The Good Shepherd | Dave Sloop

For those of you that I have not had the privilege of meeting yet, my name is Dave Sloop. I am one of our pastors here, and today we are looking at probably the most painted image of Jesus. It is probably one of the most popular metaphors that he uses for himself. Also, probably one of the most misunderstood.

I got my ministry career started as a Young Life staff person, and our ministry reaches out to disinterested, lost teenage kids. My whole mission was to get these kids to believe that Jesus Christ was relevant to their experience—the most relevant human being to ever live for what they were walking through and experiencing in life. I was desperate for them to believe that Jesus Christ was worth pursuing and following.

It proved to be an uphill battle because of pictures like this. Kids would see these images—the images they grew up with seeing in church. And they would think things like, why does he like sheep so much? What is it with this guy? He's constantly out in the fields by himself with no other people. He seems a little strange. What's going on with him?

Understanding the Shepherd Metaphor

This metaphor of the good shepherd is almost completely lost on us because of the culture that we live in. Jesus, by the way, was not actually a shepherd. He was a carpenter. He built stuff with his hands. He was a man's man. But if he was a shepherd, he wouldn't have looked like that because shepherds were not effeminate men who had an unusual affinity for cuddly little fluffy animals. That's not what they were.

They were strong, brave men who lived outside in the elements. They were skilled at cultivating the ground so their sheep had pasture to eat. But they were also brave enough and strong enough to fend off the predators that were coming, because sheep are easy prey.

This metaphor was not lost on Jesus' audience because sheep were everywhere and so were shepherds. They understood what he meant by it, but we don't. First, we don't understand shepherds. Secondly, we don't understand what sheep are like.

Understanding Sheep

You might not know that one of the most often used metaphors for you and me in the Bible is sheep, and that is not a compliment. Sheep are not bright. They're not very intelligent. They're weak. They are slow. They're constantly wandering off and getting lost.

But they can't defend themselves either. They have nothing with which to defend themselves when the predators come knocking, and they will. They don't have sharp teeth. They're herbivores. They have hooves, not claws. They can't run very fast. A sheep will fall over and not be able to get back up. It's like the kid from that Christmas story movie in the winter suit.

Sheep are weak, defenseless, little creatures. And while they're not bright, they are smart enough to know how vulnerable they actually are. And so they are perpetually anxious and afraid.

The Context: John 9

The question is, why all of a sudden in John chapter 10 does Jesus launch into this metaphor about sheep and shepherds? What's going on here? The key to understanding John chapter 10 is understanding what just happened in John chapter 9.

Jesus heals a man born blind. And it's a beautiful picture of a guy that is humble. He has no idea how he got healed, but he also has no problem being honest about the fact that that guy did it. "I don't know who that was. I don't know that he's the Christ. I just know that he healed me. I used to be blind, but now I can see."

For his honesty and his candor, the religious leaders of his day excommunicate him from the synagogue because they do not like what he's saying about this man, Jesus, with whom they are at odds. They are not much a fan of Jesus and the things that he's claiming about himself. And so they conclude, based on what they want to be true, that that man must be a sinner, and they banish him.

And Jesus says this peculiar thing at the end of John chapter 9:

For this judgment I have come into the world, that the blind may see.

He said, the reason that I came—this man's life is a metaphor for what I came to do. Everybody's blind, and I want people to see. And the way to see, Jesus would say, is by admitting with humility that you don't understand, that you don't see, that you don't have things figured out, which is really hard for human beings to do.

Therefore, the second part of his judgment: "I came into the world that the blind may see and that those who see may become blind." He does not mean that there are some people that get it and he wants to confuse them. What he means is that Jesus is being sarcastic. He's saying, you Pharisees, you religious leaders, you think you have it figured out, but your only hope is realizing you've been wrong all along. You do not know what you think you know.

Verse one of chapter 10 is not a new scene. It is the next sentence in an ongoing conversation and debate that happens between Jesus and these Pharisees, these religious leaders. In fact, it begins in whatever the last verse of chapter nine is—I think it's 39. Jesus is going to launch into a monologue that will not get interrupted until verse 19. And when they do interrupt him, they're going to be angry. They're going to call him demon possessed. And then a few verses later in verse 31, they're going to pick up stones to kill him.

