The Good Shepherd’s Love - John 10:11-21
Today we’re in John chapter 10 looking at verses 11-21, which is another incredibly popular portion of John’s gospel. We’re looking specifically at Jesus’ statement: “I am the good shepherd” and what follows.
There are a lot of ways to approach this passage, because there is incredible depth in Jesus' sheep/shepherd metaphor. It says so much, doesn’t it? But what really stands out in these verses is how Jesus uses his sheep/shepherd metaphor in order to communicate the depth of his love.
Sometimes what’s best is reminding you of the weight of familiar truths. And that’s what I hope we can do this morning. Be reminded of the weight and glory of something familiar.
Jesus, the good shepherd loves his sheep.
We see the depth of the good shepherd’s love in four ways: first, the good shepherd’s love is sacrificial (vv. 11-13), second, we see that his love is intimate (vv. 14-15), third we see that his love is inclusive (v. 16), and lastly, we see that his love is voluntary (vv. 17-21).
When was the last time you were reminded of God’s love? When was the last time you really stopped to ponder the depth of God’s love?
This passage is densely theological but the theology really points us to Christ’s love for the sheep. After all, sacrifice, intimacy, inclusion, and voluntarism are expressions of love.
Last week, because the sheep/shepherd metaphor was intended to contrast the goodness of Jesus against the corruption of the Pharisees.
Jesus is still drawing out that comparison. What we see is the good shepherd loves the sheep but false shepherds neglect the sheep.
Last week, it was heavily implied that Jesus was the good shepherd, but this week, he casts away all doubt and tells us that he is indeed the good shepherd.
The Good Shepherd’s Love is Sacrificial (v. 11-13)
Up and to verse 11 we had heard about a shepherd that loved the sheep. He took care of the sheep. The sheep knew him and he knew the sheep.
Initially, it wasn’t entirely clear who the good shepherd is, but, in verse 11 Jesus tells us exactly who the good shepherd is: “I am the good shepherd.” Here are the Greek words again, “ego eimi” which is an allusion to the words God spoke to Moses at the burning bush - “I AM WHO I AM.”
Jesus is applying God’s covenant name to himself and then adding a descriptive element to it - “I am the good shepherd.”
There’s a modern conception (or maybe it’s just my conception) of a shepherd that emphasizes the gentle care of the sheep. And of course, it’s true! A good shepherd was gentle with his sheep. But there’s another side of shepherding that we often forget about which is protection, bravery and courage. Just think about David killing lions and bears!
The ideal shepherd is both gentle and protective. And Scripture really picks up on this because it often described the Messiah as a shepherd-king. One that would rule his people with great authority, protection and at the same time treat his people with great love and gentleness.
Micah 5 which is the prophecy of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem actually describes the Messiah as a shepherd and a king. I won’t read the whole thing, but just listen to verses 4-5.
4 And he [Jesus] shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace.
Jesus is the ideal ruler, he’s not a tyrant. He’s a loving, protective, shepherd king. Here’s the basic idea: King Jesus rules, reigns, guides, and protects his people like a good shepherd.
That adds weightiness to his sacrifice doesn’t it? The shepherd-king laid down his life for his sheep. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” This great shepherd-king laid down his life for his people.
I know there are many pet owners here among us this morning. Some of you are probably willing to go to pretty extreme lengths in order to take care of your pets. Some of your pets probably eat better than you do.
But I don’t think even the people that feed their dog Blue Buffalo would be willing to lay down their life for Fido. If it’s down to you or Fido, Fido isn’t going to make it.
And really it’s a silly illustration, because it doesn't come anywhere close to grasping the depth of Christ’s sacrifice. That illustration also isn’t great because we’re all sinners. We rebel against a holy God and in spite of that, Jesus willingly laid down his life for the sheep.
And of course, we know what Jesus is referring to here: he’s referring to his sacrificial death on the cross. It was on that cross he bled and died for your sins and for mine. He laid down his life in order to save wretched sinners like you and me. He bore our sins on the cross and gave us his righteousness. Penal substitutionary atonement is the very heart of the gospel isn’t it?
