1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,433 If you have your Bibles, turn 2 00:00:03,433 --> 00:00:07,366 with me, or you can look on the screen to 3 00:00:07,366 --> 00:00:11,733 the Gospel of John, chapter 10, 4 00:00:11,733 --> 00:00:13,400 verse number 11. 5 00:00:15,166 --> 00:00:18,233 We looked at the first 6 00:00:18,233 --> 00:00:22,199 10 verses of this 10th chapter, the last time we were here. 7 00:00:23,333 --> 00:00:26,033 You kind of put your memory banks in play. 8 00:00:26,100 --> 00:00:30,033 You remember that there is an incredible word 9 00:00:30,033 --> 00:00:33,566 picture that Jesus painted 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,100 in this section of John 10. 11 00:00:35,433 --> 00:00:38,666 And then we're going to continue with this word picture 12 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:40,366 today in our text. 13 00:00:40,433 --> 00:00:42,833 I want you to remember the setting first. 14 00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:49,200 We're still with the same group of people that 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,566 were around Jesus at the end of chapter 9. 16 00:00:52,666 --> 00:00:54,600 Remember the blind beggar? 17 00:00:54,633 --> 00:00:57,933 He is no longer blind, because 18 00:00:57,933 --> 00:00:59,133 Jesus has healed him. 19 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:02,033 Then there were the disciples. 20 00:01:02,266 --> 00:01:05,700 Then there were the Pharisees, 21 00:01:05,700 --> 00:01:09,433 and there were others in the crowd. 22 00:01:09,466 --> 00:01:10,833 Now, also remember this. 23 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:14,266 There's no break in 24 00:01:14,266 --> 00:01:17,700 this scene between chapter 9 and 10. 25 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,000 They put a chapter break in there, but this is still within 26 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,400 the same context, the same scene. 27 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:28,666 And last time, we saw how Jesus used shepherding 28 00:01:28,666 --> 00:01:32,099 in this great word picture, which, 29 00:01:32,099 --> 00:01:35,400 as you remember, would have been extremely familiar, 30 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,400 to all of the Jews of that day, to whom Jesus was speaking. 31 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,766 Not only were the hills around 32 00:01:42,766 --> 00:01:46,200 Israel filled with sheep and shepherds, 33 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,400 remember that in the Old Testament, God himself, 34 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,566 is referred to as a shepherd, many 35 00:01:54,599 --> 00:01:58,299 times, and I showed you many of those quotes, maybe the famous Psalm 36 00:01:58,299 --> 00:01:59,966 23, The Lord is my what? 37 00:02:00,099 --> 00:02:01,599 Shepherd, right? 38 00:02:01,666 --> 00:02:03,333 And we looked at a lot of those. 39 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,400 We also saw last time that Jesus 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,400 launches into 41 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,933 this description of 42 00:02:12,933 --> 00:02:16,900 how it is, that a good shepherd conducts his life. 43 00:02:16,966 --> 00:02:20,266 Verse number 6, look there, called 44 00:02:20,266 --> 00:02:23,566 this discourse, look inside that verse, a 45 00:02:23,566 --> 00:02:24,933 figure of speech. 46 00:02:25,066 --> 00:02:26,333 You see that phrase? 47 00:02:26,433 --> 00:02:29,566 It's a brilliant 48 00:02:29,566 --> 00:02:30,699 word picture. 49 00:02:30,766 --> 00:02:34,000 It's deep in its theology, 50 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,133 and it really, what it also does, is it makes this 51 00:02:37,133 --> 00:02:40,599 strong contrast between the true shepherd 52 00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:43,833 and the false shepherds that are standing right 53 00:02:43,833 --> 00:02:46,533 there in front of Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees. 54 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,566 You will remember that we studied about how a 55 00:02:50,566 --> 00:02:53,566 shepherd of that day was responsible 56 00:02:53,566 --> 00:02:54,833 for his own sheep. 57 00:02:55,233 --> 00:02:57,800 He knows his sheep, remember. 58 00:02:58,666 --> 00:03:01,733 He brings them in and out of that sheepfold 59 00:03:01,733 --> 00:03:03,666 that was in every town in Israel. 60 00:03:03,766 --> 00:03:06,766 And remember, the shepherd calls 61 00:03:06,766 --> 00:03:08,433 his sheep by name. 62 00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:11,566 Remember, they gave names to them, even like we give our pets. 63 00:03:11,933 --> 00:03:14,699 And the sheep know the shepherd's voice. 64 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,000 And we also learned that while the sheep were 65 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,133 in the fold at night, sometimes thieves 66 00:03:21,133 --> 00:03:24,333 and robbers may try to come in over 67 00:03:24,333 --> 00:03:28,066 the wall to still steal the sheep, or even kill the sheep. 68 00:03:28,199 --> 00:03:31,066 So there had to be that night watchman. 69 00:03:31,133 --> 00:03:34,233 that we talked about to protect the sheep while 70 00:03:34,233 --> 00:03:36,633 the shepherds were sleeping to get ready for the next day. 71 00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:40,633 And as Jesus painted this picture, 72 00:03:40,633 --> 00:03:43,733 including how the sheep 73 00:03:43,733 --> 00:03:46,866 would never follow the voice of a stranger, 74 00:03:46,866 --> 00:03:51,266 when we got to verse 9, we 75 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:53,866 saw the theology come out. 76 00:03:54,033 --> 00:03:56,199 very straightforwardly. 77 00:03:56,266 --> 00:03:59,633 Look in verse 9 where Jesus says, I 78 00:03:59,633 --> 00:04:00,833 am the door. 79 00:04:01,433 --> 00:04:04,733 If anyone enters through me, 80 00:04:04,733 --> 00:04:07,133 He will be saved. 81 00:04:07,733 --> 00:04:11,133 Now, without going back over to every detail, 82 00:04:11,133 --> 00:04:14,199 you can go back and watch that sermon online, if you 83 00:04:14,199 --> 00:04:17,566 want the details of that, if you missed it, you will remember that all 84 00:04:17,566 --> 00:04:20,866 of this picture is a 85 00:04:20,866 --> 00:04:21,899 picture of salvation. 86 00:04:22,066 --> 00:04:25,233 It's provided by the true shepherd. 87 00:04:25,300 --> 00:04:28,433 These verses that we're looking at are all 88 00:04:28,433 --> 00:04:30,899 pictures of the doctrine of salvation. 89 00:04:31,199 --> 00:04:34,800 And unmistakably, reformed 90 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:36,166 theology is on display here. 91 00:04:36,333 --> 00:04:39,633 The divine shepherd has 92 00:04:39,633 --> 00:04:40,833 his own sheep. 93 00:04:40,899 --> 00:04:43,066 This is not everybody in the world. 94 00:04:43,133 --> 00:04:45,166 This is his own sheep. 95 00:04:45,233 --> 00:04:47,566 They have been given to him, remember? 96 00:04:47,633 --> 00:04:51,033 By the Father, they have been chosen 97 00:04:51,033 --> 00:04:53,600 from before the foundation of the world. 98 00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:57,366 And he knows them all by name. 99 00:04:57,766 --> 00:05:00,899 He alone also has the 100 00:05:00,899 --> 00:05:03,733 right and the authority to call them out. 101 00:05:03,933 --> 00:05:06,166 He calls them by name. 102 00:05:06,233 --> 00:05:09,233 They know his voice, they follow him, 103 00:05:09,233 --> 00:05:12,300 and they will never follow a stranger. 104 00:05:13,433 --> 00:05:16,866 The elect Jews, he calls out of Judaism. 105 00:05:17,733 --> 00:05:21,633 And the Gentiles, he calls out of the world. 106 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:27,399 And what we studied last time, theologically, 107 00:05:27,399 --> 00:05:30,566 out of the text we looked at were the doctrines 108 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,800 of irresistible grace, the effectual call, and regeneration. 109 00:05:34,833 --> 00:05:36,933 That's what Jesus is talking about. 110 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,766 Now this word picture 111 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,800 continues in verse 11, and that's where 112 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:44,933 we want to pick it up for today. 113 00:05:45,233 --> 00:05:48,933 This is where Jesus first 114 00:05:48,933 --> 00:05:52,066 refers to himself as 115 00:05:52,066 --> 00:05:53,866 the good shepherd. 116 00:05:53,933 --> 00:05:57,333 So let's read together our text for today versus 11 117 00:05:57,333 --> 00:05:58,766 through 21. 118 00:05:59,033 --> 00:06:02,399 Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. 119 00:06:03,033 --> 00:06:06,866 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 120 00:06:07,233 --> 00:06:10,300 He who is a hired hand and not a 121 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:13,766 shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees 122 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,966 the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, 123 00:06:16,966 --> 00:06:20,399 and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 124 00:06:20,433 --> 00:06:23,500 He flees because he is a hired hand, 125 00:06:23,500 --> 00:06:25,133 and he is not concerned about the sheep. 126 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:28,433 I am the good shepherd. 