Secure in Christ: Our Good Shepherd

Adulting is hard. I often wish I could go back to a time in my childhood when I wasn’t responsible for anyone but myself. I didn’t have to worry about preparing meals, maintaining a home, or making sure bills were paid. I was able to live carefree because I was blessed to be a part of a family where I was always safe and provided for. At the time, I took that for granted. 

No matter how old you are or what kind of home you grew up in, I’m going to guess that you have a deep desire for this kind of security too. Even the most independent among us rest a little easier knowing that someone who cares has our back when we really need them.

In the passage we’re looking at today, we’re going to see that God provides the security we long for. He is not indifferent or unfeeling toward us but faithfully offers us just what we need. He cares for us lovingly, like a shepherd tending his sheep.

John 10:1-18 is a continuation of a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees that began in John 9 after Jesus healed a man who was born blind. The Pharisees became angry and kicked the man out of the Temple because he wouldn’t denounce Jesus. They overheard Jesus speaking to the healed man later and started arguing with him. Jesus told them they were guilty of sin because they seen him and not believed. That’s where chapter 10 picks up.

Here, Jesus employed an extended metaphor to contrast himself against the many corrupt leaders of Israel who had used their positions to lure the Israelites down a path of defiance against God. In the Old Testament, the corruption of Israel’s rulers splintered and weakened the nation. The Promised Land was conquered by foreign invaders and God’s people were taken into exile. Only a small remnant ever returned to their homeland. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were just the latest in a long line of corruption. 

To make this contrast, Jesus used symbolism that appears frequently throughout the Bible: the shepherd and the sheep. Shepherding would have been familiar to the people both as a common occupation and as an analogy for God’s tender care for his people (as in Psalm 23). In this passage, Jesus (the door, the good shepherd) rebukes the Pharisees (the stranger, the thief, the hired hand) for their corruption, and teaches us how he cares for believers (his flock). As the door and the good shepherd, Jesus gathers, provides for, and sacrifices himself for the security of his beloved people: his flock.

He Gathers His Sheep

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

A sheepfold was a protective enclosure for the different flocks of sheep in a community. When a shepherd came to collect his sheep from among the other flocks, the watchman would recognize him and let him in. His sheep would know him so well, they would hear his voice and come when he called. This idea continues in verses 14-16: 

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 

Just like the sheep in this illustration, believers are people from all walks of life who hear and respond to Christ’s call to follow him and be a part of God’s flock. Faithful Christians come from all nations, races, and languages (Revelation 7:9) and are united in their desire to follow Christ together. They don’t just respond to Jesus at conversion but follow his leading for life. 

As believers, we must memorize the sound of our Good Shepherd’s voice so that we will hear and respond to it. As we grow in godliness through the work of the Holy Spirit, our knowledge of God will increase so that we can distinguish truth from deception. This won’t just happen passively. Just as you would never be able to get to know a friend or your spouse better if you never listened to anything they said, a Christian cannot expect to know God if they ignore his primary means of communication to us: the Bible. False teachers want to trick believers with lies about God that will trap them in sin. Believers must arm themselves with a deep knowledge of the Word so that they can discern right teaching from false teaching and not be misled. We also need to ask the Holy Spirit to make our rebellious hearts obedient, so that we desire to follow and obey our shepherd.

He Provides For His Flock

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 

The caring shepherd acts as a door for the sheep between their enclosure and the pasture. When danger is present, the shepherd gathers the sheep into their pen where he can protect them. When it’s safe, he allows the sheep to go out to the pasture to graze in lush meadows by quiet streams. The shepherd is concerned for the well-being of his sheep and wants them to thrive in his care. 

The thieves are false teachers, who distort God’s word for their own gain. They twist up the truth at the expense of others’ souls. They tell us that God loves us more when we follow a strict set of rules and less when we fail. If we’re struggling, they say we just don’t have enough faith. Try harder. They whisper that maybe we’re just not good enough, or God doesn’t even care. Why bother? These are lies that can be taken down with knowledge of God's word, but we also need to believe the truth of found in the Bible so we can abide in the security it offers.

