Good morning, friends! We’re in week 4 of our I AM series in the Gospel of John. This series is based on the most important question Jesus ever asked—and still asks us today which is “Who do you say I am?” As we look to answer that, we can find ourselves in the Gospel According to John. One unique feature of John’s Gospel is the seven ‘I AM’ statements—where Jesus reveals that he is Yahweh and shows us who he is. We’re going to focus on the fourth I AM statement today.

In the third Star Wars film, Anakin Skywalker is a loyal Jedi Knight. He fights for peace, the security of the galaxy, and the freedom of the republic. He’s a little annoying but mostly, he cares about protecting innocent lives. He has followers – troops under his commands and close Jedi friends. But throughout the film, we begin to see moments of darkness in Anakin. Soon after, Anakin turns to the dark side and transforms into Darth Vader – hurting the very people who he was called to lead. Anakin’s betrayal cuts deep if you’re a Star Wars fan.

But, it got me thinking how often we follow something or someone only for it to betray us. In a much deeper way in John 10, Jesus is talking to a group of people who have been betrayed by bad shepherds – shepherds who were supposed to care for them. They’ve been abandoned, used, and failed by their leaders – just like Anakin failed his fellow Jedi knights. So, Jesus arrives on the scene to say he’s the good shepherd – one who won’t abandon his sheep, one who won’t use them for his own benefit, and one who won’t fail.

Today, we’ll be meditating on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. By the end of today, you’ll see that should let Jesus lead your life instead of the things that will ultimately fail you. Why should we let Jesus lead our lives? In John 10, we’ll see three compelling reasons why.

Will you stand with me if you’re able as we read God’s word?

Jesus knows you completely and won’t reject you.   

In verse 14, Jesus says something startling when you dwell on it: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” Jesus uses the closest relationship imaginable – the father and the son – to show how he knows us. Jesus and the Father, two persons of the Triune God, have existed in perfect fellowship with each other since forever. They know each other’s character, attributes, desires, etc. Out of perfect love and unity, they’ve decided to redeem a fallen humanity. There isn’t a single thing that they don’t know about each other.

And that’s how Jesus says he knows you and me. Douglas MacMillan was a Scottish pastor in the late 20^th century. Before he was called to serve as a pastor, he was actually a shepherd. He’d often share a story where he was riding a train through the Scottish countryside with a fellow shepherd. As they were riding and moving at a fast pace, they could see 4 sheep close to the tracks on the side of a fence. In a moment’s notice, Douglas could tell they were his sheep because the way their wool grew, the shapes of their bodies, and the tag in its ear – even though he kept hundreds of sheep. Good shepherds know their sheep and they are the experts on them.

That’s how Jesus knows us too.  Do you ever just sit with that? Jesus knows you. Yes, you. The good things that make you feel good inside: perhaps your skills, gifts, family relationships, whatever. But, he also knows the bad things: perhaps the thing you’re too ashamed to talk about, that pattern of sin that you find yourself stuck in or that deep struggle and suffering you’re going through right now. On one hand, we should take great comfort in being fully known by Jesus. But on the other hand, if we’re honest, it freaks us out a little bit. Why?

In all of us, we share a common desire for safety and love. But, you can only experience safety and love if you dare to be vulnerable. Vulnerability can be hard for many of us – we live in a culture that only celebrates the wins in our lives, never our losses. Or perhaps we’ve shared vulnerability in the past and it’s been met with judgement. If that’s you, I’m so sorry that happened. So where we’ve been let down by others or by culture, Jesus knows us fully and yet still loves us.

Psalm 139 tells us: “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” But, it gets better than that: Jesus just doesn’t just know us and love us, we belong to him just like he says in verse 12.  That can be hard for those of us who struggle with vulnerability or feelings like we’re not good enough because we think that the more someone knows about us, the less they’ll like.

If Jesus really knows everything about you… the natural question is: Why doesn’t he walk away?

2 years ago, I was on a daily quest to find a suitable used pop-up camper for my family. I had read dozens of articles, reddit posts, YouTube videos, and more to become an expert. Specifically, I wanted a Coleman pop-up camper. From my research, I knew the problems to avoid: avoid these particular years because they have a poor roof construction, floor sagging, avoid this, avoid that. If I saw one issue, I was done with it and moved on. 

