All right, in verse 11 through
verse 18, John chapter 10, the Good Shepherd, and today, number
one, true and false shepherd. In verse 11, our Lord says, and
He said this in response to other people and to something that
He'd already said, but He said, I am the Good Shepherd. The good
shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catches
them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because
he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. And as
the Father knows 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 foal and one shepherd. Therefore does my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power, exousia, authority
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father." I've already hinted that we cannot
really get the full proper benefit of our text unless we see it
in connection with that which has gone before. especially here,
the first ten verses of the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. And we miss a great lesson. from the great Teacher. Many do because they imagine
that our Lord Jesus Christ here in chapters 1-10 is speaking
of salvation. Many interpret it as if the Lord
were speaking of salvation, as of the right way of entering
into a state of grace or becoming a Christian or entering into
the kingdom of God. He talked about climbing up some
other way and being a thief and a robber. But indeed, one must
enter in by Christ, for this is, in fact, the only door to
be saved. And yet, when we back up to verses
1 through verse 10, we see that this, that is, salvation, is
not the subject of the first ten verses of this chapter of
the Gospel of John. And as some expositors have noted,
These ten verses are no doubt themselves a carryover from something
that has gone before them, something that occurred back in chapter
9, and especially the last verses of chapter 9, verse 39 through
verse 41. So we have to back up all the
way to chapter 9 and verse 39 to get a grasp upon our context
of the morning. So let's go back to that passage
in John chapter 9 and work our way up into chapter 10 and eventually
to the text that we read this morning. Now, as you no doubt
know, from reading the Bible and hearing preaching. John chapter
9, all of it. in its completeness, or in its
entirety, is taken up in dealing with that man who was born blind
and was given clear sight by our Lord. The Lord gave sight,
perfect sight, to a man that had never seen in all of his
life. He had been born blind, and the
Pharisees called him a sinner. Now the Pharisees, those self-righteous
hypocrites of whom there were many in our Lord's day, ignored
the miracle that our Lord had done. for they could not deny
it or dispute it, and took occasion, rather, to oppose the Lord because
He worked the miracle on the Sabbath day. They totally ignored
the miracle and called our Lord a sinner because He gave a man
sight upon the Sabbath day. And they denied that Jesus was
God or the Son of God because He was a Sabbath-breaker. Now, let's back up to chapter
9 and look at something. They finally excommunicated that
man. They put him out of the synagogue. And this brings us to the last
three verses of John chapter 9. that I will read now. And Jesus said, For judgment
I am come into this world, that they which see not might see,
and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the
Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and they said
unto him, or they asked him, Are we blind? Also, Jesus said unto them, If
you were blind, you should have no sin. But now you say, we see,
therefore your sin remaineth." That's a rather paradoxical passage
of Scripture, is it not? Some there are who think that
the Lord spoke these things in connection with the excommunication
of the man that Christ had given sight. and that our Lord is aiming
these words, whether directly or indirectly, at the Pharisee. Now, the Pharisees thought themselves,
the Pharisees took themselves to be highly learned and highly
skilled in applying the law. But they were but blind leaders
of the blind in reality. You can see in Romans chapter
2 verse 19 and 20 that they consider themselves to be expert teachers
of the law and how to teach others. Now John Brown described them
this way. They surmise that the Lord is
aiming this charge against them so that, as Brown put it, quote,
they were ill-fitted for the office of teachers of religion,
unquote. These were not fit overseers
at all owing to what they had done and to their view of Christ. Now there are some statements
there in those verses that we must rightly divide if we're
going to get the proper meaning and interpret them correctly. Some may claim that there are
contradictions that are here in those last three verses of
chapter 9. First of all, we notice the statement
of the Lord in the 39th verse. For judgment I am come into this
world. Now, is this a contradiction
of other things that our Lord has said? For example, in John
3 and verse 17, He said, God sent not His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved. How then do we square that up
with John 9.39? Again, in John 12, And verse 47, even more amazing
is the statement, If any man hear my words and believe not,
I judge him not. For I came not to judge the world,
but to save the world. How then does our Lord say in
John 9 and verse 39, For judgment I am come into the world. And I submit to you that the