It’s what the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Have you ever stopped and just asked: why?
I like what chapter 3 of the Westminster Confession of Faith says. It says that God saves sinners, “out of his mere free grace and love.”
What loving husband and father wouldn’t lay down his life for his wife and children? Men, would you sacrifice yourself for your wife and children because they’re so compliant? Hopefully it goes a little deeper than that! Hopefully it’s born out of a pure undying, unconditional, love.
I hope you understand the point that I’m trying to drive home here: we see the depth of the good shepherd’s love in his willingness to sacrifice himself on the cross for his sheep. The great shepherd-king sacrificed himself on the cross for his sheep.
It’s what John 3:16 tells us: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Christ’s sacrifice is an expression of his love.
Isn’t this so contrary to the way our world defines and thinks of love? Love is only given in reciprocity for something else. It’s always conditional.
But God’s love is unconditional and sacrificial. It’s unearned. If you’re in Christ, then Jesus for you!
Shouldn’t Christian relationships reflect the sacrificial love of God? We love, because he first loved us?
To bring us back into the text, we must remember that Jesus is comparing his care for the sheep over and against the scribes and Pharisees. The good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep, while the hirelings neglect the sheep.
In fact, the hirelings do not love the sheep. How do we know that? Look at verse 12:
“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 doesn’t love the sheep because he has no stake in the game. They’re not his sheep and his care for the sheep is completely dependent upon the situation.
As long as things are going well, he sticks around, but the moment things start to get a little tough, the moment things start to get a little rocky, the moment things get difficult he abandons the sheep.
Verse 13, says it quite plainly. “He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
Every now and then, I’ll hear someone say that they don’t go to church because of some negative church experience. And no doubt, I’ve heard some very troubling stories. Some include stories of abuse which includes both abuse of power and sexual abuse. Pastors that use the sheep to their own end are hired hands aren’t they?
But I heard of people walking away from the faith because of something bad that a pastor did. That’s committing a serious error - they’re applying the abuse of a hired hand to Jesus Christ.
To say it a little more clearly: do not apply the sinful actions of a pastor or teacher to Jesus Christ. He is the good shepherd and he loves the sheep. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Now obviously, Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of these verses, but there is an application for undershepherds, the pastors and teachers as well.
I guess this is the part of the sermon where you get to watch me preach to myself! Look this might sound obvious, but just as Christ loves the sheep so should his undershepherds. Pastors should love the people of their congregation.
If a pastor is checking in on people, praying for people, and makes an effort to be there for people - if you know that the pastor genuinely cares about you, then it’s a lot easier to overlook his faults. It’s easier to overlook a bad sermon. It’s not always easy and I’m sure I have room to grow in these areas.
But pastoral ministry isn’t a normal job. I mean that with all due respect. All of you have meaningful careers, I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m degrading what any of you do.
Pastoral ministry isn’t a normal vocation, it’s a calling. It’s a call to serve others. To help tend to the flock of God and point people to the one and only good shepherd. As I heard someone else say before, “I’m just a beggar telling others beggars where to go to find bread.”
But I’m always a little uncomfortable whenever I hear a pastor talk about how many campuses his church will have, or how many churches he’ll plant, or how many books he intends to write, because the subtle message whether it’s intentional or not is that they don't care about their sheep. The sheep are simply a means to an end. Pastors too should love and care about the sheep. After all, pastor means shepherd!
If you were to ever leave, I hope none of you ever do, but if you did, I hope you look for a church where the pastor who loves his people sacrificially.
The Good Shepherd’s Love is Intimate (v. 14-15)
Because after all, you’re not my people. You’re not my sheep. I don’t own you, but if you’re in Christ - Jesus does. You’re one of his sheep. He owns you.
Look at verses 14 and 15.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Jesus again repeats, “I am the good shepherd.” And he follows it up with, “I know my own and my own know me.”
I actually prefer the NIV’s translation of verse 14: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me…”
Jesus is deeply familiar with his sheep. If you’re a Christian, you’re not an acquaintance of Jesus. You aren’t some person who Jesus gives a little head nod to as you pass by on the street. There’s an intimacy there. There’s a familiarity there.
