I grew up a country boy, but not the cool kind of country boy. My family didn’t live on a ranch. We didn’t raise cattle or sheep, poultry or pigs. We lived in a three-acre swamp. The closest thing we had to livestock was a couple dogs, a wild rabbit I rescued from the neighboring farmer’s plow, and a goose named Charlie. My momma hated that goose. It was known to chase her around the yard and when she tried to hang clothes on the line to dry, Charlie would bite her backside. One day Charlie the goose suspiciously turned up dead. My momma blamed the dogs but we all suspected fowl[1] play. Sorry for the digression. My momma is worshiping with us today and remembering her being chased around the swamp by a goose makes me smile.
That story is also my way of saying even though I grew up as a country boy, I don’t know anything about sheep. I suspect y’all are the same. I have not lived in the Atlanta area that long, but so far, I have not seen flocks of sheep grazing around Johns Creek. Maybe the country folk up in Cumming know about sheep, but chances are most of y’all know as much as I do about sheep, that is practically nothing.
Thankfully we don’t have to know anything about sheep to understand our gospel lesson for this morning. Our Gospel lesson for today, John 10:11-18 is a popular text. It is often preached on Good Shepherd Sunday. I think I have preached this text twice before. However, this is the first time I have preached this text in the season of Lent. Before, when I preached this text, I focused on the sheep and sang songs like, “I am Jesus little lamb.” However, as I was studying our lesson this time something else jumped out at me. Maybe it is because, this is the first time I have preached this text in the season of Lent, or maybe it is because, in these eight verses Jesus repeats Himself three times. Three times Jesus tell us the good Shepherd “lays down His life” for His sheep.
So, I thought today instead of focusing on Jesus’ little lambs we would spend some time focusing on the good Shepherd who laid down His life. As we go through our gospel lesson you are going to see: your Good Shepherd laid down His life because He loves you, your Good Shepherd laid down His life even though He knows you, and your Good Shepherd laid down His life to save you.
Let’s take another look at verses 11-13. There Jesus says, “11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” Here our good shepherd tells us He laid down His life because He loves us.
Jesus makes a comparison between the good Shepherd and the not so good shepherds. The not so good shepherds love themselves. You see their self-love in the way they respond when threatened. They run away because the not so good shepherds are mostly concerned with popularity and self-preservation. Unfortunately, you see this in many churches today. In order to be popular and in the spirit of self-preservation, the not so good shepherds tell the sheep assembled before them what they want to hear. They allow their sheep to wander away from the truth of Scripture and get precariously close to the cliff. The not so good shepherds do not warn their sheep of the lions that surround them. Jesus tells us the not so good shepherd “cares nothing for the sheep.”
In contrast to the not so good shepherds is Jesus, the good Shepherd. Unlike the not so good shepherds, your good shepherd loves you. Again, you see His love in the way He responds when threatened. The good shepherd does not run away and abandon His sheep. His concern is not popularity or self-preservation. As saint Matthew says, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[2]
All throughout Scripture Jesus demonstrates how little He is concerned with His own popularity. Read any of the gospels and you will not hear Jesus telling you what you want to hear. Rather, you will hear Jesus telling you what you need to hear. He tells us “the wages of sin” --even our cute sins; our little white lies, momentary lapses in morality, and unintentional mishaps even those sins-- “lead to death”. Read through Scripture and you will not find Jesus agreeing to disagree or calling His teachings old fashioned or outdated. Jesus is going to tell you how it is whether you like it or not. You see, Jesus is not concerned with His own popularity, rather He is concerned with your safety. As long as you listen to your good Shepherd You don’t have to worry about falling away from the faith.
Likewise, Jesus is not concerned with His own self-preservation. Jesus defended His flock against the Pharisees and Sadducees who were wolves in sheep’s clothing. But more than that He has defended you from the Devil, that prowling lion who sought to sink his teeth into your soul. Jesus died, defending you from the devil, because unlike the not so good shepherds, Jesus cares a great deal for His sheep. He cares more about you than He does Himself. He cares about you, loves you so much that He laid down His life to protect you. You don’t have to worry about wolves or lions, as long as you stay close to your good Shepherd you are safe.
Your good shepherd laid down His life because He loves you. That, in and of itself, is a most remarkable statement, but it is even more remarkable when you consider what Jesus says next. In verses 14-15 Jesus says, “14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Here our good shepherd tells us He laid down His life even though He knows us.
This “knowing” is more than a mere awareness of your presence or acknowledgement of your existence. This is a knowledge that involves insight and understanding. Jesus does not just know your name, what your job title is, where you live, what your hobbies and interest are. Jesus knows all that and so much more. Jesus KNOWS you. How well does He know you? He "just as" knows you. Just as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father. If you can fathom the mystery of the trinity and understand how three separate persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and yet one God know each other than you can understand how well Jesus knows you.