Unlike me in my search for a pop-up, Jesus doesn’t write us off when he knows our issues. Rather he says that he knows us and he is still our shepherd. He knows the flaws that we have and still chooses to lead us. I’ve heard it said that the only qualification for coming to Christ is to admit that you are unqualified.

But since Jesus knows us and we belong to him, he doesn’t abandon us like the hired hands. He doesn’t run away because is a good shepherd – he’s the better shepherd. Why is he so much better than the hired hands? He doesn’t just stay with the sheep – he does something that all normal shepherds don’t want to do.

Jesus proves his love by dying for you.

As Jesus is speaking about sheep and shepherds, there’s a chapter in the Old Testament that the Pharisees would have been thinking about.

In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes the religious leaders of God’s people in that day. The religious leaders would be considered shepherds, and the people would be considered the flock. So, why is God rebuking them? For a few reasons:

·      The shepherds did not love or bother to know their sheep

·      The shepherds did not care if a sheep was lost, hungry, hurt, or weak

·      The shepherds bailed on the sheep in their time of need

But God makes a promise to the hurt flock: he promises that one day, he will come and be their shepherd himself. He will be a better shepherd that will take care of his sheep, he will find those who are lost, he will strengthen and comfort the hurt, and he will protect them from their adversaries. So Jesus comes into say that he is the good shepherd.

He is not like the hired hands (ie. The Pharisees) who flee from their flocks in moments of danger. Instead, Jesus will lay down his life for his sheep. Well, why would Jesus do that? In real life, if a shepherd dies, the sheep are in more danger—not less. So why would he allow himself to die? Jesus knew our greatest danger wasn’t a wolf or a wild animal. Our greatest danger is sin and death.

The bible tells us that we are slaves to sin – meaning, we are owned by it, without an external intervention, we are helpless to free ourselves from its power. Sin causes us to become lost or separated from our creator, brings fear and shame in us, and hurts ourselves, others, and our world. So when Jesus lays down his life, he absorbs the punishment and effects that our sin creates into himself. Or as Paul says in Romans 5:8: God demonstrates his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us.

So, Jesus is wanting these hearers to realize: he’s better than those hired hands because he’s going to die for us. I imagine many of the original hearers were worried about Jesus: will he abandon me? Will he promise me the world and then leave when things get hard? Jesus’ statements are to demonstrate his faithful love that he will never leave you.  

In the Wingfeather Saga (PIC), Nia is the mother of three kids, one of those kids in Kalmar. Long story short, Nia and her family found refuge in her hometown from a horrific war and enemy. But the townspeople are very skeptical of Kalmar because he looks different than everyone else and has made some mistakes. Kalmar feels shame and regret over what he did. So the townspeople are about to throw Kalmar in the dungeon because they believe he’s dangerous. But Nia stops them by enacting something called: “Turalay.” Turalay meant that if Kalmar was found guilty of a crime, Kalmar would not be punished but rather Nia would be. Nia has to slice her hand and put a bloody handprint on a tree in the town’s center to fully enact it. Nia’s bloody handprint on that tree served as a reminder to Kalmar that he was loved and that his mom deeply cared for him. In the coming weeks, Kalmar faced trial after trial but that bloody handprint on the tree was still there – reminding him of his mom’s commitment to him.

And in the same way, that’s what Jesus did for us. That’s what Jesus wants us to see at the cross. There may be times where we really ask: Jesus, are you actually a good shepherd? And he wants us to remember the cross where he died for us so we can say: Yes, you are the good shepherd because you dealt with my biggest problem on the cross. You’ll lead me through these other problems as well.

Because he rose again, he’s not just a shepherd who rescues you from danger—he’s a shepherd who actively leads your life.

Jesus leads you through death to life.

The shepherds in Jesus’ time would be familiar with two environments: the wilderness and lush green pastures where their sheep could graze and lie down to rest. The wilderness is a harsh place: there’s no water, there’s sharp rocks, there’s wild animals that threaten you, and potentially some criminals. On the other hand, green pastures sound so nice – there’s plenty of food, soft grass to sleep on, and relative safety.

