John 10.16
Milk
May 18th 2014
Welcome welcome.
We left off last week in the Gospel of John chapter 10 verse 10 – an epic verse.
Before we get back into our verse by verse study, we are going to open with a prayer by:
Then we will enjoy a sermonette by:
Following that, we’ll sing a song or two of bible verses and after sitting for a few minutes in silence come back and get into the word.
Just to let you all know on Sunday, June 1st, right after the Milk Gathering we are going to have an open water baptism.
A couple people have asked to receive water baptism and we are going to try and oblige this desire then.
PRAYER
Sermonette
Music
Silence
Okay. Last week Jesus introduced a parable based on shepherd and sheep and said that some men (who are nothing but thieves and robbers) try to enter into the sheepfold by some other way other than the door – which in explaining the parable later said represented Him.
We ended our time with Jesus saying in verse ten:
(John 10:10) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Now before we read our text for today, I want you to forget the parable we learned last week – the one where Jesus said He is the door to the sheepfold and it is by this entrance that all shepherds and sheep enter into the flock.
That was a parable all unto itself.
But it seems having taught it, the Lord decided to make some things clear relative to shepherds.
And this brings us to what I believe is a separate illustration beginning at verse 11 where He says:
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 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 fold, and one shepherd.
Alright, back to verse 11.
The context of the teaching is this: A man was born blind who Jesus healed and in the end he was excommunicated for standing up to the Pharisees in Jesus cause (so to speak).
When Jesus heard this He sought the man out, and finding Him, brought the man to see His identity, and to receive Him as the Son of God.
As a shepherd He sought out this troubled lamb – after he had been kicked out of his former flock (with the Jews).
In chapter ten Jesus teaches a parable about shepherds, sheep, and the true flock – and in it describes all who try and enter into the flock in ways other than Himself (like the Pharisees He has been reproving) as thieves and robbers.
And we talked about this and possible meanings.
In my opinion, the Lord was (for lack of a better phrase) on a roll, and launches into more parallels for His listeners to consider, saying:
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
I am the true and faithful shepherd who gives his life for the flock.
I regard my life as of less value than theirs. I will stand and fight the darkest and most vile of enemies to protect my sheep, and I will NOT flee or let any of them down.
Because . . . He’s the Good Shepherd.
In the synoptic gospels we read about a certain ruler running up to Jesus and addressing Him as Good master to which Jesus replied,
“Why callest thou me Good, there is none Good but God.”
I believe He was trying to get the man to realize His true identity as God instead of feigning humility (as I was once taught regarding this passage).
Well here He calls Himself “the Good Shepherd.”
Throughout scripture the illustration of sheep and flocks and shepherds are used and here I believe we arrive at the culmination – Christ and His Church, His Body of Belivers.
As great as some shepherd have probably been over the course of history, defending their flocks and beating away wolves and suffering heat and cold to care for the well being of the sheep, none have been good like He is good.
He tells us how and why – He gives His life for the sheep.
Now, in the New Testament, we have three terms that describe pastors – presbyter, episcopas, poimane – elder, overseer (or Bishop) and shepherd (or pastor).
They are used synonymously and all relate to men who oversee and care for the sheep or flock.
Actually, the word pastor is never used in the New Testament but is of Latin origin and relates to actual pastures or fields where sheep would roam.
We took the Greek word POIMANE, saw that it relates to Shepherds, and looked at the Latin word Pasteur – and adopted it.
In light of Jesus teaching here I have never been comfortable with the term pastor. I know that people love titles and need them, and that in many ways the term fits when a person is in a position to “feed the sheep” (the word of God) and to care for their spiritual welfare, but I honestly like sheepdog better . . .
An animal in the charge of the Good Shepherd who also oversees the flock, and barks and nips and growls – but in no way puts himself in any manner in the same position of shepherd.
See, no matter how many hours of the day I could try, I could NEVER, EVER measure up with what the true (Good) Shepherd does.
My job is actually to get you to look to Him – to trust and rely on Him and Him alone – not on me, the church, or any other things.