meaning And the answer is right here in our context in verse
39 through verse 41. Look at verse 39 and the last
part again. For judgment I am come into the
world that, so that, to this end being, with the results the
blind shall see, and the seeing shall become blind. Now, of course,
the Lord has in mind here, not physical sight at all, but spiritual
blindness slash sight. His coming had this effect. Some who had been spiritually
blind were given eyes to see and ears to hear, while some
who considered themselves enlightened and knowledgeable and skilled
teachers were smitten with a spiritual blindness standing before the
very Son of God. And I think that this can be
example in the very contrary views concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ between the man-given sight and the Pharisees who were
stone blind, blind as a mole in the sight or presence of our
Lord. For example, here is their view
of the Lord's Christ. Here's what they thought about
Christ. Here's the conclusion they drew
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And verse 16, they said clearly,
this man is not of God. This man has not come from God. This man is not sent and anointed
of God. Verse 24 of the same chapter,
we know that this man is a sinner. Now, they're not talking about
the man that was formerly blind from birth. But they're talking
about the Christ of God and they advance to the point of calling
Him a sinner because He had healed on the Sabbath day. Then look
at verse 29 of that chapter. We know that God spoke unto Moses
and we are Moses' disciples. But this man, this one, this
man, that is here, we do not know who commissioned him, we
do not know in whose authority He has come. God commissioned
Moses. God sent Moses among the people,
but we do not know who sent this man. They say they have no reason
or they have no proof of his calling to consider him to having
been one sent of God. Now, let's dwell a bit more on
the first words of verse 39. for judgment I am come into this
world. Now, a great companion text of
this can be found in Matthew chapter 10. And if you want to
turn there, I plan to read a few verses from the 10th chapter
of the Gospel according to Matthew. A great companion text of like
cinema is found in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 34 through verse
36. And listen, follow as I read
it. Matthew chapter 10 and beginning
in verse 34. Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. And he explains it, for I am
come. to set at variance a man against
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of
his own household." Now, though this is not the ultimate This
is not the first or the foremost reason of our Lord's coming or
becoming incarnate. To cause division and animosity
is not the first cause of His coming, but it became an attendant
consequence of His coming. As almost everywhere our Lord
went and almost everything that our Lord taught or that our Lord
did. As in John 7 and verse 43 we
read, So there was a division among the people because of him. Again, in John 10 and 19, There
was a division therefore again among the Jews for his saying. Now what a separation did the
appearing of Christ bring among men, how the sword of divine
truth did cleave asunder one from another, and said it therein,
old friends and even family, Christ is the great divider,
for he divides men one from another. Spurgeon, ever the wordsmith,
did write on Matthew 10, 34 through verse 36 that we read, quote,
Though peace will be the ultimate issue, of our Lord's coming,
but at the first the Lord sends a sword among men." Later on
Spurgeon wrote this, truth provokes opposition, purity excites enmity,
and righteousness arouses all the forces of wrong. Again, the
words of Spurgeon. Thus, when Christ came into the
world, it soon became evident who was blind and who had been
given eyes to see. Christ made an appearance, Christ
taught His doctrine, and right then and there it became evident
who was blind to Him, and who had been given eyes to see. Also evidenced, I believe, by
the fact that many Gentiles who formerly sat yonder in idle darkness,
being without God in this world, were then called and enlightened,
while a multitude of the Jews themselves who read the Scripture
every Sabbath day, in their hearing, and even had Christ standing
in the flesh in their midst, were blinded and hardened. So let us compare the view and
the attitude of the formerly blind man with that of the Pharisee. When some ask him in verse 10,
chapter 9, How were your eyes open? How were you made to see? How did you gain sight after
all this time having been blind from your mother's womb? And
the man answers, a man named Jesus made clay, anointed my
eye, And I see. So in verse 17, he calls Jesus
a prophet. Much higher opinion. than the
Jew. When the Pharisees urged the
man to view the Lord as a sinner in verse 24, he answered in verse
25, Look, one thing that I know for certain, this one caused
me to see. I was blind and now I see. Then in verse 30 through verse
33, notice how he stings the Pharisees with logic. You don't know who sent him,
and yet he opened my eye. You don't know where he come
from, and yet he has given me sight. And he says to them, Does
God so honor sinners in that way? Could this man be a sinner
and do these things? Was ever such a thing heard from
