Andrew Fountain - The Parable of the Good Shepherd

Full sermon notes - The Parable of the Good Shepherd

• Commonly taught that there are no parables in John
• Actually there is just one
  • All the characteristics of a parable
  • And as with some others, they claim not to understand and Jesus gives an explanation

John 10:1–21

1. “I tell you the certain truth: the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the doorkeeper opens.
    
   The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4. When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.
5. A stranger they will never follow, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice.”
    
6. Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
    
7. So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the certain truth:
   I am the door
   • for the sheep.
8. All who came before me were thieves and robbers,
   
   • but the sheep did not listen to them.
9. I am the door.
   
   • If any enter through me, they will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
    I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
     
11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12. The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them.
13. The hired hand runs away because he is hired, and cares nothing for the sheep.
14. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me (¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father) and I lay down my life for the sheep.
     
16. I have other sheep that are not from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd.
     
17. This is why the Father loves me
    
    • — because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again.
18. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will.
    
    • I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again.
    This commandment I received from my Father.”
     
19. Another sharp division took place among the Jews because of these words.
20. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
21. Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Version: NET

• Who would like to have a go at explaining the parable?
  • Why does it get such a strong reaction?
• Here are some pictures of folds:

• Three aspects:
  1. The True and False Shepherds
  2. The True Sheep
  3. The Self-sacrifice of the Good Shepherd

1. The True and False Shepherds

• This is why they didn’t like it.

Ezekiel 34

1. The word of the Lord came to me:
2. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them — to the shepherds: “This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?
3. You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!
4. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them.
5. They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.
6. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.
7. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
8. As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,
9. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
10. This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.
11. For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.
12. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.
13. I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land.
14. In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel.
15. I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord.
16. I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick,
    but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them — with judgment!
17. As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
18. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet?
19. As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!
20. Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21. Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad,
22. I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23. I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them — namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd.
24. I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!
    …
31. And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Version: NET

• Those are wonderful promises at the end, and we will come back to them
• Also we have to see the context of John 10.
  • The previous chapter has an amazing healing of a man born blind
  • Jesus put mud on his eyes, and he washed them and could see
  • So the Pharisees arrested the man for the crime of having been healed
  • John 19:24–39
• Are there still “thieves and robbers”?
  • In John’s first letter he warns them about them and says:
  • “many false prophets have gone out into the world” 1 John 4:1
• One of the main characteristics from the Ezekiel passage is making excessive amounts of money off God’s people.
  • Do we still have those today?
• But I think this includes anyone in society who says they are trying to help you but are actually trying to rip you off.
  • Businesses
  • Advertizing
  • Entertainment industry
  • Politicians
• Not everyone is bad, but none of them are true shepherds
  • None of them can deliver!

2. The True Sheep

• In the middle east, even today, sheep follow the shepherds.
• video
• Quote from Historical Geography of the Holy Land

• Sometimes when Luke comes to visit us, I hear the bell ring, then people talking...

• So can anyone tell me what this means, that true sheep are the ones that hear Jesus’ voice?
  • When Jesus says “hear”, does he just mean “I heard what you said”
    • What if a sheep said “That sounds like my old shepherd calling, but I’m just busy here right now”
    • Does that count as hearing?
  • Actually for a sheep, hearing==following
    • And for us as well: The true sheep will not only recognize the voice of Jesus, but will jump to follow as well.
  • Many of Jesus’ parables are about hearing
    • “Take heed how you hear!”
• This is how you become a Christian!
  • You recognize that Jesus’ words are the words of truth
  • He calls and you come
  • Something in you knows that he really is the Good Shepherd
• He is calling you this afternoon:
  • Simply tell him you want to follow him instead of following the thieves and robbers
  • and ask him to make you one of his sheep
• The best way to start hearing his voice is by reading his words in the Bible!

• How do we progress in hearing the Shepherd

• If you are faithful with a small amount, Jesus will give you more
• e.g. Jane wants to learn to hear God’s voice prophetically.
  • She’s stopped reading the Bible because she says she wants something personal
  • But there are things Jesus has said to her in the Bible that she is ignoring
    • He says to be patient —she admits she really isn’t
    • He says to love others sacrificially —she finds that a boring idea
  • Jesus says to her, “I would love to talk more to you Jane, but how can I trust you with more when you are not doing anything with what I have already given you”

• If I told you to listen out for the voice of “Gordon”
  • I have no idea what he sounds like!

3. The Self-sacrifice of the Good Shepherd

• Look at what God says:
  • v11–16a

Ezekiel 34

We have such a wonderfully good Shepherd!

• He had given his life for us
• We are secure!

Updated on 2013-09-16 by Andrew Fountain