127 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:31,966 And I know my own, and my own, no me. 128 00:06:32,033 --> 00:06:35,100 Even as the father knows me, and I 129 00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:38,466 know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. 130 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:41,800 I have other sheep, which are not of this fault. 131 00:06:41,866 --> 00:06:44,933 I must bring them also, and they 132 00:06:44,933 --> 00:06:46,066 will hear my voice. 133 00:06:46,133 --> 00:06:49,133 And they will become one flock 134 00:06:49,133 --> 00:06:51,533 with one shepherd. 135 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,833 For this reason, the Father loves me because 136 00:06:54,833 --> 00:06:57,899 I laid down my life so 137 00:06:57,899 --> 00:06:59,266 that I may take it again. 138 00:06:59,699 --> 00:07:03,366 No one has taken it away from me. 139 00:07:03,399 --> 00:07:06,566 But I lay it down on my own 140 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:07,633 initiative. 141 00:07:07,666 --> 00:07:10,800 I have authority to lay it down, and 142 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,433 I have authority to take it up again. 143 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,566 This commandment I received from my father. 144 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:19,966 A division occurred again among the 145 00:07:19,966 --> 00:07:21,833 Jews because of these words. 146 00:07:21,899 --> 00:07:24,933 Many of them were saying, he has a 147 00:07:24,933 --> 00:07:26,866 demon, and is insane. 148 00:07:26,933 --> 00:07:28,266 Why do you listen to him? 149 00:07:28,366 --> 00:07:31,366 Others were saying, these are not 150 00:07:31,366 --> 00:07:34,500 the sayings of one demon possessed, a demon 151 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:38,266 cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he? 152 00:07:38,399 --> 00:07:40,066 We'll stop it right there. 153 00:07:40,133 --> 00:07:41,566 For today. 154 00:07:42,033 --> 00:07:45,466 So here in this text, Jesus 155 00:07:45,466 --> 00:07:47,733 explains for us. 156 00:07:48,333 --> 00:07:51,333 How he fulfills the identity 157 00:07:51,333 --> 00:07:53,500 of the good ship. 158 00:07:53,699 --> 00:07:55,433 He is. 159 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:57,133 The good shepherd. 160 00:07:57,166 --> 00:08:00,333 Another reason Jesus launches into 161 00:08:00,333 --> 00:08:03,466 this particular figure of speech is because the religious 162 00:08:03,466 --> 00:08:06,899 leaders of Israel at that time, during those days, 163 00:08:06,899 --> 00:08:10,199 they were known as the shepherds of Israel. 164 00:08:10,300 --> 00:08:13,300 That's what they call the Pharisees, the scribes. 165 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:17,166 But as we know, they were false shepherds. 166 00:08:17,433 --> 00:08:21,033 And so he distinguishes between 167 00:08:21,033 --> 00:08:24,033 the false leaders and himself. 168 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:25,833 They were blind. 169 00:08:26,433 --> 00:08:29,433 They were absolutely spiritually 170 00:08:29,433 --> 00:08:32,433 blind to the truth of God, though they 171 00:08:32,433 --> 00:08:33,466 thought they knew it. 172 00:08:33,533 --> 00:08:37,299 They couldn't lead anybody anywhere because they 173 00:08:37,299 --> 00:08:40,666 didn't see where they were going themselves, spiritually speaking. 174 00:08:40,966 --> 00:08:42,299 They are 175 00:08:42,399 --> 00:08:43,066 false leaders. 176 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,766 They are strangers, not shepherds. 177 00:08:47,033 --> 00:08:50,133 They are like the hired hands in 178 00:08:50,133 --> 00:08:53,133 verses 12 and 13 who do what they do for money. 179 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,566 And Jesus says, they have no real concern for the sheep. 180 00:08:57,033 --> 00:09:00,166 They are like the thieves and the robbers of 181 00:09:00,166 --> 00:09:03,299 verse one who only want to fleece and to kill. 182 00:09:04,233 --> 00:09:08,299 Jesus was talking about them, in 183 00:09:08,333 --> 00:09:09,700 contrast, to himself. 184 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,899 Now, did they understand that that's what he was doing? 185 00:09:13,966 --> 00:09:17,866 No, they didn't, because look at verse 6. 186 00:09:18,700 --> 00:09:21,866 They did not understand what those 187 00:09:21,899 --> 00:09:24,466 things were, which he had been saying to them. 188 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,066 Remember from chapter 9. 189 00:09:28,133 --> 00:09:28,799 He told him. 190 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,666 Whatever I say, you don't understand. 191 00:09:32,266 --> 00:09:36,333 And he even went so far in 192 00:09:36,333 --> 00:09:40,066 that chapter to say, because I tell you the truth. 193 00:09:40,133 --> 00:09:43,366 You don't understand, because you 194 00:09:43,366 --> 00:09:45,100 are of your father, the devil. 195 00:09:45,399 --> 00:09:47,200 Who is a liar. 196 00:09:47,433 --> 00:09:49,600 And the father of lies. 197 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,733 Now, it's hard for me to illustrate 198 00:09:53,733 --> 00:09:57,200 the intensity of Jesus saying 199 00:09:57,233 --> 00:09:59,700 those words to the religious leaders of Israel. 200 00:09:59,733 --> 00:10:03,333 The only thing I can think of is, in a modern day equivalent, 201 00:10:03,399 --> 00:10:06,933 Imagine Jesus on CNN with a panel of rabbis. 202 00:10:08,500 --> 00:10:13,000 And they're discussing the differences between Christianity and Judaism. 203 00:10:13,066 --> 00:10:14,933 He says, you are of your father, the devil. 204 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:15,966 Can you imagine? 205 00:10:16,066 --> 00:10:18,033 Well you think that clip would go viral? 206 00:10:18,166 --> 00:10:19,133 I think it would. 207 00:10:19,799 --> 00:10:23,566 So, this word picture is 208 00:10:23,566 --> 00:10:26,733 designed as an illustration, not 209 00:10:26,733 --> 00:10:30,033 only of the good ship, but also 210 00:10:30,033 --> 00:10:33,033 an illustration of the blindness of 211 00:10:33,033 --> 00:10:34,100 the false shepherds. 212 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,133 That's how Jesus, the master teacher taught. 213 00:10:36,166 --> 00:10:39,299 He's just constantly teaching multiple things all the time. 214 00:10:39,333 --> 00:10:42,266 So this word picture is designed as an illustration. 215 00:10:42,333 --> 00:10:45,500 And these false leaders, these thieves, these robbers, 216 00:10:45,533 --> 00:10:49,200 these strangers, these these hired hands. 217 00:10:49,233 --> 00:10:51,333 They have nothing in mind. 218 00:10:51,399 --> 00:10:53,799 But protecting themselves. 219 00:10:53,866 --> 00:10:56,866 They were all about themselves and their money and 220 00:10:56,866 --> 00:10:58,366 their position and their status. 221 00:10:58,666 --> 00:11:01,833 They're not about to risk their lives 222 00:11:01,833 --> 00:11:04,766 for the sheep as we're going to read in this text. 223 00:11:04,899 --> 00:11:09,566 They want the money, and if need be, They'll 224 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,033 become thieves and robbers to get it. 225 00:11:11,399 --> 00:11:14,433 They are strangers, again, they are not 226 00:11:14,433 --> 00:11:15,700 shepherds. 227 00:11:15,833 --> 00:11:19,500 But the true shepherd, however, is 228 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,833 described here as one who loves 229 00:11:22,833 --> 00:11:26,066 and cares for the sheep, 230 00:11:26,100 --> 00:11:30,033 and nourishes and lives and dies, 231 00:11:30,033 --> 00:11:31,666 if necessary for the sheep. 232 00:11:31,733 --> 00:11:35,266 And the true chief shepherd. 233 00:11:35,333 --> 00:11:36,766 Is Jesus. 234 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,666 He's the true chief shepherd of the church. 235 00:11:40,733 --> 00:11:43,200 I'm not the true chief shepherd of the church. 236 00:11:43,233 --> 00:11:45,466 God help us all if that were the case, right? 237 00:11:45,533 --> 00:11:48,066 I'm just a lowly under shepherd. 238 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:49,299 That's all that I am. 239 00:11:49,533 --> 00:11:52,066 So let's work our way through these verses. 240 00:11:53,399 --> 00:11:57,066 And I just want to mention, this is the 4th I am. 241 00:11:57,299 --> 00:11:59,399 in the Gospel of John. 242 00:12:00,466 --> 00:12:03,700 And as we've studied, these are claims 243 00:12:03,700 --> 00:12:06,933 to the deity of Jesus, the 244 00:12:06,933 --> 00:12:10,066 Godhood, of Jesus, the fact 245 00:12:10,066 --> 00:12:13,833 that he is the only God man, 246 00:12:13,833 --> 00:12:16,899 the only God man who has or 247 00:12:16,899 --> 00:12:18,866 will ever exist, is Jesus. 248 00:12:18,933 --> 00:12:21,866 He says, I am the way the truth and the life. 249 00:12:21,933 --> 00:12:25,666 He says, I am the resurrection and the life. 250 00:12:25,799 --> 00:12:28,066 He says, I am the door. 251 00:12:28,133 --> 00:12:31,266 I am the good shepherd. 252 00:12:31,299 --> 00:12:34,733 All of those are affirmations of the deity 253 00:12:34,733 --> 00:12:37,899 bound up in each 254 00:12:37,899 --> 00:12:41,133 of the IM statements that we find here in the Gospel of John. 255 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,733 So let's start with the 1st phrase in verse 11. 256 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,166 Look at it there with me. 257 00:12:46,233 --> 00:12:49,666 I am the good shepherd. 