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John: Words of Life - I Will Follow - Part 2
June 20, 2021

How cool would it be to be a hero? A real, bonafide fully recognized hero - someone who put themselves at risk to save another, or many others? We have lots of visions of what it means to be a hero - most recently as we celebrated memorial day. We have soldiers and military personnel who put themselves between us and the adversary - many of which lose their lives for our freedom. We have first responders who daily walk into incredibly volatile situations to maintain order and safety for those living in our society. These people take risks so that we do not have to - and many pay dearly for this action - these people are heroes.

In pop culture, heroes are portrayed slightly differently. Many of them wear special mechanical suits or carry legendary weapons, exhibiting extraordinary powers that give them the ability to protect when others cannot. And even with these benefits, they choose to help others - to protect and keep order - these are heroes too. How many times in your childhood or even adulthood did you imagine what it would be like to fly like Superman or have the strength of the Hulk or be able to turn invisible or travel at the speed of sound or wield power unknown to other people? How cool would that be?

There is another picture which depicts a hero that is very popular, and it is this picture that is brought to mind with the passage we are studying today. Important people in the world are, as Hollywood would have you believe, constantly in danger. To that end, politicians, movie stars, musicians - these people need protection. Enter the bodyguard. Whenever you see a show or a movie with a bodyguard in it, it is almost guaranteed that you are going to see a scene where, in slow motion, the bodyguard dives in front of their charge to take the bullet for them. It is dramatic, it is tragic, and it is absolutely going to happen every single time. This particular trope in entertainment is the exact embodiment of Jesus’ words in John 15:13 - “Greater love has no one than this: that he would lay down his life for his friends.” That’s a hero.

Ladies, I am going to give you a peek into the mind of a man this morning. This is especially true if this man is or has been married with kids - especially if he has daughters - and I make that proclamation boldly because it is the only context I have. Every man here has, at some point, envisioned the scenario where it would fall to him to be the hero. That moment where he would step between his family and danger and say something heroic like Dirty Harry - Do you feel lucky punk? Each of us has envisioned being the hero that our family or friends or loved ones needed in the moment, and even in imagining the feeling is glorious.

Yet then, later on, when we aren’t inflated with bravado we might ask ourselves - do we really have the courage to do that? If my family was threatened would I risk it all for them? I would like to think that I would if it came to that, but we can’t know for sure unless it happens. And I believe that every man has that little tiny insecurity - that little nagging question inside them that asks “but what if I failed” or even worse - “What if I chickened out.”

If you have your Bibles, please open them to John chapter 10. Last week, Jesus talked about what it means to lead. He used this image of the shepherd and the protection of the sheep in the pen as they pass through the only way between safety and providence - through Jesus himself. A shepherd is a person that should be followed because he is trustworthy and responsible, taking on the challenges presented to the flock before they reach the sheep. Now, Jesus shifts gears to focus on the truth of who He is and what that means. Read passage John 10:11-21.

 We saw in the first half of this chapter through Jesus’ imagery with the shepherd that the shepherd - the one who belongs with the sheep, provides security. However, now he is expanding that role - notice that he does not say “I am the shepherd” but says “I am the Good Shepherd” which makes it clear that this is something more - something even beyond what he has described. And much like the other declarations he has made about Himself, he is going to expand on what that means and how it fits into his purpose.

As much as I loved the image of the shepherd lying across the gate into the sheep pen, Jesus immediately takes this a step further. The Good Shepherd does not just lie across the opening to stave off the predators, but if it becomes necessary, he lays down his life for the sheep. The good shepherd makes the supreme sacrifice for the good of those he leads when it is necessary. 

There is a dual meaning to this as well. Jesus spent the first part of the chapter explaining that those who came before him were thieves and robbers - trying to enter the pen by climbing through or otherwise avoiding the proper way to access the sheep. Through that description and through the claim as to what the Good Shepherd does, he is addressing the words of the prophet Zechariah who speaks of these thieves and robbers and false witnesses. Zechariah 11:17 states “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!”

Jesus is addressing what would have been a real concern for Jewish teachers and scholars about the nature of a false Messiah. Jesus essentially presents Himself as the opposite of the thieves and robbers mentioned in the prophecy and in Jesus’ own teaching, reminding the people that those who behave in this manner will have their ability to protect anyone - including themselves, taken from them through the withering of the arm and blinding of the eye. So not only is he telling them “I am the Good Shepherd who does these wonderful things” he is also telling them “I am not the worthless shepherd you fear and will not abandon you.”.

