"I am the Good Shepherd"

John, chapter 9 concerns a man who was born blind. Jesus saw him and the disciples asked the question. “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that this man was born blind?” Right there we know that the disciples had been raised on lousy preaching. This way of thinking is false—patently false. It assumes a linkage between sin and catastrophe. If you escaped catastrophe, you are a good person. If you are struck with blindness or if your cow runs dry, God must have cursed you. If this were true, good people would never die. All three thousand people killed in the World Trade Center were worse than the people who worked in the Empire State Building. Helen Keller and Ray Charles were terrible sinners, but Hugh Hefner isn’t. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this doesn’t work. But the disciples believed it. It was not their fault. They had heard it preached that way. Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. “ With that, he spit on the ground, made a paste, and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. Then he told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, and he would see. When he came back, Jesus had already left. Instead, a delegation of the local ministers came to visit. They told him to give God the glory and denounce Jesus. He refused. They said he was a sinner and a charlatan. The man responded that he didn’t know about that, but he knew this--once he was blind but now he saw. Not only was it a statement of faith, but it was one of the best put-downs in the New Testament. Later the man caught up with Jesus, and professed his faith. This gave Jesus a teaching opportunity. He saw a very common sight. There was a shepherd herding sheep into a pen. The pen had no door. Once the sheep were inside, the shepherd laid down on the ground across the entrance. He became the door. As long as the sheep were in that pen, he guarded them. Some men bothered the sheep, but they weren’t shepherds. They were thieves and robbers who came over the wall. They didn’t guard them. They only fleeced them. So Jesus said. In verses 1-2 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. People have the wrong idea about preachers. They think preachers save people. Whenever someone want a relative to get saved, they drag him to see the preacher, or sic the preacher on them. But Jesus didn’t come to save people through preachers. He came to save them from preachers. Preachers were his main problem. It was the dummies like these who taught that someone was a sinner if they had a gimpy leg. I’d like to say we do better today, but we don’t. A lot of preachers believe less than their congregations. They need their congregations to save them. They let their own ideas and egos take the place of a careful, humble attention to the Word of God. God didn’t send these men. But the leader God calls is the one that come in through the gate, and stays at the gate. He is there to be a shepherd—twenty-four hours a day. The man at the gate was a symbol of Jesus‘ leadership—a twenty-four hour commitment. How did they know who to trust? Why should they trust Jesus? After all, he was a preacher, too. Using the analogy of the shepherd, Jesus gave several things to look for in a leader. Verse 3--The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. Clearly, it is not possible for the shepherd to be with his sheep all the time. When he was gone a watchman would watch the sheep until he returned. The watchman knows who appointed him, so when he returns, he relinquishes the job to the shepherd. God appointed watchmen over Israel—Moses, the prophets, John the Baptist. They spoke of Jesus. When Jesus returned, those who had always known him, willingly relinquished control. John the Baptist, the last of the watchmen, recognized Jesus when he came. 3-5He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4-5 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. The shepherd and the sheep have a special relationship. He knew each one. When the shepherd calls, they come, because they know him. If an impostor tried to rustle them, they would run away. Jesus knew the one who were in his flock. He called them out to follow Him. They follow, because they have been called. Jesus leads from the front, not the back. He never asks his flock to do anything that He himself is not doing. The sheep recognize his voice, because he has taken the time to build a relationship with them. Jesus does not want us just following because He says so. He wants us to follow because He loves us, and we have come to know that. Christians are forever trying to be leaders. We want the world to follow us to Jesus. Why should they, unless we have built a relationship with them first/ Then, just in case they missed the point, he makes it even clearer. 7-10Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. When Jesus talks about the pastors who have come before him, he is not talking about everyone—only the pastors of his day. He was talking of the conflicting voices who called the sheep of first century Israel to follow. There were the legalists--the Pharisees, who taught that the way to God was in impossibly strict obedience. . There were the traditionalists—the Sadducees who taught that as long as you attended church and followed the rituals, you were saved. There were zealots--the wild, charismatic false Messiah’s who tried to lead them into battle against the Romans. They sounded as though they wanted to change the world, but all the really wanted to do was to attract followers to themselves. All of them were wrong. Leading a church is not about getting people to be good. It isn’t about following tradition and ritual. It is not even about taking over the world through evangelism. It is about being a shepherd—caring for the people God gave us. Pastoring a flock is about being gentle and kind. It is about being there for them when they are sick and hurting, leading them when they are lost, and binding the wounds of the broken hearted. It is about being God’s representative to a group of people, and through them to the whole world. Last week we saw the death of Edward Kennedy—the last Kennedy brother. The Kennedys we bred to politics. How could three bothers all be so famous and effective in transforming the world? Families like the Kennedys or the Bushes fascinate me, because of their enormous success. These families shake the world. How do they do it? The secret is not to be found in influence or power, but in the internal dynamics of the family. The family was bred to it. There was an culture of success bred into these families, and a warm affection that made it possible. Somewhere behind it all, a wise father or mother realized that the best way to transform the world was to transform a single family. They made their family a model of what they thought the world should be, and through generations of leadership, they made the world over in the image of their family. Jesus has a similar strategy. He transforms the world by transforming His family. His sheep will go where he will not. He created the atmosphere that made this possible. Jesus did not just train his flock. He brought it life. He wanted them all to have full-meaningful lives. There are two Greek words for “life.” One of them, bios, simply means to exist. The other one, zoe means to really life. Verse 10 uses he latter. The Good shepherd wants the sheep to enjoy themselves. Families who succeed are told not to settle with mere existence, but to go beyond the last generation, to succeed on a higher level. 11-15. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd ; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. Jesus loves his flock more than any one who has been there before. He lays down his life for them. This does not only mean he will die for them. It also means that he will live for them. He will put everything else aside, and go minister to them. He will defend them when they are attacked, and he will bleed for them if necessary 17-18 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." Suppose you were out in the field, keeping watch over a flock of sheep. Then imagine a pack of wolves came over the horizon. There they are, snarling howling. There are more of them than you can imagine. What would you do? I know what I would do. I would run. Those sheep are not worth m life. But Jesus is different. He gives his life for his sheep. It is his choice. He will let the wolves attack him, so the sheep can scatter. It is his choice to do so. Ultimately, we will be faced with one big question. What kind of shepherd to you want to follow—one who puts himself first, or one who puts you first. Jesus’ example is more than an example. It is a path to life. When we follow the true shepherd, we have life. When we follow false shepherds, they have life at our expense. Which do you want to follow?