258 00:12:49,966 --> 00:12:53,100 Then notice he repeats it again right after that. 259 00:12:53,133 --> 00:12:55,100 Notice, the good shepherd. 260 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,666 So that phrase good shepherd right there is repeated back to back. 261 00:12:58,733 --> 00:13:01,966 And before we move forward, we have to recognize the construction 262 00:13:01,966 --> 00:13:04,799 here in the Greek, there's a reason why he does this. 263 00:13:05,100 --> 00:13:08,100 The emphasis here from 264 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,133 the Greek is, I 265 00:13:11,133 --> 00:13:12,866 am the shepherd, the good one. 266 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,366 As if to say, in 267 00:13:16,366 --> 00:13:18,766 contrast to all these bad ones standing right here. 268 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:23,166 I am the shepherd, the good one. 269 00:13:23,500 --> 00:13:27,100 There are 2 words in Greek for good. 270 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:30,166 The 1st one, Agathos means just a 271 00:13:30,166 --> 00:13:32,266 standard moral goodness. 272 00:13:32,399 --> 00:13:35,566 But there's another word in the Greek 273 00:13:35,566 --> 00:13:38,633 for good, kaos, and that word 274 00:13:38,633 --> 00:13:41,700 means, to be good, not 275 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:44,866 only in the sense of being, morally good, 276 00:13:44,866 --> 00:13:48,933 but it expands to mean, to be magnificent. 277 00:13:49,366 --> 00:13:52,733 To be excellent on all levels, 278 00:13:52,733 --> 00:13:55,133 to be beautiful and attractive. 279 00:13:55,299 --> 00:13:58,299 And that's the word used right here 280 00:13:58,299 --> 00:14:00,700 with the good shepherd. 281 00:14:00,700 --> 00:14:04,000 Jesus is the good shepherd, the excellent 282 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,966 one, the magnificent one. 283 00:14:06,466 --> 00:14:09,166 He's not just another shepherd. 284 00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:11,866 He is the shepherd. 285 00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:13,733 The good one. 286 00:14:14,266 --> 00:14:17,799 The one who is preeminently excellent 287 00:14:17,799 --> 00:14:20,566 above all other shepherds that have ever existed. 288 00:14:21,033 --> 00:14:25,533 Now, the Jews had an idea. 289 00:14:26,033 --> 00:14:29,166 about who was the best shepherd. 290 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,066 For them, it was Dave. 291 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,366 The shepherd boy who defeated Goliath. 292 00:14:35,433 --> 00:14:37,000 became the king of Israel. 293 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,266 David in their minds was 294 00:14:40,266 --> 00:14:43,600 their great shepherd historically. 295 00:14:43,666 --> 00:14:46,833 But remember back in John chapter 296 00:14:46,833 --> 00:14:49,366 5, jog your memory banks. 297 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:51,833 Jesus claimed to be greater than Moses. 298 00:14:52,533 --> 00:14:55,533 And then in chapter 8, he claimed 299 00:14:55,533 --> 00:14:56,600 to be greater than Abraham. 300 00:14:58,133 --> 00:15:02,333 And then he said, Before Abraham was. 301 00:15:02,866 --> 00:15:04,533 I am. 302 00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:08,933 And here, he's a shepherd. 303 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:12,833 Greater than any shepherd, including David. 304 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,200 So just try 305 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,100 to grab hold of the fact that 306 00:15:20,100 --> 00:15:24,166 these are some unbelievable claims to 307 00:15:24,166 --> 00:15:27,166 make before these Jewish religious leaders, to say you're 308 00:15:27,166 --> 00:15:30,233 better than Moses, to stand in front of them 309 00:15:30,233 --> 00:15:33,666 and say, you're better than Abraham, and you're better than David, 310 00:15:33,666 --> 00:15:37,366 and to say that you are, I am? 311 00:15:37,533 --> 00:15:39,100 That your God? 312 00:15:39,233 --> 00:15:41,333 And you're from Nazareth? 313 00:15:41,566 --> 00:15:43,600 That's Joseph's boy. 314 00:15:43,899 --> 00:15:45,633 What in the world? 315 00:15:46,299 --> 00:15:48,766 Listen to me now, carefully. 316 00:15:48,833 --> 00:15:51,966 That is why his claims 317 00:15:51,966 --> 00:15:55,233 that he made like this had to be backed 318 00:15:55,233 --> 00:15:56,500 up with miracles. 319 00:15:56,633 --> 00:15:58,500 That's the reason. 320 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,633 The primary reason for the miracles was not to heal people. 321 00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:04,433 That was the byproduct. 322 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:08,033 The primary reason was to establish 323 00:16:08,033 --> 00:16:10,000 who Jesus is. 324 00:16:10,066 --> 00:16:13,299 Do you think that we would be talking about 325 00:16:13,299 --> 00:16:17,033 Jesus today, at all, in 326 00:16:17,033 --> 00:16:20,399 any regard, historically, if he had never done any miracles? 327 00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:21,566 No. 328 00:16:21,633 --> 00:16:24,500 We wouldn't namely, his rising from the dead. 329 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:28,500 No, we would not be discussing him at all. 330 00:16:28,899 --> 00:16:31,966 He would be, as Ben Shapiro 331 00:16:31,966 --> 00:16:35,033 described, just another religious revolutionary 332 00:16:35,033 --> 00:16:36,899 who got himself killed on a Roman cross. 333 00:16:37,366 --> 00:16:39,233 That's all it would be. 334 00:16:39,299 --> 00:16:41,100 And we wouldn't even remembering that far. 335 00:16:41,133 --> 00:16:43,166 We wouldn't even remember him, period. 336 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,333 Thousands of people were crucified in those days. 337 00:16:47,633 --> 00:16:51,000 Now, his true goodness 338 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,066 as a shepherd. 339 00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:56,633 It's seen in three ways that 340 00:16:56,633 --> 00:16:58,133 I want to show you in this passage. 341 00:16:58,899 --> 00:17:02,500 The true good shepherd is marked by... 342 00:17:02,500 --> 00:17:05,733 Three particular ministries 343 00:17:05,733 --> 00:17:07,366 that he has to his sheep. 344 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:09,433 Number one, he dies for them. 345 00:17:09,533 --> 00:17:12,099 Number two, he loves them. 346 00:17:12,233 --> 00:17:15,533 And number three, he unites them. 347 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,500 So let's look at the first one. 348 00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:18,533 Go back to verse 11. 349 00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:22,066 Jesus says, I am the good 350 00:17:22,066 --> 00:17:25,299 shepherd, the good shepherd, 351 00:17:25,299 --> 00:17:28,733 lays down his life for the sheep. 352 00:17:28,799 --> 00:17:30,733 Now, try to remember back from last time. 353 00:17:30,766 --> 00:17:34,433 Shepherds were completely responsible for their sheep. 354 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:36,299 It was a serious business. 355 00:17:36,633 --> 00:17:39,466 And this was a man's man kind of job. 356 00:17:39,700 --> 00:17:40,466 Shepherding. 357 00:17:40,733 --> 00:17:44,766 And it was also a low, humble kind of job. 358 00:17:45,033 --> 00:17:47,733 It was unskilled. 359 00:17:47,799 --> 00:17:51,333 It was high risk, messy, dirty, 360 00:17:51,333 --> 00:17:54,933 but the shepherd was absolutely fully 361 00:17:54,933 --> 00:17:57,933 responsible for every one of the sheep that he tended to. 362 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,000 If anything went wrong, the shepherd had to 363 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,000 produce proof to the owner that it was not his 364 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,299 fault due to the dereliction of duty, or rustling 365 00:18:07,299 --> 00:18:10,299 sheep away for his own keeping, or whatever the case might 366 00:18:10,299 --> 00:18:13,299 have been, in Amos, look at Amos chapter 3, verse 367 00:18:13,299 --> 00:18:16,299 12, uses the shepherd as an 368 00:18:16,299 --> 00:18:19,299 example to make his point here, where he says, within 369 00:18:19,299 --> 00:18:22,666 this verse, just as the shepherd snatches 370 00:18:22,666 --> 00:18:25,900 from the lion's mouth, a couple of legs 371 00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:28,000 are a piece of an ear. 372 00:18:28,799 --> 00:18:30,766 Let me tell you, that was real. 373 00:18:31,433 --> 00:18:33,299 They had to battle. 374 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:36,700 Wolves, mountain lions, 375 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:39,333 even bears, on some occasions. 376 00:18:39,466 --> 00:18:42,233 Scripture says David fought off a lion and a bear. 377 00:18:42,299 --> 00:18:45,733 And the law was laid down in Exodus 378 00:18:45,733 --> 00:18:49,233 22, if a sheep was torn into pieces, 379 00:18:49,233 --> 00:18:53,000 while the shepherd was battling with the animal? 380 00:18:53,099 --> 00:18:53,633 Then guess what? 381 00:18:53,733 --> 00:18:56,900 The shepherd had better bring a piece, a 382 00:18:56,933 --> 00:19:00,900 leg, a thigh, a wing, something, to back to the owner. 