Christ Lead's His Sheep

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus as the good shepherd?

The Bible describes Jesus as the good shepherd who knows His sheep intimately and lays down His life for them. In John 10:14-15, Jesus declares, 'I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known of mine.' This passage emphasizes the deep relational knowledge between Christ and His followers, analogous to the relationship He shares with the Father. As the good shepherd, Jesus embodies the ideal caretaker, providing not only for the physical but also for the spiritual needs of His flock, showing His love through sacrifice. His role as shepherd signifies His ownership and responsibility over those whom the Father has given Him, reinforcing the beauty of His redemptive work.

Q: How do we know Jesus knows His sheep?

Jesus knows His sheep perfectly, just as He is known by the Father, which assures us of His intimate relationship with His followers. In John 10:14, Jesus states, 'I know my sheep, and am known of mine.' This declaration invites believers to recognize that Christ has a complete and perfect knowledge of those who belong to Him. He knows each one by name, their struggles, and their history. This profound knowledge extends both to their spiritual condition and their individual trials. Significantly, the knowledge Jesus has of His sheep is characterized by love and tenderness, providing comfort and assurance to those who trust in Him.

Q: Why is Jesus' sacrifice important for Christians?

Jesus' sacrifice is essential because it secures eternal life for His sheep and demonstrates the depth of His love. In John 10:15, Jesus proclaims, 'I lay down my life for the sheep.' This statement signifies not only the act of His sacrificial death on the cross but also the completeness of that sacrifice for the redemption of His people. By laying down His life, He paid the penalty for sin, making atonement and ensuring that His sheep will never perish. This is foundational to Christian belief, emphasizing that salvation is through faith in Christ's finished work, highlighting His love and commitment to His people.

Q: What assurance do we have as Jesus' sheep?

As Jesus' sheep, we are assured of His eternal protection and love, as He promises we will never perish. In John 10:28, Jesus gives a profound assurance, stating, 'I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.' This promise underscores the security that believers have in Christ. It confirms that once one is part of His flock, they are eternally secure, held firmly in His and the Father's hands. This doctrine not only comforts Christians but also emphasizes the sovereignty of God in salvation, as it rests on Christ's completed work rather than human effort. Hence, the believer can find peace and assurance in the knowledge that their salvation is secure.

Q: Why is it significant that Jesus calls His followers His sheep?

Calling His followers His sheep signifies His intimate relationship, ownership, and the responsibility He takes for their well-being. When Jesus refers to His followers as His sheep, it highlights the relationship of care and responsibility that He assumes as their shepherd. In the context of John 10, the shepherd is responsible for the guidance, protection, and provision for the sheep. This metaphor communicates the love and concern Jesus has for His people, emphasizing that He knows them individually and personally. Moreover, it illustrates the authority He holds as the one who leads His flock toward spiritual nourishment and safety, ensuring that they are cared for in all aspects.

