26.07.09 John 10:1-21 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 10:1-10
Going Deeper: Study Guide
How To Listen To The Shepherd’s Voice - Part 1
With our economic recession, as most of you know a few of us are looking for work. Well today I will teach you a little bit about a job that has shifted to the background in our society…and that is the task of shepherding… I am not talking about pastoral ministry…but the job of working with sheep. Maybe some of you will consider this vocation. All joking aside, I want you to understand the task of a shepherd, because it will help you comprehend what is being said by Jesus to the Pharisees, and to the formerly blind man whom Jesus miraculously healed, and those who were around in chapter 9.
Shepherding in the Ancient Near East is vastly different from what we may be accustomed to seeing perhaps on TV, driving by some farms on the highway, or in a movie about livestock in New Zealand. Shepherding in Biblical times was a very normal part of everyday life in an agricultural based society. In Biblical times, a person’s wealth was not measured by the number of houses, money, or land one owned, but it was measured by livestock. For example Job of the OT was very wealthy having owned 14,000 sheep (Job 42:12). Other shepherd’s in the Bible included well know figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. David was also a shepherd, and when the giant Goliath of the Philistine army was challenging the armies of Israel, David was the one who rose to the challenge. When he did, King Saul questioned this youth’s ability. 1 Samuel 17:33ff states: 33 Then Saul said to David , "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are [but] a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep . When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued [it] from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized [him] by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37 And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
The shepherd’s job was difficult and varied which prepared David for his victory over his enemy Goliath.
There are hundreds of references to ‘sheep’ and ‘flocks’ in the Bible employing 12 different Hebrew words and 4 Greek. Of all the animals mentioned in the Bible, sheep are the most prominent. We know from historical records and Scriptural record, that a shepherd’s main tasks were to protect his sheep from robbers and wild predators, and to always be on the look-out for grazing land and a good water supply. If you wanted to be a shepherd, you had to be fairly tough. Because you often had to contend with the bullying of other shepherds for water supply. In addition it was known that sheep are helpless, defenseless, and straying animals. And that imagery is applied by God to His people. A shepherd also needed to take care of sick sheep. And even some of the young and newborns had to be carried until they were able to walk - so it was a tough, physical task.
Something else that we need to know so we can understand this Bible passage, is the different way that shepherd’s guided and cared for their sheep both now and back then. In modern days the shepherd/farmer would be driving his sheep from the rear and using sheep dogs to keep the sheep in order. But in Biblical times the shepherd would be seen leading the flock - going forward first. He would also have kept dogs, but they were primarily used to frighten predators and would be robbers.
The shepherd of Biblical times would name his sheep and the sheep would be able to recognize the shepherd’s voice. The shepherd loved his sheep and often the shepherd would count his flock one by one as they entered the sheep pen - this would give him peace of mind, knowing that they were all safe.
The metaphor of a shepherd was used extensively in the Bible to depict the duty of kings, priests, prophets, and leaders - that they were entrusted to faithful care for God’s people (God’s sheep as God is the Shepherd).
The spiritual overseers of a flock of people are referred to as shepherds. Did you know that the word pastor comes from the Greek which means a shepherd of sheep? So if I am a pastor (a spiritual overseer) - what does that make you?
In the Bible we can find the phrase such as ‘sheep without a shepherd’ (cf. Num. 27:7; Matt. 9:36, etc.). This pictured nations or individuals who had forgotten about God. The image of a shepherd and shepherding, is used of God in relationship to His people. Jesus is known as the Chief Shepherd - and today we will see some further references to Jesus being our Shepherd.
It is this very background that we understand that Jesus uses a metaphor (figure of speech - cf. v.6) to teach us the importance of knowing Him as the Shepherd of our lives, as He addresses the Pharisees, who failed as Israel’s shepherds for a multitude of reasons. One of these reasons was in the direct context of chapter 9, that they had failed in regards to the case of the blind man - in seeing the clear sign of who Jesus is - they rejected it and sadly also rejected Jesus, due to their own spiritual blindness. Today’s passage even though we begin a new chapter in this Gospel, it is a direct continuation of the events of chapter 9. So now Jesus continues His discourse - and as a note this is the last public address of Jesus that the Apostle John records.
