Who is Jesus? It is the core question in our faith. Therefore, Jesus Himself declared “I am the bread of life” “I am the light of the world” This morning, I want to deliver the Jesus’ message, “I am the good shepherd”
Jesus is a shepherd and we are sheep. Sheep is an animal that cannot live without a shepherd. They can't find grass, they can't find water, their vision is weak. If they fall upside down, they cannot get up by themselves. Believe or not, it's true. They often get lost and go strand, and the shepherd need to out looking for the lost. So the fate of sheep is entirely up to the shepherd.
David confessed in Ps 23. "The Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing." David himself was a shepherd and knew how a shepherd took care of the sheep. David experienced love and care of the shepherd from God.
But in today's text, the Lord says, "I am the good shepherd." Not just a shepherd, but the good shepherd. David experienced the love of shepherd from God, the greater love of good shepherd is pouring on us through Jesus Christ. Let's look at what is the greater love.
Let's read the verse 11 together. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
Read once again slowly. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Can’t you feel Jesus’ love? The Lord called Himself "the good" shepherd. He doesn’t say a strong shepherd who protects sheep from wolves or predators. He doesn’t mean he is a good shepherd because he feeds the sheep with good grass and water.
He is the shepherd who loves sheep more than his life. He gave his life for the sheep by his free will (v18) It means that the sacrifice of the Lord was not by compulsion or duty, but by 100% the motive of love. Jesus called Himself "the good shepherd," but I would like to say this. Lord, you are a shepherd blinded by love. Lord, how could you die on the cross for me? It is the scandal of grace. I want to know the love. This is my lifetime question.
Now what kind of love is it? let’s read v14-16. "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father– and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. It is the love that cherishes and misses us as if we are His alter ego. If I am sick, He is sick. If I am sad, He is sad. If I am wandering away, He could not have peace. At any cost He will come to me and bring me back to His presence. Such love is the love God Father loves Jesus. He is blinded by love and died on the cross. Now, are you His sheep? If you are His sheep, you would recognize His voice.
Brothers and sisters, if you accept the word of Jesus in the Bible, you are His sheep. Someone asks, "Pastor, how can I hear the voice of the Lord in my daily life?” I would answer, ‘a good question.' There was a shepherd. One day, he bought a sheep from the neighborhood. But this new sheep doesn't know the shepherd's voice. No matter how much the shepherd calls her, she will not come to the shepherd. Only when other sheep hear the voice and come to the shepherd, this new sheep reluctantly follows them from a distance. However, the shepherd does not give up and continues to call and take care of the sheep. As time goes by, this new sheep realizes "Oh, this is my shepherd." Our Lord is a better and more patient than any other shepherd in the world. "Earnestly, Tenderly Jesus is calling; calling all sinners, come home." (The lyric of a hymn)
Right now, Jesus is calling you through this message. Come to the Lord. Draw near to the Lord. Little by little you will catch his voice. You will hear the voice of the shepherd in your daily life. Even now. He is the good shepherd blinded by the love. He died on the cross. He is our shepherd