the beginning of the world? If he were not of God, how could
he do such a thing? Then in John 9 verse 34, they
revile the man for his logic, for he has confounded them. And
when they could not answer his claim or answer his logic, they
did what many or most leaders in religion and in politics do,
that is, they attack the man personally. They attack him personally,
saying to him, You were altogether born in sin. You uneducated,
low birth type of person, dost thou indeed teach us? You ignoramus, dost thou pretend
to instruct us in the things of God. They viewed themselves
as competent teachers of the things of God and of the law,
and they looked down upon this man as ignorant and unlearned. They were what we sometimes today
here call quote, experts, unquote, in their field. And note in verse
34, and the last words are, and they cast him out. See also verse 22 of that chapter. It was threatened against any,
if they confessed Christ to be of God, they were to be put out
of the synagogue. The margin has it there. They
excommunicated the man from the synagogue they put him away,
they thrust him out, they dropped him out of their membership. And the Lord came to the man
after that, and He revealed Himself to the man as the Son of God,
and the man fully believed both for the sake of the Lord's work
and for the sake of the Lord's blessed Word. Now, then comes
the words of the Lord in verse 39-41 and prepares the way for
the discourse of the Lord in John chapter 10 verses 1-10. Let's repeat, if only for emphasis,
it contains what John Brown called, quote, this beautiful allegorical
discourse, unquote. And the subject, again, is not
salvation and it is not the right and the wrong way to enter into
salvation or into the kingdom of God, but rather the first
ten verses are a contrast between true and false shepherds, or
as John Brown put it, between the true and the false office
bearers in the church of our blessed Lord. Now, the Lord has
as much as call the Pharisees blind leaders, incompetent, unfit,
ill-prepared to be a teacher of religion, and above all, without
a divine call. He accuses them here of being
without a divine call. And therefore, without the authority
to be the shepherd of one of the flocks of God, because he
is only a true shepherd that has been appointed by the great
Chief Good Shepherd, Hebrews 13 and 20, and the Chief Shepherd,
1 Peter 5 and verse 4. Now, one of the frequent symbols
or figures in the Old Testament is that of shepherds or pastors,
if you will, some of them claiming to have been sent of the Lord,
but who were not sent by the Lord, but ran of themselves. And there as well as in the New
Testament, the people of God are often likened unto sheep,
or lambs, or unto a flock. And this is one of several ways
in which the Scriptures portray the relation or the union of
Christ and His people. Shepherd of the sheep. And from this image comes such
favorite and much quoted text as the twenty-third psalm, the
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In Psalm 100, and the
third verse, it says there, we are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. And if you read I Peter chapter
5, verses 1 through 4, in the same light. Now, as one said,
the figures here in John 10 verses 1 through 4 are based upon Palestinian
pastorial life. There are sheep and there are
shepherds. There is a sheepfold. And it has a door. And there
is a porter. And in this figure, the Lord
is the door. The door, verse 1. Verse 7, I'm
the door. Verse 9, I am the door. There was a sheepfold safely
enclosed. There was an entrance, there
was a porter, and at day's end the shepherds from out in the
field brought all of their flocks in for the night and folded them
in the sheepfold, and there was a porter who watched or kept
or guarded through the night. Come morning again, each one
of the shepherds returns to the sheepfold for his flock. To him the porter opens, because
he knows him, and his sheep follow him, he calls them, because they
know his voice. And each shepherd knows his sheep,
and the sheep know the shepherd, and they follow when he calls,
because they know his voice. He then, each one, led them out
to graze for the day, took them out of the gate, calling them,
and his did follow him." Now what the Lord said here is that
the true shepherd enters in by the gate. He brings his sheep
in through the gate. He enters into the gate next
morning to get them, bringing them out of the gate. But the
contrast is this. The illegitimate shepherd comes
as a thief and as a robber and an intruder through the hedge,
over the fence or whatever, his purpose? To steal and plunder,
to kill, to destroy, to not spare the flock. Jesus said, such is
a thief and a robber. He is not a shepherd of Christ,
he's not sent by Christ, he does not enter in by the door, he
does not have any love or affection for the sheep, and he does not
concern himself for their welfare, safety, or their being. So let
us take time here to note it. The same kind of behavior is
condemned by the prophets of God against many of the shepherds
and pastors under the old economy. If you want to turn with me to
the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament, and that would be
chapter 34, Ezekiel chapter 34, and I guess we could take time
to read verses 1 through 10 in this particular place in the
