Jesus the Good Shepherd Sunday School Lesson

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Jesus the Good Shepherd Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

A. Knowing Your Own

For many years we had a large dog namedSassy. I could always identify Sassy's bark fromseveral blocks away, even though there weredozens of dogs in our neighborhood; Sassy, inturn, could identify my call and would come toone in a crowd of people.

In a similar way my wife and I can identifyour young daughter's cry in a room full of tod-dlers. My son's first-grade class at church, whereI volunteer as a youth sponsor, includes a pair oftwins who define the word identical. Theirteachers are constantly in a quandary trying to

tell them apart. The teachers insist that the twomust never wear matching clothes. Yet the par-ents of these boys can immediately tell one fromthe other.

Knowledge of this kind—the ability to pickout a voice or a face in a crowd—is a sign of inti-macy: we know those we love and they know us,through constant interaction. In our lesson todayJesus will apply this principle to His loving rela-tionship with His disciples.

B. Lesson Background

Most scholars today view John 9, just preced-ing today's lesson text, as a critical passage forunderstanding the background of John 10. InJohn 9 Jesus met a man who had been blind frombirth and healed hint. The healing came aboutwhen Jesus covered the man's eyes with mudand sent him to wash at the Pool of Siloam. Thecure was effective, but it was impossible for theman to recognize Jesus or know much aboutHim. (Jesus was gone before the man had achance to see Him.)

The Pharisees later interrogated the man whohad been healed because Jesus, in their view,had violated the Law of Moses by healing on theSabbath. The man refused to condemn Jesus andultimately criticized the Pharisees for ignoringthe obvious evidence of His divine power. As aresult they excommunicated him (John 9:1-34).Jesus later found the man and led him to faith,while the Pharisees continued to question Jesus'authority (John 9:35-41). Jesus' teaching in chap-ter 10 about His role as the good shepherd is acommentary on this situation. It includes severalpromises that Jesus will protect and save thosewho believe in Him.

This teaching undoubtedly was extremelymeaningful to the apostle John. He, along withthe other apostles, also experienced persecutionand excommunication for faith in Christ (seeJohn 16:1-4).

I. Shepherd and Thief(John 10:1-6)

A. Reaction to the Shepherd (vv. 1-4)1, 2. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He thatentereth not by the door into the sheepfold, butclimbeth up sonic other way, the same is a thiefand a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

The opening phrase verily, verily, I say untoyou leads an to ask a question: to whom is Jesusspeaking? The context of John 9:40. 41 seems toindicate that Jesus is still talking to the Phar isees. On the other hand the phrase "they under-stood not" in John 10:6 (below) may indicate thata different audience is in view.

In either case Jesus' parable about the sheep-,old here in verses 1-6 is a sharp condemnationof the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus comparesGod's people to sheep in a pen; in the immediatecontext, the specific "sheep" in question is mostlikely the man whom Jesus has just healed ofblindness in chapter 9.

The shepherd in this analogy is Jesus himself,while the thieves are the Pharisees and otherJewish leaders who are attempting to preventpeople from believing in Him (compare John9:40). Jesus' legitimate spiritual authority is evi-denced by the fact that He enters by the door. Hedisplays God's care and love, and people recog-nize Him as the one whom God has sent (com-pare John 9:30-34).

God's true sheep, however, refuse to acceptthe false teachings of the Pharisees. These sheeprecognize that those teachings do not reflect acorrect understanding of Christ in light of Jesus'miracles. Many Pharisees are thieves and rob-bers, bent on self-preservation at the sheep's ex-pense (compare Ezekiel 34; Jude 12).

3. To him the porter openeth; and the sheephear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep byname, and leadeth them out.

Middle Eastern shepherds lead their flocks byvoice commands. Consequently the sheep knowthe voice of their shepherd. Even when many dif-ferent flocks graze together, a shepherd cangather his own simply by calling to them. In asimilar way those who sincerely seek God's willrecognize Jesus' voice and willingly follow Him.

The porter is the person who guards the gate ofthe sheep pen. In the context of Jesus' illustra-tion, this character probably does not refer to anyspecific person. Rather, the reference is to thegeneral fact that Jesus has a legitimate claim tocall God's people.