And you might be asking, why are they so offended by Jesus claiming to be like a shepherd? The reason is that there's a whole lot more going on than we might see on the surface. This passage is going to reveal to us, first of all, who he is. Secondly, it's going to reveal to us what he gives. And third, it's going to reveal how he gives it.

Who Jesus Really Is

When Jesus shows up in the gospels—in Matthew 9 and in Mark 6—he says that the crowds, he feels compassion for them because they're harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus was borrowing language from the Old Testament because God had always appointed shepherds to oversee his people. There were prophets, there were priests, and there were kings. They were the spiritual leaders of Israel, and they were supposed to keep them close to their true shepherd, who was God himself.

But throughout the Old Testament, the constant repeated refrain of Israel's redemptive history is: the shepherds have failed. In Zechariah chapter 10 verse 3, God says:

My anger burns against the shepherds.

God saw his sheep wandering and scattered like sheep without a shepherd, and he was equal parts grieved and enraged. His heart was broken for the sheep and burning against the shepherds for failing to do what he had called them to do.

So when Jesus launches into talking about thieves that break in and steal, and kill, and destroy, who care nothing for the sheep, the Pharisees would have understood exactly what he was talking about. He was saying, you Pharisees, are the failed shepherds of Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel—or rather Zechariah 10 and Numbers 27. You blew it. That's what's going on.

I'm going to try to breeze through all of these Old Testament references that Jesus is so clearly highlighting that he comes to fulfill. It would be easy to read this and think that Jesus is just saying, I'm like a shepherd, but that's not what he's saying. Not primarily anyway. He's saying, I am a particular shepherd. I'm not just like a gate or a door, or I have the properties of a gate. I am a specific gate through whom the righteous may enter.

I want to show you quickly five different places where Jesus is fulfilling Old Testament promises to his people. In Numbers chapter 27, Moses is praying for his successor, and he asks God to raise up someone who would be a shepherd who would go before them, who would lead them, who would bring them in and out.

Listen to what Jesus says about himself:

He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. He calls his own sheep. He leads them out. He goes before them, and they will go in and out.

This is who Jesus is claiming to be. I'm not just like a shepherd, though he is. I'm that shepherd. From Numbers 27, I am the answer to Moses' prayer. In fact, God answers Moses and he says, take Joshua, a man in whom is the spirit. And when you transliterate Joshua into Greek, do you know what that name is? Jesus—a man in whom was the spirit without measure. (John 3:34)

Ezekiel 34 is probably the primary passage Jesus has in mind as he talks to this crowd of Pharisees. Jesus, our God here, is claiming ownership of the flock. He's saying, it's my flock. Listen to what Jesus says in John 10:

I know my own, and my own know me.

He's not just saying, I have been appointed to oversee some people. He said, it's my flock. That's strong language.

Secondly, he seeks them out from the peoples and gathers them in. That's what the shepherd in Ezekiel 34 is doing. Jesus says, he calls his own and he leads them out. That's in verse three. Next, we see this shepherd in Ezekiel feeding them from rich, good, luxurious, green pastures. Jesus says, anybody that comes to me will find pasture. In verse 10, he's gonna go even further and say, you'll have life, abundant life. This overflowing excess, more than you need. And then finally, the shepherd in Ezekiel 34, he is rescuing them from real danger. They have been scattered. They're being devoured by their enemies. He's saying, I'm gonna rescue them. Jesus says, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved.

There's something else about this passage that we read this morning. Both of these things are said in the same passage. The shepherd was going to be a descendant of David, a human being that came from David's line, but also the shepherd would be God himself. Could not be more clear and it seems like a contradiction. How could the shepherd both be God and a man? Jesus is a descendant of David who claims to be the shepherd and who in verse 30 is going to say:

I and the father are one

That's when they pick up stones. What else? Jesus is saying to this crowd, essentially, I am both God and the fulfillment of God's word. To not just send, but to be the promised Davidic shepherd.

