The Good Shepherd

This isn’t merely a first-century warning. There are still robbers and thieves attempting to crawl over the fence and into the church with the goal of doing as much damage as possible (Jude 3-4). Until Jesus returns, there will always be wolves that walk around disguised as sheep, and their selfishness will ravage the flock. You need to be careful to whom you listen and whom you follow. It’s one of the reasons God has given the church pastors (Latin for shepherds). Pastors protect you from wolves (Acts 20:28-31). The greatest danger to your spiritual health will most likely come from someone claiming to be a Christian, someone who quotes a lot of verses and distracts you from the gospel of Jesus.

That’s why everything must center on Jesus Christ. He’s our Shepherd. He bids us come through him into the fold. He’s the gate, and the gate offers us protection, peace, and security from those who would through false teaching attempt to turn us from following the Shepherd.

Entering the flock of God through Jesus Christ not only protects us from danger, but it also protects us from hunger (v. 9). Some Christians only think of Jesus saving us from sin. They picture the Christian life as being pulled away from the danger of sin and corruption of any kind and locked, nice and secure, in the fold. They would be content to live in the safe confines of the sheepfold, never venturing out, never making contact with anything outside the fold. What good would it do to be protected from the dangers outside the fold if you’re going to starve to death inside the fold? Jesus doesn’t call us to a life of hunkering down safely inside the fold, protected from danger but starving to death. Jesus wants us to have life and have it abundantly. He protects us wherever we go, so through him we find the best pasture and feast to our hearts’ content. The Christian life is not simply being saved from something. We’re also saved to something.

We’re not just protected from the destruction of sin. We’re given the joy of walking with Jesus. That doesn’t mean we constantly frolic in the meadow, where life is easy. Jesus doesn’t promise us a trouble-free life. He promises us joy that is bigger and lasts longer than our troubles. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will not fear. Even when we feel like armies are encamped around us, Jesus will spread out a banquet table for us in the sight of those enemies. If you think Christianity is primarily about obeying rules, you’re wrong. Christianity is about joy. God made us to enjoy him and his world. The first humans were only given one rule, and that rule was intended to protect their joy. God is not a cosmic bully, arbitrarily enforcing rules to make us miserable. God is infinitely happy, and he gives us rules to protect happiness, not prevent it.

If your life is about anything other than Jesus Christ, that thing will steal your joy (v. 10). It will rob you of the delight God wants you to have in Jesus. If you pursue anything as ultimate in your life other than Jesus, it will fail. But in Jesus Christ, regardless of your circumstances, you can discover unshakeable joy and abundant life—not an abundance of possessions or even an abundance of laughs but a life overflowing with joy in Jesus. He promises the closer we walk with him and the more intimately we follow him, the greater our joy will be and the fuller our lives will be. Jesus didn’t call us out of the emptiness of sin to live in mediocrity. He called us to feast at his table, to rejoice in his presence. Stop wandering away from the Shepherd to seek out your own pasture and to find your own water. Every time you do, you will find the grass withered and the water bitter.

Jesus is the gate. Through him we rest in the safety of the fold and rejoice in the sweetness of the field. The false shepherds of Israel cast the sheep aside, endangering their lives, but Jesus, the good shepherd, lovingly gathers his sheep to himself and then guards them from all danger.

John 10:11-18

In one act we see most clearly the shepherd’s care for the sheep. When the sheep are in imminent danger, the shepherd gives his life to save them. Jesus is different from the religious leaders in many ways. Jesus points to their relationship with the sheep and says in effect, “You’re simply hired hands” (v. 12). To them tending the sheep was a job, a way to make extra cash. If tending the sheep is your job, what happens when the predator attacks the flock in the middle of the night? You run, and you don’t look back! As long as you’re faster than the slowest sheep, you’re fine. Those sheep are not yours, and no job (and definitely no sheep) is worth losing your life. A hired hand loves his life more than he loves the sheep. But Jesus is not a hired hand. These sheep are his, and he loves them more than he loves his life. That’s why he lays down his life to protect his sheep. Five times in four verses Jesus promises to lay down his life for the sheep (vv. 11, 15, 17,18).

Jesus is the hero of the story. When he sees the wolf coming, he doesn’t run away. He steps in front of the sheep. He will not allow anything to hurt or harm his sheep. No price is too great to pay for his sheep. What are the dangers to the sheep that Jesus must fight?

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (1:29; emphasis added)

Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. (5:24; emphasis added)

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gave his life to protect his sheep from predators—from sin, from judgment, and from death. He didn’t die simply to be an example or to demonstrate the depth of his love. He died because his sheep were in real danger. He died in our place, and by his death we are saved (Isa 53:6).

Where does that leave us? Are we shepherdless? I like the way John Piper says it: “The story doesn’t end with a mangled shepherd lying dead among three dead wolves, and sheep scattered thirsting and starving in the desert” (“I Have Authority”). Jesus’s death defeated sin and death and judgment because he did not stay dead (John 10:17-18). He arose and continues to shepherd his sheep. Jesus is a victorious, risen, and living shepherd.

If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, then what you need to do is simple: follow Jesus. Don’t look elsewhere. Don’t wander away. Recognize that in him we have everything we would ever need. When we’re tired, he brings us to rest in green pastures. When we’re thirsty, he guides us to the refreshing spring. When we’re uncertain, he leads us on the paths of righteousness. When we’re afraid, he comforts us with his presence. Follow the good shepherd. As you follow him, goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life, and on his timetable he will lead you to his house where you will dwell with him forever.