383 00:19:00,933 --> 00:19:02,266 Okay? 384 00:19:02,333 --> 00:19:02,933 To prove, 385 00:19:03,033 --> 00:19:03,766 Hey, I fought for this. 386 00:19:04,366 --> 00:19:07,966 So there was total accountability to 387 00:19:07,966 --> 00:19:09,233 the owner for the shepherd. 388 00:19:09,299 --> 00:19:12,333 The most natural thing that he did was to 389 00:19:12,333 --> 00:19:14,599 risk his life in his work. 390 00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:15,766 That's what they did. 391 00:19:15,833 --> 00:19:19,000 And yet, I mean, there were long periods 392 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,233 of time where they were just sitting out there in the grass, you know, got 393 00:19:22,233 --> 00:19:25,400 a piece of straw in their mouth, just checking them out, nothing's happening. 394 00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:28,900 But when the danger came, and it did on 395 00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:31,900 a regular basis, the shepherd had to 396 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:33,266 be the protector. 397 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,566 There's an old book called The Land of the Book. 398 00:19:36,633 --> 00:19:39,633 It's a historical look at Israel, and 399 00:19:39,633 --> 00:19:43,299 in it there are graphic accounts of savage 400 00:19:43,299 --> 00:19:47,200 and desperate fights between shepherds 401 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,400 and wild beasts. 402 00:19:48,466 --> 00:19:51,400 And then also you had to deal with the thief and the robber. 403 00:19:51,466 --> 00:19:54,466 The faithful shepherd often would put his 404 00:19:54,466 --> 00:19:57,599 life in his hand to defend his flock 405 00:19:57,599 --> 00:20:00,366 and sometimes they die doing this. 406 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,066 That was his job. 407 00:20:02,133 --> 00:20:05,000 A shepherd who was doing what he should. 408 00:20:05,099 --> 00:20:07,866 He never hesitated to risk his own life. 409 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:08,633 And guess what? 410 00:20:08,700 --> 00:20:09,833 It was voluntary. 411 00:20:10,133 --> 00:20:14,099 Nobody forced anybody to do this work of shepherding. 412 00:20:14,266 --> 00:20:17,866 It wasn't a job that anybody was forced to do. 413 00:20:17,933 --> 00:20:20,033 They chose to be shepherds. 414 00:20:20,099 --> 00:20:23,133 That's why Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, the good 415 00:20:23,133 --> 00:20:25,466 shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 416 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,366 He voluntarily. 417 00:20:28,433 --> 00:20:30,900 voluntarily laid down his life. 418 00:20:31,733 --> 00:20:33,833 Skip down to verse 18. 419 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:35,200 Just for a second. 420 00:20:36,299 --> 00:20:39,166 Look at what Jesus says about his own life. 421 00:20:40,066 --> 00:20:43,799 No one has taken it. 422 00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:44,900 away from it. 423 00:20:45,033 --> 00:20:48,799 But I lay it down on 424 00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:50,799 my own initiative. 425 00:20:50,866 --> 00:20:54,166 I have authority to lay it down, and 426 00:20:54,166 --> 00:20:56,200 I have authority to take it up again. 427 00:20:56,333 --> 00:21:00,000 So freely, voluntarily, 428 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,233 Jesus gave up his life for the sheep. 429 00:21:03,599 --> 00:21:04,133 And somebody might say, 430 00:21:04,233 --> 00:21:05,366 Well, that's no big deal, man. 431 00:21:05,433 --> 00:21:06,633 What you making a big deal about that? 432 00:21:06,700 --> 00:21:10,000 He's God, and he took on a body, and he just gave up that body. 433 00:21:10,599 --> 00:21:13,466 Well, let me tell you the word for life right here. 434 00:21:14,433 --> 00:21:16,766 is more than just about the body. 435 00:21:17,799 --> 00:21:21,166 It speaks of the whole person, 436 00:21:21,166 --> 00:21:24,000 body and soul, not just the outside. 437 00:21:24,599 --> 00:21:26,766 But the inside. 438 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,766 That which makes us human, designated 439 00:21:30,766 --> 00:21:31,900 away from the animals. 440 00:21:32,033 --> 00:21:33,099 We have souls. 441 00:21:33,166 --> 00:21:35,799 He didn't just feel the pain of the nails. 442 00:21:36,233 --> 00:21:38,333 And the thorns. 443 00:21:38,433 --> 00:21:41,599 And the scourging, and the getting punched 444 00:21:41,633 --> 00:21:44,733 in the face in his body, he 445 00:21:44,733 --> 00:21:47,799 felt those things, and they were terrible, but the 446 00:21:47,799 --> 00:21:51,233 whole of his person, his soul took 447 00:21:51,233 --> 00:21:54,366 on sin bearing for all who believe. 448 00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:57,700 anguish and suffering 449 00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:02,033 in a way that is quite unimaginable 450 00:22:02,033 --> 00:22:05,500 to us in his substitutionary 451 00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:07,166 atonement on the cross. 452 00:22:07,233 --> 00:22:10,366 Matthew chapter 20, verse 453 00:22:10,366 --> 00:22:13,500 28, Jesus said, just as the son of man did not 454 00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:16,933 come to be served, but to serve and 455 00:22:16,933 --> 00:22:21,033 to give his life a ransom for many. 456 00:22:22,133 --> 00:22:26,200 The Greek word for life, there is the same as here in John 10:11. 457 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:27,599 He gave his soul. 458 00:22:27,633 --> 00:22:29,200 He gave his whole person. 459 00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:31,000 And he felt it. 460 00:22:31,066 --> 00:22:33,299 in every part of his being. 461 00:22:34,066 --> 00:22:36,000 And why did he do that? 462 00:22:36,299 --> 00:22:38,766 Well, notice again, verse 11? 463 00:22:38,799 --> 00:22:43,533 He says, for the sheep. 464 00:22:43,599 --> 00:22:45,533 Oh, that's strong in the Greek. 465 00:22:45,633 --> 00:22:49,900 On behalf of, for 466 00:22:49,900 --> 00:22:53,033 the benefit of, it's the same word Paul uses 467 00:22:53,033 --> 00:22:56,266 in 2 Corinthians, where he says, he who knew no 468 00:22:56,266 --> 00:23:00,466 sin became sin for us. 469 00:23:00,533 --> 00:23:03,599 Same Greek word, which is used in a lot of patches, is 470 00:23:03,599 --> 00:23:06,933 that speak about the substitutionary atonement 471 00:23:06,933 --> 00:23:08,133 of Christ. 472 00:23:08,799 --> 00:23:11,500 Jesus literally took our place. 473 00:23:12,166 --> 00:23:15,400 He died church for us, 474 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,766 believers in an actual atonement 475 00:23:18,766 --> 00:23:22,066 for every person who comes to saving faith in Christ. 476 00:23:22,133 --> 00:23:23,766 And let me tell you, it's pretty narrow. 477 00:23:24,233 --> 00:23:27,299 He laid down his life for 478 00:23:27,299 --> 00:23:28,566 the sheep. 479 00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:31,566 The sheep that he knew. 480 00:23:32,033 --> 00:23:35,033 The sheep that who, 481 00:23:35,033 --> 00:23:37,666 when he called, know him when he called. 482 00:23:37,966 --> 00:23:41,400 He did it for the benefit of the sheep only. 483 00:23:41,933 --> 00:23:45,000 Now, from a natural standpoint, 484 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,833 if this happened to the regular shepherd. 485 00:23:49,533 --> 00:23:52,000 The sheep would be toast after that, right? 486 00:23:52,066 --> 00:23:55,966 I mean, they'd be eaten or stolen or killed, the shepherd's dead. 487 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,666 Doesn't work that way with the true good shepherd. 488 00:24:00,766 --> 00:24:04,066 As Vert 18 makes clear. 489 00:24:04,133 --> 00:24:07,966 Because he had the authority to 490 00:24:07,966 --> 00:24:11,400 lay down his life, he had the authority to 491 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,766 take it up again, and he did on the 3rd day. 492 00:24:15,599 --> 00:24:18,599 On the 3rd day, he came out of 493 00:24:18,599 --> 00:24:21,900 the grave, proving that he is alone the 494 00:24:21,900 --> 00:24:25,233 true good shepherd, and all that the Father gives 495 00:24:25,233 --> 00:24:28,299 to him, will come to them to 496 00:24:28,299 --> 00:24:32,033 him, and he loses none of them, but 497 00:24:32,033 --> 00:24:35,099 he raises them all up on the last day. 498 00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:38,633 So the death of the shepherd usually meant the death 499 00:24:38,633 --> 00:24:39,833 of the sheep, but not in our case. 500 00:24:39,933 --> 00:24:40,766 Aren't you glad? 501 00:24:41,566 --> 00:24:43,666 Why did Jesus die? 502 00:24:44,133 --> 00:24:46,833 Matthew 121. 503 00:24:47,133 --> 00:24:50,133 And you shall call his name Jesus, 504 00:24:50,133 --> 00:24:53,133 for he will save his people from 505 00:24:53,133 --> 00:24:54,700 their sins. 506 00:24:56,033 --> 00:24:57,966 His sheep. 507 00:24:58,066 --> 00:25:02,033 It's an actual atonement only for them. 508 00:25:02,266 --> 00:25:05,099 This is not a potential atonement. 509 00:25:05,099 --> 00:25:08,333 Jesus didn't come to make salvation 510 00:25:08,333 --> 00:25:09,700 possible for people. 511 00:25:09,766 --> 00:25:12,900 He came to make it actual for 512 00:25:12,900 --> 00:25:16,366 his sheep, fully and completely. 513 00:25:16,433 --> 00:25:19,966 He pays the penalty in full for his sheet. 514 00:25:20,099 --> 00:25:23,500 Those who he has always known throughout human history that 515 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:25,066 he is calling to himself. 