The Good Shepherd Part 2: The Shepherd and His Sheep

The Shepherd and His Sheep John 10:22-42

Introduction: The Camden Maine Herald ran two photos on the same page: one of Camden’s board of selectmen and town manager, the other of a flock of sheep. “Unintentionally,” the captions were reversed. Under the picture of the sheep the caption identified them, left to right, as town officials; the caption under the photo of the politicians gathered around a table read, “The sheep-fold—naïve and vulnerable, they huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world.” I think the editor had some explaining to do! We may not like the idea of being compared to sheep, but its an illustration that the people of Jesus’ day could relate to. God revealed himself with illustrations from everyday life that people could understand. One of those pictures was God as a shepherd, leading, feeding, protecting, caring for His sheep. Psalm 80 begins,

“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! 2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us! 3 Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!”

As we began John 10, we saw Jesus, in another “I AM” statement, call Himself the “Good Shepherd.” That in itself, in the context of first century Judaism, was a claim to deity. Yet, the idea of a suffering Messiah, especially One who would die, had largely been lost—and they couldn’t grasp the idea of a Good Shepherd who would “lay down his life” for His sheep, much less what he meant by “If I lay it down, I will take it up again…” We have the bigger picture from our perspective after the cross and resurrection.

The Big Idea: Jesus revealed himself to be the Good Shepherd and as surely as His sheep respond to His voice, so He will keep them safe for eternity.

I. The Confrontation in 10:22-24 gives the setting of this teaching of Jesus, and also some important clues to understand what He is saying. Notice that there is a time gap between the 21 and 22. It was two months after v.21 and the feast of tabernacles. Again we are in Jerusalem, now for the feast of dedication. It was not one of the feasts prescribed in the Old Testament, but originated during the intertestamental period. The feast commemorated the Israelites’ victory over the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanies (175–164 B.C.). Consider that context in the light of what happens here. The setting gives us a couple of hints as to why the Jews failed to recognize their own Messiah: First of all the question “Who is the messiah? What kind of deliverer would He be?” The Maccabbean revolt was a military conflict with their foreign oppressors. Many Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for a deliverer like Judas Maccabee, like King David, like Solomon, who could give them victory over their enemies and reestablish the kingdom. Then, almost as a side note, it says, “It was winter…” But John doesn’t just give us information as a colorful or incidental detail usually. Every word is purposeful (E.g. Nicodemus came to Jesus, the Light of the World, “at night”, i.e., still in the dark spiritually speaking). Is it just a mention of fact here, or could it be that Israel was passing through a period of coldness in terms of their faith? They had lost sight of the spiritual and were focused exclusively on the physical. Before we are too hard on the Jews, don’t we often fall into the same snare? We love the things in this world—we forget that we are citizens of Heaven. The mention of Solomon, the last king of the United Kingdom, and the Temple, alludes to some of what John has been teaching us about who Jesus, the Messiah, is. He is not merely one more in the succession of the sons of David, a merely human king who would oversee an earthly kingdom. As great as Solomon was, and as extensive as the range of the Kingdom became under his rule, he ultimately fell short, his heart drifting through the influence of his many wives and concubines. The Ideal Son of David (Messiah Jesus) was yet to come. Also, as John has alluded to the Tabernacle and the Temple, Jesus is the fulfillment of that hope: “The Word became flesh and dwelt (“tabernacled”) among us…” He said in John 2, “Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up…” But he wasn’t talking about a building made of stones and timber, but of his own body. We beheld his glory… God among us. Against all of this background the challenge comes: “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly!” Part of what John is showing us is that Jesus had clearly revealed who He is, He had said it plainly enough for those who had ears to hear, but the popular expectation is far from the truth could not understand and would not believe. Rather than what they expected, Jesus revealed himself to be the Good Shepherd and as surely as His sheep respond to His voice, so He will keep them safe for eternity.

