Alright brethren, last time we
looked in John 10 at the door. This time we are going to look
at Christ the shepherd. The good shepherd. He said there
in verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Christ is the good shepherd of
the sheep. He has a people. A shepherd is
a relative office. That means if you are going to
be a shepherd you have to have some sheep. And Christ has some sheep,
God's elect, chosen from before the world was made, or his sheep.
Christ is the good shepherd. He's the chief shepherd. He's
the great shepherd. That word is pastor. It's several
words used for the office of a pastor, bishop, elder, presbyter, shepherd. I'm sure I'm forgetting something,
but anyway, they're all the same office. So Christ is the good
shepherd, he's the chief shepherd, the bishop and shepherd of our
souls. And he provides under-shepherds,
preachers, who have a message that he sends them to proclaim
the message of Christ himself. They're sent to feed the sheep
with this gospel, with the word of Christ and what he has done
for his people. They're sent to lead with the
gospel of Christ. They're just a voice. They're
just a voice crying in the wilderness. But it's His voice that He makes
His people to hear. He's the Great Shepherd. He promised,
I will give you pastors according to mine heart which shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding. In our text, our Great Shepherd
is preaching this message and he's declaring, he's preaching
to scribes and Pharisees, religious leaders, and he's calling them
thieves and robbers. He's declaring they're not faithful
shepherds, they're false shepherds. And he's contrasting himself
and his under-shepherds with these false shepherds. So let's
read verse one again. He said, verily, verily, I say
unto you, now he'd just been speaking to him at the end of
chapter 9, he's still speaking to him, and he says, verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a
thief and a robber, but he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and
the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out. Now let me review just a minute
for anybody that wasn't here last time, but a sheepfold was
a temporary place where a shepherd would bring his sheep and leave
them there overnight, had walls around it to protect the sheep,
and there was a porter. He was the doorkeeper who kept
the door, and the shepherd would leave his sheep there, and then
he'd come back. When he was ready to lead them
out to pasture, he would come to the door, And the porter would
open the door to him. And he would call his sheep by
name. There was a lot of sheep in there.
There was sheep in there that weren't his. And he would call
his sheep by name. And his sheep heard his voice
and he led them out and led them out to the pasture. But our Lord
says, but men who don't come to the door, but try to climb
up over the wall and steal the sheep, they're thieves and robbers. Thieves and robbers. So our great
shepherd here defines all false shepherds right off the bat here. He describes a false shepherd
and contrasts it with true shepherd. He said, the false shepherd enters
not by the door into the sheepfold. He climbs up some other way.
That one is a thief and a robber. Now, any other way than Christ
is not the way. Any other way than Christ is
not the way. He said later in the passage, I am the door. Any
man that enters has to enter by the door. And then he said,
I'm the shepherd who enters by the door. He's the door and he's
the shepherd who entered by the door. How can that be? Because
our Lord Jesus Christ He is the way. He is the way, and he's
the shepherd that leads into the way. But now these men he
was talking to were false shepherds. In chapter 9, the Lord Jesus
had come to a blind man, been blind from his birth, gave him
sight. More importantly, gave him spiritual
sight. But immediately, these scribes and Pharisees had one
agenda. They started trying to turn that
man from Christ. They started trying to turn him
away from Christ. They spoke against Christ, they called Christ
a sinner. They did everything they could to turn that man from
Christ. Why? They had not entered the
door, they had not entered by faith in Christ, and they were
trying to keep others from entering by faith in Christ. And our Lord
said that. He said, you shut up the kingdom
of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither
you suffer them that are entering to go in. Now listen to the contrast
in verse 2, but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd
of the sheep. Christ Jesus is both the shepherd
and He's the door. What does that mean? He lawfully
fulfilled the will of His Father in saving His people. The people
that He came to save were flesh and blood, so the Son of God
took flesh and blood. Sinless humanity. That's why
He was born of a virgin. Sinless, without sin, unlike
anybody else born into this world. And why did he do that? He came
and made himself under the law to fulfill the law for his people. What Brother Rob just read, our
Lord Jesus declared, it's not enough to have that righteousness
the scribes and Pharisees had. Everybody looked at him and thought
they were righteous. He said, you've got to have a righteousness
that exceeds that. Christ is that righteousness.
He wasn't saying you need to try harder than the Pharisees.
He's saying, I came to fulfill the law. I didn't come to abolish
it. I came to fulfill it and uphold
it and bring in an everlasting righteousness for my people.
