Transcript

Who's Your Shepherd?

John 10:1-6
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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Imagine yourself in the year 4,000 A.D. You are on an archeological dig, and you uncover a document that appears to be very old, 2,000 years old to be exact. It's a remarkable find. As you examine the document, you are able to read its contents. It says, "Yesterday, after a round of Ultimate Frisbee, we drank a Coke while watching Jeopardy on the TV in our split-level home. Pop drive some of the dudes home in our minivan, while the rest stayed to play Mother-May-I." Now being two-millennia in the future, do you think you would have any clue as to what this letter was referring to? Worse yet, imagine the pastor of your church taking these unfamiliar terms and then using them to convey important spiritual truths!

As we diligently seek to rightly understand the Word of God, we often find ourselves in a similar predicament. The Bible, at least 2,000 years old speaks of customs that are foreign to our 21st century mind. Yet understanding these customs is crucial to our interpretation of the text. Especially in His parables, Jesus often took a well-known practice and applied it to spiritual realities. Unfortunately the well-known practice is unfamiliar to us today. Therefore, in order to glean the correct spiritual truth, we must understand the customs of Jesus' day. We must transport ourselves back to the 1st century and seek to understand the culture in which these spiritual truths are imbedded.

John chapter 10 is commonly called the story of the Good Shepherd. Common in 1st century Palestine was the business of shepherding. Sheep were a vital resource for wool, food and sacrifice. Everybody in Israel was aware of this industry. Most had their own personal sheep. Many were even shepherds themselves. Therefore since this trade was so well-known to the average Jew, Jesus, the Master Teacher, commonly employed shepherding and sheep as vivid illustrations in His teaching.

For example: Matthew 9:36, "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd" (c.f. Mk. 6:34). Matthew 10:5-6, "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: 'Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'" Mark 14:27, "And Jesus said to them, 'You will all fall away, because it is written, 'I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.''" Luke 15:3-7, "So He told them this parable, saying, 'What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'' I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (c.f. Mt. 18:12-14)."

Well, with that as an introduction, here's how I would like to present our new material this morning. First, we'll transport ourselves back 2,000 years to uncover the world of shepherding. I've simply called this "Explanation" in your sermon notes. Then second, we'll seek to interpret this text in light of the culture and present both a primary and secondary application relevant for us today.

1. EXPLANATION

Let's begin with the Explanation. As I present these historical details, see if your mind can begin to make some spiritual connections.

In describing the character of sheep, I believe Pastor Kent Hughes summed it up well. "Among the animal kingdom sheep seem to have come out on the short end. From all accounts they are of limited intelligence. When it comes to finding food, they are definitely uncreative. As creatures of habit, they will follow paths through desolate places even though not far away is excellent forage. Sheep are also given to listless wandering…There are even accounts of their walking into an open fire! Shepherds confirm that they are timid and stubborn. They can be frightened by the most ridiculous things, though at other times nothing can more them. They are absolutely defenseless…Furthermore, of all the animals subject to husbandry, they take the most work" (Hughes, John, 263, 264). I think we can already get a glimpse as to why humans are so often referred to as sheep in the Bible!

Some additional background is provided in our text. Verses 1 and 2 read, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep."

It was very common for sheep to be kept in a large communal pen. The stone wall of the square-shaped enclosure was 10-12 feet in height often toped thorns and briars. The pen was open on the top and open on one side where there was a door. Wild beasts and robbers who sought to harm the sheep would attempt to scale the wall, but the shepherd who sought to nurture the sheep would enter by the door.

Verse 3 says, "To him the doorkeeper opens." The doorkeeper (NASB) or the watchman (NIV) or the porter (KJV) was an undershepherd. He was not one of the primary shepherds, but he was hired to guard the door at night when the shepherds would return to their homes for sleep. His ultimate responsibility was to protect the sheep. In the morning the returning shepherds would be given access to the fold and each individual shepherd would gather his specific sheep from the community flock. The remainder of verse 3 states how. "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

I hope you are beginning to see the intimate relationship between a sheep and its shepherd. Of the many sheep in the pen, the shepherd only calls his "own sheep." And as the Scriptures declare, he even calls his own sheep by name. (It was common to name a sheep after some identifying mark or feature.) The sheep would only respond to the voice of their personal shepherd, as he would lead them out to the green pasture.

