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Reading John 10:14-18 where Jesus says He has other sheep not of this fold, and that He lays His life down for His sheep. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
Jesus laid down his life of his own accord. No one took his life from him. He had the authority to lay it down and the authority to take it back up again. And he did all of this in love when we understand the text.
You're listening to When We Understand the Text, an online Bible ministry so that we may know all the riches freely given to us by God. For questions and comments, send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.
Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. John chapter 10 is where we've been this week. Looking specifically at the section from verses seven through 18, I'll read that again as we start off today.
The apostle John wrote, "'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.
"'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.'". So yesterday we were mainly focusing on where in verse 12 Jesus says, "'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.'". The hired hand is another character in this metaphor that Jesus is giving here about being the good shepherd, the one who lays down his life for the sheep.
And the hired hand is like the thief and the robber in the sense that he is only in this for himself. The thief and the robber are aggressive. The thief is kind of covert, kind of sneaks in. He might be one that you would describe as wearing sheep's clothing, but inside is a ravenous wolf.
Then you've got the robber who's smash and grab. You know, he abuses, he comes in and takes advantage of others. He might be easier to recognize because of how blatant he is, but that doesn't mean he's easier to avoid.
He still has power and influence over people to manipulate them and keep them submissive to him. So that's your thief and your robber. But then you've got this character, the hired hand. And though his motivations may be the same, he's still in it for himself, this is a guy who's not as aggressive.
He's kind of lazy in fact. Whenever things get difficult and complicated, well, he's not gonna be a leader. He's not gonna stand up and start leading according to the word of God, but rather he might jump ship, go for some place that's a little bit easier to handle rather than trying to resolve this conflict or trying to protect the sheep from those who wish to devour them.
And because he abandons the sheep or doesn't do his job as an under shepherd, the wolf is able to come in and he snatches the sheep and scatters them. And notice that reference there as well. He snatches the sheep, the wolf snatches them and scatters them, but it doesn't mean they cease to be sheep.
It's just that what the wolf has been able to do here is break up unity. And there is not a proper shepherd there, an under shepherd of course, somebody who is under the good shepherd who is Christ. This guy who's the hired hand is not doing his job to try to keep people unified, which can only be done with the word of God.
It is only by the proper guidance of God's word. In the characters that Jesus has presented in his reference to the good shepherd, all throughout John chapter 10, there's really only one person here who is a faithful servant.
Do you remember who that was? That's the gatekeeper. That was all the way back at the start of chapter 10, where Jesus says, 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. So the gatekeeper is a faithful under shepherd who rightly administers the word of God.
The apostle Paul said to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2 .15, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. Paul goes on, but avoid irreverent babble for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene.
So you might think of the hired hand as somebody who has delved into this irreverent babble or he's doing nothing to stop it, really. And whenever he sees the going get tough, he's just kind of like, oh, those sinful people, and then he kind of turns around and self-righteously goes to another flock, things where he might think things are gonna be easier, but he's leading people who are in the flesh, people who are trying to crucify the earthly self and live in a heavenly calling as kingdom people.
And instead of helping to shepherd them in the right way, on the path of life, to the gates of splendor, instead, whenever sinful people start acting like sinful people, he's ready to jump ship and go another way.
That's the hired hand, the one who abandons the sheep. The only faithful person that Jesus has illustrated here is the one he refers to as the gatekeeper. This man preaches the word of God so that the people may hear and know the good shepherd by what the gatekeeper has said.
To him, the gatekeeper opens. He opens to the good shepherd, and the good shepherd calls his own sheep by name and they follow him. So the sheep of God will hear the voice of God as the gatekeeper has announced it.
Remember Romans 10, 17, faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. It is through the word of Christ that we come to salvation, and it is through the word of Christ that we grow in our salvation.
We're growing in sanctification. We're growing in holiness and in righteousness. So that's the faithful character in this story, the one who is the administrator of the word of God, the faithful pastor who preaches the full counsel of God and leaves nothing out so that we may be properly equipped and ready for every good work.
We may know our salvation first of all, and then we grow in maturity in that salvation, but then Jesus lists other characters that are to be avoided. You've got the thief and the robber. You've got the hired hand.