Today we are not going to cover this whole passage right down to verse 21, but I am going to read the whole passage to give the proper context and also prepare you for - part 2 of this sermon:
10:1 "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. 2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. 7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have [it] abundantly.
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 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 them and scatters [them]. 13 ["He flees] because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock [with] one shepherd.
17 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." 19 A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?" 21 Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?"
There are 3 responses for us to make in response to God’s Word. If you want to know how we can listen to the Shepherd, Jesus - it is achieved through 3 areas:
1. You Can Know The Shepherd’s Voice By Knowing The Saviour (v.1-10)
2. You Can Know The Shepherd’s Voice Through Commitment (v.11-16)
3. You Can Know The Shepherd’s Voice Through Love And Obedience
(v.17-21)
Today we are going to cover only the first point…
You Can Know The Shepherd’s Voice by Knowing The Saviour (v.1-10)
v.1 - Once again Jesus uses the familiar phrase - Truly, truly, I say to you … which signifies that He is going say something that is important enough to stop, listen, and respond to. Jesus begins in this chapter to deal with the way that the people viewed the religious teachers and priests. That is that the people viewed the religious teachers and priests, as the shepherds of the people of Israel. But with this in mind Jesus goes on to distinguish those who claim to be shepherd’s but are not, against those who are indeed true shepherd’s that belong to Christ because they have a saving relationship with Him.
In Jesus’ time, sheep that were not out to pasture, were often kept in herds in an open sky enclosure that was enclosed usually with a stone wall. This was known as the fold of the sheep - or a sheep pen. It could be located alongside a house. There would be only one entrance to the fold of the sheep, which would be guarded by the shepherd or often by a hired hand. What the shepherd would do is to sit or lie down in the entrance. If a sheep wanted to leave the fold of the sheep he would know. More importantly if a wolf came the shepherd would serve to be a physical intimidation. It goes therefore with little explanation that anyone who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep - that is one who climbs over the wall - it is clear that they are up to no good. This is how the thief and a robber would enter to do evil, circumventing the normal entrance guarded by the shepherd.
v.2 - So if someone enters by the door - as Jesus states in verse 2, it would be the shepherd of the sheep, who has the right to go in.
v.3 - In our passage we find that the doorkeeper (under-shepherd who was a hired hand cf. v12) would open the gate for him, and because the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and they know their master’s voice, so they respond. Jesus’ imagery here tells of the human response to those whom He has saved to be His sheep, that they will follow Jesus, that the shepherd leads them out. In Biblical times it was possible, especially in small communities, that several smaller flocks shared the sheep pen, which just amplifies the recognition that exists between the shepherd and his own sheep.
v.4 - Now that he puts forth all his own - that is that all his sheep are brought out, the shepherd leads the flock by going ahead of them. When the shepherd used his voice his sheep follow him.
All throughout church history there have been those who have come to the church, or have arisen in the church who are the ones who ‘climb in over the fence’ - so they can avoid the detection of the shepherds of the church. These are false shepherds who have come with the intent to disrupt, to gain unauthorized authority, to steal, to cheat, manipulate, divide, and even destroy the church.
Jesus gave this warning in Matt. 7:15-16 - "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits (NASB). In Acts 20:28-31a, Paul stated to the Ephesian elders (shepherds) - 28 "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. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert… (NASB).
These false shepherds enter the church by various means, but never in a open and honest way. Then there are also those in the church that have lost their discernment over God’s Word and jump on the bandwagon of the latest Christian trends because they are popular even though they are not that Biblical. So we need to constantly be on guard against such a clear and present danger.
v.5 - Now if a stranger tried to lead the sheep, it is certain that the sheep would not follow that person - even if it was a shepherd of another flock. This illustrates the reality that true sheep, that is true believers will not abandon the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. They will not, as a normal pattern of their lives, will not follow false shepherds because they reject error and follow the truth of God’s Word.