Jesus cares for his flock of believers and provides for all of our needs. We can trust the promises of God’s Word and rest in the knowledge that nothing we need will ever be withheld from us (Psalm 84:11). We need to believe that that's true. Sometimes, in dark seasons we may wonder if God has abandoned us. In those times, we need to pray for God to give us the faith we lack. We need to go before him and say, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

He Sacrifices Himself For His Sheep

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

God cares deeply for us because we belong to him. Satan prowls like a wolf waiting to pounce on the weak. False teachers are like hired hands who scatter at the first sign of trouble, but Christ is our good shepherd. Without compulsion or coercion, he willingly gave himself up for us when he died on the cross for our sins. As God’s beloved son, with authority over life and death, he rose so that we can have new life in him, free from the bondage of sin. The sheep shouldn't repay the shepherd by turning around and playing chicken with the wolf. We must respond by putting our sin to death and worshipping Christ with our obedience. We need to live in the freedom we've already been given. We should hate our sin and run from it, not see how close we can get before it snatches us up.

Even though I still have to do adult things and care for others, I am secure in the knowledge that Jesus is our good shepherd. He teaches believers to hear his voice and respond to it and gathers us into community with all of his sons and daughters. He gives us everything we need and never holds back anything good from us. He lays down his own life to save us from the deadly trap of sin. 

Precious Father, thank you for being our shepherd. Thank you for calling us to be a part of your family and giving us security in your provision and protection. Thank you for freeing us from our slavery to sin through Jesus' death on the cross. Grow in us the desire to seek you and hear from you through your Word, and give us the faith we need to trust your promises. Holy Spirit, transform our hearts so that we can gratefully and joyfully worship you in obedience. Amen.

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Respond

What verses do you turn to when you need to remember the goodness of our shepherd? What other ways do you remind yourself of the security we have in Christ?

Set Free by Christ

I feel like I used to be better about remembering things, but something about regular sleep interruptions and living with a tiny, adorable tyrant makes me feel like my mind is about as sharp as a cotton ball, not a tack. I spend an inordinate part of each day searching for my lost keys, cell phone, or chapstick.

Recently, one of the things I’m most forgetful about is turning the hose off. My husband set up this nice irrigation system for our garden so we can just leave the water on for about 15 minutes and all our plants are watered. I usually just set a timer to remind me to turn the hose off when it's done. It’s been really awesome, except for the part where I’m busy when the time is up, so I stop the timer and then forget to actually turn the hose off. I think the longest I’ve left it on for so far is about...3 hours. Now, it’s been unusually hot here for the last few weeks, so the plants haven't been complaining about the extra moisture! Our water bill, on the other hand, is probably not going to be pretty. We will, quite literally, be paying the price for forgetfulness.

Spiritual forgetfulness is another problem that's easy to slip into as a believer, and it comes with a price. When we don't meditate on the promises of God's Word, we lose sight of the core doctrines of who Jesus is and live as slaves when Christ has set us free.

When we’re struggling with sin and feel discouraged that we’ll never have victory over it, we’ve forgotten that Christ has set us free from sin so that we’re free to obey God. When we allow other people, or our successes or failures, to define our identities we’re buying into Satan’s lies and forgetting that Jesus has freed us from such deceptions so that we can believe the truth of God’s Word. When we live only for today, or in fear of tomorrow, we’ve failed to remember that Christ has set us free from finite lives that end in death so that we can live for eternity. 

We’re continuing our series on the “I am” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John. Today, we’re looking at John 8:30-59, where Jesus declared, “Before Abraham was, I am,” to remind ourselves of the freedom we have given because of who Christ is.

Free From Sin

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

This passage begins with a group of people who had heard Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees in the temple from v. 12-29. They found Jesus’ words compelling in some way and “believed” him, but, as we’re going to see, their belief was incomplete. It wasn’t the responsive, transformative faith of salvation. These people who “believed” began to question Jesus and quickly became just as antagonistic toward him and his teachings as the Pharisees had been:

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

These Jews couldn’t see that, although they weren’t enslaved to people, they were still enslaved to their sin. They were descendents of Abraham, but they lived like children of the Devil because they were trapped in their unrighteousness.