As the One Who created your inmost being and knit you together in your mother’s womb[3], Jesus knows you. He knows your strengths and weaknesses. He knows your abilities and limitations. He knows your personality and passions. But He knows even more than that. Jesus knows your actions - even the ones you do with the lights out. He knows your words- even the ones you mutter under your breath. He knows your thoughts - even the ones the ones that are too shameful to share. Jesus knows you. He knows your guilt. He knows your shame. He knows your sin. Jesus knows you.
Because of our sins, we deserve to be to be thrown to the wolves and fed to the lion. Because of our sins we deserve suffering, death, and damnation. You know it, I know it, and Jesus knows it. Jesus knows what we deserve and yet, He still laid down His life for you. In act of absolute mercy Jesus does not treat you as your sins deserve or repay you according to your iniquities. In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul marvels at this mercy. In Romans 5:6-8 Paul writes, “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
You don't have to pretend to be someone you are not with Jesus. He knows you and loves you anyway. You don't have to try and hide anything from Jesus. You can be you. You can be a real person with real problems with real weaknesses with real flaws with real failures with real sin. Jesus knows who you are and by a miracle of mercy he decided to lay down His life for you anyway.
Your Good Shepherd lays down His life even though He knows you, but to what end? It is all well and good that our good Shepherd loves us, all well and good that He is has mercy on sinners like you and me, but what is the purpose? What is the result? What is the outcome of His love and mercy? Jesus answers that question in verses 16. There Jesus says, “16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Here our good Shepherd tells us He laid down His life to save us.
Jesus speaks of “other sheep”. Originally Jesus spoke these words to the chosen people of Israel. From the patriarchs to the present Jesus has loved the Jewish people as His precious little lambs. Though many of them have rejected Jesus as their shepherd there are still some who listen to His voice and follow Him. But they are not the only sheep in the good Shepherd’s flock. You are the other sheep that Jesus is talking about. Because of you, a Savior was promised to all of Eve’s offspring[4]. Because of you, God promised to bless “all peoples on earth” through Abraham.[5] Because of you, angels brought the shepherds a message of good news of great joy “for all the people”.[6] Because of you, the Holy Spirit inspired Timothy to write, “God wants all people to be saved.”[7] Because of you, “God so loved the world”[8]. From the dawn of time, to the sending of the Son, to the proclamation of the present, it has always been about you. You are the other sheep that Jesus speaks of.
You are the other sheep that Jesus desires to bring into His flock. Jesus speaks of a place where all His sheep will be gathered. It is a place that is described in the book of Revelation by what it is not. It is a place where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” It is a place where “the old order of things have passed away”[9], that is a place free from anxiety and the fear of the unknown, a place where you don’t have to worry about disappointing people or being disappointed by people, a place free from discriminations based on sex, color or economic status.
It is a place that is described in the 23rd Psalm for what it is. It is a place where all wants our satisfied, a place of “green pastures” and “still waters”, it is a place where the good Shepherd’s sheep will dwell forever.[10] This place is called heaven and it is the place where Jesus is leading you. Your salvation is the purpose, it is the result, it is the outcome of the good Shepherd’s love and mercy. The next time you find yourself struggling with thoughts insecurity or feel unloved or unwanted think about how your good shepherd laid down His life to save you.
Our gospel lesson concludes with Jesus pointing out that your good Shepherd did not lay down His life because He was coerced, forced, or manipulated to do so. In verses 17-18 Jesus concludes, “17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Your good Shepherd did not want to suffer and die on the cross. It wasn’t exactly something He was looking forward to. In fact, He begged, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me”.[11] But, the only thing in Jesus’ mind that was worse than His suffering on the cross was your suffering in hell. Therefore, your good Shepherd chose to sacrifice His life for His sheep. Jesus willingly laid down His life for you.
Well, we didn’t learn that much about sheep today, but that’s O.k. Thanks to John’s gospel, you now know a little bit more about your good Shepherd. You know your Good Shepherd laid down His life because He loves you, you know your Good Shepherd laid down His life even though He knows you, and you know your Good Shepherd laid down His life to save you.
I pray that you, the sheep of the good Shepherd, find comfort in this knowledge today and in the days to come. Amen
[1] Get it “fowl” play. That’s funny I don’t care who you are.
[2] Matthew 20:28
[3] Psalm 139:13
[4] Genesis 3:15
[5] Genesis 12:3
[6] Luke 2:10
[7] 1 Timothy 2:4
[8] John 3:16
[9] Revelation 21:4
[10] Psalm 23
[11] Luke 22:42