In Isaiah 56, Isaiah is prophesying about what the messianic kingdom is going to look like. And he's going to tell us that it's not just going to be Jews, but there are going to be people from other nations. Foreigners are going to be welcomed into the house of God. And in verse eight, he says this:

The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered

Listen to the language Jesus used in John chapter 10:

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in also

He's saying, I'm that shepherd. That's me. In Ezekiel 37:

I'll make them one nation, and my servant David shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd

Listen to what Jesus says in John 10:

One flock, one shepherd

That's who I am. And then, finally, in Psalm 118, David says:

This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. You have become my salvation

Jesus says:

I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be saved

Do you see what Jesus is doing here? He's not just saying this is what I'm like. He's saying this is who I am. Every promise made to God's people throughout all redemptive history culminate in one man who didn't have a home, who didn't have a place to lay his head. He is the promised shepherd. He is the answer to Moses' prayer, the fulfillment of David's gate, the depiction and culmination of Ezekiel's shepherd, the one in Isaiah 56 who gathers not just the Jews, but the Gentiles. You, me.

Why This Matters

Let me tell you why this matters. It's important to know what he's like, and we're gonna talk about that in just a moment. Understanding who he is magnifies what he gives. He's not telling us, like, if you follow me, this is what it will be like, only he's saying, I have been plotting for your rescue since the Garden of Eden when the first promise about me was made. Can you imagine being one of the disciples to realize, like, after he ascended back to heaven to realize, wait a minute, he's every single one of these things. Understanding what he's like is important because it gives us a sense of what we can expect him for. Understanding who he is evokes a sense of worship that we would say, along with Micah:

Who is like our God, who forgives iniquities and covers over the transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance

He's been waiting for this moment to reveal and answer all of his promises in this one man.

Now that we know who he is and who he was unapologetically claiming to be, let's look at what it is that he gives. Perhaps the most succinct way to understand this is in verse nine when Jesus says:

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture

What Jesus is essentially saying here is, if you come to me, here's what you're gonna get. Salvation, you'll be saved. Security, that's what it meant for sheep to go in and out, not worrying about being attacked and harmed, killed. And satisfaction, you will find pasture.

Friends, Jesus means we're gonna take these in reverse order. He means to satisfy everyone that comes to him, and not just a little. In verse 10:

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that you might have life, full life, abundant life

It is the picture of excess, like just way more than you need. In Ezekiel's vision, the sheep are made to lie down in luxurious green pastures with more grass than they could possibly eat. This is the kind of satisfaction that he offers.

This is what scripture testifies to throughout. David, Israel's second king, who himself was a shepherd, in Psalm 63 would say:

Your love is better than life. — Psalm 63

In Psalm 16, he would say:

In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand, pleasures forevermore. — Psalm 16

Paul would say in Philippians 3:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I've lost all things. I consider them rubbish or garbage. — Philippians 3

What he actually says is dung, that I may gain Christ. Here's what Paul is saying: What I've tasted from Christ is so much better than everything else that I used to trust in, that I'm trading in what I used to trust to get more of him because he's better.

I could go on and on giving you examples. Peter would say:

Filled with an inexpressible joy. — 1 Peter 1:8

I don't think that you and I need to be convinced that this is what the Bible teaches about our experience of God—that it should be satisfying deeply. But I think for some, perhaps for all of us, what we struggle more with is the practical reality of that. Maybe your question is: How does he satisfy? And what does that even mean?

That is certainly the kids that had this image of the guy hanging out with the sheep in pasture. How does that guy satisfy? I don't understand. Maybe if you're willing to be honest with yourself, you'd say the same. What does it mean to experience his deep inner satisfaction?

How He Satisfies

I want to give you two things that he says in this passage. The first one is this: through his intimate knowledge of us.

Do you notice that it says he calls his own by name? Think about that for a second. He knows your name. Dale Carnegie would say that a person's name to that person is the sweetest sound and the most important word in any language.

Have you ever known or experienced someone important naming you in front of a crowd of people? I was a freshman in high school at Windy Gap, serving on the volunteer work crew for Young Life Camp. I was a waiter. I was a nobody. And I was sitting out front of the dining hall reading my Bible for all to see. And here comes the camp speaker, a man named Scott Hamilton. Everybody knew Scott. And he came up to me and he said, "You know what, Dave? One day when you're on Young Life staff..." I don't remember anything else he said. All I knew was that that guy that everybody knew knew my name. And not only that, he thought that I might be able to be like him one day. What do you think that did to me? I went on Young Life staff. And one day, Scott would be my boss, become a mentor, and is still a dear friend to this day.

