The Gospel of John - part 25
Jesus, The Good Shepherd in Art
“The Good Shepherd” in Domitila’s Catacomb, Rome
This image is one the earliest (possibly the earliest existing image) of Jesus. It is from Domitila’s catacomb in Rome. ‘’It dates to the 2nd century which is a time when Christianity was outlawed in the Roman Empire, and actively persecuted through much of it. Typically, when we think of a Jesus image, we think of a cross. However, the most popular image of Jesus through the first four centuries was this—Jesus as a shepherd. And notice, not only does he have animals around him, but he is also carrying one. Now, we don’t know what is wrong with this particular sheep, but we do know what it symbolizes—Jesus will carry us when we cannot walk ourselves. It’s a beautiful picture, and quite frankly much better than the footprints in the sand one. There is a principle here we should not miss. When the earliest Christians found themselves being brought before judges, executioners, and lions, they did not envision the conquering Jesus of Revelation for hope. They looked to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who offers life and provision.
This image comes out of our passage today in John 10. However, before we begin reading in John, I would like to take a minute to back up to the Old Testament. Before we can fully understand what Jesus is teaching us, we must look at how the shepherd image has been used in the Old Testament.
'Shepherd' in the Old Testament
Part of Jeremiah's call against the leadership of Israel included woes against the shepherds of Israel. Now, we know 'shepherds' in Jeremiah was symbolic of Israel's leadership...not actual shepherds. The woe against them was for scattering and destroying the sheep. The priests and kings had not just performed poorly, they had also led the people astray and brought about the Exile.
The priests and kings were to be shepherds over God’s people.
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LROD. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD.
- Jer 23:1-4,
Isa 56:9-12 - "watchmen are blind"
Ezek 34
Ezekiel provides the most direct connection between the Old Testament and our passage today in that Jesus is the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy from about 590-570 BC.
We only have time to hit the high points, but hopefully, you will see the parallels easy enough.
Verses 1-2 - The shepherds only care for themselves while their flock suffers.
Their failure is why Israel went into the 70 year Exile.
Verses 11-16 - God Himself will tend to the sheep and find all the lost ones throughout the nations.
Verses 23-24 - David will be prince over the sheep and feed them.
Verse 25-31 - God will make a covenant of peace and tame the land making it prosperous again. He will deliver his sheep from the hand of those who enslave them.
Ezekiel prophesies that God will be their Shepherd, and David will be their prince.
God is the True Shepherd of Israel.
Ps 80:1 - "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!"
Isa 40:10-11 - "Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young."
Where previous shepherds of Israel have failed, God will not fail to deliver His people.
John 10 - I Am the Good Shepherd
The truth in a parable
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:1-10
Verses 1-5 is a parable which holds a truth in an illustration. It is a simple story which is easily understood in ancient times and today. The rightful shepherd will enter the gate, and the sheep will respond because they know his voice. Anyone else, whether someone entering another way or using a different voice, is not the right shepherd. If this sounds obvious, it’s supposed to be.
Verse 6, though, points out the people did not understand the parable. This confusion is the nature of parables. They are meant to teach a truth, but if they are not explained, it can be difficult to surmise what is being taught. Here, the difficulty for the Jews is that the parable is against them. They would not easily recognize the teaching for the same reason many people would not understand. Rarely do people recognize their own faults.
Verses 7-10 explain the parable for us. Jesus represents both the door and the gatekeeper. In the following verses he will explain how he is also the good shepherd. For now, let’s look at what it means for Jesus to be the door in the story.
Jesus is the door in that he is the way to salvation and provision.
Sheep come in to be protected, but go out to find pasture. Verse 9 says anyone who enters the fold through Christ will be saved and will find pasture—meaning they will find protection and provision. All others who came before only came to steal, and the sheep (God’s people) did not listen to their voice.
Remember the woes from Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. The prophets were routinely beaten and ignored by the priests who should have listened to God’s voice, but refused. That is why the Exile happened, and it would appear that after Israel returned to their land, it did not get much better.
John 10:10 is a very popular verse, and one you may have memorized. But let’s look closely at it again.
Who is the thief?
You’ve probably heard it was Satan, and in one aspect it is, however if we look closely at the context, who has been mentioned already? The parable is against the priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, and other religious leaders who are hypocrites. They are the ones who place a yolk on the people they are unwilling to carry. They offer rituals rather than true sacrifice. They have committed the same sins as in times past. Jesus is not calling Satan a thief, but rather those who Satan has corrupted, and in turn, corrupt others.
The thief is not just Satan, it is anyone who steals, kills, and destroys God’s creation.
Jesus came to offer life, and life abundantly. That word abundantly means “over and above what is necessary”. The life Jesus offers is not a basic living or a minimum requirement. It is beyond our expectations.
But what exactly does an abundant life entail?
Many today have relegated ‘abundant life’ to mean material blessings (i.e. money, business growth, debt-free living, etc.) I would agree that this is a part of it, but it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. The Bible has much to say about making wise decisions in life, and in general, if you make wise choices, you get better consequences than the foolish person. However, we must also keep in mind that many Christians make wise choices and find themselves in prison or martyred. Remember who wrote, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. Paul, the one who was beaten multiple times, imprisoned multiple times, lost his possessions multiple times, and survived a shipwreck, wrote about God providing more than we could ask.
So ‘abundant life’ is more than just stuff. In fact, if we take a step back and look at our life in light of eternity, a few things make material blessings seem less than ‘abundant’.