Scripture. Ezekiel chapter 34 and reading
from selected passages there from this condemnatory sentence
against the shepherds in Israel. So look at verse 2 through verse
10 of Ezekiel chapter 34. Son of man, prophesy against
the shepherds of Israel. and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord God unto the shepherds. Woe be to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? You eat the fat, you clothe you
with wool, you kill them that are fed, but you feed not the
flock. The disease have you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that
which was sick? Neither have you bound up that
broken? Neither have you brought again
that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was
lost, but with force and cruelty have you ruled them. And they
were scattered because there is no shepherd. They became meat
for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My
sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high
hill, yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth. None did search or seek after
them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear
the word of the Lord. As I live, saith the Lord God,
surely my flock shall become a prey. My flock shall become
meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd
Neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds
fed themselves and fed not my flock. Therefore, O ye shepherds,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold,
I am against the shepherd. I will require my flock at their
hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more, for I will deliver
my flock from their mouth. that they may not be meat for
them." What a passage! How it corresponds with John
chapter 10. I can find agreement with those
who think that this is directed against all of what Matthew Henry
described as having a hand in public affairs in the higher
or in the lower sphere. But the shepherds are especially
singled out and rebuked. Notice again verse 2, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel. In that same verse, woe be to
the shepherd of Israel. Compare Jeremiah 23 and verse
1, woe be to the pastor that destroyed and scattered the sheep
of my pastor. Two things there were of which
the Lord could say, I have this against thee. Number one, that
they abused their office in that they used it to enrich and exalt
themselves, to make their eyes bulge out with fatness, that
they might fleece the flock to gratify and indulge their own
desires and to feed themselves. and to live a high and an easy
life while lording it over the flock of God. You know, there
are some very rich preachers alive in our day. But secondly,
they grossly neglected the flock whom it was their duty to guide
and to feed and to oversee and protect. And in Ezekiel 34 and
verse 4, the disease you haven't strengthened, nor healed the
sick, nor bound the broken, nor retrieved those driven away,
nor sought the lost. And as a result, the flocks are
scattered in every direction. Now, let's go back to John 10.
and the Lord's condemnation of the blind spiritual guides, the
Pharisees and the scribes, whom you remember, sat in Moses' seat. You find that in Matthew chapter
23 and verse 2. That is, they held or occupied
the position of teacher and interpreters of the law given through and
taught by Moses. But the people were only to obey
them insofar as they stuck with the truth of the law. The law
was the rule or guide. Let's be careful here to note
it. that in the Lord's parable the contrast again is not between
sheep who entered in by the door versus sheep that climb up some
other way. There is no other way for the
sheep to enter in except by the door and except by Christ. But the contrast again is between
the shepherd who enter in by the door, thus are sent by Christ
and admitted by the porter, versus those who climb up some other
way or seek to be a shepherd without a divine call from Christ. They are illegitimate shepherds.
They're not chosen. They're not called by Christ.
and they are not sent by Christ. No man can rightly enter as a
shepherd or have a legitimate claim as a shepherd unless he
enters into the ministry by the call and the commission of Christ. Only Christ can confer the call
and make one an able minister of Christ, and bestow upon them
the qualifications and the gifts necessary to the office of a
shepherd." Now to follow up on the point set forth in verse
1 and verse 2, the contrast here between the legitimate shepherd
who enters in by the door or the gate, the proper entrance
and appointed entrance into the sheepfold, and he that gets in
or climbs up over the fence, the hedge, or the wall. Now,
the first being sent by Christ is a shepherd of the sheep. Not
the shepherd with the article, but a shepherd of the sheep. For the point here is their relationship
unto the door, that is, unto Christ. Their respective relationship
unto the door is also their respective relationship unto the sheep. He that enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. On the other hand, the second,
the one who climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. He is up to mischief. He is up
to stealing what is not rightly his. He is up to ravaging in
some way the flock. not sparing them. He is up to
no good, for he climbs over and is a thief and a robber. Then
looking at verse 4 and verse 5, we note the reaction of the