The Gospel of St. John chapter
10. The Gospel of John chapter 10. As I announced, I hope to speak
to you from verse 14 and verse 15 this morning. Now you heard
earlier, as I read the first 30 verses of this chapter, talking
about our Lord Jesus Christ, Him being the door, He said in
verse 6, or verse 9 it is, by Me, if any man enter in, he shall
be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. I love
these verses that we picked here this morning for our text because
they contain precious, precious truth. Now, the Revised Version,
as I read it, looked at it, it seems to me to be the closest
to the original text. Let me read this as it is in
the Revised Version. I am the good shepherd, and I
know mine own, and mine own know me. even as the Father knoweth
me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep."
Now, the one speaking here to us in these words is none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, to our mind and to our heart,
every word of Scripture is precious. Every word from the mouth of
our God is precious to us when God speaks to us in any way We
are glad to hear him speak the Bible talks about God speaking
and we know that he is a talking God the God of the Bible is a
Talking God and he speaks he's revealed his mind through his
word now in the Old Testament We often meet with a passage
which begins with, Thus saith the Lord. And what a joy we feel
to have a message directly from God's own mouth, and yet we make
no distinction between the verse in the Old Testament that says,
Thus saith the Lord, and the scripture that we have here before
us this morning. We make no distinction. We believe
that the Lord Jesus is God and that when he speaks it is God
speaking to us. We accept all of the Word of
God as inspired. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3
and 16 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and
is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
mature, and furnished unto all good works." Still, there is
to me a peculiar sweetness about words which were actually spoken
by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now we're told in the book of
Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 that God in sundry times has
spoken unto His people through the mouth of prophets. But in
these last days, the Bible says that He has spoken unto us by
His Son by whom He made the world. He has spoken unto us by His
Son. Now still, to me, as I read this
text, my heart leaps for joy to know that these are the words
of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus. So we have before us in this
text not that which would come to us by some prophet or by some
priest or even by some king, but that which is spoken by one
who is prophet, priest, and king in one, even our Lord Jesus Christ. He opens His mouth and He speaks
to you, and you will open your ear this morning and listen to
what He has to say, if you be indeed one of His own. If you
belong to Him, if you're one of His sheep, you're going to
hear His voice this morning. Observe here also that we not
only have Christ here for the speaker, but we have Christ also
for the subject. He speaks, and He speaks about
Himself. He's talking about himself. I
am the good shepherd, he says. And he says, I know my sheep
and am known of mine. So the Lord Jesus not only is
speaking a message, but that message is about himself. Now, I would tell you this, that
it would not be right for any one of us here this morning to
extol ourselves ever. But there is nothing more comely
in the world than for Jesus Christ to be found commending himself
there is nothing wrong with that for the Lord Jesus to stand and
say I am the good shepherd for the Lord Jesus to say as the
father knoweth me even so know I the father there's nothing
wrong with that because he is God he is other than we are he
is something infinitely above us and is not under the rules
which apply to fallible mortals such as you and I Of all of our
Lord's words, those are the sweetest in which He speaks about Himself. Now, my brother, sister, who
can adequately speak of Jesus but himself? Who is it that can
best speak of Jesus but himself? His perfection exceeds our understanding. The light of his excellence is
too bright for us. It blinds our eyes. Jesus must
be his own mirror. None but Jesus can reveal Jesus. Only he can see himself, know
himself, and understand himself and therefore none but he can
reveal himself. Take then these words as being
directly from the Lord's own mouth and believe as we begin
this message today that these verses contain rich revelations
of his own glorious self, the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the good
shepherd. I, he says, know mine own, and
mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know
the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Well, there
are three things in this text that I'd like to speak about
this morning. The first thing I find here in
this text is a complete character. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The Lord Jesus is not a half
shepherd, but a shepherd in the fullest possible sense. Number two, we want to talk about
his complete knowledge. And I know my own, he says, and
mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know
the Father. Complete knowledge. And third
is a complete sacrifice, he says, and I lay down my life for the
sheep. He goes the full length to which
sacrifices can go. He says, he lays down his soul
in the stead of my sheep. I lay it down in their place. Well, first of all then, we have
