John 10:1-10<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and His Son our Saviour, the Lord Jesus
\nChrist.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now that it seems like winter is finally coming to end, I have to admit that my thoughts
\nstart to turn toward what I would call \u201cSummer Pursuits.\u201d One of the things I really
\nlove doing early in the summer is to take a drive from Edmonton all the way out to
\nWestlock. I love going there because when we\u2019re driving on our way there, I get to see
\nall of the flocks and herds on the farms that border on the highway. Who knows! I
\nthink that although I have lived in the city for many years, I\u2019m still a bit of a farmboy at
\nheart. And I\u2019m sure that in life, many of you have seen much the same thing. After all,
\nwe are in the center of a farming province. Now, when we look at today\u2019s Scripture
\nreading, a person who just skims it could very easily mistake it for a discussion being
\nheld by a farmer. Of course, that\u2019s not actually what\u2019s going on. In fact, what is
\nhappening is a type of argument.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s take a little time and consider the facts regarding the opposing sides in this
\nargument.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To begin with, in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the leaders of Israel were not exactly
\nwhat I would call \u201cupright\u201d men. In Ezekiel 34, which is titled \u201cProphecy against the
\nShepherds of Israel,\u201d the prophet states that these shepherds, the leaders of Israel,
\nhave been feeding themselves and not the people who they have been given
\nleadership over. Ezekiel says that they have been eating the fat, and clothing
\nthemselves from the wool. He also says that they slaughter the fat sheep, and that
\nthey have not healed the sick ones. They haven\u2019t bound up the injured or brought
\nback strays. They have ruled with force and harshness. They were thieves and
\nrobbers that ruled only for their own gain, and with no concern for the people of Israel.
\nSo, what this all adds up to is the fact that they were terrible leaders. They were bad
\nshepherds for the sheep of God\u2019s flock.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In this morning\u2019s Scripture, we are told about how Christ came as the Good Shepherd.
\nIn contrast to the bad shepherds who led Israel in the past, Jesus came to lead His
\nflock as a Good Shepherd would do. When he calls us, we know his voice and he
\ncalls us by name. When the Good Shepherd leads us, we follow him because we
\nknow him. These are the facts, and they are really not in dispute.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, now that we know the facts, let\u2019s look at the actual argument.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The two sides that make up this argument are the bad shepherds (that is, the terrible
\nleaders of Israel) and the Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ). So how do we know that the
\nbad shepherds were just that. The prophet Ezekiel made it pretty clear! God
\ncondemned them for their actions. Their leadership of Israel was self-serving in the
\nextreme. They lived high on the hog without any concern for the people of Israel. They
\nwore the finest clothes and ate from the best of what Israel could provide for them.
\nThey didn\u2019t care for the sickness or loss that the Jewish people suffered. Really, the
\nonly care that they had was for themselves and their own wants and desires. It
\nbecomes very obvious that they had listened to the wrong voice, been led astray, and
\nhad become the robbers and thieves that they are described as in the tenth chapter
\nof John. Now, the fact is that this Scripture doesn\u2019t just apply to people 2000 years
\nago when Christ walked the Earth. It applies to us in the here and now.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When we don\u2019t listen to the right voice, we allow ourselves to be deceived and led
\nastray. For example, if we look at all the different cults and fake religious movements
\nthat are out there, each one of them is a \u201cwrong voice\u201d when it comes to anything
\nspiritual, and I guarantee that they would qualify as Robbers and Thieves because the
\ngoal of their actual leader, the Devil, is to steal, kill, and destroy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It\u2019s really quite a simple thing in this day and age. There are so many temptations out
\nthere that a person can be literally bombarded by them on a daily basis. Every sin
\nimaginable, every wrong belief, every false religion that is out there is paraded in front
\nof us and made to look as shiny and tempting as the enemy can make them, and his
\nonly goal is that we follow the wrong voice and be led away from the truth, the voice
\nof the Good Shepherd. And there\u2019s another thing that we as Christians have to be
\naware of. Sometimes the \u201cwrong voice\u201d isn\u2019t just out there, but it can also be here
\nwith us. Because we are sinful people, we still listen to that little voice that is our
\nflesh. Some have called it the \u201cOld Adam\u201d, still trying to rise up and draw us away
\nfrom what we know to be holy and righteous and sanctified. It may only be a little
\nvoice, but it is still a \u201cwrong voice\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, we make a mistake and follow a wrong voice, and it leads us down a path. What
\nhappens when we arrive at the end of this path? We find the truth that the False
\nShepherds only come to steal, kill, and destroy! Their purpose all along is quite
\nsimply our death and destruction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now that we understand the fact that there are False Shepherds out there in society
\ntoday, the only thing left for us is to hear the real truth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And may God be praised because He has given us the real truth. Jesus came to be
\nthe Good Shepherd to us, and He teaches us the ways in which we will know this. In
\nthe first two verses of our passage today, Jesus warns us of the False Shepherds, and
\nthen he tells us about the Good Shepherd who enters the sheepfold by the gate. In
\nother words, he describes the first way that we will know Him for who he is. He enters
\nby the gate which shows us that He is our true Saviour, the Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The next way in which he proves the truth of his position is that we hear His voice, and
\nHe calls us by name and leads us out. False Shepherds seek to lead us away to death
\nand destruction, but Jesus Christ leads us to where we can go in and out and find
\npasture. What this means is that He takes us to where we can live and be free, instead
\nof being bound up by the sin and evil of this world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Another thing that I think we should understand is that a true shepherd will defend
\nhis flock and even lay down his life for them. Think about it! How many of you can
\ntruly say that they know someone who would lay down their life for them. John 15:13
\nsays, \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his Friends.\u201d
\nJesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life for us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The last, and I think really the most important identifier for him is that He leads us to
\neverlasting life. In verse 10, Jesus tells us that he came to give us life, and that more
\nabundantly. Even though we were not worthy in any way, he chose to bring us that
\nabundant life, a life with him and the Father in heaven. He came to Earth, died on the
\nCross, was resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven so that we could
\nhave eternal life. The False Shepherds bring death and destruction, but Jesus Christ
\nbrings everlasting life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, the simple fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve heard about how the leaders of Israel were bad shepherds, and how they lived
\nonly for their own benefit. What a contrast when we see what Jesus Christ, the Good
\nShepherd, has done for us. He warns us of dangers, he leads us and knows us by
\nname, he provides for us and our well-being, he gives us freedom and life to live, and
\nmost of all he saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life. Jesus Christ is the Good
\nShepherd, our Saviour and Lord!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your
\nhearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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