Being united with the Son allows us to remain in the house of God as his adopted children forever. Believers who have been saved and received the Holy Spirit live according to the teachings of Jesus: our lives are transformed by the truth of who he is. We are seen as blameless before God and are free to obey him. We no longer have to live as slaves to sin, so we are free to obey God. We still live in a fallen world and will struggle with temptation, but the Holy Spirit is always at work, transforming us into the image of Christ and changing our hearts to desire to obey God.

Free From Deception

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

The Jews were proud to be descendents of Abraham, but their physical heritage was not enough. They were drawn in by Satan’s lies, so they could not receive Jesus as the Son of God,. They persecuted him instead, making pointed comments about his possibly illegitimate parentage, and, eventually, carrying out a plot to have him killed. If they were Abraham’s children, they would have loved Jesus and received his teachings.

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit at work in us so that we can see the truth, Satan will still try to deceive us with lies. We could be tempted to believe that God doesn't care about us, or that we're better than other people. We might feel the pull to live for whatever makes us happy, regardless of what God calls us to. These are evil lies, and, because we've been set free by Christ, we don't have to believe them.  We no longer have to be deceived, and are free to believe the life-giving truth contained in God’s Word.

Free From Death

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

If you got to the part of this passage where the people pick up stones to throw at Jesus and were confused about why they were so angry, you need some context from Exodus 3:13-15. There, God called out to Moses from the burning bush and told him he would use him to save the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt:

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

When Moses asked, God told him that his name was “I am” (which is also sometimes translated as “I am what I am”  or “I will be what I will be”). This is God’s most holy name, the meaning of which is meant to represent God’s eternal nature: he has and will always exist without beginning or end. When Jesus said “...before Abraham was, I am” (v. 58) he was claiming the same eternal existence that God had revealed about himself to Moses. God the Father, Son, and Spirit have always existed in perfect oneness: before Jesus’ incarnation, before God appeared to the Jewish patriarchs like Moses and Abraham, and even before the creation of the world. But the crowd did not receive what Jesus taught them and were filled with rage because of what he said. They believed he was blaspheming against God, so they tried to stone him to death.

In Genesis 12:2-3 and 22:17-18, Abraham heard and received the promise from God that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his offspring, and he was filled with joy at the thought. Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of that promise that was made to Abraham. Through Jesus, all believers, from all nations (not just Israel), can become a part of God’s family and receive eternal life. Because Jesus is the Son of God and is God, he is able to offer a path to eternal life to those who believe in and follow him. The Son knows the Father and keeps his commands with perfect obedience.

When we receive Christ as our savior, we believe in Him and receive Christ’s perfect righteousness and the hope of eternity with God. We no longer have to fear death, so we are free to live for eternity. We are given a purpose: to live in obedience to God to love, honor, and glory him. We serve others, not just our own desires because we know that rewards will await us in heaven. We have hope because we know that Jesus will return to right the wrongs and make all things new.

It's all too easy to fall into a season of spiritual forgetfulness. We can slide back into enslavement to sin, deception, and death without even realizing it. If you've been stuck in one of those seasons, take a moment to thank God for the freedom you have because of Christ. Ask God to give you a desire to meditate on and be transformed by his Word, so that you can live joyfully as his beloved child.

Father, thank you for sending your Son so that we can live, not as slaves, but as your beloved children. Thank you for freeing us from our captivity to sin, deception, and death. Help us to remember Christ's sacrifice in our place, and to live like we are truly free. Please give me a desire to meditate on your Word, and transform my heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Resource

A helpful primer for meditating on the Bible:
"5 Steps to Meditating on Your Bible" by Kristen Wetherell for The Gospel Coalition.

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Respond

How would your life change if you meditated on the truths contained in this passage regularly? How will you intentionally remind yoursel of them? 

Hope in Christ

Over these last few months, even as I’ve been enjoying my new role as a stay-at-home-mom to our son, I’ve been heavily burdened by the darkness and injustice of the world we are raising him in. It seems like I’m being confronted daily by new evidence of prejudice and animosity in the world. It’s hard not to fall into a trap of pessimistic thinking and lose hope for the future.

You may be in that place too: struggling to find hope for an uncertain future for yourself, your family, your community, or the wider world. Hopelessness is a real temptation, but, as Christians, we have an unshakable hope that is built on the cornerstone of Christ. When we’re on the verge of despair, we need to plunge into God’s Word to soak in the reality of who Jesus is. We must receive the hope that the Gospel offers to a world broken by sin. 

