After a few minutes and a few more tears, the dad came. He comforted them. He knows their constitution. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows we are sheep, and he deals with us as sheep: tenderly and carefully. I hope you know that, dear Christian, and I hope that causes you to run to him regularly. Just to underscore this knowledge, Jesus says that he knows us and we know him just as the Father knows him and he knows the Father.
That should rupture every circuit in your head. Think about the knowledge that the Son has of the Father and the Father has of him. How deep and how wide and how high it is!
They have belonged to one another for all of eternity, enjoying one another, delighting in one another, and dwelling with one another as one! Yet Jesus says that his knowledge of us and our knowledge of him is at least comparable to the knowledge of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father.
In some mysterious way, we will forever be known by and know Christ. We belong to him, and he to us. As linked as Christ is to the Father, so we are to Christ. That should boggle your minds.
This seems to be too great of a promise. How can we be so sure that Jesus is this kind of shepherd? The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. As the good shepherd, he showed what lengths he will go to for the eternal protection of his sheep. This is the good shepherd who protects the sheep with his very life.
This is your iron-clad guarantee. He proved himself in the costliest of ways. He knew our greatest need. Of course, what we saw last week is in the background. Jesus is condemning false shepherds, who are in fact thieves and robbers.
In this passage, Jesus compares them to a hireling shepherd—a shepherd who was hired by another shepherd. It was not uncommon for a shepherd to hire other shepherds to help manage his sheep. A good shepherd could possibly manage sheep in a pasture by himself, but if he had more than that, he had to hire help. They were on all the time. They were responsible for making sure that the sheep were well fed—that the pasture land was adequate and not over-grazed.
They had to keep a flock within 20 miles of water during the winter, and within 10 miles during the arid, dry months. They had to lead them from pasture to pasture, bind their wounds, find the ones who went astray, separate the sheep from fighting with one another, and most importantly as Jesus is addressing here , protect the sheep from outside threats. David gives us a picture of this in 1 Samuel So the wolf snatches some of the sheep and scatters others.
Why does the hireling flee? No, he would have been penalized by the shepherd of the flock for the losses that occurred on his watch. The thieves and the robbers in this text are the ones who are wicked. There were all kinds of numbers in them: how many landing craft would be needed, how many aircraft would be needed, how many different divisions it would take, etc.
One million men! This was one of the reasons Truman felt like he had to drop the atomic bombs. Because it was theirs. But the Japanese home islands were theirs. Most army intelligence officers believed that every Japanese man, woman, and child would have fought for what was theirs, and willingly give their lives for it. He dies for them because they are his. Think of how many sheep, through all those Old Testament sacrifices, were sacrificed for shepherds.
Now Jesus says that he, as the shepherd, will be sacrificed for all the sheep. He turns it on his head. Why would he give his life for measly sheep?
This is what makes him the good shepherd above all else: he willingly dies for his sheep, to protect them. Think through this. In an average case, if a shepherd dies, the flock is abandoned to the darkness.
There is nothing left to protect them. But Jesus, as the good shepherd, knows that if he does not die, his flock will be abandoned to the darkness. He allows himself to be devoured so that we might live. Make no mistake. It was his knowledge of what we needed and his willingness to meet that need that led to his death.
This was no accidental death. It is his will and his choice. He says it emphatically in this passage. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He knew that our life required his death and our death required his life.
Look at John John picks this up. Who could ever doubt it? Think of the last verse of Psalm The context is that the Lord is our shepherd.
They shall be the possession of his sheep all the days of their lives. These two graces follow his sheep everywhere they go.
Whatever it is, we begin to worry and fret. This is why the Scripture speaks so many times about not being anxious. Jesus gives us so many object lessons along these lines. The Lord, the Father, clothes the grass of the fields. He feeds the sparrows. He provides. Think about Jesus feeding the 5, The picture is very Psalm ish: they are laying on the green grass, receiving the word. He is preaching to them and watching over them. Denomination: Foursquare.
Message 21 from our journey through John's gospel. The focus of this message is on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance. Jesus said that He was the Good Shepherd, the kind of Shepherd that looks after and protects the sheep - Jesus not only preached this but lived up to it to the full, even to dying so as to protect the sheep.