Here are some more sheep facts - experiments have proven that you can’t fool the sheep. It has been observed that even if a person dressed up in the shepherd’s clothing, and even used the shepherd’s distinct call - the result was that the sheep would flee from him. The sheep are so in tune with their master’s voice and sound that the voice of strangers will scatter them, or at least they will not respond - since they love and trust their shepherd. This illustrates the reality that the person who is truly saved by Christ will persevere in the truth, because the Good Shepherd leads them.
v.6 - So Jesus used this figure of speech - you could say that it is similar to a parable - and had said all these things to the Pharisees, and because they were not true believers, and so the Apostle John notes - but they did not understand any of it. What was said was done so using this figure of speech for a purpose. It served to convey spiritually important truth if one were so inclined to spiritual truth as a result of Jesus’ call - His drawing of one’s soul for salvation. In contrast those who are not being called by Jesus, like the Pharisees, they could not understand it because they were spiritually blind and willfully rejected Christ. So once again it confirmed what Jesus had said to the Jews back at the end of chapter 9 - that they were indeed spiritually blind. And if you look in your Bibles at 9:39-41 it states - And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, `We see,' your sin remains. So Jesus in chapter 10 continues to address this issue.
v.7 - Since Jesus’ audience didn’t get the message, therefore Jesus said to them again - He repeats it, and this time He is more direct, and He uses a slightly different but related metaphor. Once again something important is being stated - Truly, truly, I say to you - and Jesus declares - I am the door of the sheep therefore applying these figures of speech to Himself. Once again we see Jesus using the emphatic I AM statement revealing His true identity that He is God, the Son. If you remember Jesus declared - I AM the bread of life (ch.6), then in chapter 8 - I AM the Light of the world so this is the third time out of seven of such open declarations of His deity.
So now, Jesus is the door that only the true disciples of Christ can go through to enter into His Kingdom. Jesus later in chapter 14:6 will state the same concept - I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The imagery here once again is from the sheep pen - as only the sheep and shepherd can gain entrance into the pen through the door - there is no other legitimate way to get in. Through these I AM statements Jesus expresses metaphorically His role in the salvation of those who would believe in Him. It is only by coming to Jesus in belief of His nature that He is the only Saviour from our sins that anyone can truly enter into His fold. Jesus is the true Shepherd, and that only His true sheep can enter into His saving grace from the penalty of their sins.
v.8 - In contrast all those who came before Jesus, whether false Messiahs, false teachers, false leaders - they are the ones who entered the fold by climbing over the wall - these are the thieves and robbers. These were - you could say, the wolves in shepherd’s clothing - those who had no interest in pointing others to Christ, but they were out for selfish gain. Jesus here in the direct context of His discourse is including the religious leaders that He spoke to. These false teachers and leaders are thieves and robbers because they appear to be bringing men into God’s fold but are leading them astray, and they themselves have not entered into it. Jesus in Matt. 23:13 had some harsh but true words about these thieves and robbers - stating: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. They haven’t come to God through Christ, in fact they reject Him and even desire to kill Him, so they have marked themselves out to be fakes - spiritual hypocrites because they are dispensing a false gospel and therefore are self condemned.