If a shepherd keeps his sheep in one spot for too long, the sheep will eventually eat every blade of grass in that area. So, a shepherd has to keep his sheep moving to prevent that from happening. There aren’t just endless green pastures in Israel so they’d have to go through some wilderness to get there. If I’m a sheep, that sounds a little annoying – I don’t want to walk on rocks or harsh dirt. I don’t want to sleep on rocky terrain. But we need to head through the wilderness to get to the green pastures.

It’s the same way in our lives – when Jesus died for us and we believe that, he becomes our new leader and shepherd. He’s the one who guides us from place to place. Jesus, as the good shepherd, knows where he’s taking us – we often don’t know, we’re just the sheep. As he’s leading us, he’s going to take us into the wilderness for some seasons. It may feel like things are getting worse for us, not better. Why would Jesus do this?

He says this in verse 17 – he lays downs his life but he has the authority to take it up again. So as he’s leading us into wilderness, his heart is to give us new life through it. Jesus has the authority to use all the difficult things in our lives to be transformed for our ultimate good. The reason why Jesus is the most qualified to lead you through the wilderness is because he’s gone through his own wilderness. He faced betrayal, abandonment, and death itself. But, he overcame death which gives us hope in the power of God but also in the presence of God.

The strong, capable, noble shepherd is with you. Jesus is leading you towards the green pastures but you need to head through some wilderness first. Because here’s the thing: if you only ever experience green pastures, you won’t really appreciate them. They’re just your new normal.

When I’ve traveled in my last role at Compassion, we’d be eating just what I’d consider a regular meal: a thin pork chop with rice, beans, and a coke. I was grateful to eat but it wasn’t a big deal for me. But then I’d see how the children’s faces would light up as the church volunteers would bring them a plate like mine. They’d devour it within a few minutes. Why? Because they know what it’s like to go hungry, so they deeply appreciate this hearty meal.

For us today, we share in the sufferings of Christ like 1 Peter talks about so we can also share in the glories of Christ as well. Our shepherd is with us in the wilderness and he’s leading towards green pastures – the pastures will not be a life of ease or comfort. But, the pastures are seasons where you experience a deep intimacy with Christ. The pastures are where you refresh yourself in the presence of the Lord and grow in holiness. Christ is after our whole hearts, untainted by sin.

So, my question for us after that is: what is leading your life? My encouragement to you is: let Jesus lead your life instead of the things that will ultimately fail you. As you think of that question: what is leading your life? What directs or shapes your actions? Who impacts your decisions on where to live, how to spend your money, or how to structure your time?

If Jesus isn’t the good shepherd of your life and leading you, you’re going to end up being led by something or someone that will fail you, abandon you, or exploit you. What do I mean?

If your spouse or your kids are what lead and shape your every action, what happens when they fail you? If your work, career, or salary level are what lead and shape your every action, what happens when you get let go? If people’s approval are what lead and shape your every action, what happens when you get criticized?

Jesus isn’t just a good shepherd, he’s a better shepherd than those other things. He’s the only who knows you completely and won’t reject you. He’s proved that totally by dying for you. He’s going to lead you through death to life. Your spouse or kids can’t be your savior, only Jesus can be. Your workplace will let you go if times get tough and job cuts need to happen. Your fight for approval from others won’t save you, it’ll imprison you. Family, work, and receiving praise are great things – don’t get me wrong. But, those things, when they become your main thing, become idols and they will crush you.

As we begin to sing one final song, I want you to reflect on and ask Jesus: what is leading my life? If it’s not Jesus, take some time to get right with him right here and right now. You’ve seen through today’s text who he is and what he’s done for you. He’s the only Good Shepherd you need and with him leading you, everything else will be kept in its proper place. If you need prayer, we have a prayer team in the back of the sanctuary ready to pray with you.

What is leading your life? My encouragement to you is: let Jesus lead your life instead of the things that will ultimately fail you.

Please stand, if you’re able, as we prepare to pray.