Those two words in themselves Scripture: John , Isaiah Exploring the Relationship between Jesus as shepherd and humanity as sheep. Unfortunately, my military job being an infantryman did not translate well into civilian culture. The only jobs I could Denomination: Assembly Of God.
Free Sermons and Sermon Outlines for Preaching : Sermons on the good shepherd: showing of 2, Filter Results.
Sort By. Close Filters. Rating 5 stars 4 stars or more 3 stars or more Any Rating. Sermon Type Full Sermon Outlines Curated Sermon Collections Weekly sermon stories for pastors. Discounted Church Media Sets 30 themed church media sets for church services. Gratitude Living a life of thankfulness. The Best Christmas Ever Share hope, peace, joy, and love. Jesus and his sheep enjoy a relationship of deep trust and intimacy.
Jesus knows us as those for whom he gave his life; we know him as our savior and dearest friend. Remember the illustration of the sheep pen from last week?
They know the voice of the one who loves them, feeds them, guides them, and cares for them. And because they know his voice, they follow him wherever he leads. Jesus even compares this knowing and being known to his own relationship with God the Father. Jesus lays down his life for us and takes care of us in every way. We love him, trust him and follow him wherever he goes. We yield our lives to him as our shepherd who knows and cares for us.
Jesus knows your needs, and he knows exactly how to care for you. Jesus knows everything about you. He knows your deepest thoughts, your silent longings, your private victories and your secret shames. He knows it all, and he loves you. He loves you so much that he died for you. Jesus repeats the first part again. Jesus knows both the sheep who are under his care now and also those who will come under his care in the future. He will gather all the sheep together and there shall be one flock under one shepherd.
Here Jesus goes back to the sheep pen part of the illustration. In the sheep pen illustration the shepherd came into the sheep pen and separated out his sheep from the rest. He then brought them all out and led them to good pasture.
Now Jesus says he has other sheep who are not of this sheep pen. He must bring them also. Who are these other sheep? In the historical context of this passage, Jesus was talking about the Gentiles. Salvation was not only for the Jews, but for everyone who would place their faith in Jesus. And so Jesus was speaking of the great Gentile mission of the church. In another sense Jesus is speaking of all those who have not yet come to Christ.
He will gather them also and bring them into his flock. To extend the metaphor even further and bring it directly into our church today: Jesus has many other sheep that are not part of our church. There are other sheep in our community, around our nation, around the world, and Jesus will gather them also into his flock.
Jesus came to purchase a people for himself from every nation, tribe, people and language Revelation In that sense they are already his, and so he can already call them his sheep. This is the concept of the elect which we find throughout Scripture. I love that verse. That means Jesus has many people in this city, too, and in your city.
People just waiting to come to Jesus Christ. Because Jesus did not die just for one group of people, but for people all over the world. There is a sense of urgency and compulsion here.
Jesus must fulfill his mission. He must bring these other sheep into the flock. And how do we identify these other sheep? Those who do not are not. We must share the gospel with those around us — in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our spheres of influence. His sheep will hear his voice and respond. The wolf scatters and divides, but Jesus gathers into one flock. Jesus is speaking about the unity of the body of Christ.
As we read in Ephesians 4, there is one Lord and one body. There is one flock and one shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd first of all because he lays down his life for the sheep. Secondly, Jesus is the good shepherd because he knows his sheep. And then thirdly, Jesus is the good shepherd because he conquers death for the sheep.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. At this point Jesus drops the illustration altogether. He stops speaking about shepherds and sheep and speaks directly about himself. Yes a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
And yes, a good shepherd knows his sheep. But no common shepherd could ever conquer death for his sheep. He could no longer take care for the sheep. But not so with Jesus the good shepherd.
Now that is a remarkable statement. We are told here why God the Father loves the Son. First of all, we know from other Scriptures that God the Father loved the Son before the creation of the world John Secondly, we also know that Jesus was chosen to die for us before the creation of the world 1 Peter The book of Revelation calls Jesus the lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Revelation And then thirdly, we also know from Scripture that we were chosen in Christ before the creation of the world Ephesians Titus tells us that God promised salvation before the beginning of time Titus The wonderful truth that Jesus teaches here boggles the mind.
The love of God the Father for Jesus the Son is bound up from all eternity in the willing sacrifice of Jesus for his people.
God the Father sent his only son to die for us.
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