You've got the wolf. And in the midst of all of this is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. We are the sheep. Jesus is the good shepherd. We who follow the good shepherd's voice, we have been predestined as sheep from before the foundation of the world.
I've read from 2 Timothy already. Let me start in 2 Timothy 1, verse eight. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, Paul says, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
It is through the hearing of the gospel that we have come to salvation, but we were predestined as sheep from before the foundation of the world. Only the sheep will follow the voice of the good shepherd.
As I've said several times before, repent and believe are not suggestions. They are commands. And those who are his sheep will follow them. They will obey the command of Christ. Why? Because they are his sheep and they know the voice of the good shepherd.
So we are led out to follow him when we hear the call of the gospel. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, he doesn't care. He will leave the sheep, the wolf will snatch them and scatter them. They're still sheep, but the unity is broken apart because the hired hand has not remained with them and guided them according to the word of God.
Jesus says, 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 of course we know that Jesus is referring here to his crucifixion.
Who does he lay his life down for? Does he lay his life down for the goats? No, he doesn't. Jesus lays down his life for the sheep. Remember, there's two kinds of animals in a flock here. We've got sheep and we've got goats.
Jesus has illustrated this back in Matthew chapter 25, that when the son of man returns in his glory, he will sit on his glorious throne and before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats because Jesus is the good shepherd.
And so he's gonna separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep are gonna go on his right hand, but the goats are gonna go on his left and those on his right will be told, come you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
To the goats he's gonna say, depart from me you cursed into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. So there's sheep and there's goats in this world, in the flocks that traverse this world until Jesus returns, until kingdom come.
And it's at his return that he'll separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus died for his sheep. He did not die for the goats. His atoning blood covers the sins of those who were called, those who were his sheep, who knew the voice of the good shepherd.
What we're reading about here is knowing the father through the shepherd. Again, just as the father knows me and I know the father, so my own know me. As the father knows me, so the sheep know me. They know the voice of the good shepherd and they follow it.
You think back to John chapter six, where Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the father draws him. And then in John chapter eight, Jesus says, why is it that you don't understand what it is that I say?
You don't understand my words. You're not following my words. Why? Because you're not from my father in heaven. You're not of my father in heaven. You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.
So we have a distinction here between those who follow the voice of Satan and those who follow the voice of Christ, who follows the voice of Satan, those who are not his sheep, the goats, who follows the voice of Christ, those who are his sheep, who have been predestined from before the foundation of the world.
And then their election has been qualified by Christ's death on the cross. They came to faith when they heard the gospel of Christ proclaimed, his death and his resurrection, but they were predestined from before the foundation of the world to hear the message of the gospel and grow in knowledge of the gospel that they would mature as sheep in the flock of God.
Those who are the sheep will listen to the voice of the good shepherd. The shepherd has laid down his life for the sheep. Those whom the father had given to him. And Jesus goes on here, verse 16, and I have other sheep that are not of this fold.
There are those that are even outside Jerusalem and Judea, those who are not of this fold. This fold would be in reference to the disciples who are right there with him. I have other sheep who are not a part of this fold, and I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
Who are they? The Gentiles. And notice Jesus is saying there is a distinct people among the Gentiles who are gonna hear my voice, and they are gonna come out from the world, and they will follow me, and they will be a part of the kingdom of God.
Notice he doesn't say, you know, we're gonna extend this message out to the rest of the world, and we'll see who else wants to be a sheep. That's not the way he says it. He says, there are sheep. There are other sheep who are not of this fold, and I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
And so there will be one flock, one shepherd. He's referring, again, only to those who are going to hear his voice. The sheep hear the voice of the good shepherd, and they follow him. Now, we don't know just by looking around us.
You know, you just stand over your own city, and you look down at your city, and you can't just pick out, okay, that one's a sheep, and that one's a goat. We don't know that, unless you've got people in your own church whom you are worshiping with.
They are professing believers. They show fruit in their lives. They show evidence of having been changed by the gospel that they have heard. Well, then you can rightly refer to them as sheep. Absolutely.
But just talking about in terms of evangelism, you can't stand over your city and look down at all the people and say, well, that one's a sheep, that one's a goat, so I have to preach the gospel to that one, but not preach the gospel to that one.
