John 10.17
May 25th 2014
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Okay, we are going to take a slight divergence to our passages today for the simple reason that they bear a tremendous impact on application to our lives – to the Christian life.
As a result I am going to resort to the (da,da,da,da) “the Board.”
We left off last week with Jesus explaining that He is the Good Shepherd.
Now, some people who were here kind of took umbrage to my statement that I do not like the title pastor.
Please understand that this does not mean I am not interested in serving the sheep of our Kings flock.
If you ever need to talk, or counsel, or need help moving, or prayer – please, call on me.
And I promise to do all I can to teach the Word contextually week end and week out.
My only point was Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. He justifies this title by claiming that the flock (sheep) are His, and that He is never conditionally present in their lives.
If this is true (and it is) then that would make all other shepherds (pastors – LISTEN) not so good shepherds by comparison – maybe even bad shepherds.
The point is my job is to get all the sheep to look to, and follow, and rely on Him and Him alone as our Good Shepherd.
As one of His sheepdogs I will also listen to the Master and go as instructed – so together we are all in on His will and ways.
So after saying that He is the Good Shepherd, He added that other sheep he had which were not of the fold He came to save (the House of Israel) and we covered that.
This brings us to our text today – which I am going to limit to the next single verse –
Verse 17 of John 10.
Ready?
17 Therefore (Jesus says) doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
So let’s cover the basics of these two passages, the general meaning, and then I would like to spend the rest of the time giving them some application to our Christian lives.
(Verse 17)
17 Therefore . . .
. . . (Or as a result of the work He has mentioned, of being the Good Shepherd of the Jewish Nation and the Gentile (the other sheep) . . .
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
I don’t think we can say that God’s love for His Son was conditional, that as a result of His sacrifice that God THEN chose to love Him, but that it was the willingness and love and self-sacrificial nature in Jesus – a man of flesh – that God loved Him – which was all manifested in the fact that the Son was going to lay down His life for the flock.
By and through Jesus being willing to lay down His life for the sheep we see how much love the Father has for us.
If it wasn’t important to the Father I do not believe Jesus the Son would have done it.
But, as a follower of the Father whom He loved, He laid down His life because He knew how much God so loved the world.
There is a built in illustration to what Jesus says here in referring to His willingness to lay down (or give) His life.
Actually, there is a built in illustration in God so loving the world He gave His only begotten Son.
We are all familiar with the passage in first John that says, “God is love.”
If you have been around CAMPUS long enough you know that the I am constantly suggesting that the two (and only two) commandments for Christians is to believe and to love.
Faith is manifested in love and love is founded in faith.
These Christian Characteristics are inextricably linked.
The more faith we possess the more love expressed, the more love expressed, the more faith progressed.
Go with me to the white board and we will sort of flesh this thing out.
(see notes from Heuristic copy 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)
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