As I said last week, I’m not a sheep or shepherd expert by any means, but I read about a test that was conducted among shepherds. The shepherds were blindfolded and asked to describe each sheep by their sound. And just by the sound of the sheep, they were able to distinguish one from the other. That’s the white one with spots or that’s the black one. They were able to do this just by listening to them.
That’s how well they knew their sheep. In a very similar way, Jesus knows his sheep. There’s a deep familiarity between the good shepherd and his sheep.
But notice too, Jesus doesn’t just merely know his sheep - he possesses them. He owns his sheep. He’s fully invested in his sheep.
That was one of Jesus’ critiques of the hired hands in verse 12 - they didn’t own the sheep. And because they were invested in the sheep they didn’t care. Because after all, it’s easy to be indifferent toward sheep you don’t know.
There’s an intimacy between Christ and his sheep. He knows them. Which is no doubt, a characteristic of love. You invest your time and energy into what you love. We all do.
What would somebody find if they tracked how you spent every waking hour of this week? It’s kind of scary to think about, isn’t it? But that person would discover what you really loved.
Jesus is invested in his sheep because he loves them.
But notice the analogy he makes in order to help us better understand the relationship he has with his sheep. He says, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
For the record, Jesus isn’t folding you or me into Trinity. You and I are not members of the Godhead. Nor is our relationship with Christ a one to one parallel to Christ’s relationship with the Father.
But undoubtedly, Jesus is saying something quite profound here: Jesus is saying the Trinitarian intimacy shared between God the Father and God the Son is analogous in their relationship with those that have been born again.
In other words, our relationship with Christ is patterned after or is a reflection of Christ’s relationship with God the Father.
The point he’s making is that there is deep fellowship, communion, familiarity, intimacy between Christ and his disciples.
Isn’t that what so many professing Christians are after? Intimacy with God? They want to feel his love and closeness. They want to experience his presence. And those are all wonderful things to desire.
But you don’t need to look for it in charismatic theology or in a night of worship music. Similarly, you’re not going to find intimacy with God through stoicism or ascetic rejection of all pleasure. That will not bring you closer to God either.
If God has poured out his lavish mercy and grace upon you in Christ - then you don’t need to search for intimacy with God because you already have it. If the good shepherd owns you then you already have intimacy with God through Christ. It’s through Christ we’re able to approach the throne of God.
If you want intimacy with God, you don’t need to explore obscure theology or spend more time volunteering - If you want to experience intimacy with God, study his Word and become a man or woman of prayer. You see, it’s through Christ and what he’s done for you that private spiritual disciplines like reading the Word of God and spending time in prayer become a means of grace through which you can experience intimacy and fellowship with God. You don’t need anything novel to commune with God - you simply need to trust what he’s already given you. And he’s given you and me Christ.
We all can experience a close fellowship with God through the good shepherd.
The Good Shepherd’s Love is Inclusive (vv. 16)
So the good shepherd’s love is sacrificial, intimate, and it’s also inclusive.
Now that’s a word that’s been co-opted hasn’t it?
Terminology like “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” or “inclusive language” both make use of the word. But no doubt, “inclusion” and “inclusive” have become euphemistic. They’re code words for something else. But obviously that’s not how I intend to use it.
What I mean is that the good shepherd’s love brings outsiders in. That’s what Jesus says in verse 16.
“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.”
Jesus is talking about grafting in the gentiles. That people outside of the nation of Israel will be recipients of his grace. That they too, will be the people of God because they will listen and follow Jesus. The people who were once far off will be brought in.
“So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
There’s only one flock, which only includes all those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ, the good shepherd. Only those that possess a vital union or a living and active faith in Christ are of his flock.
And this certainly includes people from all over the world. The gospel message isn’t for a certain type of person. There’s no privileged ethnic group. There’s no superior socio-economic class. God’s love, grace, and mercy is poured out on every tribe, tongue, and nation. The Lord has brought all these people into his sheepfold.
This is what I mean by inclusive.