a few words to say about the complete character of our Lord
Jesus. He said, I am the Good Shepherd. Now whenever the Savior describes
Himself by an emblem or a type, He exalts and expands that emblem
and that type, and yet that emblem is not able to bear all of His
meaning. When the Lord Jesus says, I am
the good shepherd, he means to say I am everything that a shepherd
could be, but then I'm really more than that too. The term
cannot carry the weight, the full weight of what I really
am. Now the Lord Jesus fills out
every type and figure and character that he uses in Holy Scripture. There is more in Jesus the good
shepherd than you can pack away or put in a shepherd. He is the
good, he's the great, he's the chief shepherd, but he's much
more. Now human thought is too contracted,
human speech is too feeble to set him forth to the full. We
cannot set forth Christ fully to the Lord's living family.
We don't have the ability to do so. We don't have the words
by which to set him forth, but we're going to attempt this.
Christ cannot be fully set forth in the language of mortal men.
He is inconceivably above our conceptions, unutterably above
our utterances. Well, he sets himself forth here
then as a shepherd. Now the eastern shepherd is generally
the owner of the flock. He generally owns his flock. Now the sheep are his own. In verse 3 and 4, If you'll notice
here in the 10th chapter of John, he says to him, the porter openeth,
and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep
by name. And in verse four, he puteth
forth his own sheep. He puteth forth his own sheep.
And then down in verse 12 of the same chapter, he says, but
he that is an hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep
are not. You see, the hireling, the sheep
don't belong to him. The sheep belong to the true
shepherd. He knows how he came to have
these sheep in his possession. Well, how do you, you know, the
Lord Jesus says he has sheep. He said, I've got other sheep
that's not of this fold. He speaks throughout here about
men being his sheep. Those that he had chosen before
the foundation of the world, those that he designated, pointed
out before the foundation of the world as my sheep, and he
speaks of them. Well, how did he come into possession
of these sheep? A shepherd would know how he
got his sheep. Well, the Lord Jesus got his
sheep by the Father giving them to him. Jesus says all that the
father giveth me shall come to me John 17 he speaks of how they
belong how the sheep belong to the father and he said you gave
them to me thou gavest them to me and so the Lord Jesus had
these sheep given to him as a love gift from the father and then
also the Lord Jesus bought these sheep and He bought these sheep. We were redeemed, not with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We were bought with a price,
Paul tells us in the book of Corinthians. Now then, he knows
also when and where each of these sheep was born and where he has
led them and what trials he has had in connection with every
one of them. The Lord knows about these sheep. He knows where they
were born. Well, does He not know where
all of His children have been regenerated? I'm sure He does. He knows how we have come into
the fold. He knows where we were at. when he spoke peace to our troubled
soul. These sheep are his own inheritance. The Lord Jesus is our shepherd,
and we are his wealth. In the Latin tongue, the word
for money is akin to the word sheep, because to the first Romans,
wool was their wealth. And so, beloved, we are the Lord's
wealth if we be the Lord's sheep. He owns his sheep. If you ask,
what is his heritage? He tells you of the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Ask him, what
are his jewels? And he replies, they shall be
mine. in that day, in that day when
I make up my jewels, they shall be mine. If you ask him where
his treasures are, he'll tell you the Lord's portion is his
people. The Lord Jesus has nothing that
he values more than his own people. For their sakes he gave up He
gave up all that he had, he gave up his life, and he died naked
on a bloody cross for the sake of his own sheep. He gave it
all for his sheep. He loved the church, the Bible
says, and he gave himself for it. Now the shepherd, as he owns
his flock, is also the caretaker of the flock. He takes care of
his sheep always. He's never off duty. He has constant
care of his people day and night. He says of his flock what he
says of his garden, I the Lord do keep it. I will keep it night
and day. Now next, not only is he the
caretaker of the flock, but he's the provider for the flock. There
is not one woolly head among these sheep that knows anything
about where pasture is to be found. They don't know how to
navigate and they don't know how to get around. They don't
know how to find pasture. so they need somebody to provide
for them. It may be that this is a dry
year, and where grass was last year, there is no grass this
year. And it's the shepherd that must
provide the leading, must provide for his own sheep. But the sheep
don't know anything about where to find pasture So the Lord must
direct them. It is the Lord that makes us
to lie down in green pastures. It's the Lord. You say, well,
it looks like the sheep could lie down on their own, but they
cannot. We only rest as we rest in the
Lord Jesus and as he gives us the ability to just simply relax
and rest ourself in him. Now the shepherd is the sheep's
providence. Both for time and for eternity,
for body and for soul, our Lord Jesus supplies all of our need