A couple stories help to solidify this point.

A friend, who was traveling in the East, heard that there was a shepherd who still kept up the custom of calling his sheep by name. He went to the man, and said: "Let me put on your clothes, and take your crook, and I will call them, and see if they will come to me." And so he did, and he called one sheep, "Mina, Mina," but the whole flock ran away from him. Then he said to the shepherd: "Will none of them follow me when I call them?" The shepherd replied: "Yes, sir, some of them will; the sick sheep will follow anybody."

Another man in Australia was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep. But he claimed emphatically that it was one of his own that had been missing for many days. When the case went to court, the judge was puzzled, not knowing how to decide the matter. At last he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom. Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal. The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened. The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep bounded toward the door. It was obvious that he recognized the familiar voice of his master.

Verse 4 says, "When he puts forth all his own (in other words, when he leads his own sheep out), he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice."

Western shepherds would drive their sheep using a dog; however, the shepherds in Israel were much more tender. They would go before their sheep and gently guide them by voice and staff. The sheep learned to trust their shepherd especially since he would be their only source of protection once they left the safe confines of the pen.

The sheep loved their shepherd. They were eager to follow him. They knew their shepherd always had their best interests in mind. But as verse 5 states, "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." The sheep felt secure with their shepherd's companionship, but to them, a stranger was danger. Just as they could discern the voice of their shepherd, they could discern the voice of a stranger. When encountered, the sheep would run in the opposite direction. They would flee.

Now that concludes our explanation. But let me ask you; were you able to discern the spiritual truth behind these verses? Understanding the cultural background, do you have eyes to see and ears to hear the point that Jesus was making? I hope so because verse 6 says, "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them." The religious leaders of Jesus' day obviously understood the nature of shepherding, but as they were spiritually blind in chapter 9, they were spiritually deaf in chapter 10. They could not determine what spiritual truth Jesus was conveying. The question is, can you?

2. PRIMARY APPLICATION

Let's move to the second point: Primary Application

Now with the details more familiar to us, the good shepherd in this illustration is none other than Jesus Christ. The bad shepherds (or the "thieves and robbers"-verse 1) are, according to the context, the religious leaders of the day. Though they were expected to undershepherd God's flock, they miserably failed, as was the case in chapter 9 when they expelled the blind man from the synagogue. This story portrays Jesus (the Good Shepherd) coming to this battered fold and calling His own sheep out by name for an intimate relationship.

With this main interpretation in mind, allow me to encourage you with 5 points of application in relation to verses 1-6.

1. Jesus is the Good Shepherd

The revelation of Himself is fairly obvious from verses 1-6. However, any doubt is removed eventually when Jesus provides a complete disclosure. In verses 11 and 14 Jesus clearly states that He is the "Good Shepherd."

Now this is significant because the Good Shepherd in the Old Testament was always Jehovah (c.f. Gen. 49:24; Psm. 23:1-6; 78:52-53; 80:1; Isa. 40:11; Jer. 31:10; Eze. 34:11-13). So when Jesus claims to be the Good Shepherd, He is basically claiming a prerogative that belongs exclusively to God. Hence, as we learned in 1:1, the Word sent from God (Isa. 49:5) is indeed God Himself in the flesh. The radical claim will become clearer to the Pharisees as we progress through the chapter.

