I'm going to try to speak a few
words from John chapter 10, but I'm wanting to read Psalm 23. I think it kind of goes along
with our lesson tonight. If I would, I never do title
a message I thought don't think very often, but if I did title
one, it would be the good shepherd. the Lord Jesus. And that's what
we want to try to say a few words about tonight is the Lord, our
great shepherd. Psalm 23, I'd like to read this
whole chapter, there's only six verses here. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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 mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil,
and my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life And I would dwell in the
house of the Lord forever now over John chapter 10 I Know that you've all probably
read That 23rd Psalm many time and It's a personal song. You notice
he used one individual all the time. I, me, my. So the Lord is a personal shepherd
to each one of his people. And I'm thankful for that. And
here I want to read just four verses here in John chapter 10. If I could find my notes, if
I left them home, we'd be in trouble. I don't think I could
send my wife back after mine like Fred done. Okay, John chapter 10, and let's
pick up in verse 14 here, read down through verse 18. The Lord
speaking here, he says, I am the good shepherd, and I know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doeth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down to myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my father. Here, as David spoke of in the
23rd Psalm there, the Lord being his shepherd, the Lord Jesus
tells us here that he says, I am the good shepherd. You know,
there's been, back in the Lord's day, there was many, many shepherds
that took care of sheep. We read of a lot of the men in
the scriptures. They were herdsmen, weren't they?
But out of all of those, the Lord said, I am the good shepherd. So I'm guessing, without any
question, that there must have been some bad ones. And I think
that's what he's speaking up there in this earlier in this
chapter when he calls some of them hirelings. That's one that
was in it for their own gain and for their own benefit. And not for the Lord's people
to feed them and to help them. But they were in it for their
own gain. But the Lord says here, I am the good shepherd. And I'm
so glad, and we can bank on that. We can bank on that. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. of his people. He never, never,
never leads us wrong, does he? He's always doing something for
our good, for our benefit. You know, I think it's in Romans 8 there where he said
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are thee called according to his purpose. That's the Lord's
people. All things are working for their good. The Lord, He
is our shepherd. As we read in Psalm 23, He said,
He's my shepherd. He's the good shepherd. How's
He good? He's good in His holiness, isn't
it? He's holy. He's without sin. He's perfect.
The scripture said that there was no guile found in His mouth.
He's good in His mercy. Look at the mercy. Mercy. Our
brother's been talking about that, About mercy, saved by mercy. The Lord saved us. He saved us
because of His goodness and His mercy. Because He loved us. He's
good in His mercy. He's good in His word. And He's
good in His provision for us, isn't He? All that He provides
for us. The Lord is doing this for our
good and for our benefit. He is the Great Shepherd. And
the scripture tells us, I forget where it's at now, but it says
He's the Chief Shepherd. He's a good shepherd and he's
the chief shepherd. And he said he knows his sheep, doesn't he?
He not only knows them, but he said he knows them by name. He
knows their names, doesn't he? That's really getting personal,
isn't it? The Lord knows his sheep by name. He knows them in that they are
his, and he calls them by name. He knows them in that he loves
them. The Lord don't love everybody, does he? You know, we have, and
our pastor spoke of this when he's preaching in Romans 9 about
some people are saying that the Lord loved Esau less. No, no, the Lord said he hated
Esau, didn't he? He said he hated him. But he knows us and that he loves
us. And he loves us with a perfect and with an eternal love. They're
nothing temple about him, are they? There's also been men said
that the Lord loved a man that he loves everybody while they're
here, but then later on his love must stop somewhere. But that couldn't be right, could
it? The Lord said, I'm a God that changes not. If he loved
one minute and not the next, he'd have to be a changing God,
wouldn't he? He's an unchanging God. He don't change. So He loves us with a perfect
and eternal love. And in doing that, He said He
laid down His life for the redemption of His sheep. And for no other, for no other
man has the Lord laid down His life. The Lord didn't die for
those that that are not His sheep, did He? The elect, there again,
our pastor's been talking about that. Those that have been chosen
in Christ before the world began. The Lord didn't choose everybody. He didn't love everybody. And
He didn't die for everybody, did He? He died for His own,
for His elect, for His sheep. And Christ said, I am known of
mine. I am known of mine. My sheep. My sheep is what he's
saying. My sheep know me. And we do,
don't we? We know the Lord. They know Him
with a special and spiritual and saving knowledge, having
had Him revealed to them by the Spirit and by the Word of God.