Whatever we gain on earth doesn’t go with us to heaven. Ecc. 5:15 reminds us “naked you came in the world, and naked you’ll go out.”
Jesus taught us to pray for ‘daily bread’, and “Tomorrow has enough worries on its own”. We are not even promised a tomorrow.
James reminds us to be careful if we are wealthy, because with great wealth comes great responsibility—and temptation.
Last, if Heaven is paved with streets of gold, it doesn’t sound like our wealth from earth would be worth much anyway.
So it must be that ‘abundant life’ entails more than money. I would argue it is a special mindset that only comes from knowing Jesus. Truthfully, anyone can be rich, they just have to do what rich people do. It’s not rocket science—you are what you emulate. But not everyone can say they have peace in their life. Not everyone has joy—true joy. Not everyone has contentment—the kind of contentment that says “Whatever my lot, it is well with my soul”. These are characteristics of an unnatural mindset. Most people have some of these, but only those who have embraced the abundant life offered by Jesus have them all. And I am convinced the closer we walk with our Shepherd, the more we will see this kind of life in our own lives. As I said, we are what we emulate. If we walk with Jesus, and imitate Jesus, we will see that abundant life.
Will it make us rich? We won’t care either way, because as Psalm 23:1 reminds us:
The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
When we make The LORD our Shepherd, when we trust in the protection and provision of Jesus Christ, we will truly be content.
Abundant Life comes when we are truly content in the Lord.
Exercise:
Today I’d like to do something a little different. Take a few moments now to write down areas of your life that you would say you are living ‘abundantly.’ Maybe it’s in your family, your finances, your spiritual growth, feeling at peace, whatever aspect of life you feel is on target for living abundantly.
Next, write down one or two areas of your life that you would say is less than abundant. Again, whatever aspect of life you think is missing something, write it down. Again, one or two is good. If you have more, go ahead and write them, but one or two is enough for now.
Last, answer this question: Why am I not living life abundantly?
If you don’t know, take a guess. What’s missing? Or, maybe what is there that shouldn’t be?
Hang on to this as we move to the next section.
Jesus is the Greater Shepherd
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. 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. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 10:11-18
Verse 11
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. His life wasn’t taken from him; he laid it down willingly. You might think it a little crazy for a shepherd to lay down his life for an animal. How much crazier is it that God laid down His life for humanity?
Jesus contrasts the good shepherd with a hired hand. The hired hand isn’t willing to protect the sheep. When the wolf comes, he flees for his own life. That’s the difference between Jesus and anyone else. He will never leave you unprotected.
Verse 14
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows His flock and His flock knows Him. Luke 12:7 says that God has counted every hair on your head and knows which number fell out this morning. You are a valuable sheep to Jesus.
Verse 16
There are sheep not of this fold. This is a direct message about the need for missions. In Revelation we are told that Christians will comprise every nation, tongue, and ethnicity. There are sheep everywhere that need to be called back into the fold of God. Today, there are sheep in Chilhowee that need to hear the gospel and come into the fold. But how they will know unless someone tells them?
And after they come into the fold, look what the end of 16 says:
So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Christians, listen closely. There is only one flock of God. No matter which building they attend on Sunday morning, there is only one flock: those who have been redeemed by the gracious love of God. There is only one shepherd: His name is Jesus. To put your hope and allegiance to anyone else is to listen to thieves and robbers who only want to scatter and destroy.
Verse 18
Last, look at what Jesus says concerning his death and resurrection. No one takes life from Jesus, he laid it down. And, He has authority to lay it down as well as take it back up. If he is able to accomplish his own resurrection, how much more authority does he have over your life?
So take a look again at the lists you made.
If we look at where our lives are not feeling all that abundant, I am going to make an educated guess for you. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the reason you are not living the abundant life Jesus promises is because you have not given that part of your life to Jesus.
Sometimes we like to hold onto things and keep control of it. We’ll give Jesus our eternity, but we like to handle the here and now. The problem with that is we still have the influence of sin in our lives. If sin is what keeps us out of heaven, how much more will sin keep us from living an abundant life?
If you want to live an abundant life in your finances, give them to God. Seek God’s wisdom in controlling your pocket book.
If you want to live an abundant life in your family, give your family to God. Seek God’s wisdom in your relationships with your kids, parents, and whoever else is in your house.
If you want to live an abundant life in your health, give it to God. Seek God’s wisdom for what it means to be a healthy person.
If you want to live an abundant life in your spiritual life, give it God. And I’ll add this: your spiritual walk with God is going to be the most important part of all. It’s impossible to give the physical parts of your life to God when you are still weak spiritually. Faith is the essential ingredient for gaining heavenly wisdom. Without faith, you cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6), which means nothing will find its proper place in your life until you place your faith in Christ.
Today is the day for salvation and for living a truly abundant life.
Step 1: Surrender your all to Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd and will guide you to still waters and green pastures. But you cannot be guided until you surrender to Him.
Step 2: Pay attention to His voice. Jesus will always speak the truth. It may not be what we want to hear, and it will probably mean we need to change something in our lives. That’s called ‘repentance’, and it’s a part of salvation. Turn from evil and turn to Him.
Step 3: Rest in the assurance that Jesus is in control. Once you have surrendered, and once you have rid yourself of the sin that has been holding you back from abundant life, take time to rest in Jesus. Following Jesus’ lead means not trying to control everything. So quit working so hard at what isn’t working, and learn to rest in the assurance that Jesus really does give abundant life to all who believe.