Sunday
Morning Bible Study
June
13, 2010
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
In our study in John we are at the end of a very long day.
The day started
early in the morning with Jesus teaching in the Temple. There was the incident with the woman who had been caught in
adultery, and Jesus telling the Pharisees,
(Jn 8:7 NKJV) …“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at
her first.”
As Jesus went
on to explain to the people about who He was, Jesus got into trouble because it
was sounding like He thought He was God.
When Jesus left the temple, He found and healed a man who had been born blind.
Again Jesus got into more trouble for having healed the man on the Sabbath.
In our last
study, Jesus talked about who He was, using an allegory about sheep and
shepherds.
10:11-21 The
Good Shepherd
:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep.
:11 good
– kalos – beautiful, handsome,
excellent, choice, surpassing, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable; calls
attention to the beauty in character and service
There will be
different kinds of shepherds in your life.
Coaches can be
a “shepherd”
The world lost a great person last week. John Wooden was ninety-nine years old when he
passed away.
Illustration
His UCLA teams won ten NCAA championships in 12 years. Few speak more
eloquently about Wooden than Bill Walton, who played for UCLA at a troubled
time in America, a time of Vietnam and Watergate, a time when young people were
asking hard questions, when dissent was in style.
For Wooden, the answers never changed. “We thought he was nuts,” Walton
said. “But in all his preachings and teachings, everything he told us turned
out to be true.
“His interest and goal was to make you the best basketball player but first
to make you the best person,” Walton said. “He would never talk wins and losses
but what we needed to succeed in life. Once you were a good human being, you
had a chance to be a good player. He never deviated from that.
“He has thousands of maxims. He is more
John Wooden today than ever. He is a man who truly has principles and ideas.
“He didn’t teach basketball. He
taught life.”
Hal Bock, Associated Press,
"A Coach for All Seasons," The
Spokane-Review Newspaper (12-4-00), p. C8; submitted by Bob Luhn, Othello, Washington
Illustration
A few of many John Wooden quotes:
A coach is someone who can give correction without
causing resentment.
You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for
someone who will never be able to repay you.
Adversity
is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being
especially free of admirers then.
Be more concerned with your character than your
reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your
reputation is merely what others think you are.
Failure
is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
It’s not so important who starts the game but who
finishes it.
Talent
is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given.
Be careful.
The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.
There
are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one
of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.
Parents are
like shepherds over their kids
God has entrusted
us to care for, nurture, and guide the lives of our precious kids.
Pastors are
supposed to be a type of shepherd. The English
word “pastor” comes directly from the Latin word for “shepherd” (“pastor”)
Illustration
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Keith Miller
writes, “Years ago, when our daughters were very young, we’d drop them off at
our church’s children’s chapel on Sundays before the eleven o’clock service.
One Sunday, just as I was about to open the door to the small chapel, the minister came rushing up
in full vestments. He said he had an emergency and asked if I’d speak to the
children at their story time. He said the subject was the Twenty-third Psalm. Just as I was about to
get up from the back row and talk about the good shepherd, the minister burst into the
room and signaled to me that he would be able to do the story time after all.
He told the children about sheep,
that they weren’t smart and needed lots of guidance, and that a shepherd’s job
was to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them
from wandering off and doing dumb things that would get them hurt or killed. He
pointed to the little
children in the room and said that they were the sheep and needed lots of
guidance. Then the minister put his hands out to the side, palms up in a
dramatic gesture, and with raised eyebrows said to the children, “If you are
the sheep then who is the shepherd?” He was pretty obviously indicating
himself. A silence of a few seconds followed. Then a young visitor said,
“Jesus, Jesus is the shepherd.” The young minister, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy,
“Well, then, who am I?” The little boy frowned thoughtfully and then said with
a shrug “I guess
you must be a sheep dog.” I remember the look on that young minister’s face
every time I get to thinking that I’m the shepherd in charge of some of God’s
sheep. There’s only one shepherd of the flock—and I’m not He.”
:11 I am
– ego eimi – similar to the
translation of God’s name “Yahweh” (Ex. 3:13-14)
We’ve seen that when Jesus uses this combination of words, it seems to be a
hint at His claim to be God.
Jesus has already used this phrase several ways in the Gospel of John.
Sometimes His
point is to make it clear that He is connecting Himself to Yahweh, and you must
believe that He, Jesus, is God.
(Jn 8:24 NKJV) Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for
if you do not believe that
I am He, you will die in your
sins.”
The word “He” is not in the original text. Jesus is saying that you must believe that He
is the “I AM”.
Several times
Jesus takes this phrase and elaborates on what it means to us. He is telling us
what it means in our lives when He is our God:
He is the Bread
of Life:
(Jn 6:35 NKJV) And Jesus said to
them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Jesus will satisfy our spiritual hunger.
Three times (John 6:35,48,51) Jesus said “I AM” the bread
of life in John 6.
He is the Light
of the world:
(Jn 8:12 NKJV) Then Jesus spoke to
them again, saying, “I am the light of the
world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life.”