The Greek word kalos used here for “good” emphasizes genuineness, value, and truth. This verse serves to show how the Good Shepherd differs even from other shepherds - ones who themselves still model the leadership and diligence he was describing only a few verses earlier. Other shepherds may risk their lives for the sheep just as we know that David did in fighting off lions and bears, but they would never intentionally die for the sake of their flock like with the supreme sacrifice of Calvary.

The Good Shepherd cares for the sheep in a way no hired hand could. We certainly do not equate the hired hand with the thieves and robbers described earlier. They are clearly evil - they come to steal, kill and destroy; the hired hand, he suffers from poor motivation. Since the sheep do not belong to the hired hand, he will not risk his life to save them. He only wants his paycheck and will protect the sheep only when their enemies provide no threat to his own life and safety. Later in the New Testament Peter warned the elders of the church not to be like hired-hand shepherds who functioned with a mercenary attitude. The Good Shepherd values those in his charge above himself, as that is his calling and purpose - he came for this very reason, though the sheep do not understand.

So through all this it is made abundantly clear that the shepherd - and especially the Good Shepherd, represents security, shelter - safety for the sheep. However, the Good Shepherd offers more than any normal shepherd - the Good Shepherd also offers them their salvation.

Here we learn more about the nature of God - his sacrifice is only one part of relationship with His sheep. He relates to his sheep through trust and real intimacy - he knows the sheep in the same way that His Father knows Him. Parents - how well did you know your children when they were young? As babies you knew them well enough to tell what different cries meant. You learned what foods they liked and didn’t. We learned the things they enjoyed doing in their free time. We learned how to embarrass them - what the buttons were. We knew what topics would engage their interest in conversation, and we got to know their successes, failures, and struggles even as we watched them grow and mature.

The Good Shepherd knows the sheep in the way the father knows the Son - every aspect, every desire, every bit. The Good Shepherd is invested in His sheep. As his sheep follow him obediently, they get to know the shepherd just as well - but to know him, to be protected by him, to be saved by him - they must continue to follow, no matter where he leads them.

Now he makes the statement in the first person - he has already declared that he is the Good Shepherd, and now he says “I will lay down my life for my sheep.” We know as Christians that he is not being metaphorical at this point - very soon many of these listeners are going to stand by and watch these very things happen. 

No shepherd could ever give their life in the way that Jesus does for us - he took our sins upon himself in our place - we could not do it for ourselves and cannot do it for anyone else. However, there are other ways that we can give our lives for others as we fulfill our calling to do what Jesus does. We give our time in order to help. We sacrifice things that we would rather do or rather have in order to serve and give to others. If we follow Jesus’ example we must put others ahead of ourselves - our primary desire must be for their spiritual well-being.

Then we move onto Verse 16 and we learn of other sheep that are not of our pen. But who are these other sheep that are not of this sheep pen? Most scholars believe this refers to non-Jews, the Gentile believers who would become a part of the Lord’s people as the disciples preached the gospel in Acts. And in multiflock pens, it becomes all the more important for sheep to understand their master’s voice. These various flocks, Jesus said, will be one because they follow one shepherd. This is a beautiful picture of the unification of genders and ethnic groupings through the Savior. This lays the groundwork for much of Paul’s teaching on equality of peoples - that we all identify as children of God, and that is all that matters.

Jesus not only proclaimed additional sheep outside the scope of his hearers’ thinking; he also said that he must bring them to the one flock. Through the centuries the English text has occasionally substituted the word fold for flock, thereby giving the verse a different orientation. There are many folds (pens) containing other sheep that must be reached. But when the spiritual unity of Christ’s followers comes into correct perspective, there is only one flock—one body of Christ, with many denominations and affiliations. You have heard me refer to this as the “Big C-Church” - mainly the whole of the body of believers in the world. There is a call here for unity - must be of one flock if we will ever be of one kingdom.

Jesus shifts gears here and addresses something that is a big question for both believers and unbelievers alike - the question of why Jesus had to die. Jesus emphasized that his death on the cross would not occur because earthly powers are stronger than the power of the heavenly Father. He would lay down his life willingly and at the time the Father required it. Substitutionary atonement - the fancy $10 seminary words for the act of dying sinless for our sins, is the heart of the gospel, and that certainly focuses the Lord’s words here. He would join the sheep from a variety of pens and he would die for all of them - regardless of which pen they came from. This has been the theme of Christ’s life all along - even when Isaiah prophesied about the suffering servant to come. Isaiah 53:6 says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray,     each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

It is difficult to imagine that either Jesus or John intended to tell us in verse 17 when it says “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life” that the Father loved the Son only because the Son willingly died for the sheep. The original Greek really emphasizes just the reverse, and the text reads more accurately, “Because [dia touto] the Father loves me, that is the reason [hoti, therefore] I lay down my life.” The model of the Father provided the model for the Son, which in turn should provide the model for the followers of Jesus.