sheep to the two kinds of shepherds. Number one, the sheep know the
voice of their shepherd. He calls them by name. They respond
by following him. He doesn't have to go and rope
them or lay His hand upon them and drag them. He calls them. They know His voice. They come. They come out from among the
other shepherds and they follow Him. Number two, in verse five,
the stranger, the imposter, the illegitimate shepherd, the rogue
shepherd, the thief and the robber, they will not follow. Why? They know not the voice of a
stranger. Not only will they not follow
him, but look what it said, they will flee from him For he is
a complete stranger unto them. Then look at verse 6, another
explanation by John, the author of this great gospel. As we look
at verse 6, this parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood
not what things they were which he spake unto them. John uses
a different word here, interesting, for parable than the other Gospels
use. And this word is five times used
in the New Testament. The other times it's interesting
that instead of parable, it is translated proverb singular or
proverbs in the plural. A wayside saying. a maxim, a
figure of speech. And here the images are so clear,
but the blind and the self-righteous Pharisee did not get the picture
because, as John Gill said, their prejudices were in favor of themselves
and against Christ. So in verse 7, The Lord drops
the figurative and He speaks very plainly, using clear speech
unto them. You have an example of this over
in John 11 and 11-14. Jesus said, Our friend Lazarus
is sleeping. He meant dead. The disciples
said, Oh, if he's getting some sleep, Lord, that's good. Let's
don't wake him. And Jesus said unto them, plainly,
Lazarus is dead. So here in verse 7 through 10,
the Lord puts the parable in plain language, and He states
the key to understanding the parable, which is, I am the door
of the sheep. This is an all-comprehensive
claim, even a divine claim of divinity, of authority and sovereignty
on the part of Christ. that the only means of entering
into the kingdom of God or into the gospel ministry, neither
are possible except it be through Jesus Christ. See the connection
between verse 7 and verse 8. I'm the door, verse 7, all that
ever came before me, etc., etc. The words in verse 8, thieves
and robbers, match those back in verse 1. All that enter not
by the door but climb up some other way is a thief and a robber. But also in verse 8, He, all,
as many as anyone that comes before me, are thieves and robbers."
We need to look at the words, came before me. It can hardly
refer to a point of time because Moses and Isaiah and John the
Baptist came before the Lord Jesus Christ. in point of time,
and they did not seek to kill, destroy, or scatter the flock."
The probable meaning is, anyone who does not enter in by me is
not a true shepherd of the sheep, and so is a thief and a robber. That any, whosoever they be,
be they ever so popular or so persuasive, or have a great following,
or have several campuses, who do not enter the ministry by
and through the call and authority of Christ, are but wolves in
sheep's clothing, such were the scribes and the Pharisees of
our Lord's day. And such are multitudes since
that time, claiming to be Christian ministers, having ordination
papers or from a seminary or having a Bible school diploma
that they might frame and hang on the wall, satisfied with human
authority putting them into the ministry. preaching enticing
words of man's wisdom. These are such as love to be
called father, rabbi, reverend, doctor, and such like, who are
measured not by the truths of the gospel of Christ, but by
the size of their congregation. But according to the Lord, they
have deadly intentions. to steal, to kill and to destroy,
to plunder and to pillage, to make merchandise of the people,
to build themselves up and lord it over the people. They often
champion social causes rather than the Word of God. and the
gospel of Christ. And then now, even in our time,
apostate is so much of Christendom that some now are even ordaining
women and homosexuals to stand in the pulpit. And as R.L. Dabney put it, you cannot do
this without making a direct attack upon the authority of
the Word of God, and such being hirelings are a test case. For as the Lord teaches us in
this chapter, the true sheep of Christ do not hear them and
do not follow them, and recognize them as conmen and charlatans. Verse 5, they know not the voice
of a stranger. Verse 8, the last part, the sheep
did not hear them. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice
and they follow me." They have ears to hear. They discern between
truth and error. They discern between shepherds
and hireling. They hear and see Christ in the
gospel. They hear and recognize heresy
in the voice of the hireling. And they sense the danger of
it and they flee. Now a true shepherd of the sheep
Watches for your soul, Hebrews 13 and 17. He feeds the flock
of God, Acts 20, 28. He is to feed the sheep, John
21, 16. Not entertain them, not give
them a lesson in psychology, but to feed them the Word of
the Almighty God. And that is the duty. of a shepherd
of the sheep. Well, thank you this morning,
and we'll have one more study, and we'll look at the Lord as
the great shepherd of the sheep who gives His life that they
might live.