out of His riches in glory. Philippians 4 verse 19. He's the great storehouse from
which we derive everything. He is provided, He does provide,
and He will provide for His sheep. And you that are here this morning,
if you have in your own heart that hope, I'm one of the Lord's
sheep. You have a provider. You have a caretaker. You have
an owner. You do not belong to yourself,
you belong to Christ. And He's leading the way. He's
being your caretaker. And that brings me to the next
point. He's to be their leader. The
Lord Jesus is the leader of His own sheep. He calls His own sheep
by name and He leads them out. He leads them out. Now then,
He knows the way and the sheep have nothing to do but to follow
Him wherever He goes. The Lord's people are dependent
upon the Lord to direct them, to lead them in their life. Their's not to make the way,
their's not to choose the path, but their's to keep close to
the heels of their master. The old song says, he leadeth
me, oh blessed thought, oh words with heavenly comfort fraught,
whatever I do, wherever I be, still it is God's hand that leadeth
me." He does lead His people, and also He's the defender of
the sheep. I'm talking about Jesus being
a shepherd. I'm talking about Him being a
good shepherd. The Bible says, he that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord Jesus is
always awake. Where there is a wolf to attack
the flock, you can count on it. The Lord Jesus will be there.
The shepherd will be there to protect the flock. He is the
good shepherd. He's good up to the highest point
of goodness. Good in all that is tender. Good
in all that is kind. Good in all the directions. in
which a shepherd can be needed, the Lord Jesus is the good shepherd. Let me talk a little bit to you
now about his complete knowledge. I said that he was a shepherd
and that he would fill the type perfectly and there'd be more
left over. Now the complete knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I know my own and mine
own know me, even as the Father knoweth me and I know the Father.
Consider, if you will, Christ's knowledge of his own and the
comparison by which he sets it forth, as the Father knows me. That's the comparison. Well,
the Father knows the Son. The Son is the glory. He is the
darling. He's the alter ego. He's the
other self. He's one with God. He says, I
and the Father are one. And so certainly the Father knows
the Son. The Father and the Son are one
spirit. The Father knows the Son and
the Son knows the Father. They know each other perfectly.
So the great shepherd knows his sheep, and he knows them perfectly. Number one, he knows their number.
Even though they're more numerous than the sand on the seashore,
the Lord Jesus Christ knows every one of them. Their names are
inscribed on the palm of his hand. Their walls are ever before
him. He knows every one of them. He
will never lose one of them. Of all thou hast given me, Jesus
says, I've lost none. He will leave the ninety and
nine and go after the one lost sheep. He's never going to lose
his sheep. He knows their persons. He assures
us that the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Christ
has not an unknown sheep in place. You say, well, I'm an unknown
sheep. Well, you may be unknown to me,
but you're not unknown to him. The Bible says, The foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his. The Lord knows them that belong
to him. And so the good shepherd, he
knows his sheep. It is not possible that he should
have overlooked or forgotten one of his sheep. And so whoever
you are this morning, insignificant though you might be, in a world
that's as large as this one, I'll tell you the Lord Jesus
knows about you. He knows where you are. He knows
your circumstances. He knows your situation. He knows
even your constitution, whether you be weak, feeble, whether
you be strong or brave, whether you be nervous or frightened.
In this world, the Lord Jesus Christ knows you this morning. and he knows all there is to
know about you. He knows your secrets in and
out. And he knows every one of us
here better than we know ourselves. Better than we know ourselves. Now somebody says, if I know
my own heart, I know this, I know that. But beloved, we don't know
our own heart. But you can count on this. The
Lord Jesus, the great shepherd, he says, I know my own. I know
them. And I'm acquainted with them.
I'm acquainted with their ways. Now he knows our trials. That
particular trial under which you are presently bowed down.
Those trials that make up the ingredients of life, Our Lord
Jesus Christ, He fully knows of them. He knows them. They're
all known to Him. He knows not only our trials,
not only our ups and downs, not only our constitution, but He
also knows our sins. And when He chose us, He knows
what we were and what we should be. He knew when He chose us
what we were going to be. He did not buy His sheep in the
dark. Do you think the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I'll take this flock of sheep and without knowing anything
about them? Absolutely not. He knew all about
the sheep. He knew about their sin that
he would have to be legally charged with before he ever received
the sheep. He did not choose us without
knowing all the devious ways of our past and our future lives. He saw us, the poet said, ruined
in the fall, yet loved us notwithstanding all. The Lord Jesus knows His
sheep. Now He's read you as a man would
read a book. And He remembers all that He
reads. He knows you. He knows His sheep. I'm talking about His knowledge