Isn’t it humbling knowing that there are people in places like China, Eritreia, and Mongolia that you don’t know, have an entirely different set of customs, live in a country with different laws, speak a different language, and yet they believe the exact same thing about Jesus Christ as you do? That’s profound isn’t it?
Isn’t it amazing to think that the gospel message is portable and always applicable regardless of culture? The gospel cuts right to the heart.
It’s quite remarkable to think that the Lord has bestowed his saving grace upon people like you, and me, along with folks from all over the world despite all of our radical differences!
It’s quite the contrast to our current state of affairs isn’t it? It seems like all people want to talk about is what makes them different? But the universal church stands in stark contrast because our beauty isn’t in our differences, the beauty of Christianity and universal church is our common faith.
So salvation is inclusive because it’s not limited to a certain type of people, however it is limited in scope. There is a finite number of people that will be saved. After all, Christ says, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” No doubt, there are sheep that do not know him. In fact, Christ teaches in Matthew 25 that he will separate the sheep from the goats.
What Jesus is teaching here is what is often referred to as limited atonement. Sometimes it’s called definite atonement, R.C. Sproul called it particular redemption. Multiple terms that refer to the same doctrine, that is, Jesus’ atoning death was sufficient for all the sins of humanity for all of time but only effective for the elect. The redemption that was accomplished on the cross is only applied to true Christians. Not every single sheep is in Christ’s sheepfold.
Many believe that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross simply removed the barriers to salvation. But if that was the case, wouldn’t that render Christ’s death on the cross ineffective? Because that would mean he died for people in hell.
I like what Charles Spurgeon wrote: “Christ came into the world not to put men into a salvable state, but into a saved state.”
But again, turn your attention back to the text. Look at verse 16. “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also.”
Jesus doesn’t say, “I hope they’ll join me.” That’s not what he says. Jesus says he's going to bring them in. And this should give you great confidence because the effectiveness, efficacy, and power of the atonement do not reside in you but rather in Christ!
The power of salvation is not in your hands, rather, it’s in Christ’s nailed pierced hands. Praise the Lord!
The Good Shepherd’s Love is Voluntary (vv. 17-21)
But the good shepherd’s love doesn’t stop there. His love is also voluntary.
Look at verse 17-18 with me. “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.”
In verses 17-18, he’s obviously talking about his death and resurrection, and he’s describing it in terms of incredible power. He possesses the power to lay down his life and take it up again. We don’t get the full grasp of what he’s saying in English, but here’s what I think is important for you to know - the Lord is in complete control.
Jesus has such power over life and death that he talks about it in the same manner you and I talk about something ordinary like dropping a pencil. I dropped my pencil so I picked it up again. That’s the power and sovereignty of God.
But I really want to hone in on verse 18. “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.”
Wives, if someone held a gun to your husband’s head and forced him to tell you that he loves you, would you believe him? Is that sincere? Well of course not! Because true love isn’t compelled.
The same is true for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. He wasn’t compelled. He wasn’t coerced to go to the cross, rather, he voluntarily laid down his life.
Sincere love is given voluntarily. Humanistically speaking it might take time for love to grow and develop, but love given voluntarily is sincere.
And what we see at the end of this passage is something that we’ve seen a few different times. It caused division among those that were listening to him. There were those that accused him of being demon possessed while there were others that thought there was something to his miracles.
This whole passage really helps us better understand how Christ guides, protects, rules, reigns, and loves his sheep. There’s great depth to his love.
But all of this raises a rather natural follow up question: how do you know if Jesus loves you? How do you know if you’re one of his sheep?
I like the way Keith Evans put it:
“If ever there is a question about whether God loves us, the biblical solution is not to look to ourselves, our love, or our faithfulness. Instead, we are called to look at the objective reality of what God has done for us in Christ. We are to ground our certainty and assurance of His love in who He is and what He has done—not in ourselves, which is ever-shifting sand.”
You see, if you’re trusting and resting in Christ’s atoning work of salvation then you are one of his sheep and you are loved by the good shepherd. May we know, hear, and follow our good shepherd. Let’s pray.