516 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:26,400 Listen to me. 517 00:25:26,433 --> 00:25:29,433 Jesus didn't die to make us have a 518 00:25:29,433 --> 00:25:30,633 happy and fulfilled life. 519 00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:36,766 He died, you will, you will have a happy and 520 00:25:36,766 --> 00:25:39,833 fulfilled life full of joy, inexpressible, in peace in 521 00:25:39,833 --> 00:25:43,900 your life as a by product of the fact that you have been saved. 522 00:25:44,433 --> 00:25:46,099 But he died. 523 00:25:46,599 --> 00:25:50,566 To save his sheep from 524 00:25:50,566 --> 00:25:51,700 their sins. 525 00:25:51,766 --> 00:25:53,866 That's why Jesus died. 526 00:25:55,366 --> 00:25:57,766 Very unlike the hired hand. 527 00:25:58,233 --> 00:26:00,799 Look next in verses 12 and 13. 528 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,599 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who 529 00:26:04,599 --> 00:26:08,433 is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and 530 00:26:08,433 --> 00:26:11,500 he leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf 531 00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:13,299 snatches them and scatters them. 532 00:26:13,366 --> 00:26:16,533 He flees because he's a hired hand, and he's 533 00:26:16,533 --> 00:26:17,599 not concerned about the sheep. 534 00:26:18,333 --> 00:26:21,700 The true shepherd or the owner, 535 00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:23,566 and sometimes they were the same. 536 00:26:23,866 --> 00:26:26,333 He cares about the sheep. 537 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,433 It's not just a job for him. 538 00:26:28,533 --> 00:26:30,033 This is his life. 539 00:26:30,166 --> 00:26:33,166 He has developed relationships. 540 00:26:33,299 --> 00:26:34,433 with those sheep. 541 00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:37,333 You remember Bichi, my dog? 542 00:26:37,433 --> 00:26:40,500 I had such a tight bond with Bishi, 543 00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:41,833 my dog, I can't get another dog. 544 00:26:41,866 --> 00:26:45,000 I haven't never gotten another dog, and I never will get another 545 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,333 dog, 'cause there'll never be another Bishi. 546 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:48,599 That's me. 547 00:26:48,633 --> 00:26:51,466 Now, some people, they go immediately go get another dog. 548 00:26:51,533 --> 00:26:52,299 Look at Christie. 549 00:26:52,433 --> 00:26:54,166 But I just can't do it. 550 00:26:54,233 --> 00:26:57,099 No dog will be like that dog to me. 551 00:26:57,166 --> 00:27:01,133 And that's how these shepherds were with their sheet. 552 00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:05,333 They're loved by the ship. 553 00:27:05,700 --> 00:27:08,400 But that was not true. 554 00:27:08,566 --> 00:27:10,533 Of those hired hands. 555 00:27:11,033 --> 00:27:14,933 According to Zachariah, They 556 00:27:14,933 --> 00:27:18,533 make no attempt to gather the scattered sheep. 557 00:27:18,599 --> 00:27:21,366 The world has always been full of hired hands. 558 00:27:22,066 --> 00:27:25,133 This is yet another word for 559 00:27:25,133 --> 00:27:28,133 the religious leaders of Israel that are standing right in front of him. 560 00:27:28,799 --> 00:27:31,666 along with stranger, thieves, robbers. 561 00:27:32,566 --> 00:27:35,700 And maybe it's better to be a hired hand 562 00:27:35,700 --> 00:27:38,700 who runs than a being a 563 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:39,733 thief or a robber. 564 00:27:39,766 --> 00:27:40,733 But guess what? 565 00:27:40,799 --> 00:27:43,266 In the end, it's all the same. 566 00:27:44,266 --> 00:27:46,533 The sheep become victims. 567 00:27:46,599 --> 00:27:48,400 of any of these. 568 00:27:48,466 --> 00:27:51,533 The flock and the world have been attacked by 569 00:27:51,533 --> 00:27:54,766 these false leaders who fleece and destroy the 570 00:27:54,766 --> 00:27:58,666 sheep, and they flee when the real trouble comes. 571 00:27:58,733 --> 00:28:00,400 It's hard to get up. 572 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,466 I had much better video clips on Twitter than they do on Facebook, 573 00:28:03,466 --> 00:28:06,766 and I tried, I guess, meta and X fight 574 00:28:06,766 --> 00:28:10,533 one another or whatever, but I tried to, you could go click on it. 575 00:28:10,599 --> 00:28:13,666 I put it on a church page, a video. 576 00:28:13,733 --> 00:28:16,866 I think it was Thursday about false shepherds. 577 00:28:16,900 --> 00:28:17,799 You should go watch it. 578 00:28:17,866 --> 00:28:19,000 It's an important message. 579 00:28:19,066 --> 00:28:21,099 Just click on the link and it should come up for you. 580 00:28:21,466 --> 00:28:23,500 And who's the wolf here? 581 00:28:23,566 --> 00:28:25,299 Well, that's easy. 582 00:28:25,366 --> 00:28:27,299 The wolf is anything that attacks the sheep. 583 00:28:27,333 --> 00:28:31,400 Anything satanic or otherwise that comes against the sheep. 584 00:28:32,033 --> 00:28:35,333 There are many false pastors 585 00:28:35,333 --> 00:28:37,366 and false teachers in our day. 586 00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:40,133 As there have been all through history. 587 00:28:40,433 --> 00:28:43,599 There are perverse men who rise 588 00:28:43,599 --> 00:28:47,866 up, Acts 20 says, within the church, who 589 00:28:47,866 --> 00:28:49,066 lead people astray. 590 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,133 And then you also have the wolves from the outside. 591 00:28:53,099 --> 00:28:57,099 But Jesus, He's 592 00:28:57,099 --> 00:29:00,099 the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. 593 00:29:00,233 --> 00:29:02,766 A hired hand is a mercenary. 594 00:29:02,799 --> 00:29:05,066 No, impulse, just personal gain. 595 00:29:05,133 --> 00:29:05,900 And guess what? 596 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,766 They are cowards when a crisis hits. 597 00:29:10,533 --> 00:29:13,666 When the crisis come, whether it's an attack on 598 00:29:13,666 --> 00:29:16,733 the outside or the end, the hired hand is going to only 599 00:29:16,733 --> 00:29:19,266 protect himself, and he's out the door. 600 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,266 There's outside danger from the wolves. 601 00:29:23,333 --> 00:29:26,633 There's also wolves, dressed in sheep's clothing. 602 00:29:26,700 --> 00:29:27,966 Remember that? 603 00:29:28,133 --> 00:29:32,099 From Matthew 7, they don't care about the sheep. 604 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:33,533 They just want your money. 605 00:29:34,433 --> 00:29:37,799 But the true shepherd is the opposite, and 606 00:29:37,799 --> 00:29:40,133 that leads us to the second characteristic of the show. 607 00:29:40,233 --> 00:29:41,966 Relationship to this. 608 00:29:42,033 --> 00:29:45,266 First, he gives his life, for the sheep. 609 00:29:45,333 --> 00:29:48,700 Second, he loves his sheep, and this, of course, is 610 00:29:48,700 --> 00:29:51,566 what is behind the giving of his life, is his love. 611 00:29:51,633 --> 00:29:53,666 Look next, verses 14 and 15. 612 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,366 Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. 613 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,566 And I know my own, and 614 00:30:00,599 --> 00:30:04,000 my own, no me, even 615 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,366 as the father knows me, and 616 00:30:07,366 --> 00:30:10,500 I know the father, and I lay down my 617 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,599 life, for the sheep. 618 00:30:12,599 --> 00:30:15,900 Now, this explains why he lays down his life voluntarily 619 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:18,766 for the sheep, because it says, he knows them. 620 00:30:18,833 --> 00:30:20,566 You notice I emphasize that word. 621 00:30:20,866 --> 00:30:23,633 So where do I get love out of all of that? 622 00:30:24,099 --> 00:30:28,066 Well, notice in this verse, it's all no, 623 00:30:28,066 --> 00:30:31,500 4 times here in verses 14 and 15. 624 00:30:31,966 --> 00:30:34,966 He says, the Father knows me, and I 625 00:30:34,966 --> 00:30:38,033 know the Father, I know my own, and my own know me. 626 00:30:38,099 --> 00:30:41,133 The word for no there is more than 627 00:30:41,133 --> 00:30:42,266 just intellectual knowledge. 628 00:30:42,833 --> 00:30:46,799 The word for no there means a loving relationship. 629 00:30:46,833 --> 00:30:50,900 This goes all the way back to Genesis, where Adam knew his wife, and they had a child. 630 00:30:51,099 --> 00:30:54,166 God says in Amos, Israel only 631 00:30:54,166 --> 00:30:55,299 have I known. 632 00:30:55,366 --> 00:30:58,366 That doesn't mean that the Jewish people are the only people in world history 633 00:30:58,366 --> 00:31:00,533 that God knew about in human history. 634 00:31:00,933 --> 00:31:02,866 to know. 635 00:31:02,933 --> 00:31:06,599 In all these cases is not about information that you know. 636 00:31:06,633 --> 00:31:10,400 It is information, of course, about 637 00:31:10,433 --> 00:31:12,166 the object, but this is more than that. 638 00:31:12,233 --> 00:31:14,166 It's about love. 639 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:18,099 It's about an intimate love, relationship. 640 00:31:18,166 --> 00:31:21,299 Joseph was so disturbed, because Mary was pregnant, 641 00:31:21,299 --> 00:31:24,366 and he had never, what, known her, remember? 