of His own. Now there's a great comfort in
that because his knowledge of his own is a sympathetic knowledge. It's an affectionate knowledge.
He loves his people and the Lord Jesus loves them. He knows them
and he loves them with an everlasting love. Now the next thing I want
to talk about is our knowledge of the Lord because he said here,
he said, I'm known of mine also. I know my sheep and am known
of mine. I'm knowing of mine. Now, this
is the way the Lord Jesus illustrates his knowledge of us, our knowledge
of him. And mine own know me, even as
I know the Father. Jesus knew the Father. You agree
with that? He came out from the Father.
The Lord Jesus came into this world from the bosom of the Father.
And he comes into this world, he says, mine own know me, even
as I know my Father. Now you say, well that's startling
to make a statement like that, that my sheep know me as I know
my Father. Now beloved, it's not difficult
for me to believe that the Lord Jesus knows me. That's not difficult. It's not difficult for me to
believe that He knows all about me because He is omniscient. He knows everything. All things
are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
But the marvel is that I should ever know him. That's the marvel.
He said, I know mine own and mine own, they know me. Well,
that's the marvel. Isn't that the miracle? That's
such a stupid, a blind... His mind should ever know Him,
should ever truly know the Shepherd, and should know Him as He knows
the Father is 10,000 miracles indeed. How could we ever know
the Lord and know Him that well? Now, beloved, you listen to me
carefully. With such a flock as Christ has, that He is able
to train them so that they are able to know Him and to know
Him as He knows the Father, we've said it's miraculous. But God's
people know their Shepherd. They know their Shepherd. Now,
beloved, we know so much of our Lord that we love to hear about
Him. We love to hear about it. If
anybody were to get up and preach you a sermon, maybe it would
be the finest sermon that was ever delivered, but you would
not like it if it had no Christ in it. If it had no Christ in
it. I mean if Jesus Christ was not
exalted in that sermon. If he was not exalted as God's
well-beloved Son, that Son that always pleased the Father, if
he was not exalted as that One who came into the world to bear
the sins of many, if he was not exalted as that One who answered
to God in the room and stood in place of sinners, you wouldn't
want to hear about it. You say, well, I don't want to
hear that. I wouldn't go back to hear that man again. Don't
make any difference how flowery he is in his oratory. I don't
want to hear it because it has no Christ in it. I love Christ
and I want to hear about him. But then, beloved, you would
come and you would listen to me preach here about Jesus Christ
with words so simple. And then you would go out and
say, and you do say this, It's been good to be there. It's been
good to be there because Christ was preached. Christ was lifted
up. Christ was set forth. The shepherd
of the sheep was extolled and the believer was fed on the living
bread on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, why is that? Why do we
feel that way? Somebody said, well this generation,
well I heard Somebody say about a dear friend of mine They said
why he's made a little out of Jesus Christ because he talks
about him all the time and beloved listen Jesus Christ, you can
make an idol out of him if you want to. Jesus Christ should
be believed upon. He should be talked about. He
should be worshipped. And all of the sheep, they know
him. They know him. And that's the
reason why our hymns have got to be about him. That's why the
preaching, we must preach Christ up and the people will hear him.
They'll hear of him. Jesus said, if I be lifted up,
I will draw all men unto me. And the poet said, Thou dear
Redeemer, dying Lamb, we love to hear of Thee. No music like
Thy charming name, nor half so sweet can be. How true that is
to a believer. Jesus delights in His Father,
and you as one of the Lord's sheep. delight in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He says, I know mine and mine,
they know me. They know me. Do you know him
this morning? If you do, then he's precious
to you. If you know him, then you'll
trust him. If you know him, you'll follow
him. If you know Him, you'll depend upon Him to be all that
He's revealed Himself to be in the Word of God. Now that brings
me to the last thing, and that is a complete sacrifice. We've
had a complete character. He's the Good Shepherd, fulfills
that completely and entirely with some leftovers, we've said,
and then His complete knowledge. I know mine own, they know me,
as I know the Father and as the Father knows me. I know, complete
knowledge. The Lord Jesus had it. And now
we want to talk a little bit about a complete sacrifice. I lay down my life, Jesus said,
for the sheep. What a statement. What a statement. These words are repeated in this
chapter in different forms at least four times. Notice, if
you will, verse 11. I am the Good Shepherd, the Good
Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse 15, As the Father
knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. Verse 17, Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. And verse 18, no man taketh it
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have
I received of my Father. Well, this is like a song to
me, and at the end of each stanza is, I lay down my life for the
sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep.