II. The Characteristics of the Shepherd’s Sheep (10:25-29).

They recognize the Shepherd and obey His voice. Jesus said, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.” The challenge was, “Tell us plainly…” Jesus’ reply, “I not only told you, I showed you, and still you don’t believe! And then He tells them why, “You don’t believe because you are not my sheep…” Their unbelief and rejection of Jesus revealed their hearts. Jesus then speaks of the experience of those who are His sheep: They are known by the Shepherd and He gives them eternal life. That is one things Jesus emphasizes here, the eternal security of those who are his: - He gives eternal, everlasting life. This does speak of duration of the life they receive, but it is also a new quality of life. Paul said to the Corinthians, “If any man be in Christ—a new Creation!” I think the emphasis there is not on the change in the person’s life, that is surely true, but the fact that He is participating in a new age, a new reality, “times of refreshing that come from the presence of the LORD.” - They shall never perish—that is a promise. And if the positive statement about life isn’t enough, this should make it clear that there is no contingency, no possibility that a genuinely born-again person could somehow lose their salvation. - No one can snatch them from His hand. The enemy would try—but the One who keeps us is God! After all, the Father, is one with Jesus, forever “securing” His sheep. The Father elects, the Son redeems, the Spirit regenerates. This makes it clear that if someone is truly saved, elect of God, He cannot possibly lose his salvation. Paul reflects this in Romans 8:32-39…

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

That is a promise! After all Jesus revealed himself to be the Good Shepherd, God incarnate, and as surely as His sheep respond to His voice, so He will keep them safe for eternity.

III. The nature of the Shepherd (10:30).

“I and the Father are One.” John has stated before the unity between the Father and the Son—in this context it is the basis for the security of the believer. This unity has been affirmed various times from the start of this Gospel: John 1:1, “…The Word was with God; the Word was God.” We saw just a few chapters back, in John 8:18-19

"I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." 19 Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."

We will see in a few chapters John 14:9,

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Jesus is God the Son, One with the Father and the Spirit. He revealed himself to be the Good Shepherd and as surely as His sheep respond to His voice, so He will keep them safe for eternity.

IV. What it really means to be Son of God (10:31-42)

. This is one of the most disputed passages in John, as Jesus quotes from Ps 82:6 to show the hypocrisy of his accusers. Jesus is essentially saying, “Do you judge me for my use of the title “Son of God” even though my works have proven my identity? In your unbelief you have judged yourselves!” Psalm 82 seems to be a poem in which God is indicting human rulers, to whom he had entrusted authority, for failing to show mercy and act justly and lead responsibly. These leaders were called “gods” and “sons of God” in that they represented His rule, but they failed to represent well the Kingdom of God, they fell short. In the context in John, it seems that Jesus is saying that the word “god” can refer to others than God the Father alone, on that basis, why should they object if Jesus says He is the Son of God when He has only spoken God’s truth and the when signs He did vindicated His claim? What do they understand by that title? Part of what John is doing in his Gospel is correcting an inadequate understanding of who the Messiah is that was prevalent in the first century. He is not merely “a” son of God, in the sense that the Davidic kings could claim that title. He was not merely God’s son in the way that a follower of the God of the Bible could use the phrase. He was by his very nature, God the Son, One with the Father and the Spirit, sharing in his essence, character, and attributes. Remember that John has shown us that Jesus is the great “I AM” of the Old Testament, the God who revealed himself to the fathers in Word and power. Is it so strange for Him, the incarnate Word, sent by the Father, to call himself the Son of God? He has right to that title as no other every had!

What is God saying to me in this passage?

Jesus revealed himself to be the Good Shepherd and as surely as His sheep respond to His voice, so He will keep them safe for eternity.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

Have you struggled with the question of your salvation? Have you wondered if you had somehow done something that caused you to lose your place in the sheepfold, that somehow you disqualified yourself to follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus? If you have been truly born again through faith in Jesus, you are His… safe… forever. Think about that. Amen.