And that's what he did. That's what he did. And now he's
risen and reigning as the great shepherd of his sheep. And he's
filling all in all in his church. He is the one who gets the glory
for being the great shepherd, the great pastor, who is God
and man and human glorified flesh at God's right hand. So he's
the door and he's the shepherd who calls his sheep into him.
Now, Christ the shepherd is gonna send his under-shepherds. How's
he gonna make his under-shepherd? How's he gonna make another sinner
come and preach nothing but the message of Christ and him crucified?
He's going to have to experience the power and wisdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ first. He's going to have to be called
into the door first by the shepherd. And so he makes his under-shepherd
by making us hear his voice and his power in the preaching of
the gospel. They're just sinners. Just sinners. But Christ sends the gospel and
he calls them, he makes them experience the power and wisdom
of God, makes them hear his voice. He makes his under-shepherds
see our vileness before God. And he doesn't let you stop seeing
your vileness before God. The Lord's gonna keep his shepherd
humble. He's not gonna let his shepherd
be puffed up. He's gonna keep him humble. And one way he does
that is making us see our vileness. And He's going to keep showing
you sin is what you are. Sin is what you are. Sin is what
you've got to be saved from. Self is what you've got to be
saved from. This is what He makes His shepherd know. And He makes
us know He alone is salvation. He shows his shepherd what he
sends him to preach, that Christ came and Christ put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself and made his people everlastingly
righteous and he's entered into glory now and he's the great
shepherd. And when he makes his under-shepherd
see this, he makes him know he personally is a sinner. He makes
the preacher that preaches him know he's a sinner. And that's
all he is, is a sinner. Saved by the grace of God. He's
made to enter Christ by faith. And he's made, Christ is leading
his preacher. He's leading his preacher. He's
teaching his preacher. He's rebuking his preacher. He won't ever preach a message
that the Lord don't first rebuke him with it first. Because else
he wouldn't preach as a sinner to sinners, he would preach as
somebody above sinners. And he has to be kept down and
kept low and made to know he's the self-righteous one. He is
the vile one outside of Christ and apart from Christ. But Christ
keeps leading and teaching and guiding and directing so that
the undershepherd knows that the power for this work is Christ
and it's not himself. The power for this work is His
grace, and so He'll go forth and He'll preach one message
because He's experienced it. He's experienced the power and
wisdom of God in saving through the message of Christ's name
crucified. Man hadn't experienced it, the way you can tell it,
He will not enter by the door, and He won't teach other sinners
to enter by the door. being led of Christ himself,
his under-shepherds, utterly dependent upon Christ his own
self. He knows Christ is the great
shepherd who leads his sheep, and so he's content to follow
Christ, he's content to wait on Christ, he's content to preach
the gospel of Christ, and he knows the shepherd is the chief,
and he's nothing without him. He knows this. That's the bark
of the true shepherd that Christ sends to oversee his sheep. He
entered by the door. He knows he's a sinner, he speaks
of sin and himself as a sinner because he sees what a great
sinner he is. And he speaks of Christ being the only righteousness
of his people because he sees Christ as his only righteousness.
He proclaims Christ as his holiness because he knows what it is to
be sanctified by the sanctifier and kept separated unto him when
everything around him and everything in him would have led him away.
And so he preaches Christ. He looks up to the Great Shepherd
as a sinful sheep sent to lead other sinful sheep. He's just
a sinful sheep trying to lead other sinners to Christ. And
so he's looking to the Great Shepherd of the sheep. So that's
the first mark. He enters by the door. The true
shepherd entered by the door. Christ did. He's risen and he
makes his under-shepherds enter by the door. And then secondly,
Christ declares that it's only for Christ that the Spirit opens
and makes His sheep hear Christ's voice. It's only for Christ that
the Spirit will open and make His sheep hear His voice. It's
only by the Spirit, only for Christ that the Spirit does this.
He says in verse 2, He that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and
the sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep
by name, and he leadeth them out. The Spirit of God, just
like a porter, is at the door, and the shepherd comes to the
door, and the porter opens the door for the shepherd. Christ
is the shepherd, and the Spirit of God opens. He opens the door
for Christ to enter in. send the gospel by his under
shepherd and the spirit of God is going to open for Christ to
enter in so that his sheep can hear Christ's voice. It's Christ's
voice we have to hear. And we can only do that by the
spirit of God opening up our heart and giving us an ear to
hear Christ. And when he does this, Christ
calls his own sheep by name. That's what he says there. The
sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name. and leadeth
them out. He knows his own sheep personally. Christ knows every one of his
elect personally, and he calls each of his elect personally.