2. Jesus Calls His Sheep

As verse 3 indicates, there are many sheep in the world. However, the verse says, Jesus "calls His own sheep." The Good Shepherd goes to the pen of humanity and calls out His own. This is not the general call that goes out to all. Rather this is the specific call of the gospel that extends to those who have been chosen from eternity past. As verse 3 says, this call "leads them out" of darkness and grants them salvation. You ask, which sheep will hear this call? Again as verse 3 specifies, it will be "the sheep (who) hear His voice." The sheep that have ears to hear will recognize the irresistible voice of their Shepherd. As the call of the Shepherd goes out, in the form of the gospel, the sheep that are His will effectively hear His voice and follow their Master. But those who reject the gospel will run from the voice of the Good Shepherd (verse 5) and show themselves as belonging to another flock. In verse 26 Jesus made this clear when He said, "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep." In other words, "You're not going to heed My call, you'll flee from it, because I am not your shepherd." A clear example of these two flocks comes from our study the past three weeks. The Pharisees did not hear the voice of Christ (we see this also in verse 6), while the former blind man knew Christ's voice and bowed to Him in worship.

3. Jesus Leads His Sheep

Verse 4 teaches us that once Christ leads us out of the world (c.f. Jn. 15:19), He goes before us as a Good Shepherd. Christ does not drive His flock like a herd of cattle, but He gently nurtures us. He goes before us as an example and role model of appropriate behavior and provides for us constant direction, discipline, protection and provision. Possibly the familiar Psalm 23 best summarizes our Shepherd's tender care for His flock.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

4. Jesus Loves His Sheep

You may be wondering, how well does the Good Shepherd know His sheep? Verses 14-15 (as I creep into next week's text) clearly answer that question. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." How well does Jesus know His sheep? According to verse 15, He knows His sheep as well as He knows the Father. This is remarkable; especially when we consider verse 30, which says that He and the Father are One!

You may be wondering, how much does the Good Shepherd love His sheep? Verse 15 concludes, "I lay down My life for the sheep." Does that answer the question? If you are a sheep of the Good Shepherd, He loves you enough to die for you! As He said in verse 10, "The thief (remember we heard about them in verse 1) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (compare 10:3 with 9:26). The Good Shepherd based on His profound knowledge and love for His sheep is always working for their best welfare.

5. Jesus' Sheep Continue to Listen to Their Shepherd

The end of verse 3 states, "The sheep follow Him because they know His voice." Before regeneration, people were tossed by all the contrary voices vying for their attention and obedience. But now they are given "ears to hear" and are able to discriminate amidst the competing voices the consistent and comforting voice of their true Shepherd. They have a desire for His voice. They listen for His voice. They take great joy in heeding His voice. And as we know, the Good Shepherd speaks to His sheep through the Bible, the Word of God.

I could provide countless examples of people trusting Christ and then demonstrating an unquenchable thirst to both hear and read God's Word. I could provide countless example of the joy Christians experience when they finally arrive at a church that preaches the Word. God's people will hunger for God's Word (1 Pet. 2:2). Thousands of years ago the Lord declared through the prophet Amos, "Behold, days are coming…when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the Lord" (Am. 8:11).

I believe that prophecy has been fulfilled. Today's church is a spiritual wasteland. More than ever, pastors are more concerned about large numbers or offending people or worldly wisdom than simply being the undershepherds who are called by Christ to feed His flock. The Good Shepherd speaks to His sheep through the man of God declaring the Word of God. Unfortunately God's Word has been replaced in most pulpits with modern psychology, humorous stories and personal cleverness, which amount to 15-minute ditties as the sheep are led to graze in an arid desert. Is it any wonder that Christians today rank among the most disobedient, malnourished, underachieving sheep in the history of the church.

But the Good Shepherd cares for His flock. Therefore He made the demands to the undershepherds very clear. "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:1-4). Listen carefully my friend, this pulpit at The Grace Tabernacle must never be about some individual, it must always be the means where the Good Shepherd Himself feeds and proclaims truth to His flock through His Word.