Jesus takes us out of the darkness of the world.
He is the Door
(Jn 10:7 NKJV) Then Jesus said to
them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep.
We saw last time that He is the only way for the sheep to
find the safety of God’s sheepfold.
He is the Good
Shepherd
Now He tells us that when He is God in your life, you will
find that He is the Good Shepherd.
Before becoming
king over Israel, David had been a shepherd over his father’s flocks.
David knew what being a shepherd
was all about.
David wrote a
song about Yahweh (the “I AM”) being his shepherd.
(Ps 23 NKJV) — 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
The Hebrew word for “LORD”
here is God’s name, Yahweh. When Yahweh
is your shepherd, your deepest needs are met.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still
waters.
God feeds us. Under-shepherds are responsible
to “Feed the flock” by teaching God’s Word.
Sheep don’t like turbulent waters, they need “still waters”. God leads us
to where there is peace.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s
sake.
God wants to lead our lives. He has places for us to go and He knows how to
get us there.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
There may be times when life gets pretty scary. There can be nothing more
scary than being close to death. Yet we don’t need to be afraid if we are close
to the shepherd.
The rod and staff were tools of the
shepherd. They might be used to defend the sheep from predators. They might be
used to poke at a sheep or get a sheep’s attention to get the sheep to move
away from danger.
God uses His Word
in these ways in our lives.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my
head with oil; My cup runs over.
We like to run when we find ourselves surrounded by enemies. Yet God takes
care of us and even sets a table for us.
The oil is a picture of the Holy
Spirit. Shepherds might put oil on their sheep’s head for two reasons: To keep
bugs and ticks out of the ears and eyes of the sheep, and to make their head
slippery so other sheep that want to butt heads only glance off instead of
harming. God knows how to take care of the things that bug you and the people
you butt heads with. He wants to help you by the Spirit.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will
dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Spurgeon called
goodness and mercy God’s “footmen”. In Victorian England, the footmen would
ride on the back of your coach and help you out when you reached your
destination. Goodness and mercy follow us, not wrath and judgment. I like Greg Laurie’s old cartoon that has two dogs (“goodness and
mercy”) following him.
This is what it means to have Jesus as your Shepherd. When you have a Good Shepherd, amazing things
happen.
:11 The good
shepherd gives His life
:11 gives – tithemi
– to set, put, place; to put down, lay down; to lay off or aside, to wear or
carry no longer
:11 life – psuche
– breath; the breath of life; life; that in which there is life; the soul; the
seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul etc.)
Jesus doesn’t use zoe.
:11 for – huper
– in behalf of, for the sake of
This will be one of the chief characteristics of a “good” shepherd. He is one who risks His own life for the
sheep.
David knew what this was all about.
He was a shepherd before he was king. (Show picture of David rescuing the lamb)
(1 Sa 17:34–35 NKJV) —34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his
father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the
flock, 35 I went out
after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it
arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
This is what makes Jesus the “good” shepherd.
He gave His
life for us.
We were caught in the jaws of our own sin, and He gave up His life so we
could be freed from the penalty of our sin.
Isaiah foretold what Jesus would do:
(Is 53:5–6 NKJV) —5 But He was wounded for
our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our
peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We
have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He knew this was coming. As He
walked the roads with His disciples, He knew that one day He would die a
horrible death. He went to the cross
because He loved us so much that He was willing to do whatever it took to save
us from our sins.
Some people have this crazy idea that God doesn’t love
them. There is no thought further from
the truth. The Bible says,
(Ro 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
:12 But a hireling,
he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and
scatters them.
:12 hireling
– misthotos – one hired, a hireling; from
misthos – dues paid for work; wages,
hire
There are some people who are in the place of being a “shepherd” over you,
but are there only because they are being paid, not because they care anything
for you.
It’s like the
difference between a babysitter and a mom.
Can you tell the difference? Who
cares the most for the child? Hopefully
it’s the mom…
Peter tells the leaders of the church:
(1 Pe 5:2 Msg) Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the
diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to
please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting
spontaneously.
(1
Pe 5:2 NIV) …not
greedy for money, but eager to serve;
:12 flees – aphiemi
– to send away; to leave, go way from one; in order to go to another place; to
depart from any one; to desert wrongfully; abandon, leave destitute
:12 catches – harpazo
– to seize, carry off by force
:12 scatters – skorpizo
– to scatter; of those who, routed or terror stricken or driven by some other
impulses, fly in every direction
from – skorpios – a
scorpion
(Mt
12:30 NKJV) —30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather
with Me scatters abroad.
:13 The hireling
flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
:13 care about
– melo
– to care about
Sometimes the “hireling” just doesn’t pay attention to the sheep. Why should he?
Sheep can get into trouble if you don’t keep an eye on them …
Illustration
Sometimes one sheep leads another astray.
Play “Harley
Black Sheep” clip.