We're not talking about an audible voice that you're gonna hear,
but it's in, really and truly, it's more powerful than an audible
voice. A lot of people heard his audible voice who walked
away and left him. But those that heard his voice
in the heart, who was moved in the heart by the Spirit, they
couldn't leave him. And so it is with his people. He told Jeremiah,
he was an under-shepherd, and he told Jeremiah this, and this
is so of all his sheep. Well, as far as him knowing us,
he said to Jeremiah, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.
He said, I formed thee, but before I formed thee in the belly, I
knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. And then said
Jeremiah, oh Lord God, behold, I cannot speak for I'm a child.
But the Lord said to me, say not I'm a child, for thou shalt
go to all that I shall send thee. Whatsoever I command thee, thou
shalt... When I command thee, thou shalt
speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I'm with thee to deliver
thee, saith the Lord. And then the Lord put forth his
hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, behold,
I've put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day sent thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull
down and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.
And he does that through the preaching of the word, through
the preaching of the word. And because his under-shepherds
experienced this, he knows it's not the voice of the under-shepherd
that's going to work this. The excellency of the powers
of God. That's why we have this treasure
in an earthen vessel. The excellency of the powers
of God. He calls his own sheep by name and draws us to himself. And by his Spirit the sheep hear
his voice, they hear the voice of our Shepherd, and his sheep
follow Christ the Shepherd. He said in verse 4, When he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. Now, the Scripture says of the
Shepherd, Isaiah 50 verse 11, it says, he shall feed his flock
like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. When Christ calls his sheep,
and puts forth His sheep, brings His sheep, either out of the,
among the Jews or among the Gentiles, out of either one of those folds,
He brings us out and He puts us into His one fold, His church
and His kingdom, and He begins to lead us. And when He's leading
His sheep, He goes before His sheep, and He calls His sheep
by name, and His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. It's
all hinging on the voice here. And that voice is the chief shepherd's
voice. They hear the voice of the chief
shepherd and they follow him. Now, goats are driven. Goats
are driven. Sheep are not driven. Sheep are
led. Sheep are led. And they follow the voice of
the shepherd because they know the shepherd's voice. So Christ's
under shepherds, they're not coercing. They're not trying
to drive the sheep. That's not the way that, Christ
leads us and that's not the way his under shepherds lead. They're
not trying to make something happen. They love the sheep because
they're one with them. They're born of the same spirit
with them. They love the shepherd because they've been redeemed
by the same precious blood of the shepherd. They want the sheep
to hear the shepherd. They want the sheep to look to
the shepherd. They want the sheep to follow the shepherd. And so
they are leading according to the word of the scripture declaring
the shepherd. And the under shepherd has experienced
the compassion and the care of the chief shepherd. And so he's
gonna lead the sheep with some compassion and some care and
lead them like Christ leads him. The under shepherd has one desire
for the sheep. That one desire is for the sheep
to hear the shepherd, the chief shepherd and follow the chief
shepherd. That's their one desire. The sheep follow because they
know Christ's voice. They know the voice of the shepherd.
When you hear the gospel, you know you're hearing the gospel.
The sheep, when they hear the gospel message preached, they
know they're hearing the voice of their Redeemer. Sheep know
when we hear this gospel. And so because you know the voice
of Christ, you know the message, you know the voice of Christ,
you also know when you hear a stranger's voice. You also know when you
hear a message that's not the message. You know that. And he
says here in verse five, and a stranger will they not follow,
but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers. John put this pretty simply over
in 1 John 4, 5. Speaking of false preachers,
he said, they are of the world, therefore speak they of the world,
and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth
God heareth us. He that's not of God heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Now, Christ declared plainly, I am the way. I am the door. He declared that plainly. But
the false shepherd's gonna say, well, that's true, but now, but
there's some other things that have to be added. There's some
other things that have to be added. There's some other ways.
And he's trying to climb up over the wall a different way. And
the sheep hear that. They know that. They recognize
that's not the voice of the shepherd. Christ says here in his text,
I lay down my life for the sheep. Christ came and laid down his
life for a particular people. He laid down his life for those
the Father gave him before the foundation of the world. The
false shepherd says, well, but there's a sense in which Christ
laid down his life for everybody and he wants to save everybody.
The sheep hear that and say, that's not the voice of the shepherd.