The one that made all that happen—he knows your name. He knows you personally. In fact, I don't know if you caught this, but the analogical comparison for how well and how deep he knows us: Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. Have you ever thought about that for a second? He knows you completely.

Now for some, that might not feel too comforting because we think we're doing a pretty good job of keeping certain parts of ourselves at bay so that not everyone knows the real me. Tim Keller would say that simultaneously, our greatest need and our greatest fear is being fully known.

To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. Why? Because you think, "Yeah, they love me, but they don't really know. If they knew the real me, they'd leave." To be known and not loved—see, that's our greatest fear. But to be fully known and fully loved... Well, that's a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from our pretense. It humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and it fortifies us for any difficulty that life can throw at us. — Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage

The most satisfying human experience known to man is being known in love by another human being. You didn't decide to need that. You just need it. You know you need it. We are desperate to be known and to be loved, and we're also terrified.

The most satisfying experience, therefore, in all of the world is being satisfied by the one who knows you more than you know yourself, who knows the stuff that you have yet to tell another human being, and yet he calls you by name, already knowing. He calls you to himself in spite of that stuff. He knows you. He loves you. He knows you to the core, and he loves you without limit.

Here's the second reason: his abiding presence.

I don't know if you noticed, but this theme of the sheep recognizing the voice of the shepherd carries throughout the passage. They don't just recognize the voice at his initial call. It says they follow him because they still hear his voice. He doesn't just call you once and depart.

I'm reading a book right now by Dallas Willard called Hearing God. And he says many Christians believe in something he calls Bible deism.

Deism is the idea or philosophy that God created—obviously, this didn't happen by mistake. God created, but then he just left people to figure things out. Bible deism would be God calling you to himself and then handing you a book and saying everything you need to know about me is in there. I'm out. We giggle uncomfortably because for many of us, that is what it feels like. And so there's not a whole lot of joy there. There's not a whole lot of excitement. There's not a passion. There's not a delight. Is that what the Christian experience is supposed to be?

Listen. Jesus said to his disciples, who lived every day of his earthly ministry with him, he said, it's better for you that I go. What? It's better for you that I go because when I leave, I send my spirit, and my spirit will live in you. See, the disciples who were constantly clamoring for Jesus' attention suddenly have the spirit now. They have unfettered access to him. How often? As often as they want. And guess what? That's true of you too. It's true of me too.

The reason we don't hear God is because we aren't listening, not because he's not speaking. I'm not suggesting you're gonna hear an audible voice, though I believe God every once in a while does that for some people. Maybe some of you in the room have that experience. I have not, but God is always speaking. And I'm constantly, when I choose to look and turn to him and engage with the spirit that lives in me, I'm aware that he's here. And I'll promise you this: I have tasted his presence, and there is nothing like it. The experience of the joy and delight of God's presence is not just confined to the pages of Scripture. Do you know that? In this book that I'm reading, D.L. Moody had an experience of the love of God that he had to ask God to stay his hand because it was too strong. It was so strong.

Look, I don't share this to shame any of you, but to whet your appetite for more. Maybe some of us are thinking, gosh, this sounds like experientialism or emotionalism. We're not supposed to pursue God just for a feeling. Yeah, I know. But can I tell you something else? None of us that are married in this room got married because we read someone's resume. We fell in love with a person. And if our relationship with God does not sometimes feel like unquenching joy, I'm just inviting you to more. And I'm suggesting to you that the reason we don't experience it isn't because God is withholding from certain people and giving it to others, but because we're not paying attention.

We have adopted this view that, well, in today's enlightened age, it's Bible deism. We just have this book. Do you understand that that book wouldn't even make sense to you if you didn't have his Holy Spirit living within you? Engage with the spirit that God put in you. We have it better than the disciples did when Jesus was here. Do you believe that? That's what Jesus thought. What are you leaving on the table? What am I leaving on the table?