The passage we’re looking at today, John 8:12-30, is a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, which reveals essential, hope-giving truths about who Jesus is. 

After Jesus’ bold declaration in John 6 that he is the Bread of Life, the Jewish people became divided over his teachings (John 7). Some people believed him and began to follow him, but many of the other Jews thought that he was a heretic who was leading people away from the truth. The Pharisees fell into the latter group. They were so enraged by his public ministry that they wanted him dead and were plotting to have him killed. On many occasions, they publicly debated with Jesus over his teachings, attempting to discredit him.

In John 8:12-30, Jesus reveals foundational truths about himself that should inspire faith and hope in the Christian: Jesus sets us free from darkness, his authority is from God the Father, and to know him is to know God.

Jesus Sets Us Free From Darkness

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

Jesus certainly wasn’t pulling any punches here, was he? He boldly proclaimed something John previewed for the reader back in chapter 1: Christ is the source of life and of light in the world which will never be overcome (John 1:4-5). The powers of darkness can never truly kill those who have been filled with the new life he offers through his death on the cross, and the light of the truth of the Gospel can never be snuffed out. Followers of Christ are reborn and filled with the Holy Spirit, enabled to trust and serve God and becoming more like Christ as they prepare for eternal life after death. 

Jesus' Authority is from the Father

When the Pharisees responded, they totally bypassed the substance of what Jesus said and instead question his authority to make such a statement about himself at all:

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

The Pharisees were trying to trip Jesus up in something he said before: that his testimony about himself could not be true unless it was corroborated by another witness. This happened during another conversation they'd had about Jesus’ authority back in John 5. There, Jesus said, “30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.” The religious leaders were trying to discredit Jesus by throwing his words back in his face, but (once again) their hearts were blind to the truth and they missed the most important part of what he was saying. In John 5:30-47 and again here in 8:12-30, Jesus’ openly acknowledged that his authority doesn’t come from himself, it comes from God (5:36-37, 8:16,18,28-29). Christ knew that he had been sent by God to live on Earth and that he would return to him after his death and resurrection (v. 14) to reign with him forever in eternity. While the Pharisees judged people according to their own standards and self-imposed rules, Jesus’ judgments (and his authority to make them) are just and perfect because they originate from God (v. 15-18, 26, 28-29). 

To Know Jesus is to Know the Father

19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 

Without equivocation, Jesus tells them that if they really knew him, they would know God too. John already primed us for this idea in 1:18: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” The Father and Son are in perfect unity with one another. To know one is to know the other. When we have eyes to see the truth of who he is, the Son will help us to see the Father as well. Through faith in Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, we have a relationship with him and are able to truly know God and be perfectly known by him. 

The Pharisees were woefully blind to all of these truths about Jesus, and he warned them of the consequences of their unbelief:

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 

Because they did not believe that he was the Messiah, the Son of God, the Pharisees were destined to die in their sins without access to eternal life with Jesus. As the religious elite of their day, they were pretty shocked and confused by his teaching:

25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Everything Jesus said and did was in obedience to and for the glory of God the Father. Though the Pharisees were blind to this, Jesus knew that they would understand the truth when he was lifted up: at his death and resurrection and through his glorification at the Second Coming. The Pharisees hearts were too hard to receive Jesus' teaching at that time, but many other people who heard him responded and believed (v. 30). 

It’s easy to become discouraged and even filled with despair when we put our hope in relationships, material security, or world affairs. As believers, we have hope because we know that Christ has brought light into the darkness of our wayward hearts, rescuing us from our slavery to sin. He was sent by God with complete divine authority to heal the world's brokenness for his own glory. Christ's death took the punishment our sins deserved so that we could be redeemed and restored to fellowship with God, knowing and being perfectly known by him. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. We too often take for granted how blessed we are to be able to read and study the eternal truths found in the scriptures. Thank you for sending Jesus to deliver us from the darkness of sin, redeeming us so that we could be a part of your family. Thank you for the everlasting hope we have because of your goodness. Amen.

Resource: 

“I am the Light of the World” by John Piper on Desiring God.

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Respond

How do you remind yourself of these truths about Christ's identity when you are tempted to give up hope? Which of these is most encouraging to you right now, and why?