First of all, the Lord Jesus, I think, was always doing so,
don't you? I think from the very time He
left Heaven's portals to come into this world of sin and woe,
I think the Lord Jesus had begun laying down His life for the
sheep. I really believe that. All His
life long, He was, as it were, laying it down for them. He was
divesting Himself of the garments of life till he come to be fully
disrobed on the cross. The Lord Jesus was, as he lived,
he was laying down, he was laying down, he was laying down his
life for the sheep. All the life he had, all the
power he had, he was always laying it out for his sheep. Now many
a man has died for Christ. It was all that they could do. But we, beloved, cannot lay down
our lives because they're due already as a debt of nature to
God, and we're not permitted to die at our own wills. That would be suicidal and improper. With Christ, it was totally different. I lay down my life for the sheep. He willingly laid it down. He
willingly laid down his life while he had that life, using
it for us. Using it for the sheep. Now this
is now been actually done. When he spoke these words, It
had not been done. At this time, it has been done. The Lord Jesus has laid down
His life. It has took place. It took place
on the cross. The Lord Jesus has already bought
His sheep. He's already done it. Now, that
means several things to me, but what it means to me really is
that salvation is an accomplished thing for the sheep. It is an
accomplished thing. We are saved by the life of the
Lord Jesus laid down. We are saved by a life we did
not live. We are saved by a death we did
not die. The Lord Jesus laid down His
life for us. And when He died on that cross
and His life was laid down, the debt of sin was paid and our
sin was put away. Our sin was covered with the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I lay down my life for the
sheep. This may be read as we've said. I've laid it down. It's
done. It's a finished thing. And it's
not for you to be working on salvation. Salvation has already
been accomplished. And now come to the feast. Come,
all things are now ready. Jesus has laid down his life. For you, he has given his hands,
his feet to the nails. For you, the bloody sweat. For
you, he gave up the ghost and cried, it is finished. It is
finished. For the sheep. Now, beloved,
this is his glory. This is his peculiar glory. They, the sheep, for them. Have you no other loves? Have
you no other joys, dear Lord Jesus? But that you would lay
down your life for the sheep, for the sake of these poor creatures?
You would lay down your life? That you would give your very
life? For the sake of these, son of
God, son of man, infinitely great, inconceivably glorious, for pitiful
and obnoxious creatures such as we, the sheep. They have hard hearts. They have
wandering wills. And any two of them would not
make a good man, much less a good saint. Lord Jesus, would you
lay down your life for them? For them? For the sheep? Really? Did you do it, Lord Jesus? Did
you lay down your life for the likes of me? Did you die to buy
and to purchase my salvation? Did you pay the debt? Did you
pay it in full? Did you honor the law and magnify
the law? And did you suffer the penalty
of the law in my stead? Was your death my death to sin? Well, praise God, it was. Die for them, I mean. Yes, Jesus
would say, I did. I laid down my life for them. I laid it down for the sheep.
Now I'm not ashamed of them. It has been spread all over earth
and heaven by now that the Lord Jesus Christ, he has become the
song of the Father's house and in heaven the song is, worthy
is the lamb that was slain. For thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood and that song is all over heaven now and
also the testimony has gone out over the earth that the Lord
Jesus has laid down his life for the sheep he laid it down
for the sheep now whatever the Armenians have to say about particular
redemption just let them say on Let him say on, but Christ
says that it is so. He said that I laid down my life. We read it, did we not? Over
four times in this scripture, he laid down his life for the
sheep, for the sheep, for the sheep. He didn't lay it down
for the world. Jesus said, I don't even pray
for the world, but I pray for those you've given me out of
the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me. And Jesus said, I laid down my
life for them. There ain't gonna be anybody
in hell for whom Jesus died, my friend. Everybody for whom
He died will at last be in glory. They'll all be in heaven with
Him because the Lord Jesus has given His life for them. You
say, well, I don't believe that preacher. Well, there was some
that Jesus was talking to. They didn't believe either. They
didn't believe. And Jesus said, well, I told
you. They said, if you be the Christ,
tell us plainly if all of this is true about you being the bread
of life, about you being the door, and by you, if any man
enters in, he'll be saved. Well, you explain all this. If
you be the Christ, tell us plainly. And he said, I told you. I told
you. And you believe not. You believe
not. But in verse 26, you believe
not because, and the reason you don't believe is because you're
not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give
unto them eternal life. The sheep, he said, I give to
them eternal life. Now ain't nobody gonna get it
but the sheep. And the sheep, you know, we're not talking about
some miracle of biology here where goats are turned into sheep. That's not what we're talking
