May 2, 2006 John 10:11-18

¹¹ "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -- ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father -- and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life -- only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (NIV)

One of the finest additions to our church was added several years ago, when one of our members offered a Biblical history in pictures in the basement. Even though I've seen these pictures hundreds of times I still find myself regularly glancing at them and remembering the history behind the picture. One of my favorites - which is on the wall to your right - is the picture of the Good Shepherd. Today we are going to take a close look at this picture. What is it about this picture that makes us love it so much? It's not the color. It's not the cute little sheep. It's the fact that Jesus painted it. No, he didn't get out a paint brush and actually paint this. Instead, He painted it with his words. So there's actually a lot of meaning behind this picture. That's what makes it so special. Today we are going to look at the meaning behind the picture of the Good Shepherd, as we -

Take a Close Look at Jesus' Self Portrait - the Picture of the Good Shepherd

I. It represents His bold position

Jesus pictures Himself as a shepherd. I don't know too many shepherds. Actually, I don't know any. The only things I know about shepherds are from the Bible. One specific shepherd really strikes my mind. His name was David. If you remember, while Jesse was trying to get one of David's older brothers anointed as king, David was out tending the sheep. Later on, David commented on the danger of this job. When he wanted to fight Goliath, Saul said, "you can't do that. You're only a boy. This guy's been fighting all his life." ³⁴ But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. (1 Samuel 17) So a shepherd actually had a very treacherous job. He had to fight bears and lions - risk his very life for the sheep. He had to be very bold in order to keep the sheep alive.

Contrast this to the "hired hand." A hired hand was someone that the owner of the sheep would hire to take care of the sheep. The hired hand doesn't have any money invested in the sheep. His life doesn't depend on whether these sheep are kept safe or not. He's just there tending the sheep because he needs to make a living at something. So what does he do once the lion or the bear comes around? He's out of there. Forget about the sheep! It's not worth the risk.

We know Jesus is the Good Shepherd. But who does Jesus mean by this "hired hand?" Basically, these "hired hands" are spiritually leaders who enter the profession - maybe because they have some talent. Maybe they can give a good emotional speech, or present a good Bible class - but they don't really have a self sacrificing concern for the flock. They present themselves for "hiring", not thinking about the fact that the devil attacks and attacks, and he doesn't quit. He'll attack one minister with a greed for money, another with a lust for a woman. He'll attack one minister with a hot headed council member, and another with a doctrinal controversy. The devil keeps sending the bears and the wolves. He may have thought it would be an easy one hour a week job, but then realized that there were a lot of problems hidden behind the smiling faces in the pews. It would involve prayer, counseling, patience, and love to deal with these sheep. Finally, after the sheep start biting at him and keep running away, the hired hand finally says to himself, "this isn't worth it. I could make a lot more money as a business man or at something else. Life would be much easier in some other profession." So they quit.

Isn't this the way most people are dealing with problems nowadays - not only in the ministry, but everywhere. At the first sign of problems in a marriage, a disrespectful wife or an unloving husband presses the buttons, and couples are quickly throwing in the towel and saying, "this isn't worth the effort." Instead of trying to work through it, they put their own souls and their children's souls in danger by running away from their responsibilities - tough as they may be. Today, if someone doesn't like their job, they just quit. If they don't like someone at work, they just don't talk to them. If their kids are causing them problems, they are quick to refer them to a psychiatrist or a drug. In short, they ignore their problems instead of dealing with them. But that doesn't help anyone in the end. You can't deal with a problem by running away from it. When the hired hand ran away from the flock, the wolf came in and destroyed the flock. This is not the answer. If you run away from your responsibilities, you only end up with guilt in the end.

Instead, look at what Jesus did. He didn't run away from the problem that faced the world. He could have just stayed in heaven and said, "that's their problem, not mine." He could have said, "I don't owe them anything. I don't have to help them. I don't need this headache in my life" But he knew the commission that the Father had given them. He said in Matthew 18:11, the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. There was a problem, a major headache, that needed to be dealt with. The problem didn't come in the form of a bear. It came in the form of a snake. This snake was the devil. He helped to ruin God's perfect relationship with man. He made God hate mankind. Instead of taking God's wrath, Adam and Eve tried to run from it - to hide their faces to the responsibility that they faced. That's what we've all been doing ever since - trying to hide our guilt behind excuses and denial. Ever since the fall, people, like sheep, are going astray - trying to run away from their debt to God. But it doesn't work. This hatred had to be dealt with. They owed God perfection. This was why Jesus came. He didn't come just to be a celebrity or to make a quick buck. Jesus came to give God the perfection He demanded and deal with the problem of God's wrath. So approximately six months before Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus made it clear as to why He came. He came to face the lion-like rage of God's wrath, by being crucified on the cross. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He came to lay His life down, and then take it up again. He came to take all of God's wrath on His shoulders at the cross, and then leave God's anger in the grave. He did just that. What a beautiful picture of the Good Shepherd. He was one who was willing to put His life on the line for a bunch of dumb sheep who didn't even deserve His love. When you realize what the Shepherd's job was, it makes you appreciate this picture all the more.