And the reason that there was security for the sheep is because he knew the shepherd was there. It is his abiding presence that gives a sense of security. I just don't need to worry anymore. The language from Ezekiel 34 is he makes them lie down. And it's not that he, like, forces them down against their will. It's that when he shows up, they can finally rest because no one's gonna kill me. It is his abiding presence that gives us a sense of, I can take anything.

In fact, the greatest sense of security that we have as believers, in addition to his abiding presence, is the fact that we know that we're saved. And that's the third thing. Jesus saves. The sheep were in real danger. It was not a hypothetical danger. It was very real and present. There's a wolf or a lion that's, like, out to get you. Jesus came, comes to save people from very real and present danger. Sin, death, hell. Jesus comes to pull you back from the cliff because the reality is, because of the sin that's in your heart, you and me both, we will walk forever until we fall off the cliff unless he reaches out and saves us from the abyss.

That is what the Bible teaches about your sin. It causes you to hate God, to not want God, to pursue other things instead of him that we think will be more satisfying, but they never are. And with hindsight, we always know that. He comes to save, to grab you out of the lion's mouth who means to devour you. He comes to rescue you, to save you from one of two eternal destinies that every single human being on planet Earth is marching towards. Eternal death, eternal life. The question is, how? How do his gifts become your possessions? How do they become yours? And the answer is simple. He lays down his life.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

And the word that's used there is a really shocking thing, the way that Jesus put this.

He's not just saying the good shepherd puts himself in harm's way to protect the sheep. He literally says that word for means instead of. He lays down his life instead of the sheep. Meaning, they are going to die unless I die. It is an exchange. It is a substitution. You get life because he got death.

And by the way, this is always what was promised to happen to this shepherd. In Isaiah 53, we see this servant was pierced for our transgression, crushed for our iniquities.

By his wounds, we're healed. — Isaiah 53:5

We're like sheep that went astray. God has laid on him the iniquities of us all. — Isaiah 53:6

He was oppressed, he was afflicted, and yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. — Isaiah 53:7

In Zechariah 11, God sends a shepherd. There's this image of a shepherd that he gives to Zechariah that is rejected by the very people he came to save. And in chapter 13, God says about that shepherd that he sent to save:

Awake, O my sword, against my shepherd who stands next to me. — Zechariah 13:7

The great surprise of the lamb or the shepherd of the sheep is that he was always to become the lamb who would be slain. He takes a death that you and I deserve in order that you might get the life that he was entitled to.

Understanding Sin

A lot of us don't understand sin and how dangerous and deadly it is because it's like we've walked into the movie one hour into it. We don't really get it. We have said to God, "I do not want you. I just want your stuff. I'd like to live in your world rent free. I'd like to engage with people that you've made. I want joy and laughter, adventure, love. I'd like to experience love. I just don't want to love you. I want nothing to do with you, actually."

See, that's what sin is. It is the disease of the heart that says, "God, no thanks. I'll take your blessings. I don't want you."

And in the face of that rebellion, God says, "I'm sending my shepherd who will become the lamb and who will take the death that they deserve for their rebellion and sin in order that they might be rescued and gathered into my fold."

This is who he is. This is what he gives. And this is how he gives it.

The question is, do you have it? Is he your shepherd? Have you responded to his voice? Maybe you hear him calling even now. Maybe you sense in your heart a stirring that he's calling your name. The beauty is, your only job is to come and receive, and let him save you, secure you, and satisfy you to the depths.

Prayer and Invitation

Let's pray.

Father, we come to you now recognizing that all of our attempts to save ourselves, to satisfy ourselves, and to feel secure on our own are in vain. It will never work and we will keep trying. But, Lord, we thank you that you did not wait for us to reach for you. You came to us, to wayward, rebellious sheep. And you didn't just become like us. You became like us and then you took the death we deserved, that we might be joined to the relationship for which we were made from all eternity.

I pray that some would find that life today. And that others of us who have been following you for a while, but have stopped expecting to experience anything, I pray that today we will begin to taste the joy that we can know when we start interacting with the God who lives in us by his spirit.

Look, some of us need to respond this morning. We have people in the back who would love to pray with you. We'd like to help you make that step into his kingdom to become one of his sheep. Some of you just need to pray alone. You could do that in your pew or you can come up front. We have these rails open for you as well.

For the rest of us, let's stand and worship God together.