Illustration
Here’s one of those
“weird” news stories from 2005 (show pic) :
ISTANBUL, Turkey (July
8) - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who
had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500
others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
In the end, 450 sheep died, the
rest were cushioned as they fell on top of the pile of dead sheep.
:14 I am the
good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep. His sheep know Him.
:14 I know My sheep – literally, “I know mine”
:14 know
– ginosko – to learn to know, come to
know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; knowledge by experience
This is a “personal” word, a word that speaks of relationship. I may know some facts about the President of
the United States, but I don’t know him.
I don’t have a relationship with him.
I know a few facts about my wife, and I will let you know that I DO know
her. And she knows me.
Lesson
Knowing Jesus
I grew up around religion. As a
child, I remember being taken to church every Sunday.
But it wasn’t until I was in eighth grade that after having changed
churches, I heard for the first time that instead of just knowing about God, I
could actually know God.
My own personal journey wasn’t like some others. I wasn’t a bad kid. I didn’t do drugs. I wasn’t rebellious against my parents.
But one day the pastor at the church gave an invitation for people to come
to know Christ. When my older sister
went forward, my parents kind of nudged me to follow her down the aisle. I wasn’t real sure what I was doing. When the pastor bent over to ask me why I was
coming forward, I kind of shrugged my shoulders, pointed to my sister, and
said, “Same reason she did”. It wasn’t
until I was taken into the prayer room by one of the older men in the church
that I heard about asking Christ into my heart.
And that’s what I did.
Some people have intellectual questions that need
to be answered. And I have to tell you
that there are indeed some very good answers to your questions.
Some people find themselves caught in sin and realize they
need help, they need forgiveness. There
is forgiveness in Jesus.
Others go through deep crises that lead them
to the place where they know they need God in their lives. I have good news for you, Jesus has the help
you need.
I kind of just stumbled into it. And
found Jesus. Is that you today? Do you want to know Him? This is the right time to do it.
:15 As the
Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep.
:15 lay down – tithemi
– to set, put, place; to put down, lay down; to lay off or aside, to wear or
carry no longer
Same word is translated “gives his life” in verse 11.
:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must
bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one
shepherd.
:16 other – allos
– another, other; denotes numerical in distinction from qualitative
differences; a simple distinction of individuals instead of a difference in
kind (heteros).
:16 fold – aule
– among the Greeks in Homer’s time, an uncovered space around the house,
enclosed by a wall, in which the stables stood, hence among the Orientals that
roofless enclosure by a wall, in the open country in which the flocks were
herded at night, a sheepfold; a courtyard, a house
:16 other sheep
What are the “other sheep”?
People who are
into UFO's will tell us that Jesus
is talking about people on other planets.
The Mormons
teach that this is referring to the lost tribes of Israel that had supposedly migrated to America 600
years earlier. They teach that between
the time that Jesus died on the cross and He rose from the dead, that He took a
quick trip to America and preached to these people.
The Bible teaches
that the “other sheep” are the Gentiles.
For the
ordinary Jew of Jesus’ day, it would seem absolutely incredible to think that
Gentiles could be a part of God’s “flock”, this is exactly what happened. It started with Peter seeing a vision and
then sharing the gospel in the house of a Roman centurion. It continued with the apostle Paul being sent out to preach the
gospel “to the Jew first and also the Greek”.
In heaven, the multitude around the throne of God will sing:
(Re 5:9 NKJV) …“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For
You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and
tongue and people and nation…
There will be other sheep not from the “fold” of Israel who will make it
into the “flock of God”.
:17 “Therefore
My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
:17 loves – agapao – to love
:17 lay down – tithemi
– to set, put, place; to put down, lay down; to lay off or aside, to wear or
carry no longer
Same word is translated “gives his
life” in verse 11, and “lay down” in verse 15.
:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received
from My Father.”
:18 power – exousia – power of choice, liberty of
doing as one pleases
Jesus will not die on a cross because of some sort of accident.
He would die on purpose. He made a
choice to die on the cross. He made the
choice to die because of you, because He loved you.
:19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these
sayings.
:19 division – schisma
– a rent; metaph. a division, dissension
The people that were listening to Jesus speak found themselves taking one
of two sides…
:20 And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to
Him?”
:20 mad
– mainomai – of one who so speaks
that he seems not to be in his right mind
:21 Others
said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the
eyes of the blind?”
:21 open the eyes
of the blind
Even though this has taken us months to study these things, the man who had
been born blind had been healed the same day that Jesus said all these things.
Lesson
What do you think of Jesus?
There will be a “division”, a “schism” today. It will be over what you think of Jesus.
You can’t be neutral on this. You
are going to be in one camp or another.
Jesus said,
(Mt 12:30 NKJV) He who is not with Me is against Me…
If you are not “for” Jesus, then you are against Him. There is no middle ground.
It’s like getting on an elevator.
You either go up or you go down.
I want to give you an opportunity today to change camps.
Perhaps you never realized that God actually wants to you to know Him.
It starts with a very simple prayer.