642 00:31:24,466 --> 00:31:28,066 So you have to understand the context in 643 00:31:28,066 --> 00:31:30,233 which the word no is used. 644 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:33,633 When Jesus says, he knows his own sheep. 645 00:31:33,700 --> 00:31:35,866 It's more than just their name. 646 00:31:35,933 --> 00:31:38,566 It's more than just knowing who they are. 647 00:31:38,866 --> 00:31:42,099 This is a special relationship that 648 00:31:42,099 --> 00:31:43,533 Jesus has with his sheep. 649 00:31:44,266 --> 00:31:46,433 Now think about the contrast. 650 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:49,566 In Matthew, Jesus tells the false professors of faith. 651 00:31:49,666 --> 00:31:52,666 Remember we saw it this morning, son is going, 652 00:31:52,666 --> 00:31:54,033 Lord, Lord, didn't I do this? 653 00:31:54,099 --> 00:31:54,866 Didn't I do that? 654 00:31:54,933 --> 00:31:57,466 And he says, depart from me. 655 00:31:57,533 --> 00:31:58,299 I never what? 656 00:31:58,966 --> 00:32:00,766 knew you. 657 00:32:00,933 --> 00:32:04,400 It is it that he didn't know who they were. 658 00:32:04,900 --> 00:32:08,266 Said he didn't know them with that special, 659 00:32:08,266 --> 00:32:11,933 loving relationship that he has with his sheep. 660 00:32:12,333 --> 00:32:14,566 Notice again, verse 13. 661 00:32:14,700 --> 00:32:17,700 He says, I know my own and my own 662 00:32:17,700 --> 00:32:18,733 know me. 663 00:32:18,766 --> 00:32:22,299 Now, to what degree, Do 664 00:32:22,299 --> 00:32:26,133 we know him as Christians, and he knows us? 665 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,533 Oh, look at next in verse 14. 666 00:32:29,799 --> 00:32:33,533 Even as the 667 00:32:33,533 --> 00:32:34,599 Father knows me. 668 00:32:34,666 --> 00:32:36,599 And I know the Father. 669 00:32:36,633 --> 00:32:39,099 That is, that is incredible. 670 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,933 There's no higher degree of knowing that. 671 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:46,533 I know my own, my own know me, even as, 672 00:32:46,533 --> 00:32:48,566 just like the Father knows me. 673 00:32:49,299 --> 00:32:51,166 That blows my mind. 674 00:32:51,633 --> 00:32:54,766 That leads us to the third aspect of the relationship. 675 00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:58,366 The true shepherd unites his sheep. 676 00:32:58,433 --> 00:32:59,200 Look at verse 16. 677 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:01,866 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. 678 00:33:01,900 --> 00:33:02,666 I must bring them also. 679 00:33:02,933 --> 00:33:05,933 And they will hear my voice, and 680 00:33:05,933 --> 00:33:09,099 they will become one flock with 681 00:33:09,099 --> 00:33:10,366 one shepherd. 682 00:33:10,433 --> 00:33:13,799 Now, remember that I told you about the fold in verse one last time. 683 00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:15,166 The fold in verse one is Israel. 684 00:33:15,599 --> 00:33:18,900 The shepherd comes to the fold, and 685 00:33:18,900 --> 00:33:21,900 he calls his sheep out of Judaism. 686 00:33:21,933 --> 00:33:23,900 Jesus is the shepherd in the word picture. 687 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,266 He comes to Israel to the Jew first. 688 00:33:26,333 --> 00:33:26,799 Remember? 689 00:33:26,866 --> 00:33:30,000 As Paul says in Romans, and he calls them out by 690 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,066 name, and those who are of his sheep 691 00:33:33,066 --> 00:33:36,200 out of Israel, they know his voice, and they 692 00:33:36,233 --> 00:33:39,299 follow him, but he also has sheep, which are 693 00:33:39,299 --> 00:33:40,500 not of the fold of Israel. 694 00:33:40,599 --> 00:33:44,066 He says here, I must bring those also. 695 00:33:44,133 --> 00:33:45,266 Who are they? 696 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,466 Well, as I said last time, they're not the South 697 00:33:48,466 --> 00:33:51,599 American Indians that Jesus appeared to in South America 698 00:33:51,599 --> 00:33:54,666 after his resurrection, as Joseph Smith of Mormonism says. 699 00:33:54,700 --> 00:33:58,466 Jesus never went to South America and appeared to any Indians ever. 700 00:33:58,533 --> 00:33:59,366 It never happened. 701 00:33:59,433 --> 00:33:59,900 It's a lie. 702 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,099 These are the Gentiles. 703 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:03,166 Of course. 704 00:34:03,900 --> 00:34:06,166 Anybody outside Israel. 705 00:34:06,933 --> 00:34:11,433 Every tribe, tongue, nation, every group. 706 00:34:11,500 --> 00:34:13,066 Believe me. 707 00:34:14,266 --> 00:34:17,566 This is stunning and most unacceptable 708 00:34:17,566 --> 00:34:21,000 for the Jews here in this on that day. 709 00:34:21,099 --> 00:34:22,733 Big time. 710 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,400 This is more fuel for their animosity 711 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,933 because of how they feel about the Gentiles. 712 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:34,066 They believe that the Gentiles were permanently outside salvation, 713 00:34:34,066 --> 00:34:35,733 the covenant promises of God. 714 00:34:36,233 --> 00:34:38,933 But they weren't reading their Old Testament. 715 00:34:39,833 --> 00:34:41,166 Right? 716 00:34:41,266 --> 00:34:43,233 Let me give you an example. 717 00:34:43,300 --> 00:34:45,766 Just, let's allow me for a moment. 718 00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:47,500 Isaiah 42. 719 00:34:47,699 --> 00:34:50,633 Messianic chapter, verse 6. 720 00:34:50,733 --> 00:34:52,066 Old Testament. 721 00:34:52,133 --> 00:34:54,699 God is speaking to the Messiah. 722 00:34:54,766 --> 00:34:57,833 He says, I, the Lord have called you in righteousness. 723 00:34:57,900 --> 00:35:01,366 I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and 724 00:35:01,366 --> 00:35:04,599 I will appoint you as a covenant people as a light 725 00:35:04,599 --> 00:35:07,599 to the nations, to open 726 00:35:07,599 --> 00:35:10,666 blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those 727 00:35:10,666 --> 00:35:12,533 who dwell in darkness from the prison. 728 00:35:12,599 --> 00:35:14,166 Of course, that's spiritually speaking. 729 00:35:14,199 --> 00:35:16,900 That is a messianic promise right there. 730 00:35:17,033 --> 00:35:20,933 That the Messiah would take salvation to the nations. 731 00:35:21,033 --> 00:35:23,199 Here, let me give you another one. 732 00:35:23,266 --> 00:35:25,066 Isaiah 49.6. 733 00:35:25,733 --> 00:35:28,833 Is it too small a thing that you should 734 00:35:28,833 --> 00:35:31,000 be my servant talking about the Messiah? 735 00:35:31,066 --> 00:35:34,300 To raise up the tribes of Jacob and 736 00:35:34,300 --> 00:35:36,766 restore the preserved ones of Israel? 737 00:35:36,900 --> 00:35:38,333 Israel? 738 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:39,466 Israel? 739 00:35:39,599 --> 00:35:43,833 I will also make you a light of the nation so 740 00:35:43,833 --> 00:35:46,966 that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. 741 00:35:47,033 --> 00:35:47,800 They had that book. 742 00:35:47,866 --> 00:35:48,900 There you go. 743 00:35:48,933 --> 00:35:50,500 They had Isaiah. 744 00:35:50,633 --> 00:35:51,900 That's clear. 745 00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:55,033 But that's why Jesus is telling them. 746 00:35:55,066 --> 00:35:57,000 He's looking right at him. 747 00:35:57,033 --> 00:35:58,400 I have sheep, not a u fold. 748 00:35:59,500 --> 00:36:01,833 This is why there's a great commission. 749 00:36:01,900 --> 00:36:04,900 Go into all the world and preach the 750 00:36:04,900 --> 00:36:06,400 gospel to every creature. 751 00:36:06,533 --> 00:36:08,866 Go make disciples of all nations. 752 00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:12,300 Now, we also learn here in verse 16, 753 00:36:12,333 --> 00:36:16,599 They will become one flock with one shepherd, 754 00:36:16,599 --> 00:36:19,666 and that's why Paul says, in Galatians, in 755 00:36:19,666 --> 00:36:22,066 Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. 756 00:36:22,366 --> 00:36:25,599 It's done in Ephesians, the 757 00:36:25,599 --> 00:36:29,500 middle wall of partition is broke down, torn down. 758 00:36:29,566 --> 00:36:32,566 We're all one in Christ, Jew, and Gentile 759 00:36:32,566 --> 00:36:35,433 making up one new body, the church. 760 00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:37,366 We should not be confused about this. 761 00:36:37,366 --> 00:36:38,933 At all. 762 00:36:39,300 --> 00:36:42,133 Jesus unites his sheep. 763 00:36:42,166 --> 00:36:45,233 He brings them together to himself, and 764 00:36:45,233 --> 00:36:46,666 he brings them together to each other. 765 00:36:47,566 --> 00:36:50,566 So that's the relation of the good shepherd to the 766 00:36:50,566 --> 00:36:52,800 sheep he gives his life, because he loves them. 767 00:36:52,833 --> 00:36:56,133 He brings them into unity with himself, and 768 00:36:56,133 --> 00:36:58,699 one another, and now there's another relationship here. 769 00:37:00,033 --> 00:37:01,699 This one is heavy. 770 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:06,566 It's that of the Good Shepherd, to the Father. 771 00:37:06,933 --> 00:37:09,766 Look at verse 17 and 18. 772 00:37:10,066 --> 00:37:13,366 For this reason, Jesus says, the Father loves me. 773 00:37:13,599 --> 00:37:17,366 Because I laid down my life so 774 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:19,033 that I may take it again. 