I feel that it’s important that we go back to the idea of the sheep from the other flocks, because this is a principle that the church struggles with just as mightily today as it did in Jesus’ time. This week was the SBC’s annual meeting, and I watched a fair bit of it online. The main themes of the discussions - apart from allegations of sexual misconduct within the denomination - were talks of inclusion specific to race, culture, and behavior. I will tell you that I was disappointed in much of the direction these talks took, because there seems to be focus on diversity and racial equality not because these things are Godly and right, but because we as a denomination want to be presented as being Godly and right. It seemed very much that the appearance was more important than the truth of real unity with, as John says - the sheep from other pens - regardless of what it was that made the pens different.

The fact of the matter is that as General Baptists rejecting reformed theology, we believe that Jesus died on the cross for all mankind as outlined in John 3:16. That means that there should be no division by race or background or social status or even gender - Paul makes that abundantly clear in each of his letters. Further, we know the end of the story, and we know that people of all nations are there. Revelation 7:9-10 says “After this I looked and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and people and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...crying out with a loud voice as one, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

In order for this new and united flock to exist, Jesus must sacrifice Himself. And here, Jesus explains 4 aspects of this sacrifice for the people to understand:

1. The self-sacrifice of the Son is related to the Father’s love for the Son. The Father loves the Son because the Son loves us unto death. This is a remarkable revelation. Our need, and Christ’s gracious response to it, is the occasion of the drawing forth of the Father’s love for his Son.  As we discussed, this does not mean that the Father’s loving the Son is contingent upon Christ’s loving us. Rather, the love of Father for Son, and of Son for Father, leads to all our experience of his grace, and is indeed its ultimate basis. 

2. The sacrifice of Jesus for us was a voluntary one. “No-one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down.” Thus the control, as far as Jesus’ sacrifice is concerned, lies not with Judas, or Caiaphas, or Pilate, or the Sanhedrin, but with Jesus himself. He gave himself freely.

3. Jesus’ vision embraces not just his death but also the resurrection which will follow it. Indeed, the death itself is a form of exaltation which demands the resurrection as its necessary sequel. In this profound sense it was indeed ‘impossible for death to keep its hold on him’ (Acts 2:24).

4. All of this Jesus will do in obedience. He who is eternally one with the Father is also the Son who always obeys the Father. In that mutuality lies not only the mystery of the inner life of the Trinity, but also the secret of his mission. Obedience.

It sounds cheesy and trite - but this is Jesus diving in front of the bullet for you in the most heroic way possible. It struck me this week about all of the attributes that I consider when I think about Jesus - his love, His grace, His righteousness….I never recognized that Jesus is my hero. A hero puts themself in harm’s way to save another. A hero arrives in the nick of time to save us from the trouble we have gotten ourselves into. A hero sacrifices and serves - even when the person they save does not thank them. Jesus is my hero - is he yours?

For the Jews that were listening to all of this, they were torn. Jesus wasn’t telling the people that He was a hero - he was telling them what a hero does, and soon his actions will reveal the truth of his heroism. The people did not understand - could not fully understand.

How many here have worked with sheep before? If you ever have to work with sheep, there is one fact about sheep that is unfortunate, but always true - sheep are some of the dumbest animals in existence. They are smart enough to follow - they do not make decisions well. They get lost easily, and they require constant protection because half the time they don’t even recognize danger. It would be easy for us to be offended by Jesus using this image to portray people - we are so dumb that we need someone to follow us.

But he is right - in more ways than we want to admit. Sheep do not understand the risks the shepherd takes on their behalf - they don’t understand the danger that is kept from them. They do not understand the sacrifice of the shepherd - they can’t understand it, they do not have the capacity. When we see here that the Jews were divided - they did not know what to think, it was because they did not yet have the capacity to fully understand. They looked at the law and the Jewish leaders and they saw the safe but abusive shepherd they were used to - they had trouble seeing Jesus as the shepherd because he was unknown to them.

Yet some have begun to recognize. They saw him open the eyes of the blind man, and they know that such a sign is not normal. Some recognize the shepherd, some even likely make the stand and say that they will follow Him. I am going to ask you today - will you follow the Good Shepherd, wherever he leads? Let’s Pray.