That's how the Lord does it. He said that through the foolishness
of preaching, it pleased Him to save the lost. They know Him
and that they love Him and approve of Him as their shepherd, having
committed all to Him. There's nothing that we withhold,
are we? We're in this for the long run,
as you might say. We're withholding nothing. Look
over at 1 Timothy here. A few scriptures I want to turn
to. 2 Timothy, I'm sorry. 2 Timothy. Chapter 1 and verse
12. Paul, writing here, said, For
the which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I
am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. Now verse 15 here. As the Father
knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. This verse 15 connects with 14
here. And in the sense is that the
mutual knowledge and union of Christ and His sheep are like
that which His and His Father have with each other. They know
each other. As the Lord and the Father know
each other, so the sheep knows their shepherd, don't they? They
know the shepherd. I want John, oh, John 17 here,
if you will. John 17. John chapter 17, look
at verse 21 through 23. That they all may be one. As
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, and that they also
may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given them,
that they may be one even as we are one. I in them, and thou
in me, that they may be made perfect and one, and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them
as thou hast loved me. That's an astounding statement
there, that Christ would love us in such a way as the Father
loves Him. That's with a perfect love in
it, a perfect love. That's how the Lord Jesus loves
us. As the Father knows the Son, and as the Son knows the Father,
so Christ know the sheep, and His sheep know Him. The word no here signifies love
and approval. Isn't that what the Lord thinks
of us? He loves us and He's approved of us. All of our sins have been
put away. He bore them all away on the
cross. And then He said, I lay down
my life for, not only on behalf of, but in the stead of, didn't
He? I laid down my life in their stead. How do we live? Why do we live? It's because
He lives in it. We live only because He died
for us and rose again. And we can see that back in Isaiah
53 if you want to look at that sometime. Verse 16 here, it said,
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd." The Lord here is speaking here
as our mediator, as a servant and God's elect. As the eternal
Son, He is loved from all eternity. In Psalm 830 He says, Then I
was with Him as one brought up with Him. Talk about the Son
with the Father, with the Lord Jesus with His Father. And I
was And I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him. But the Father also loved him
as an obedient servant. Look back in Matthew chapter
3 here with me. You that have your Bibles and
want to turn with me. I think it's always good to look
at the scriptures. Matthew chapter 3 and verse 17. It said here, and lo a voice
from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well
pleased. Why is he pleased with him? He
said, because I laid down my life. The laying down of his
life was a supreme act of obedience to his father, wasn't it? That
was a supreme act of obedience to him. And he said, I lay it down that
I might take it again. He gave his life with a view
that he might take it again. This he did by raising himself
from the dead by which he was declared to be the son of God.
Romans 1-4, and declared to be the son of God with power according
to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. He made full satisfaction for
everyone that he died for, didn't he? He satisfied God's justice
on everyone that the Father gave him. He satisfied their justice. He made full satisfaction to
the justice of God for his people and rose again for their justification. He entered heaven, how? He entered
as our forerunner, didn't he? And in Hebrews 6 20, and ever
lives to intercede for us. In verse 18, back in our lesson. No man, when the Lord said there
in verse 17, I lay down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power
to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. No man can, no man has the power,
no man has the ability, no man can take Christ's life from him
by force without his willing and without his consenting it.
It just can't be done, can it? Pilate, the Jews, and the Gentiles
nailed him to the cross, but not without his voluntary surrender,
did he? In Acts 2, 23, he said, him,
talking about the Lord Jesus, him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked
hands and have crucified and slain the Lord of glory. Why? How did it happen? By the determined
counsel and full knowledge of God. They didn't take it. This
is the covenant that my father gave me to fulfill the work he
gave me to do. He sent me into the world, the
Lord Jesus. He sent him into the world to
redeem his people. And to accomplish it, what did
it require? It required his death, didn't
it? It required his death. But notice some ways that the
Lord did not die. We're nothing like him. He did
not die as a martyr. He did not die as a reformer. He did not die as a victim. But as a divinely ordained substitute,
he died for his people. He died the appointed death at
the appointed time for an appointed people. Amen. Let us stand and we'll be dismissed
in a moment.