He said, I laid down my life for the sheep, for the sheep. Christ said, by my own blood,
I've entered in once into the holiest of holies. He entered
the door. He entered in by one offering. He entered by his own
blood and he brought in everlasting righteousness. He brought salvation
to his people. And the sheep hear that and they
know that voice. But the false shepherd says,
but now he made that all possible. But now if you really want to
make that effectual, you're going to have to do something to make
it effectual. And the sheep hear that and say, that's not the
voice of the shepherd. That's not the voice of the shepherd.
Christ declared plainly, it's the spirit that quickeneth the
words. I speak unto you their spirit and their life. The flesh
profits nothing. A false shepherd said, well,
but now you got to do steps A, B, and C to be born again. You
come down now and give your heart to Jesus and let us take you
in the back and help you pray through. Do this, this, this,
A, B, and C, and now you're saved. That's not the voice of the shepherd.
That's not the voice of the shepherd. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but the God that shows mercy and
the false shepherd says, well, God's, he wants to. But you're going to have to give
him permission. That's not the voice of the shepherd.
That's a stranger's voice. Now, somebody will hear that
and they'll say, well, that's what I hear being preached all over the world.
Well, you're hearing the voice of the stranger. Because Christ
the shepherd said, I laid down my life for the sheep. He saved
the sheep. He knows his sheep. He said,
I will not lose one of my sheep. Sheep will not follow a stranger.
Look at verse 8. Our Lord said, all that ever
came before me are thieves and robbers. but the sheep did not
hear them. Now see that, all that ever came
before me? That's more than just those that
came prior to Christ's coming. Every preacher who puts themselves
personally before or above Christ is a false shepherd. and put
themselves before Christ, who puts the sinner before Christ,
who puts some requirement before Christ, who uses their own means
and their own words in preaching another Jesus that's not another.
That's a thief and a robber. That's antichrist. Antichrist
is every false preacher and collectively they make up the antichrist.
And then here's the description, who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God. He's putting everything before
Christ, himself and sinners. He exalts himself above all that's
called God or that is worshiped so that he is God, sitteth in
the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. What's the motive? What's the motive of the false
shepherd? Verse 10. The thief cometh not, but for
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Now, these Pharisees were teaching
thou shalt not steal, because that's what the law of God says,
thou shalt not steal. They were teaching that. Well,
surely that'd be good to teach somebody not to steal. Well,
it's good not to steal, don't steal. But the Pharisees are
teaching thou shalt not steal and telling sinners that by keeping
that law, they're making themselves acceptable to God, they're making
themselves righteous, they're making themselves holy or more
holy because they keep that law. See what Brother Rob just read,
Christ said they're not doing the law and they're teaching
others not to do the law by teaching that it's by the law that you
can come to God. That's not doing and teaching.
There's one way you do the law. You fall on your face and believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled it for his people.
And you teach others to do the same thing. We can't bring the
law down to our level just so we can bring it down to a level
where we can actually pretend like we're keeping it. No, no.
That's what Christ was saying. I didn't come to destroy it.
It's got to be honored. It's got to be fulfilled. Christ
Jesus came and fulfilled it. and accomplished the work he
came to do. But by teaching thou shalt not steal and telling sinners
that by something you do, you're making yourself more righteous
or more holy, is robbing the glory that belongs to Christ.
That's exactly what it is. Stealing his glory. To steal
the sheep. That's what they want. He said
in another place, to make disciples after themselves. To steal the
sheep. You give man something to do
and man will flock to that message. You tell sinners that there is
some goodness in them and men will flock to hear that message.
But the sheep of Christ purchased possession and they are not stealing
one of them. They are not getting them because they are Christ's
sheep. He is not going to lose one of
them. But the message of the devil from the beginning and
all the messages of the devil from the beginning is to steal
and kill and destroy, to turn you just like the Pharisees.
I tell you where you're going to be turned is depending on
what voice you're listening to. If you listen to the voice of
men turning you from Christ and turning you to you, that's where
you'll be turned. That's what these men were trying
to do to that blind man. Christ come and spoke the word
and turned His sheep to Him. And had His sheep ear tuned to
Him, following Him. That's what Christ does for His
people. And that's what His under shepherds are going to preach
too. His under shepherds are just a sheep being saved with
the rest of the sheep. But Christ is the good shepherd
who gives His sheep life. He laid down His life for His
sheep, so He's going to protect His sheep. Look here in verse
10. He said, I'm come that they might have life and that they
might have it more abundantly. The false are trying to kill
and destroy. He said, I came that they might
have life, that they might have it more abundantly. I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. But he that's a hireling and
not the shepherd, who's on the sheep or not, he sees the wolf
coming and he leaves the sheep and he flees. And the wolf catches
them and scatters the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he's
a hireling and he careth not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd and know my sheep and have known of mine. As the father
knows me, even so I know the father. That's how well he knows
his sheep. It's like the father knows him and he knows the father.
