I Am The Good Shepherd
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 21st September service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verse is:
Jhn 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Jhn 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Jhn 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Jhn 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Jhn 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Jhn 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Jhn 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Jhn 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
I Am The Good Shepherd
Each one of the Lord’s seven ‘I Am’ sayings in John’s Gospel reveals aspects of the Saviour’s holy character and mediatorial work. As the Bread of Life He feeds and nourishes the souls of His people with spiritual food in the gospel. As the Light of the World He reveals divine truth, illuminates the kingdom of God, teaches God’s elect and dispels the darkness of sinful ignorance. As the Door He grants access into His Father’s presence by reconciling us to God. As the Door He also protects His sheep from their enemies.
My life for yours
Now Christ tells His church, ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep’. Our precious Saviour well knew the purpose for which He had come into the world. He had ‘come to seek and to save that which was lost’ by shedding His own blood. David bravely faced a lion and a bear to protect His Father’s flock and Christ courageously undertook a greater challenge to save His Father’s flock from the just consequences of their sin and guilt. The church was given to Christ to be loved by Him, redeemed by His precious blood and delivered from the condemning curse of the law.
I know them
As the Good Shepherd Christ knows His own flock for whom He died. He distinguishes His own people, all those committed into His care. He names the name of each of those given to Him by His Father in the eternal councils of peace. As sheep He calls each one individually to Himself and leads them providentially, all the days of their lives, guiding and directing their coming in and going out. He has defended His own precious possession to the point of self-sacrifice that He might do His Father’s will and deliver His loved ones from all harm.
Hirelings
In our verses the Lord describes Himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’ because He is the Shepherd who is ‘good’. He contrasts Himself with those who are not good; who have no love for His sheep but exploit God’s people for their own gain. These He calls ‘hirelings’. Hirelings have no vested interest in the spiritual wellbeing of the flock. They are false teachers, career preachers and religious professionals. Their interest is only in personal aggrandisement and self-promotion. They try to mimic genuine gospel preachers but their doctrine is shallow and their guidance superficial.
‘My Sheep’
A good shepherd is personally invested in the welfare of his flock and the Lord Jesus Christ is personally invested in His people’s everlasting good and happiness. He owns His sheep. They are known by name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Here the Lord continues to teach His disciples about the everlasting covenant in which God’s elect are loved, chosen, set apart and committed into the hands of God the Son by the Father. Christ knows His sheep eternally and testifies that they shall all know Him by redemption and conversion in time.
The Father’s command
Christ’s knowledge of His sheep under His covenant obligations is linked to His Father’s knowledge of and love for the Son, and the Son’s knowledge of and love for the Father. Again the Lord is emphasising the shared covenant-purpose of the Father and Son (not excluding the Holy Ghost), in the effectual salvation of the elect. He testifies concerning His covenant duty, ‘This commandment have I received of my Father’. The Son was sent as the Messiah to be Redeemer of the church and to atone for the sins of God’s elect with His own blood. The Son’s willingness to lay down His life for the sheep has earned God’s love for Him as Mediator. ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’
The Resurrection
How clearly and with what assurance does the Saviour speak of His sacrifice, death and resurrection! He has power to lay down His life and power to take it again. ‘I lay down my life, that I might take it again.’ Christ had this power as God the Son who has power over all life and all death. As the great ‘I Am’ He would lay down His life and take it again. Many tried to take the Lord’s life without success. The Jews instigated His execution, the Roman’s enacted His crucifixion but the Saviour, by Himself, dismissed His Spirit, then took it again three days later.
Our inheritance
Christ’s resurrection power will be explicitly addressed in a future ‘I Am’ statement but here He tells His disciples and the Jews He will rise again. As believers we receive and share the gift of eternal life from our living Head. These bodies of ours shall rise again to glory. He who laid down His life for the sheep has won our redemption, removed our guilt, secured our liberty and granted us spiritual life as His spiritual body. We who are Christ’s have the promise of everlasting life because He died and rose again.
Amen
Hymn 276
The Care God takes of his People. 1 Kings 17. 6
J. Newton 8s
1
Elijah’s example declares,
Whatever distress may betide,
The saints may commit all their cares
To Him who will surely provide;
When rain long withheld from the earth
Occasioned a famine of bread,
The prophet, secured from the dearth,
By ravens was constantly fed.
2
More likely to rob than to feed,
Were ravens, which live upon prey;
But when the Lord’s people have need,
His goodness will find out a way.
This instance to those may be strange
Who know not how faith can prevail;
But sooner all nature shall change,
Than one of God’s promises fail.
3
How safe and how happy are they
Who on the good Shepherd rely;
He gives them out strength for their day,
Their wants he will surely supply.
He ravens and lions can tame!
All creatures obey his commands!
Then let us rejoice in his name,
And leave all our cares in his hands.
Hymn 768
“I … know my sheep, and am known of mine.” John 10. 14
W. Hammond 7s
1
Jesus, Shepherd of the sheep,
Thou thy flock dost feed and keep;
Sweetest pasture dost prepare,
Watchest them with tender care.
2
Thee the sheep profess and own,
Thee they love, and thee alone;
Thee they follow in the way;
Strangers will they not obey.
3
Thou dost call them by their names;
In thy bosom bear’st the lambs;
They protection seek, and rest,
In their Shepherd’s loving breast.
4
Lord, thy wandering sheep behold;
Bring them back into thy fold;
On thy shoulders bear them home;
Suffer them no more to roam.
5
Lead them into pastures green,
Where thy lovely face is seen;
Make them to those fountains go,
Where the living waters flow.
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us 'I Am The Good Shepherd'. He also tells us He came into the world as the Good Shepherd to lay down His life for the sheep. The Saviour we worship died a substitutionary death in our place to save us from our sins. He tells us He knows His sheep He tells us His sheep shall all know Him.