree that He knows the Father.
But what He's talking about here is this: just as the Father and the Son have a love relationship, so He and His sheep have a love relationship. Just as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have, or ever in the Godhead, in the one God, there's been this love, this mutual knowledge among the persons of the Godhead, He says in the same way, so the sheep know the Shepherd, and the Shepherd knows the sheep. I love what John Calvin said concerning this. He said this, and I quote, "It's as if He said that it's no more possible for Him to be oblivious of us than for the Father to reject or neglect Him." I love that. Could the Father ever neglect or reject the Son? No, never. Nor is it possible for the Shepherd to reject or neglect His own sheep. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
A couple of things to note from this, by way of conclusion. One is, isn't it wonderful, isn't it a wonderful thing to know that we are known by Christ individually? Isn't it? We are known by Christ individually. All sheep are not the same. That's what I'm told—they're not the same. Sheep are all different, and you see that even in the text, because in the first picture, verses 1 through 6, the shepherd, when He comes to the sheepfold to call out His sheep, how does He call them out? By name. By name. Isn't that comforting? Isn't that wonderful? Do you mean He assigns a different name to each and every single one of His sheep? Yes, because they're all different. Look around you—they're all different. Isn't it wonderful that our Shepherd knows us individually? He didn't just look down and say, okay, here's a group of people I'm going to redeem, and there's no individuality to it, and there's no distinction among them. No, no. He knows His sheep individually, and He's going to lay down His life for them.
All sheep are not the same. We’re different, aren't we? We believers have everything in common in terms of our salvation—one Father, one Savior, one Holy Spirit, one faith, one baptism. We have all of that in common, yet we're still different. And let me say this: the Shepherd, the good Shepherd, the good One, doesn't shepherd us all exactly the same. Did you know that? He doesn't. He doesn't shepherd us all exactly the same. He's doing something in your life today, and He's doing something in my life today, and He's doing something in the life of the person sitting in front of you or next to you or behind you if they're believers. And He's dealing with us, all of His sheep, as His sheep, and He knows what we need—each and every single one of us.
James Montgomery Boyce said it well. He said, and I quote, "I sometimes think that half our problems in the Christian church come from our trying to be exactly like another person or from other people trying to make us to be like them." Isn't he right? If you really love the Lord, you'll be exactly like me. And that's how some people treat other believers sometimes.
But you know what it is really, fundamentally? I'll be honest. It's pride and selfishness. Because if everybody has to be exactly like you, guess what? Then you don't have any adjustments you need to make. Then you've got it all figured out. Everybody else has to adjust. But if you realize that we're all different and the good Shepherd is shepherding differently, now we all have to grow, don't we? All of us. Because the image that we're being conformed to is not our own. It's not my own. It is His. We're all being conformed to the image of the Chief Shepherd, and we all have to change. We all have to grow.
So not only do we learn that He knows us individually, but in the second place, we were known by Him individually when He died. When He died. Because He lays down His life for the sheep. It's not just some sentimental line for a song, "When He was on the cross, I was on His mind," that we sing. Beloved, it is true. It is true. When He was on the cross, He was dying for His sheep. He knows you by name. What's sad is that there are so many who sing that, but they don't really believe that. They sing that, but then they deny the doctrine of sovereign election. No, no, no. You really were on His mind when He gave His life. He really knew who He was dying for when He died. And we can sing with the veracity of the words, "My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His heart."
You know, people who deny that truth, it really amazes me, because every Christian should be able to acknowledge—at bare minimum—should be able to acknowledge that God is omniscient. What does that mean? He knows everything, right? He isn't discovering things today at all, is He? He knows. He knows everything. He knows it before time. He's always known, always. There was never a time when God didn't know. Has there ever been a time when God didn't know all that He knows right now, this minute, this moment? He knows it from before time began. So even if you go at it from that angle, from that standpoint—the standpoint of God's omniscience—didn't Jesus know who He was dying for when He came to this earth? He did. And He died for His sheep. And so His claim is that He died for His sheep. His claim is that He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
There is this relationship established between the Shepherd and the sheep, and it's a saving relationship. It's a forever relationship. It's one that He brought to pass by His own death and resurrection. And thirdly, He cares for His sheep. He cares for His sheep. Verse 13 emphasizes this. Back up to the end of verse 12: the hired hand “sees the wolves coming, and leaves the sheep and flees.” Verse 13, "because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep."
In fact, in verse 12, He puts it this way: the hired hand “is not the owner of the sheep." You know, it's a sad truth about sinful humanity, but isn't it true among human beings that people tend to take better care of their own things than other people's things? This speaks of the sinfulness or selfishness of the human heart. Men in general—not everyone, of course—but in general, that's true. If it's theirs, they'll take good care of it.