775 00:37:19,066 --> 00:37:21,833 No one has taken it away from me. 776 00:37:22,433 --> 00:37:25,733 But I lay it down on 777 00:37:25,733 --> 00:37:27,366 my own initiative. 778 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,466 I have authority to lay it down, 779 00:37:30,466 --> 00:37:33,000 and I have authority to take it up again. 780 00:37:33,099 --> 00:37:36,533 This, look at this, commandment 781 00:37:36,533 --> 00:37:39,966 I received from my father. 782 00:37:43,066 --> 00:37:44,266 Now look. 783 00:37:44,333 --> 00:37:47,800 This is deep inter 784 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:49,766 Trinitarian theology. 785 00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:51,033 Okay? 786 00:37:51,599 --> 00:37:54,699 This is way above all of our pay 787 00:37:54,699 --> 00:37:55,966 grades to fully grasp. 788 00:37:56,033 --> 00:37:56,633 You understand that? 789 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,166 So we just have to keep it simple. 790 00:38:00,833 --> 00:38:04,366 And understand this with 791 00:38:04,366 --> 00:38:07,366 the ability that God does give us to understand it. 792 00:38:07,433 --> 00:38:09,599 The Father gave a command. 793 00:38:10,133 --> 00:38:11,766 To the Son. 794 00:38:13,199 --> 00:38:15,166 I can't grasp. 795 00:38:15,300 --> 00:38:18,599 The command to Jesus, 796 00:38:18,599 --> 00:38:21,599 in their relationship, to lay down your 797 00:38:21,599 --> 00:38:24,733 life and to take it up, you have the authority to 798 00:38:24,733 --> 00:38:28,733 do that, and I'm commanding you to do that, the Father says, to the Son. 799 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,066 It was a command. 800 00:38:30,699 --> 00:38:34,366 But no 801 00:38:34,366 --> 00:38:36,000 one has taken it from me. 802 00:38:36,699 --> 00:38:40,366 Not how it works with me, Jesus says. 803 00:38:40,433 --> 00:38:42,966 I lay it down on my own initiative. 804 00:38:43,066 --> 00:38:44,566 When I'm ready. 805 00:38:44,699 --> 00:38:47,933 That's why the father loves me because 806 00:38:47,933 --> 00:38:51,233 of my obedience to his command. 807 00:38:51,633 --> 00:38:54,766 Folks, this is... this is beyond 808 00:38:54,766 --> 00:38:55,833 profound right here. 809 00:38:56,500 --> 00:39:00,233 The father chose Jesus to 810 00:39:00,233 --> 00:39:04,066 be the lamb that was slain, the acceptable sacrifice. 811 00:39:04,133 --> 00:39:04,966 Ultimately. 812 00:39:05,033 --> 00:39:08,033 It was the father who killed the son, 813 00:39:08,033 --> 00:39:11,333 the book of access by the predetermined counsel 814 00:39:11,333 --> 00:39:12,766 and foreknowledge of God. 815 00:39:13,533 --> 00:39:16,099 We had that raging debate. 816 00:39:16,300 --> 00:39:21,033 When the passion of the Christ came out, who killed Jesus? 817 00:39:21,099 --> 00:39:24,233 Well, you're anti-Semitic, if you say that the Jews 818 00:39:24,233 --> 00:39:26,199 killed, Jesus, or the Romans killed. 819 00:39:26,266 --> 00:39:27,699 They were just the means. 820 00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:31,599 The Father, God the Father, 821 00:39:31,599 --> 00:39:33,633 sacrifice God the Son on the cross. 822 00:39:34,199 --> 00:39:37,300 According to the predetermined counsel and 823 00:39:37,300 --> 00:39:39,833 foreknowledge of God, the book of access. 824 00:39:39,933 --> 00:39:42,933 Understand the big picture, not just the means that 825 00:39:42,933 --> 00:39:45,500 God used to accomplish his purpose in the cross. 826 00:39:45,900 --> 00:39:48,966 But this is not fatalism. 827 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:52,533 This is not something about which Jesus had no choice. 828 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,633 I laid down my life, he says. 829 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:00,466 No one takes it from me. 830 00:40:00,533 --> 00:40:01,300 No one. 831 00:40:01,366 --> 00:40:02,400 That includes the Father. 832 00:40:02,433 --> 00:40:05,800 Jesus is telling us here, this is, understand this. 833 00:40:05,866 --> 00:40:09,099 This was a perfect act of willing 834 00:40:09,099 --> 00:40:12,099 obedience from Jesus, and, of 835 00:40:12,099 --> 00:40:13,166 course, there's mystery in this. 836 00:40:13,233 --> 00:40:14,066 Of course there is. 837 00:40:14,133 --> 00:40:17,566 This boggles our little pea brains, 838 00:40:17,566 --> 00:40:20,699 that submission to the Father in the workings of the Trinity. 839 00:40:21,599 --> 00:40:24,766 Jesus was sinless and had no capacity 840 00:40:24,766 --> 00:40:27,900 to sin when he was here, and yet there really was 841 00:40:27,900 --> 00:40:30,300 a real struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. 842 00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:34,366 It was, to the point where his capillaries burst. 843 00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:37,500 He was straining so 844 00:40:37,500 --> 00:40:40,633 much under the anguish of what he knew perfectly was coming. 845 00:40:40,733 --> 00:40:43,800 He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, and 846 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,300 he says, Father, if it's possible. 847 00:40:45,533 --> 00:40:47,099 It's possible. 848 00:40:47,433 --> 00:40:50,199 Take this cup from me. 849 00:40:50,433 --> 00:40:53,900 Nevertheless, not my... 850 00:40:53,933 --> 00:40:55,900 Yours be done. 851 00:40:56,033 --> 00:40:57,166 It was real. 852 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,466 He voluntarily did what 853 00:41:00,466 --> 00:41:02,400 the father commend him to do. 854 00:41:02,433 --> 00:41:05,500 I can't put that together with sovereignty. 855 00:41:05,566 --> 00:41:06,766 I can't put that together. 856 00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:09,533 I just know it's true, 'cause that's what the Bible says. 857 00:41:09,633 --> 00:41:11,566 And I just say, okay. 858 00:41:11,699 --> 00:41:13,199 That's right. 859 00:41:14,033 --> 00:41:18,300 And that's how Jesus demonstrated 860 00:41:18,300 --> 00:41:19,333 his love to the Father. 861 00:41:19,500 --> 00:41:21,833 And that's why the father loves him. 862 00:41:21,900 --> 00:41:23,233 He says, the father loves me. 863 00:41:23,266 --> 00:41:25,066 Why, Jesus? 864 00:41:25,133 --> 00:41:25,966 Does the Father love you? 865 00:41:26,033 --> 00:41:29,766 Because I laid down my life, that I may take it again. 866 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:33,233 That's what the Father wanted him to do, that 867 00:41:33,233 --> 00:41:36,233 was critical to the plan of redemption, to gather 868 00:41:36,233 --> 00:41:37,900 the redeemed into eternal glory. 869 00:41:38,033 --> 00:41:40,666 He did this voluntarily. 870 00:41:41,133 --> 00:41:44,366 This wasn't something he had no choice about. 871 00:41:44,933 --> 00:41:47,766 He couldn't make a wrong choice. 872 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:48,266 He's Jesus. 873 00:41:48,833 --> 00:41:51,933 But at the same time, he voluntarily made 874 00:41:51,933 --> 00:41:54,766 the right choice, because he always makes the right choice. 875 00:41:54,833 --> 00:41:56,400 because he's the god man. 876 00:41:56,500 --> 00:41:57,233 Understand? 877 00:41:57,766 --> 00:42:01,599 Jesus is saying here, I had a command given to me. 878 00:42:01,900 --> 00:42:04,966 From the Father, I voluntarily, 879 00:42:04,966 --> 00:42:08,566 willfully obeyed that command, secured the Father's love. 880 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,933 If you love me, Jesus said, do what? 881 00:42:12,099 --> 00:42:14,666 Keep my what? 882 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:15,866 Commandments. 883 00:42:16,366 --> 00:42:18,533 It works the same for us. 884 00:42:18,599 --> 00:42:20,233 Do you understand that? 885 00:42:20,266 --> 00:42:24,400 That's how you affirm your love. 886 00:42:24,533 --> 00:42:26,699 By doing what he says. 887 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:27,766 It's not legalism. 888 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:32,099 The outworking of true regeneration, 889 00:42:32,099 --> 00:42:35,166 again, the interaction between the members of the Trinity is an 890 00:42:35,166 --> 00:42:38,199 area of thought that is far bound up our 891 00:42:38,199 --> 00:42:40,533 ability to comprehend, but let me tell you something. 892 00:42:40,599 --> 00:42:43,666 We can grasp something up the concept when we read 893 00:42:43,666 --> 00:42:46,000 the way that Jesus lays this out in the scripture. 894 00:42:46,066 --> 00:42:47,500 Is anybody unclear about this? 895 00:42:47,933 --> 00:42:50,766 Please, if you are, you don't want to raise your hand. 896 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:52,300 See me after church and we'll get it clear. 897 00:42:52,433 --> 00:42:54,900 It's important to understand this. 898 00:42:54,933 --> 00:42:57,266 And this happens especially in the gospel of John. 899 00:42:57,333 --> 00:43:00,699 We find Jesus' relationship to the Father, 900 00:43:00,699 --> 00:43:04,000 was one of 2 things, was 2 things. 901 00:43:04,066 --> 00:43:06,599 love and obedience. 902 00:43:07,133 --> 00:43:09,166 Two sides of the same thing. 903 00:43:09,300 --> 00:43:12,300 The love motivated the obedience. 904 00:43:12,333 --> 00:43:14,300 Folks, do you see? 905 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,766 That's the model for us in the way that we live the Christian life. 906 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,933 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ 907 00:43:20,933 --> 00:43:23,933 Jesus, who was obedient unto death, 908 00:43:23,933 --> 00:43:27,333 even the death of the cross, the Father, eternally 909 00:43:27,333 --> 00:43:30,333 loves the Son, the Son, eternally 910 00:43:30,333 --> 00:43:31,666 loves the Father. 