Are pastors (or sheepdogs) supposed to serve the flock? Yes! Teach the flock? Absolutely (and primarily, by the way). Are they to give spiritual guidance and service to the flock in Jesus name and cause? Certainly!
But with Jesus as the Good Shepherd it seems to me that title ought not be shared by failing men.
Jesus Himself makes a comparison between Himself and others who are NOT Him> Listen!
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
A couple of points about this – when Jesus speaks of a hireling He speaks of a man who is employed to care for the sheep.
And he is employed to care for sheep who are NOT his own (Jesus says).
Do you know who that is? Every single person that calls himself a pastor and shepherd or Bishop or Overseer or elder in every single church – myself included.
I can say this because in most churches pastors are paid and in all churches – every last one of them – the sheep in the flock are not theirs – they are God’s.
As a whole Christians (especially pastors) balk at this, and like to think of themselves as the shepherds of their flocks, but the shepherding of human sheep by other human sheep was a fail in the Old Testament which is why God sent us The Good Shepherd to be overseer of our respective lives.
Maybe I can put it another way.
The Good Shepherd does not grow tired and impatient. He is at every hospital bed, at the end of every empty bank account, at the door with groceries of every lacking house. He has unlimited time, resources, patience, understanding and power.
The Good Shepherd’s love and devotion is NOT ever ever conditional. You can fall asleep in His sermons, complain over what He is feeding you, get mad and call Him names – and He never takes it personally. He will not flee or abandon His sheep under any circumstance – did you know that?
Do you believe it?
Do you live in a relationship with Him like this?
(beat)
The Good Shepherd does not favor the easy to love with time and attention nor does He distance Himself from the easy to hate or deal with.
The Good Shepherd does not care about how the sheep can benefit His flock – He cares how the flock can help His sheep.
The Good Shepherd would never fleece His sheep.
The Good Shepherd would never put burdens on their backs (in the name of His Father) to create an empire.
The Good Shepherd gives and forgives, bestows grace when it is completely unmerited, and He does it all immediately and without payment.
But those who are hirelings (and as I said, that is all of us in pastoral ministry) Jesus says:
(12) . . . seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
In verse 13 Jesus explains why the hireling acts this way:
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Now, I do not mean to imply that pastors do not care for the sheep God allows them to teach. Many – probably most – do.
But in the case that Jesus is making the hireling (who does NOT own the sheep and is NOT the Shepherd of them) will flee because . . . he’s a hireling! (he’s paid to do what he does) and cares not for the sheep (in such a situation, he cares MORE about His wages, His safety, His livelihood more than the welfare of the sheep.
The point, I don’t think is so much against the hireling – this is just expected – the point is the love and benevolence of the Good Shepherd.
Human beings are just too – human – to meet the needs of others completely – we will almost always serve the self.
Way back when I was just 16 and trying to be an ocean lifeguard you had to sit in front of a panel of men whose job was to stress the interviewee out.
They did this by presenting us with hypothetical situations – “a man has a heart attack on the sand to your right and a baby chocks on a hot-dog to your left – what would you do” type of thing.
After twenty minutes of this they said something to the effect (and in all seriousness) :
“Alright, McCraney, your on your tower. A woman runs up screaming and says her baby just got swept out to sea by a wave, at the same time a teenager dives into a sand-bar and breaks his neck, and a small private plane goes down on the horizon . . . WHAT WOULD YOU DO!”
I said, “I’d quit.”
There was a long, long silence and then the whole panel busted out laughing.
“I mean, seriously, and eight dollar an hour job to try and handle all that!”
I think this is the point Jesus is making – with men truly shepherding other men is impossible . . . but with God, with the Good Shepherd, all things are possible.
Jesus reiterates this point in verse 14, saying:
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
First, as the Good Shepherd, He says, “He knows His sheep.”
Do we believe this – that Jesus knows us?
This is not a superfluous knowing, it is the most intimate knowing possible.
When we think about it His knowing transcends our even knowing ourselves because as our creator He knows the beginning from the end.
The question is – do we trust this? It is SO difficult to remember, and at times even believe.
That He knows our every fear, concern, and situation – and as the Good Shepherd will see us through, will provide, will conquer, will bring about for us a good and expected end.
