A Word in Season: The Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

Media Gratiae

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

There are some simple and profound statements in scripture where the soul can, as it were, lie down and rest.

00:08

There are statements that the preacher reads and, as he considers them, they bubble up and he says,

00:15

I want to preach this. This is the Christ that I want to declare. One such statement, for example, might be that of John chapter 10 and verse 11, where our

00:25

Lord declares, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

00:32

Who is the one who speaks these words? It is the Son of God. That's one of the points of emphasis and the point of contrast that this one is the

00:42

Good Shepherd, as opposed to the Highling, the one who serves for his own sake rather than for the sake of others.

00:50

And we see here who the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is the Good Shepherd.

00:56

Shepherding is what he does. He cares and guides and watches over and protects.

01:02

It is the diligent labour of somebody who is committed to this hard work of caring for a flock.

01:11

And he is the Good Shepherd. Everything about him is good. In all his shepherding, his goodness shines forth.

01:20

And he is distinctly the Good Shepherd. He has no rivals in this regard.

01:26

No other shepherd is going to serve in precisely the way that the Lord Jesus does. And every shepherd who is in any degree faithful and righteous, who desires any kind of real fruitfulness, is simply following in his footsteps.

01:41

He stands alone as the Good Shepherd. How do we see his goodness?

01:47

Where does that really show itself at its brightest and its best? It's shown in the fact that the

01:54

Good Shepherd gives his life. The whole existence of the Lord Jesus is a giving.

02:02

There's, from the very beginning, a giving of his heart. There's a giving up of his heavenly life.

02:08

There's a giving of himself in his earthly life. There's a giving of himself at the death of the cross.

02:15

Everything that the Lord does is a pouring out, it seems. We are always upon his heart.

02:22

There's never a moment when he is not acting out of regard for those upon whom he has set his love.

02:28

And you'll notice that that's also very precise here. He is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

02:36

Here is that demonstration, then, of his goodness. This is where it rises to its particular pinnacle, to its ultimate revelation of what it means for this

02:50

Good Shepherd to be good. He gives his life for the sheep.

02:57

The hireling gives his life for himself. Everything is devoted to him, but the

03:02

Good Shepherd is devoted to others. He comes for his people. He serves for his people.

03:09

He dies for his people. He rises for his people. He calls his people to himself and he watches over them every step of the way.

03:19

The heart that is revealed when the Good Shepherd is sacrificed on behalf of his people is the heart that animates everything that he is and does, where his goodness is revealed pre -eminently there.

03:34

It is nevertheless reflected and demonstrated in every thought of his mind, in every affection of his soul, in every touch of his hand toward his people.

03:46

And here, then, is the joy and confidence of all those who come to the

03:51

Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, because here is one whose heart is ready to save and whose hand is mighty to save.

04:01

He has accomplished this so great salvation for his people. And coming to him, we do not come certainly to a hireling, but we don't come to any ordinary shepherd, or to a willing shepherd, but not a particularly competent shepherd, or to a strong shepherd, but not a particularly kind shepherd.

04:22

The Lord Christ is the Good Shepherd. He is the one that our souls need and upon whom we can entirely rely.

04:31

And he's shown this to us because the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

04:37

And in that security and in that confidence, those who trust in him can live and die.