God is the determiner of these things. He is the one who knows who are his sheep and who are not. We don't know that. Our responsibility is to preach the gospel, and we must preach the gospel to absolutely everyone.
This is the way that those who are elect come into the faith. It is by the hearing of the gospel, and they turn from their sin, and they believe, and they are saved. God's plan of redemption, he has included the church in that work.
So his means of bringing about the salvation of his own, who he has predestined, whom he is calling out from the world, the means that he is using to bring the knowledge of the gospel to their ears, that they might hear it and believe that Christ has died for their sins, and the atonement they receive by faith, they come into that faith because they heard the gospel proclaimed, and they turn from sin and believe it, and they follow Jesus.
They follow the good shepherd because they are the flock of God. They're being brought into the flock of God, sheep being brought out from the world into the flock because they heard the good shepherd's voice, and they follow it so that there will be one flock and one shepherd.
There will be no division. There's not black sheep, white sheep, red sheep, plaid sheep. There's not Jew sheep and Gentile sheep. There's not barbarian, Scythian, slave-free. There's not even male and female in the sense that men and women receive different rewards in the kingdom of God.
We receive all the same reward. While we are in this flesh, there's gonna be specific tasks that men are supposed to do, and there's a specific calling for women, but the reward is still the same. So there is no prejudice in the kingdom of God.
All are to live in righteousness, in holiness, filled with the Holy Spirit, following the voice of the good shepherd, obeying his word. Jesus will later say to his disciples in John 14, 15, you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments.
So then there will be one flock, and there will be one shepherd, and our one shepherd is Christ. Jesus says in verse 17, for this reason, the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
Jesus obeys the will of the Father, and this is God's will, that he would send his son to die for our sins, for the sheep, for the sins of the sheep who are being atoned for by the precious blood of Christ with his death on the cross.
Not one drop of his blood was wasted. It accomplished exactly what God meant for it to accomplish, the atonement of those whom it was meant to atone for. Jesus lays down his life for the sheep so that he 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. I recently was listening to an Orthodox preacher, and by Orthodox, I mean Greek Orthodox, Eastern Orthodoxy, not truly Orthodox, not right in his teaching.
And one of the things he was talking about, I might play a clip of this on the show sometime and talk about this, but he was saying that the reason why Jesus died was so that God wouldn't present a boring story.
Like who's gonna listen to a story without the death of somebody? And he compared it to Romeo and Juliet. You know, the reason why it's such an iconic story is because Romeo and Juliet died. Well, the reason why the story of Christ is so iconic is because Jesus died.
It would have been a boring story without that. It's one of those bonkers explanations I think I had ever heard. But he said that the reason why Jesus rose from the dead, like Protestants will say, the reason why Jesus rose from the dead was to prove that he had power over death itself.
No, that wasn't the reason. The reason why Jesus rose from the dead is because he was human. That's what this Orthodox preacher said. But what does Jesus say right here? He's gonna rise from the grave to show.
Completely contrary to what this Orthodox preacher said. He said, I'm gonna rise again to show that this life is mine and I have the authority to lay it down and take it back up again. No one takes it from me.
I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. No one takes Christ's life from him. He gave it.
The father gave the son, Jesus gave his life to atone for the sins of his sheep and all who believe in him. Show they are the sheep who follows the voice of the good shepherd and they will have eternal life.
Let's pray. Our heavenly father, we thank you for sending your son that we would be forgiven our sins by all who have faith in him. We walk no longer lost in this world as a wandering sheep. All we who have liked sheep have gone astray.
We have turned every one of us to his own way. As the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 53, but the Lord, our God, our heavenly father is laid upon Christ the iniquity of us all. And Jesus has died to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
He has risen again to show he had power over death itself so that all who believe in him will not perish but will inherit his eternal life. And I pray knowing this and hearing this takes the burden off of ourselves of thinking that we've got to do something in order to have eternal life.
The work has been done for us by Christ on the cross and it's by listening to his voice and following him that we know that we have salvation. It is the gospel that saves. So may it be this gospel that we take to the world so that those whom you have called out from the world to follow you will hear it and believe it.
And we have no shame in this gospel, Romans 1 16, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. May the peace of God be on our hearts and our minds today in Jesus name, amen.
You've been listening to When We Understand The Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.
On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study When We Understand The Text.