But as earlier noted in verses 3 to 5, and now again in verse 8 - the sheep did not hear them - because they know and recognize the Master’s voice, the voice of the Saviour Jesus Christ - and through God’s gift of spiritual discernment they reject the stranger’s voice.
v.9 - Very plainly and simply Jesus is the door. This emphasizes the reality and truth that Jesus is the only way to enter into a saving relationship with God. Only Jesus is the One who can open our eyes to understand our sinful condition, awaken us to the knowledge of God, illuminate our heart to genuine saving faith, and grant us eternal life. If anyone enters through Jesus Christ, he will be saved - there is no other means of being saved from your sins - this is God’s ordained will and method… no ands…ifs…or buts. The way to a right relationship with God is exclusive and this flies right in the face of the postmodern world that we live in. If you enter through the door - that is Jesus Christ - then you are delivered from the wrath of God for your sins and brought inside to be a part of God’s flock. The true sheep will then be able to enjoy free access to the Lord’s providential care - to be able to enjoy the rich blessings of God’s pasture.
v.10 - Jesus now expands upon the character and motives of the thief. His interest is solely centered upon unrighteousness for the thief comes to do damage to the flock, and stays only to steal, but if necessary he is also prepared to kill and destroy. The false shepherd - the thief is inspired by Satan, on a mission to lead people astray. By emphatic contrast to the death and destruction of false teaching - Jesus has come to offer abundant life to His sheep…and not only that but that they may have it to the full. So we find that in Christ, true salvation can be found from the debt of our sin and the ensuing wrath of God, consummated by spending an eternity in hell. But when you repent from your sins and respond to Christ’s salvation then you are given life (quality) and we may have it to the full (quantity).
In our world there are many voices calling out to us trying to lead us away from the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ. It should go without saying that we must know the true Jesus Christ of the Bible, the only Saviour in order to have such immense and undeserved blessings. Many of us today have come to know the Saviour through His Word. And some of you will come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord through His written or preached Word as well. It is through God’s Word that God gives us the most intimate and accurate glimpse of who He is, who the Shepherd is, and the unfolding of His eternal plan to redeem us from our sins.
As Jesus tells us in our passage today - I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (v.9). If God is drawing you to seek Him, the only proper response is to come in humble faith to Jesus, and you will be transformed by the Word, and will be given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, upon being saved. The Holy Spirit is our resident truth discerner. This clear in 1 Cor. 2:14 - The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Without the Holy Spirit we will not know the Shepherd’s voice… we will not be able to interpret and apply God’s Word. If you don’t enter in at the right door your efforts at hearing the Shepherd’s voice will be derailed, ineffective, because in order to intimately know the voice of the Shepherd we must be disciples of Christ, we must be born again (Jn. 3:3, 7).
When we are able to know Him well through His Word, then we should not be deceived by the strange voices of this world. These strange voices as AT Robertson put it, are… ‘calling and leading us to - false philosophy, false psychology, false ethics, false religion, and false life.’ If we do not have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour then we cannot know how to discern His voice from the rest of all the other multitude of voices in this world.
If we do have Jesus as our Saviour then we can hear His voice through the objective standard and testimony laid out in the Bible. This is His way of communicating with us. A seminary dean wrote this - ‘Scripture is like a photo album of other family members, a diary of past events, a calendar of future plans, a letter from home, a revealing portrait of God, and descriptions of acceptable family behaviour…. Without Scripture, we would know relatively little about [the Shepherd]. Our level of intimacy would be extremely limited. To be specific, our praise would be incomplete, our lives lacking the Spirit’s power, our prayers aimless, and worship of Him would be misdirected since it should be based on walking in the light of His Word. Mankind’s original intimacy with God collapsed because Adam and Eve listened to another’s word and disobeyed God’s Word (Gen. 3:1-19).’ (R. Mayhue)
We Can Know The Shepherd’s Voice By Knowing The Saviour - through God’s Word. We can intimately recognize the Shepherd’s voice only if you -as Col. 3:16 states - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. The more you let the Word of Christ dwell in you the more you will be able to hear His voice.
Jesus Christ is the gate, He is the Good Shepherd who intensely loves His sheep, gathers them together, and demonstrates this through His sacrifice for His sheep …. upon the cross so that we might have eternal life. That is how much Jesus loves you…He wants you to know Him in a personal and intimate way - He wants you to be identified with Him - conformed to His image to the glory of God.