KNOWN BY OUR NAMES

For several years we had a professor on ourcollege faculty who had an amazing gift. Hewould look at the pictures of all incoming fresh-men that the admissions department provided.He would also notice the hometown of each. Atfreshmen orientation he would then have all newstudents stand up—usually over two hundredpeople whom he had never met.

Starting at one end of the group, he wouldbegin to call out names and hometowns. Each

student named would then sit down. By the timehe got to the other end of the room, only one ortwo students would be standing—and often theywere recent applicants for whom the admissionsoffice did not have a picture!

In addition that man often taught at a particu-lar "high school week" at a nearby Christian ser-vice camp. He would have all students who werethere the previous year stand up. He had notseen these students in a year, but he called offtheir names without any mistakes.

In the 1996 movie Fly Away Home, Amy Aldenraises a flock of orphaned Canada geese. Shegives them all names and leads them into winterquarters in the southern United States. To mostof us one goose looks just like another.

If a human being can have an ability to knownames, hometowns, and individual geese, howmuch more is Jesus able to know us! He is thegood shepherd, and He knows the names of Hissheep. That's a comfort that will follow us intoeternity.

4.And when he putteth forth his own sheep,he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him:for they know his voice.

To heed the call of Christ is vital! Ancientshepherds walk ahead of their flocks to leadthem from the pen to safe pasture, and Jesus usesthis analogy to describe His leadership of God'speople. The twofold emphasis is on knowing hisvoice and on following him. The first of thesetwo speaks to the ability to recognize Jesus as theone who has come to reveal God to the world.The second speaks to being obedient to Histeaching in all circumstances.

B. Reaction to Strangers (v. 5)

5.And a stranger will they not follow, butwill flee from him; for they know not the voiceof strangers.

In John 9 the man healed of blindness stub-bornly refused to yield to the Pharisees. He wouldnot condemn Jesus despite pressure. His reactioncontrasted sharply with that of his parents, whotried to straddle the fence when called to testify(John 9:18-23).

The attitude of the man healed of blindnessparallels the way that sheep will scatter whenstrangers attempt to lure them away. God's peo-ple will listen to Jesus' voice and no other.

C. Reaction of the Listeners (v. 6)

6.This parable spake Jesus unto them; butthey understood not what things they werewhich He spake unto them.

Although the meaning of Jesus' analogy seemsobvious to us now, it is misunderstood by theoriginal hearers. This confusion may suggest thatJesus is now speaking to a different audience: notto the Pharisees of John 9:40, 41 but to a largergroup of Jews of John 10:19.

This view could be supported by the reactionof the chief priests and scribes in Luke 20:19.There we see that those religious leaders are ableto understand all too well that Jesus uses a figureof speech against them. Here, however, the audi-ence understood not what things they were whichHe spoke unto them.

So perhaps this is a larger audience (again,John 10:19) that is not aware of Jesus' earlier dis-cussion with the min whom He had cured ofblindness. In either case Jesus proceeds to ex-pand the illustration in order to explain its rele-vance to all people who are considering whetheror not to follow Him (next verse). [See question#3, page 2011

II. Individuals and Motives(John 10:7-10)

A. Now vs. Then (vv. 7, 8)

7.Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily,verily, I say unto you, I ant the door of thesheep.

In ancient times sheep often are kept in cavesor in pens made of rock walls in open fields. Theshepherd brings his flock back to the pen at theend of the day. There he counts and inspectsthem.

These pens may have no physical doors orgates. For that reason the shepherd himselfwould stand or lie across the opening to preventsheep from wandering out and wolves from en-tering. Thus the shepherd himself becomes thedoor or gate of the sheep pen. This is the imageryJesus uses to describe how He watches over Hissheep and guards them from harm.

R. All that ever came before me are thievesand robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.The thieves here may refer again to the Jewishreligious leaders as depicted in Jeremiah 23:1, 2;Ezekiel 34:2, 3. The term may also refer to the

various false messiahs who led anti-Roman revo-lutionary movements after the death of Herodthe Great in 4 BC (compare Acts 5:36, 37). In ei-ther case God's people are waiting for the trueshepherd, Jesus. Thus the sheep do not heed theimposters who came before Jesus.