And he says, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Christ didn't
lay down his life and shed his precious blood and redeem his
people to lose one of his sheep. If he did that for his people,
he's going to keep his people. And you can be sure he's going
to keep his people. Christ is the good shepherd.
And he continues to stand between the wolf and the sheep. And he's
going to make his under shepherds do the same thing. A hireling,
who is a hireling, is only looking out for self. He does not care
for the sheep. His purpose is not to keep the
sheep together. His purpose is not to keep the
sheep looking to Christ only. He's a hireling. And as soon
as the wolf comes, as soon as any injury, looks like he's going
to get any injury, or somebody tries to draw a line in the sand
and says, you've got to choose me or that or Christ, he's standing
between the wolf and the sheep. That's what Christ does and that's
what his undershepherds are going to do. The wolf is trying to
single out the weak sheep and get them off to the side so he
can devour the weak sheep. Christ and his undershepherds
are going to stand between the wolf and the sheep every time.
Every time. What was Christ doing? You think
about it. That day, Christ is sitting there preaching this
message. You know what he was doing? And this is how he stood between
the wolf and the sheep. Christ is preaching and declaring
to them the truth that He is the Great Shepherd. And He's
standing right there that day between the scribes and the Pharisees
and that blind man He had saved and the rest of His disciples.
He's standing between them and the wolf. Between them and the
wolf. Christ is one with his sheep
and therefore he knows us and he loves us and he provides for
us constantly. He said, I'm the good shepherd
and I know my sheep and I've known of mine as the father knows
me even so I know the father. He's saying that's how well I
know my sheep. Like the father knows me and
I know the father, so I know my sheep and I lay down my life
for the sheep. You think about this, he came
into this world born of a woman, and went through every single
dark valley we go through, he went through every high we go
through, he went through every low, he went through every trial
that we've gone through, he knows his sheep. He knows his sheep. And our Lord Jesus is the great
shepherd who has the power to work in the hearts of his sheep,
make his sheep know him, and make us know that he will provide
for us. He will protect us. He laid down
his life for us. In fact, right now, we're already
at the right hand of God in our shepherd. So he's going to keep
us going through this valley. And this is the heart that he's
going to give his under-shepherd. And it takes him knitting the
heart of his under-shepherd together with his sheep. Men can't do
this. No under-shepherd can do it,
and none of the sheep can do it. Christ has to knit the heart
of his under-shepherd together with his sheep. And the way he
does that is the tie that binds us is Christ. It's Christ. His under shepherd and his sheep
are looking to Christ, our great shepherd, rejoicing in Christ,
our great shepherd, following Christ, our great shepherd. Why
do you need a shepherd? Why do we need a shepherd? Because
sheep are dumb. And that's what we are. We're
dumb. Spurgeon said it's an insult to sheep. Well, that's why we need a shepherd.
What's that staff? What's that shepherd's staff?
It's the gospel, where he takes us and gently pulls us back.
Or he comes and he lifts us up and he brings us back. And that's what we try to do
for one another. That's what his undershepherds
try to do. But you have to wait on him to open the door. You
have to wait on his time. And you have to wait on him to
speak the voice and make it effectual. Because you can't any other way.
But He does. Let's go over to Psalm 23 and
we'll end with this. Psalm 23. I just want to read this whole
Psalm. Verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. That means I'm not going to lack
anything. I'm not going to be wanting anything. Anything I
need, really need, He will provide it. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters, that's deep waters, deep waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His namesake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, sometimes He gonna lead you through
that dark valley. But he says, I will fear no evil,
for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. Isn't that what he does? We're
sitting here feasting on the word of the Lord, right here,
right now, in the midst of our enemies. and they're surrounded
by enemies. If He took His hand off and let
men do what was in their heart, to you and me, you know what
men would do? Exactly what we did to Christ and crucified Him.
That's what's in man's heart right now. The only reason men
aren't exercising that right now is God's restraining hand. That's the only reason. And right
in the middle of this world of enemy, He's preparing a feast
for His people and keeps feeding His sheep. Thou anointest my
head with oil, Spirit of God teaching you, keeping you, my
cup runneth over. He doesn't give just in a little
scant measure. He's loading his people up with
blessings. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. That's our Great Shepherd. That
is the Good Shepherd. All right, brethren.