With Dale Ratzlaff
John 10:11-21
“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 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. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 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; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 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. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 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.” A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”
Jesus continues using another paroimia, or riddle, designed to make a person contemplate and discover the deeper meaning the images used. In this case, Jesus continues using the shepherd metaphor which is filled with many Old Testament incidents familiar to His Jewish listeners.
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
First, we note another emphatic “I AM”… the Good Shepherd. Jesus gives many clues as to who He is. More will come as we work through this chapter.
When Jews, and Christians too, hear the word “shepherd”, we immediately think of David who risked his life for his sheep, but it was not his intention to die. To protect his father’s sheep, David did very daring things, catching a lion by the beard and killing a bear with his hands.
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, 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. 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” (1 Sam. 17:34-36).
Unlike David, Jesus voluntarily lays down His life for His sheep. However, a dead shepherd, no matter how courageous he is in his death, cannot continue to take care of the sheep. Thus, Jesus’ care for His people not only is based upon His death, but even more so upon His resurrection from the dead.
In our last lesson, Jesus spoke of robbers, thieves, and strangers, referring to the wicked leaders of Israel, past, and present. Now he illustrates another difference between the Good Shepherd, who really loves and cares for his sheep, and the shepherds who just work for wages and don’t own the sheep.
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. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
Here Jesus refers to the religious leaders who may serve well enough, but only when they are well-paid to do so. The thief, robber, stranger, and hireling all refer to a base type of character, one that is selfish and pretends to be what he is not. These hirelings use the sheep for their own selfish ends. They want the meat, the wool, and the hide. These people are not paid by Jesus, nor did He hire them, or assign to them the job of an under-shepherd. Instead, they usurped the position by selfish ambition and political intrigue.
We could illustrate in today’s church many who qualify as hirelings, for example, pastors who continue to teach things that they know to be untrue, so that they will stay on the payroll, get their retirement, and keep their social standing. John 11:47-48 gives an illustration of how the Jewish leaders fit into this hireling mold.
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (Jn. 11:47-48).
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; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
By contrast, Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” because He cares for His sheep. He owns the sheep and has a vested interest in their welfare. Jesus has a two-way personal relationship with His “sheep.” This relationship is founded first with His Father, and that same (not identical) relationship spills over to His followers.
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 flockwith one shepherd.
This is a significant truth, the “mystery” that was not clearly understood in the Old Testament but was revealed to the apostles.
By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Eph. 3:4-6).
There are some who want to keep Israel (the Jews) separate from the church. However, in several places, Paul agrees with Jesus’ statement in John that there will be one flock.
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity (Eph. 2:14-16).
Having now established the fact that Jesus is the Shepherd of one flock composed of believing Jews and others who would be added to His flock as they come to believe in Christ, He now gives the truth of his death and resurrection—the saving activity of the Son of God.
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 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.
Unlike human shepherds who may do daring things to protect their sheep as did David, Jesus willingly, purposely lays down His life for His people. In this the shepherd illustration cannot convey the full truth revealed, so for a time He leaves the illustration and speaks in realities. When discussing Christ’s death and resurrection, we approach the “holy ground” of the wrath and love of God. It is the very focal point of the Christian gospel. Why did He have to die? Yet that is not even the right question here, for He says that “no one has taken it away from Me. He did have to die, He willingly took our death and our sin. He suffered the wrath of God against our sin. But His death and burial were not the end. Jesus has the authority to raise Himself up from the dead.
Neither Jesus nor John, the writer of the Gospel, spell out all the results of this short paragraph. Elsewhere in the New Testament, we learn that Jesus’ death and resurrection have major ramifications for us. Not only did He take all our jaded, sinful past upon himself, but he gives us His righteousness to cover that jaded past. He declares us to be sin-free and covered with the very righteousness of God. I feel few of us fully understand the implications of this transaction. In our past history, we have memories of failure that dog our thoughts. However, if we are believers, we should overlay Christ’s perfect life over our sinful past history. Christ’s perfect life now covers our jaded past. Our past is out of sight because we are “in Christ.” We died with Him, were raised with Him, and we are seated with Him at the right hand of the Father. Truly, He knows His own and His own know Him.
A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”
The truth of Jesus Christ and His saving activity caused a division in the listening Jews. Yes, and the gospel still divides men. Facing the claims of Christ, one has either to accept them or reject them. There is no middle ground.
Application
- We can rejoice in the mutual fellowship with our Lord. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
- Jesus owns us. He paid the purchase price for our soul. As Solomon wrote, “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (Sol. 2:16).
- The death and resurrection of Christ contain more truth and application than most of us realize. This event warrants our deepest study.
- Understanding the gospel will put to rest any haunting memories of our jaded past. Now we can say that we kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men because His life is not mine!
- Now that we have heard and understood the claims of the gospel—belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we must decide either to become His disciple or remain an unbeliever who must face his life record alone.
Prayer
Father, thank you for giving us the Good Shepherd in Jesus, your Son who died for my sin and rose to life to be my Good Shepherd for eternity. Please teach me to trust Him more fully and to live always to proclaim Your goodness in Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection.
In Jesus’ name.
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