This hired hand doesn't own the sheep, and so when the wolf is coming, he doesn't love the sheep, he doesn't care about the sheep as if they were his own. He didn't name them. He doesn't know them by name, you see, so he runs, he flees. Not our Shepherd. Not the good Shepherd. Not the true Shepherd. Our Shepherd. Our Shepherd saw the wolf coming. The wolf of sin, the wolf of death, the wolf of judgment, which would have devoured us. Sin would have devoured us. Death would have been for eternity. Judgment would have been our end forever. And Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, the good Shepherd—He saw the wolves and He faced them head on, and He gave His life to rescue us from them. He cares for us.
This is the word used—cares. He's concerned, cares. Verse 13, ‘meli’ is the Greek word. That's such a sweet word to our hearts, to our minds, especially when we go through hard times. He really does care for you, child of God. He does. If you're His, if you're His, if you know Him, if you're known by Him, He knows you. You know He cares for you. And by the way, it's the same Greek word used in 1 Peter 5:7—"He cares for you."
So when you face that health issue, when you find out that you have a serious illness, something that's going to change your life for as long as you're facing it, and may in fact be your doorway even at times into the presence of your Shepherd, you know one thing for sure: it is not an expression of God not caring about you when you face the suffering. And when you have financial hardship, and things are tough and tight, and you don't know how you're going to make it, one thing you never have to doubt is that God cares for you. He cares. And if He hasn't supplied what you think you should have supplied, it's not because He lacks the ability to do it, which means He has another plan. There's something, something else, something He's teaching you through it, you see. There's something more valuable than money that He's working in your life because of what you're facing. There's something more valuable than temporary health. Beloved, there's an eternal weight of glory that can't be compared to the things, the flipsies, the tribulations, the afflictions that we go through in this life.
There's an incomparable treasure that He's working that you will see one day, that you will realize it one day. He was doing this all along. Yes, this is what He's doing all along. Yes. He loved me all along. Yes, you will see it. He loved you beyond what you can imagine all along. And He's working in your life. And He cares. 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” In other words, stop grumbling. Stop complaining. Oh, if God really loved me… "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time." How? "Casting..." —How do you do this? — "Casting all your anxiety on Him." — Why? — "Because He"—the same word used in John 10—"cares for you."
What do you do with all your worries? What do you do with all your troubles? What do you do with all your anxieties? What do you do with all your fears? You throw them, you cast them upon the Chief Shepherd—your Shepherd, your good Shepherd, the good One—knowing, He really, really, really does care for me. And you cry out to Him, Lord, I don't understand it. I don't understand it. I don't get it. I don't see it. It doesn't make sense. I can't make sense of this, Lord. And if it were within my power, I would change it. But I'm so thankful that I don't have the power to dictate my own life, because I would have taken so many wrong turns. Lord, You know my heart is troubled. I want to take all those troubles and roll them on You. All of them, Lord. All of them.
And if I don't know anything else in this situation, I can be assured of this: You care for me. That's what Your Word says. You cared enough for me to die in my place. You bought me with Your own blood, Lord Jesus. You'll take care of me right now in my suffering, in my need, in my trouble. “For we,” — beloved, —- “do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15. Listen, beloved, just because Jesus was sinless on this earth and He was perfect, spotless, doesn't mean that He was anything less than a real human being who's fully God. And so He's able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He's gone before us, hasn't He?
We don't have a shepherd who drives us from the rear. We have a Shepherd who leads the way. He's gone before us. He knows us. He knows what our struggles are. He knows how we experience the weakness of humanity, and He is your Helper. He cares for you.
And so “we confidently say”—”we confidently say”—this is the Word of God, “we confidently say,” Hebrews 13:6, “the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will men do to me?” And this is where many of men's fears lie. We're afraid of other men. We're afraid of what might happen. We're afraid of what someone else has. We think that they have control over us. My boss has control over my future. No, he doesn't. No, she doesn't. What can men do to you? Don't you know the Lord is your helper? Who's your helper? What's His name? The Lord. What does that mean? ‘Kyrios.’ You know what it means? He rules. It means He reigns. Who's your Helper? The sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth is your helper. I am the Shepherd, the good One, the perfect One, the true One, the model Shepherd.
Let me ask you, do you know Him today? Does He know you? How do you know if you're known by Jesus? How do you know today if you're known by Christ? Here's how you know: you repent of your sin and you believe in Him. That's how you know. Repent and believe. Repent and believe. We preach the gospel to all men knowing that Christ died for His own sheep, knowing that the Holy Spirit will draw them to the Savior and they will repent of their sins and believe in the Son of God. So the question for you today is not whether you're elect or not. The question for you is, will you repent and believe in the Son of God? We sow the seed indiscriminately. Will you turn from your sins even this morning and trust in God's Son for eternal life? And when you come to Him truly with an honest, sincere heart produced by the Holy Spirit, you won't be coming just for fire insurance. You'll be coming to Him because you love Him. You see your need of Him and you will count Him to be the greatest treasure, the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in the field, and willing to lose all if need be just to have Him. Do you know Him? Are you known by Him?
Let's pray.
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