II. It demonstrates His personal care

There's something else that I enjoy about this picture. The Shepherd has a very personal relationship with His sheep. Jesus says, I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Do any of you know people who have a "personal relationship" with their animals - their pet dogs or cats. They sleep in the same bed. They feed them meals at the dinner table. They put clothes on them. They talk to them as if they were human! We sometimes think that this is a bit overboard - because they are just animals! When Jesus says, "I know my sheep and they know me", it shows a personal relationship. He treats these sheep like really special creatures, even though they're only sheep! Think about the picture. God has a relationship with humans! Wow! That word for "know" is ginwskw. It shows a very personal knowledge. Let me demonstrate. There's a difference between head knowledge and hands on knowledge. I could read every kind of book on farming. I could read how to plant corn, how to milk cows, how to help a cow give a calf. I could know it, but you know what? I still could not be a farmer, at least not a good one. Only hands on experience can tell you how to maneuver a trailer in high winds. Only hands on experience can show you how to distract a momma cow while you are trying to tag it's calf. Only experience knows when to plow a field and when to harvest it. This is something that books don't teach. You can't know it until you've experienced it.

But there are certain things I do know. I know how to ride on a Nordic Track. I know how to change the oil in my car. I know the taste of a good deer jerky between my teeth. I know how to irritate my wife. I know the sound of a good guitar. It's a knowledge of experience. I've experienced these things. I grew up with them. I've lived with them. It's a personal hands on knowledge. That's the way that Jesus says He knows us. When Thomas said, "I have to put my fingers in Jesus' nail holes," Jesus heard him. He was there. When Philip was sitting under the fig tree, Jesus saw Him there. When Lazarus died, Jesus knew it. He knew everything that was happening everywhere. Jesus has a very personal knowledge of us. He knows that your favorite cereal. He knows how many times you hit the snooze bar in the morning. He knows when you need a hair cut. He knows what you smell like. He knows what makes you angry. He knows what makes you happy. He says that even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:30) He was and is a Shepherd who knows everything that happens in our lives. He has even lived in our shoes. He even knows what our sins are - as He experienced God's wrath over them on the cross. When Jesus says, "I know my sheep," He really does know his sheep.

Think one more time about what Jesus says again. I know my sheep. Think about what a monstrous statement that is! This picture only shows one sheep. But think about how many thousands of sheep Jesus has! And He knows ALL of them like - He knows YOU - as if YOU were his only child. It's amazing. He doesn't lose track of us. He doesn't forget who we are. He knows all of us.

Why do you think Jesus paints this picture for us? Why do you think he tells us that he knows us? Isn't it so we trust that our lives are safe with Him by our side. This is not some impersonal shepherd that God has placed in charge of our lives. This is "the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls." This is Jesus, who really does care for us and love us. He has laid down his life to save us from God's wrath. He's taken it up again. He has gone out and sought us who were not a part of his fold, and made us a part of his Universal Church. He knows when we need some extra encouragement. He knows when we need a kick in the rear. He will do exactly what is necessary for us to grow spiritually. He knows his sheep, and He does what is best for them.

Can you believe that after all that Jesus has done for us, some still accuse Him of being an unloving God? Can you believe that some who even know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, accuse Jesus of not caring, not loving? How could anybody, after seeing this picture of the Good Shepherd, and understanding all that he has done for us, accuse him of not caring? After living in the land of plenty, having plenty of steak and potatoes, a beautiful house, beautiful car, and all the necessities of life, there are some who actually have the nerve to complain about their clothes or their food! After knowing that Jesus laid His life on the line for their lives, there are some who claim that God demands too much of them - by asking them to come to worship! These are the people who get a cold and complain to God and have the nerve to ask, "why me?" They lose a crop and ask God if He really cares. They complain when God asks them to come to church or give their firstfruits. Talk about being ungrateful. They sit through a worship service and have no desire to sing to God! You have to wonder why God doesn't just wipe such people off the face of this earth.... until you remember that you and I are one of those ungrateful people. Instead of wondering how people can accuse God of being unfair, unloving, we must simply bow our heads and admit that we have accused Jesus of not being a "Good" Shepherd. Then we must look once again at the picture of the Good Shepherd, and remember why Jesus still loves us. He loves us because He IS the GOOD Shepherd, the beautiful Shepherd, the patient Shepherd, the forgiving Shepherd, who has made us clean through His blood. Jesus says "I AM" that Good Shepherd. It is His eternal trait. When we take another look at this picture, all we can do is thank God that He doesn't let go when we accuse Him of such injustices. Instead, he holds on all the tighter. He reassures us of His love. What a beautiful picture this is.

There's a picture on my wall that I have behind my door - of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. It's a a picture that I grew up looking at for years and years in our household. I will never forget that picture. Even if you don't have this picture in your house, I hope you never forget it. Listen to Psalm 23 once again, and think about all of the blessings we have with Jesus as our Good Shepherd -

¹ A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ 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. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (KJV)

Thank God that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. What a beautiful picture it is. Amen.