911 00:43:31,733 --> 00:43:33,300 And some kind of, 912 00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:36,366 I can say this in some kind of unique way. 913 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:39,400 The son voluntarily, willfully obeyed 914 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:42,400 the command of the Father to come here, and give up 915 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,333 his life as a substitute out of love for the Father. 916 00:43:45,599 --> 00:43:47,566 Love and obedience. 917 00:43:47,699 --> 00:43:49,366 That's the model for us. 918 00:43:49,433 --> 00:43:52,966 Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, right? 919 00:43:53,033 --> 00:43:55,433 Now, one more thing. 920 00:43:55,966 --> 00:43:59,133 Final relationship that we're looking at this morning, 921 00:43:59,133 --> 00:44:00,199 and then we're gonna wrap it up. 922 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,833 occurs in verses 19 to 21. 923 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:04,966 Look 1st at verse 19. 924 00:44:05,933 --> 00:44:09,066 A division occurred 925 00:44:09,066 --> 00:44:13,666 among the Jews because of these words. 926 00:44:13,833 --> 00:44:17,199 Anybody in here have division 927 00:44:17,199 --> 00:44:20,333 in your family because of the words of Jesus and your 928 00:44:20,333 --> 00:44:21,599 understanding of those words? 929 00:44:21,633 --> 00:44:23,900 Hmm, seems pretty common. 930 00:44:24,466 --> 00:44:27,766 We've seen this kind of division before, back in chapter 931 00:44:27,766 --> 00:44:28,966 7 and chapter 9. 932 00:44:29,333 --> 00:44:32,400 And we've learned Jesus divided the 933 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,699 crowd, and Jesus still divides today. 934 00:44:36,466 --> 00:44:39,933 There are divisions between believers 935 00:44:39,933 --> 00:44:44,199 and nonbelievers, but there's also divisions 936 00:44:44,199 --> 00:44:46,666 between nonbelievers amongst themselves. 937 00:44:46,733 --> 00:44:49,066 And that's what you have here in verses 19 and 20. 938 00:44:49,233 --> 00:44:49,699 Let's look at it. 939 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,800 A division occurred among the Jews because of these words. 940 00:44:52,833 --> 00:44:56,666 Many of them were saying, He has a demon, and is insane. 941 00:44:56,733 --> 00:44:58,300 Why do you listen to him? 942 00:44:58,366 --> 00:45:01,433 Now, you know, as we've studied, John, that's been the 943 00:45:01,433 --> 00:45:04,733 mantra of these leaders for a while now, people 944 00:45:04,733 --> 00:45:06,166 were buying into what they were saying. 945 00:45:06,233 --> 00:45:09,233 I mean, he does what he does by the power of Beelzebub. 946 00:45:09,466 --> 00:45:12,900 So at one poll in the division were 947 00:45:12,900 --> 00:45:17,099 the people who said, Jesus is a demon possessed lunatic. 948 00:45:17,199 --> 00:45:20,266 But at the other end, look at verse 21. 949 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:23,400 Others were saying, these are 950 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,633 not the sayings of one demon possessed. 951 00:45:25,666 --> 00:45:29,199 A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, 952 00:45:29,199 --> 00:45:30,233 can he? 953 00:45:30,333 --> 00:45:33,333 Now, think about 954 00:45:33,333 --> 00:45:36,500 maybe these people listen to the Sermon on the Mount, or any of them, 955 00:45:36,533 --> 00:45:37,900 Jesus' teaching. 956 00:45:38,133 --> 00:45:41,900 That's pretty rational after you heard Jesus preached. 957 00:45:42,033 --> 00:45:45,199 Demon possessed people don't talk like this guy, right? 958 00:45:45,300 --> 00:45:46,666 That's pretty rational. 959 00:45:46,733 --> 00:45:49,266 I mean, demons are not even coherent. 960 00:45:49,300 --> 00:45:50,666 They don't do these miracles. 961 00:45:50,866 --> 00:45:54,000 So whatever counterfeit things demons do. 962 00:45:54,033 --> 00:45:57,099 Hey, don't look like this, what this guy's doing. 963 00:45:57,166 --> 00:46:00,166 So the 1st group, we could say, represent 964 00:46:00,166 --> 00:46:02,199 the irrational blasphemers. 965 00:46:02,266 --> 00:46:05,433 And the 2nd group are more rational. 966 00:46:06,699 --> 00:46:09,866 But the sad thing is, they 967 00:46:09,900 --> 00:46:11,633 both wind up in the same hell. 968 00:46:11,733 --> 00:46:14,500 together, forever. 969 00:46:15,599 --> 00:46:18,233 Because it really doesn't matter, folks. 970 00:46:18,300 --> 00:46:21,633 In this short life that we get, whether 971 00:46:21,633 --> 00:46:24,633 you curse Jesus, or whether you treat him 972 00:46:24,633 --> 00:46:28,166 more reasonably in your thinking, that 973 00:46:28,199 --> 00:46:32,166 kind of hesitation will get you nowhere with Jesus. 974 00:46:32,199 --> 00:46:35,366 You either confess Jesus as Lord, 975 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:38,733 as we learn this morning, and you come to him on his terms of repentance 976 00:46:38,733 --> 00:46:40,833 and faith, or you die in your sins. 977 00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:43,666 And there's no middle ground. 978 00:46:44,500 --> 00:46:46,000 So, 979 00:46:46,533 --> 00:46:48,766 We meet the good shepherd. 980 00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:51,166 He gives his life for the sheep. 981 00:46:51,233 --> 00:46:53,099 He loves his sheep. 982 00:46:53,199 --> 00:46:55,466 He unites his sheep. 983 00:46:55,533 --> 00:46:58,966 He loves and obeys the father. 984 00:46:59,033 --> 00:47:02,400 And in his relation to the world, he 985 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:05,633 is rejected by those who blaspheme him in an irrational 986 00:47:05,633 --> 00:47:08,633 way, and even by those who 987 00:47:08,633 --> 00:47:10,966 rationally tolerate him. 988 00:47:11,033 --> 00:47:12,300 And we got a lot of those in America. 989 00:47:12,599 --> 00:47:16,000 But for us, on 990 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:19,233 this Lord's death, and every day, we 991 00:47:19,233 --> 00:47:22,466 will place ourselves, amongst the disciples 992 00:47:22,500 --> 00:47:26,133 who were there in the crowd that day, who confessed, 993 00:47:26,133 --> 00:47:29,199 you are the Christ, the son of 994 00:47:29,199 --> 00:47:33,400 the living God, we confess, 995 00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:36,466 as a church family here at Providence, and 996 00:47:36,466 --> 00:47:39,533 I'm going to close with this, we confess, 997 00:47:39,533 --> 00:47:43,000 through our church's confession of faith, the 16 998 00:47:43,066 --> 00:47:45,333 1689 London Baptist confession of faith. 999 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:48,699 Let me just read you one section of what we confess together 1000 00:47:48,699 --> 00:47:51,533 as a church in our confession about Jesus. 1001 00:47:51,599 --> 00:47:54,900 It pleased God, in his eternal purpose, 1002 00:47:54,900 --> 00:47:58,233 to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, 1003 00:47:58,233 --> 00:48:01,233 his only begotten son, according to the 1004 00:48:01,233 --> 00:48:04,233 covenant made between them both, to be the 1005 00:48:04,233 --> 00:48:07,966 mediator between God and man, the prophet, 1006 00:48:07,966 --> 00:48:10,966 priest, and king, head, and savior of the 1007 00:48:10,966 --> 00:48:13,966 church, the heir of all things, and judge 1008 00:48:13,966 --> 00:48:17,199 of the world, unto whom he did from 1009 00:48:17,199 --> 00:48:20,500 all eternity, give a people, to be his 1010 00:48:20,500 --> 00:48:22,133 seed, and to be 1011 00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:25,300 by him, in time, redeemed, 1012 00:48:25,300 --> 00:48:28,733 called, justified, sanctified, and glorified. 1013 00:48:28,833 --> 00:48:33,099 That's our confession to the world without Jesus. 1014 00:48:33,166 --> 00:48:33,766 Let's pray. 1015 00:48:33,833 --> 00:48:35,933 By the way, thank you, Lord. 1016 00:48:36,033 --> 00:48:38,599 In the book of John. 1017 00:48:38,699 --> 00:48:39,533 We thank you, Lord. 1018 00:48:41,333 --> 00:48:44,500 For the express privilege that we get to 1019 00:48:44,500 --> 00:48:47,633 be right back there 2000 years ago, 1020 00:48:47,633 --> 00:48:50,933 in this interaction, with 1021 00:48:50,933 --> 00:48:54,233 Jesus and the Pharisees and the Jewish religious 1022 00:48:54,233 --> 00:48:57,233 leaders, through the inspiration of your Holy 1023 00:48:57,233 --> 00:49:00,699 Spirit, that you gave to the apostle John. 1024 00:49:00,766 --> 00:49:02,133 Oh, thank you, Lord. 1025 00:49:02,199 --> 00:49:05,266 I pray today that we would all walk out of here with 1026 00:49:05,266 --> 00:49:08,333 a deeper understanding of what it means, that 1027 00:49:08,333 --> 00:49:11,566 you, Jesus, are the good shepherd, the 1028 00:49:11,566 --> 00:49:13,599 good one, the true, good shepherd. 1029 00:49:13,666 --> 00:49:17,033 I pray, if any are here today, have not bowed the needed Jesus, 1030 00:49:17,033 --> 00:49:20,166 and saving faith, God, that you would use the word today. 1031 00:49:20,199 --> 00:49:23,266 to draw them to yourself, and as always, we pray 1032 00:49:23,266 --> 00:49:24,400 that every aspect. 1033 00:49:24,766 --> 00:49:27,766 And what we have done at your church today has been done 1034 00:49:27,766 --> 00:49:30,466 in such a way as to bring you maximum glory. 1035 00:49:30,599 --> 00:49:32,099 Jesus' name we pray. 1036 00:49:32,199 --> 00:49:32,800 Amen.