Another point we need to consider is if we can agree that He is aware, does He care?
Is He just the Shepherd or is He the Good Shepherd. Sometimes we think that God is out to “get us,” and we would have to admit that this is true – He’s out to get us into His fold, His flock, and to get us to trust Him, look to Him, listen to Him and rely on Him!
God said through the prophet Jeremiah:
(Jeremiah 29:11) “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
We often think of Him as not having thoughts of peace but of evil – that is a lie. His thoughts are kind and good, with our failures paid and put behind us and an expected end in place awaiting.
Nahum 1:7 says it this way:
“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”
In the New Testament, Paul was dealing with some people who were causing the early church trouble and said in 2nd Timothy 2:19
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal – (What seal? Ready)
“The Lord knoweth them that are his.”
So in verse 14 He says:
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, “and am known of mine.”
(meaning, and they know me)
We trust the Good Shepherd knows us and we know Him.
(beat)
I want to throw out a challenge to anyone and everyone within the sound of my live or recorded voice – the challenge is this –
Do you trust that the Good Shepherd knows you as His sheep and do you KNOW Him.
(loooong beat)
I would suggest, gently, that knowing Him would translate to seeing Him, viewing Him, as your Good Shepherd (with you as one of His willing and trusting sheep).
Consider the imagery for a minute – He is on the right hand of the Father, having overcome sin and death, and is overlooking the lives of his flock (those who believe on Him from the heart).
What is your heart toward Him and His directives? At what level do you trust in Him to protect you . . . provide for you . . . lead you . . . care for you . . . really, truly love and represent you before the Father?
What is your deep, heart-felt inner attitude toward the Shepherd? 20% compliant, 100%
I mean, it’s pretty radical but the early believers trusted the Good Shepherd enough that they let Him lead them to the Roman Colliseum! To Nero’s gardens!
That’s trust.
Where are we?
I want nothing to get in the way of my allegiance to Him and His will – whatever that is. And whether I fail to know His will or successfully discern it, He knows the heart, the desire . . . of His sheep.
In Verse 15 He brings in the Father, saying:
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Pharisees here on the scene have been, and will continue to pry and ask Him about His relationship to the Father.
I would suggest that for this reason he adds, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father.”
Indirectly, what I think He is saying is, And accordingly, (or in accord with the will of the Father) “as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father.”
A few verses earlier He said He knows the Sheep and the Sheep know Him. In verse 15 He seems to say, “Accordingly, as the Father knows me and I know the Father, I am laying my life down for the sheep (in other words, this is the will of the Father who I know and who knows me.)
There is a clear and easy to understand relationship laid out in scripture:
God so loved the world He sent His Only Begotten Son . . . He knows the Son and the Son knows Him . . .
The Son knows us and we know the Son . . .
By virtue of this, we have access to the Father. It’s THAT clear. We have no access whatsoever to the Father of lights without the Son – none. This is why the Father sent His Son.
Jesus continues (verse 16)
16 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 fold, and one shepherd.
If you have ever been LDS you might recognize the use (and abuse of this verse) by the Mormon missionaries to support the idea that there were people in the American Continent and Jesus was speaking about them here.
Of course this is laughable being that when Jesus says, “Other sheep I have which are NOT of THIS fold,” He was speaking of the Jews or Nation of Israel (as this fold) and the other sheep were those non-Jews or gentiles (whom Jesus did NOT come for initially).
Now, when Jesus says:
Other sheep I HAVE . . . this does not imply that they were then believers or then His sheep, but that they would be.
Like a foregone conclusion that they were already His.
In Acts 10 verse 10 the Lord tells Paul in vision that “He had many in the city of Corinth,” before the many were converted, again proving that He knows His sheep ahead of the game.
“Them also I must bring.”
Now we know Christ ascended before the Gospel went to the Gentiles so when He says, Them also I must bring” we could believe that He is saying that He Himself will bring the Gospel” or that He is the head of the Church and the Gospel and He would ensure that the Gospel was brought to these other sheep.