about. We're talking about men, women, boys and girls designated
as sheep before the foundation of the world and the Lord Jesus
coming into the world and his mission was to seek and to save
those sheep, and his mission was to lay down his life for
those sheep to secure their salvation. And if you have in your soul
this morning, dear one, if you have in your soul any inclination,
any desire toward this good shepherd, if there's anything about all
we've said about him that somehow or other endears him to your
heart, listen to me. Undoubtedly because you're one
of those designated from all eternity to be his sheep. If
you've got some feeling in your heart that flows out toward the
Lord Jesus and toward the truth of the gospel, this means that
you're one of the sheep. Lay hold of this! I lay down
my life for the sheep. I lay it down for them. I suffered
in their stead. I suffered their hell in their
place. I endured the wrath that is to
come in order that they would be spared. I suffered the Father's
righteous error that they might be delivered and never have to
experience hell themselves. Jesus said I lay it down. I lay
it down. Really he did. He said that.
Didn't he say it? Didn't I talk to you earlier
about who was speaking here? Didn't I tell you? I went to
great lengths. I tried every way I could to
make it just as palatable as I could. These are the words
of the Master. They're the words of the Lord
Jesus. They're the words of the Redeemer. These are the words
of the Savior. And if you would be saved, you
must lay hold of this statement, I lay down my life for the sheep. And if you ever miss hell, it's
because he laid down his life for you. That's the only way
you can get by. You can't get out of the graveyard
any other way except that you find in your heart the ability
to believe. that the Lord Jesus lay down
His life in your room instead, in your place. He glories in
substitution. Mark it down. He glories in substitution. He makes His boast when He speaks
of His chosen. He said, I suffered in their
stead. I suffered for them. I died for
them. And anybody that in any way,
shape or form would in any way imply that these sheep are not
saved once he laid down his life for them, you just need to read,
study the word of God. No wonder that Jesus said, he
says, I give unto them eternal life. Verse 28, they'll never
perish. They shall never perish. Whatever
happens. Somebody said, oh, they got killed
in an automobile crash. Somebody said, come preacher,
help me if you can. Somehow or other, say something.
That will be a help to me. My loved one was just taken out
of the world. Oh, here's the help. I give unto them eternal life.
And they shall never perish. Make no difference what happens.
They'll never perish. Never perish. Never perish. Somebody said awful things happen.
Preachers, might have been an awful thing happen. But if they're
a child of God, they shall never perish. Never perish. Oh, what
a wonderful thing. Jesus said they're never gonna
perish. Somebody said, but they're weak. Yes, they're weak, but
the Savior is strong. And the Savior did all of the
work. And there isn't anything else to be done. He said, it's
finished. It's finished. And all the work's
been done. All the doing's been done. All
the doing and the dying is over. It's been done. Jesus did it
all. He did the doing. He did the
dying. He did the suffering. And the sheep are given faith
to believe it. Neither shall any man get them
out of my hand, Jesus said. And my father, he gave them me.
He's greater than all. No man is able to pluck them
out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. So then
we have the complete sacrifice. We had the complete character,
the complete knowledge, and the complete sacrifice. That's the
Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, you never, listen
to me, we just, we barely scratched the surface talking about this.
Barely scratched the surface. Try to talk about it. Preacher,
got to try to talk about it. I hope the Spirit of God will
visit your heart and that you'll be able to go out of here. I
hope before the day is over, you'll be able to say, maybe
very weak voice and trembling inside, he laid down his life
for me. I believe that. I just believe
that. He laid down his life for me.
And if you're able to do that, you come back and you tell us. You tell us. Whatever words,
broken accent, whatever words you can use, just come back and
tell us. he laid down his life, I believe
he did preacher, I believe he did for me. That's salvation,
that's eternal life, that's what it's all about. That's it. That's
it. Mike could we have a

Christ Lead's His Sheep

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the good shepherd?

How do we know Jesus knows His sheep?

Why is Jesus' sacrifice important for Christians?

What assurance do we have as Jesus' sheep?

Why is it significant that Jesus calls His followers His sheep?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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Articles

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Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

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Christ Lead's His Sheep

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the good shepherd?

How do we know Jesus knows His sheep?

Why is Jesus' sacrifice important for Christians?

What assurance do we have as Jesus' sheep?

Why is it significant that Jesus calls His followers His sheep?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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