B. Salvation vs. Destruction (vv. 9, 10)

9.I am the door: by me if any man enter in,he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, andfind pasture.

This verse pictures the sheepfold as thedwelling place of God's redeemed people. Go inand out does not suggest that one falls in and outof salvation. Rather, the reference is to the waythat Jesus continually provides for His people byleading them to safe pusture—by providing fortheir spiritual needs. The sheep depend on theshepherd to lead them out of the pen for foodand water. In the same way we depend on Christto provide for us.

The imagery thus emphasizes the shepherd'songoing. daily care for the flock. Jesus' concertifor His people is constant.

10.The thief cometh not, but for to steal, andto kill, and to destroy: I am come that theymight have life, and that they might have itmore abundantly.

The false messiahs attempt to "call" God'ssheep, but they do so for selfish reasons. Theywant to increase their own power and prestige inservice of their own agendas. Jesus, here as else-where, stresses that His motives are entirelypure. He does not wish to promote himself at theexpense of others. He seeks only to protect thelives and well being of His flock. In fact He iswilling to sacrifice His own life to save them (v.11, next). (See question #4. page 2001

III. Shepherd and Hired Hand(John 10:11-18)

A. Shepherd's Actions, Part 1 (v. 11)

11. I ant the good shepherd: the good shep-herd giveth his life for the sheep.

Shepherds give their lives for their sheep in atleast two ways. First, sheep need constant careand attention, with many long days and nights inthe field. The job is all-consuming.

Second, and more specifically here, shepherdsare called upon to protect the flock from danger-ous predators. In these cases the shepherd riskshis life by placing himself between the sheep andthe wolves. Ancient Jews can well relate to thissort of imagery because so many of them workwith livestock.

The Old Testament frequently refers to God asthe shepherd of His people. Often the emphasisis on protection and provision. Perhaps the mostfamous of these passages is Psalm 23. Jesus callshimself the good shepherd against this backdropto emphasize His loving care for His people.This is in contrast to the religious leaders of Hisday. It is Jesus alone who literally will give hislife on the cross for the sheep (compare Hebrews13:20).

LAYING DOWN ONE'S LIFE

On January 23, 1943, more than 900 mensailed from New York on the USAT Dorchester, aformer luxury liner, now a troop ship bound forGreenland. Most of the travelers were youngArmy enlistees, plus some officers and MerchantMarine sailors. There were also four chaplains:George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; Clark V.Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister; John P.Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; andAlexander D. Goode, a Jewish rabbi.

About 150 miles from Greenland, at about1:00 AM on February 3, German submarine U-223torpedoed the aging transport. The attack killedabout 100 men immediately. The rest groped forthe openings in the darkness that would lead tothe deck. The four chaplains helped where theycould, lending some sense of calm to the fear-crazed young men. Lifeboats were readied, andthe chaplains went to the lockers to hand out lifejackets.

Unfortunately. there were not enough jacketsfor everyone. The four chaplains had theirs on,but all four removed their jackets and handedthem to young men and directed them to theboats. The Dorchester sank in less than 30 min-utes. As it went down the survivors noticed thefour chaplains standing at the railing, armslinked together, singing and praying, givingstrength to others.

About 75 percent of the men aboard perishedin the sinking, including the four chaplains.Those four had laid down their lives for the menof their "flock." We marvel at their sacrifice, evenafter more than 60 years. Do we marvel as muchabout Jesus? He also laid down His life, but in amuch more profound way. His sacrifice made itpossible for us to live eternally. That's somethingthat even the selfless sacrifice of the four chap-lains could not accomplish. —J. B. N.

B. Hired Hand's Actions (vv. 12, 13)

12, 13. But he that is a hireling, and not theshepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeththe wolf coming. and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scat-tereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because heis a hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

While the thieves and robbers of verse 0 likelyallude to the Pharisees who had persecuted thehealed man in John 9, we're not really sure whothe hireling represents. Whoever this is. such aperson works among the flock (God's people) butwithout genuine concern.

