I Am the Good Shepherd
Pastor Janet Saddel – September 22, 2024
Sermon Series: I Am
Listen to the Message
John 10:1-5, 11-18
1 I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter into the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw. 2 The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger but will run away because they don’t know the stranger’s voice.”
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd. 17 “This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
I Am… The Good Shepherd
John 10:1-5, 11-18
All throughout the Old Testament, God had referred to himself as the Shepherd of Israel. Now Jesus said, “I AM the Good Shepherd.” Jesus is taking up God’s mission to be the shepherd of God’s sheep.
Jesus is not like the leaders of this world. He does not come to kill or destroy. Jesus laid down his life for all of us. He willingly gave up his life – in our place. He sacrificed himself for us.
We get lost when we wander away from the flock and we lose our connection with the Good Shepherd. There are many distractions in this life – more so than ever before – so many voices that vie for our attention. We have to be conscious of these “thieves” and “hired hands” that don’t have our best interest in mind.
If we listen we will hear the voice of Jesus calling us. We can have full confidence that Jesus knows us. He is watching over us just as a shepherd watches over his sheep.
This is a close and intimate relationship between the shepherd and the sheep – between Jesus and each one of us. Jesus had a relationship with the Father that no other relationship can exceed – and he wants us to have the same with him.
Jesus also says, “I have other sheep.” When Jesus walked this earth, he reached out to those on the margins. Jesus is still calling out to all the peoples of this world, and he cares for each individual. In the great commission he tells us to go out into the world to make disciples. All are invited, “for God so loved the world.”
This is the Good News that we need to share with everyone who is not a part of the flock. All throughout the world there are those who have not yet heard his voice calling. It is our job, each and every one of us, to spread that hope and that good news.
We can experience that abundant life today, through the Holy Spirit.
The Good Shepherd embraces all people. We are his before we even hear his voice.