Back to my point, not only do God's sheep desire to hear and heed their Shepherd's voice, they are also able to reject foreign voices that "come over the wall" (vs. 5). In a world where so many false shepherds are calling for our attention, we as God's children are able to "not follow" the voice of strangers (as verse 5 states). We "flee from (the voice of strangers)" (as verse 5 states) "because (we) do not know the voice of strangers" (as verse 5 states). Through the competing voices of error whether it be through advertisement, education, camaraderie or entertainment, we can listen for the voice of our Shepherd and run to Him. How do I know it is the voice of the Good Shepherd? I know the voice of the Good Shepherd if it squares with the Word of God. Even more basic, how do I know if I am a sheep of the Good Shepherd? I know I am a sheep of the Good Shepherd if I hear and heed His voice in the Scriptures.

3. SECONDARY APPLICATION

Before we conclude, there are two secondary applications that I feel I need to address from our text this morning.

First of all, technically, there is only one Shepherd of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Heb. 13:20). Jesus takes it upon Himself to build His church, protect His church and minister to His church. Yet He has decreed these responsibilities to be accomplished through qualified men whom He has appointed (called) as undershepherds or as the Latin term denotes, Pastors (a designation synonymous with overseers or elders-titles all referring to the same office). Undershepherds equipped with the authority as Christ's representatives are to function as vessels whereby He might work through them to accomplish His purposes. You will recall the admonitions that our Lord gave to Peter in John 21. "Tend My lambs," "Shepherd My sheep" and "Tend My sheep" (verses 15-17). Or to Paul when he spoke to the Ephesian pastors. "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Ac. 20:28).

Even throughout the history of God's kingdom, undershepherds have been used to guide God's people. Some have been very good, like David (Eze. 34:23ff) who was a man after God's own heart. Others have failed miserably, like the ones the Lord berates in Ezekiel 34 (c.f. Isa. 56:9-12; Jer. 23:1-4; 25:32-38; Zech. 11). Listen to the Lord's indictment.

Verses 1-2, "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord God, Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?''" Verse 4, "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them." Verses 9-11, "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 'Thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.'' For thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.'"

To avoid such rebuke from the Lord, the story of the Good Shepherd in John 10 gives a clear example to the character and responsibilities of undershepherds. Like the Good Shepherd they are to gently lead the flock and disciple when necessary. They are to be intimately acquainted with their own sheep. They are to forever lead the sheep to the green pastures of God's Word so the sheep might find food for personal growth. They are to model appropriate behavior by going before the flock and serving as an example. They are to put the needs and welfare of the sheep above their own. They are to lead through love and service even to the point of laying down their own life for the flock.

Let me ask you, would God want an undershepherd who didn't run after straying sheep? Would God want an undershepherd who didn't feed His sheep the meat of His Word? Would God want an undershepherd who wasn't committed to modeling personal holiness? Would God want an undershepherd who gave the sheep everything they wanted if he knew it would make them sick? The sheep themselves are sometimes stubborn and uninformed to desire these qualities, but the good undershepherd always seeks to be pleasing in the sight of the Chief Shepherd. This was a lesson the Apostle Paul was quick to learn. In the first chapter of his first epistle he said, "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10).

The sheep themselves, like it is stated in John 10,and many other places in Scripture (1 Thes. 5:12; Heb. 13:7, 17; 1 Pet. 5:5), have a God-given responsibility to follow their shepherds, listen to their word, emulate their behavior and submit to their leadership. And by way of footnote, Richard, Billy and I would all quickly admit that this church has been a joy and delight to shepherd. We thank you and praise the Lord for that!

The second point of our secondary application is appropriate for father's day. Men, are you shepherding those the Lord has entrusted to your care? Can your wife and children declare that you are a good shepherd to your family? When they look to your leadership, do they see Jesus? Do they see a heart that is compassionate and loving? Do they see a leadership based on service and example? Do they see the priorities of Bible reading and prayer, church attendance and ministry and holiness and purity modeled in your life? Is it a joy for them to follow your leadership as they see you following the leadership of Jesus? Are they honoring you this father's day out of tradition or because they desire to praise a man after God's own heart?

Beloved, Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and the model for pastors and husbands to emulate. As His sheep we forever receive His best. May we always listen to His voice for the comfort, guidance, satisfaction and grace we need to function for His glory in this often harsh sheep-pen of humanity.

"Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20-21).