Jesus, by contrast, knows His people and lovesthem as His own. The next several verses de-scribe the ways that He expresses this love.

C. Shepherd's Actions, Part 2 (vv. 14-18)

14, 15. I am the good shepherd, and know mysheep, and am known of mine. As the Fatherknoweth me, even so know I the Father: and Ilay down my life for the sheep.

The verb know here refers to more thanmerely "know about." Of course Jesus knowsHis sheep in the sense that He knows who weare. But the hireling of verse 13 can also claimthat he knows the sheep in this way—how manysheep there are, what they look like, which oneswalk slower, etc.

Jesus therefore proceeds to outline two waysin which His ministry is unique. First, He em-phasizes the special relationship that He haswith His people through comparison with Hisown relationship to God. Jesus and the Father arecompletely united, and Jesus and His people areunited as well (see Matthew 11:27). Second,Jesus restates His willingness to lay down Hislife, sacrificing everything for the well-being of His flock.

16.And other sheep I have, which are not ofthis fold: them also I must bring, and they shallhear my voice; and there shall be one fold, andone shepherd.

Who are the other sheep of whom Jesusspeaks? Most commentators conclude that theseare Gentiles (that is, non-Jewish people) whohave not yet heard about Jesus and His message.Consider the prediction in Isaiah 42:6: "I theLord have called thee in righteousness, and willhold thine hand, and will keep thee, and givethee for a covenant of the people, for a light ofthe Gentiles."

Jesus is thus making a prediction about themission to the Gentiles that will follow the con-version of Cornelius in Acts 10. That mission ul-timately will find its fullest expression in Paul'sministry.

Notice also the emphasis on the unity of theflock. The phrase one fold speaks to the unity ofJew and Gentile in Christ, one shepherd. Jesus'words are especially meaningful to John'schurches in the late first century AD. Thesechurches likely include believers from both Jew-ish and Gentile backgrounds. Christ cares for allof His people equally.

17.Therefore doth my Father love me,because I lay down my life, that t might take itagain.

7'ake it again refers to Jesus' resurrection. Jesusenjoys the Father's love because He, unlike thePharisees and false Messiahs, proves His love forGod's people.

The ultimate proof comes when He lays downHis life to pay the price for sin. After the resur-rection Jesus is exalted once again to His heav-enly position beside the Father.

18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay itdown of myself. I have power to lay it down.and I have power to take it again. This com-mandment have I received of my Father.John stresses throughout his Gospel that Jesus'death was not an accident of circumstance. De-spite the fact that He died in a gruesome and hu-miliating way, Jesus was at every momentcompletely in control of everything that hap-pened to Hint. This snakes His death so muchmore meaningful as an expression of His care forthe flock.

Many shepherds may have to risk their lives toprotect the sheep at a moment's notice; Jesusconsciously chooses when and how He will die,confident that He has the power to live again. Noone else could make such a claim.

Conclusion

A. One of the Crowd

Very often we are told (especially in adver-tisements) that it's bad to he "just one of thecrowd." We are supposed to let our individualitystand out. We like to think of ourselves as inde-pendent individuals who don't need to rely onanyone else.

At the same time, however, it is very comfort-ing to be a member of a group in which we canfeel safe and at home. The hit television showCheers (which ran from 1982 to 1993) portrayeda group of close friends at a small bar in Boston.That bar was a place "where everybody knowsyour name." That was an important part of theshow's appeal: it illustrated the type of place thatmany of us long to find. A place to be "one of thegang." A place to be accepted for who one is.The sad thing about that television program isthat so many people seek these types of relation-ships in bars rather than in churches. While weare all individuals, together we make up Jesus'flock as we follow His voice. He knows each ofour names, and we each have a special place inHis family. In Him we find an eternal peace andcomfort that the world cannot provide.

B. Prayer

Lord, we know that You call to us its every sit-uation; help us to hear Your voice. We live in aworld with many false ideas and .1f-servingteachers. Sometimes it's hard to know what'sright. Keep us focused on the one who gave Hislife for us. In Jesus' name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Jesus still shepherds us today.

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