The LDS would suggest that because Jesus said “Them I must also bring” it confirms that the other sheep are Lehi’s progeny because the Book of Mormon has Jesus appearing with the Good News in the Americas in 3rd Nephi.
But the stretch to make this leap is enormous. Throughout scripture Jesus is the head of the Church and speaks of the work done in and among it as His doing it.
Additionally, in the context of the Bible, the fold Jesus himself came to were the Jews, the other sheep were the Gentiles, whom Jesus, through Paul, would bring the Good News.
And in bringing “all the rest of the world” the Good News,” what is the intention? Jesus says it:
“and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
They shall hear and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
Now, every translation (except the King James) says:
And they shall be “one flock and one shepherd,” OR “one flock under one shepherd,” OR “one flock – one Shepherd.”
Only the King James translates this:
“And they shall be one fold.”
Why is it translated that way?
First of all, I have no idea because the Greek word for flock translated flock is the same word translated into fold here by the King James translators.
Secondly, the word FOLD (speaking of a flock) is only found in this passage in the entire King James New Testament.
Now, a little brain teaser for you?
Is there a difference between the terms FOLD and FLOCK?
In other words does it mean something different if Jesus said:
“And there shall be one flock and one Shepherd,” compared to “and there shall be one fold under one shepherd?”
From what I understand the term fold would be understood as one universal church verses one flock would be a number of different gatherings under one universal shepherd.
And the Catholic church has used this verse to prove there is one centralized fold that consists of Christ’s church verses a number of flocks on a thousand hills.
What we CAN say, however, is either way we look at it, it is truly ONE body (of believers) who is under the hand and staff of one Shepherd (Jesus)
In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek.
In Christ there is no gender.
No peculiar national privileges or distinctions.
Ephesians 2:14 says it well:
“Christ hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us (meaning between the Jew and Greek).
Romans 10:12 says: “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.”
One Body. One Fold. I would even suggest One Flock when we think about it.
Now, I maintain an unusual position which you may or may not receive.
I believe that the Church that Christ established pertained to the believers in the Apostolic age between the time Christ ascended into heaven (around 28, 29, 30 AD) until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD).
It was this church, built on a foundation of apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, that the gates of hell would not prevail against.
I am of the opinion that He established it and it saw its way through great tribulation and trial culminating with Jerusalem being destroyed but His Church being saved (or taken up).
What has survived since and up until this day and age is His Body. Now admittedly, this is semantics, as the Body of Christ did have members in the Apostolic age and His church does exist in the world today composed of believers.
But for clarities sake, and as a help to clearly see who and what believers look like today, I prefer to think of true believers consisting in His body (which suffered when He was here and continues to suffer now) and what many people call Christian Church nothing but the constructs of men.
The fact that there are so many, many, many churches that have long warred with each other and competed with each other, it is much easier to believe that His true believers – those who truly love Him, and seek Him, and walk according to Him and nothing else – all belong to a single body (or fold or flock, if you will).
The salt of the earth. The humble. The meek. The kind. The loving . . . the BODY is certainly made of such . . . I’m not so sure about these groups called churches.
In any case, whether a body now or a church, there is one Shepherd over it.
“And they will be one (flock, church, fold, body) and ONE SHEPHERD!
When we look at the multitudinous church models, the one shepherd is tough to conceive.
But when we think of the Body of Christ on earth today being composed of true believers (that attend all types of denoms) who truly follow one Shepherd, the picture make much more sense.
Acts 17:26-27 “(God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.”
1st Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
This last verse brings all we have talked about full circle.
We began with Jesus saying that He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him.
His sheep call to Him and as our shepherd He responds.
Anyone who has entered the sheepfold through Him the door are part of His flock. And the Shepherd knows His sheep by name.
He calls and His sheep respond. And in Romans we just read that
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”
I would suggest that those who are part of His body call to Him, and those who are not do not, that the fold, the flock, the church are those – irrespective of church or denomination – who He knows, and who see Him as their shepherd.
(beat)
Q and A
PRAYER
NEW SONG
Just to let you all know on Sunday, June 1st, right after the Milk Gathering we are going to have an open water baptism.
A couple people have asked to receive water baptism and we are going to try and oblige this desire then.
