The Good Shepherd part 1

We'll take your Bible this morning, turn to the Gospel of John. We will be in John chapter 10, and we will be in verses 1 through 16. We'll cover quite a few verses this morning. We'll be in verses 1 through 16. Now last week we finished up chapter 9, and we finished up that great story, that great testimony of Jesus healing the man that was born blind. It's a wonderful story. I really enjoyed preaching and studying in that chapter, and I enjoyed seeing how these truths were brought to the table. But this morning as we are studying Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we will see that that is so relevant in chapter 9.

What I mean is we see Christ the Good Shepherd as He came to that man that was born blind. And not only do we see Christ the Good Shepherd, we also see the theme of the series. Remember the theme of our series is Christ the Son of God, believe and live. What did we see in chapter 9? Christ revealed Himself, and this man that was born blind was brought to conversion. What did we see there in chapter 9 verse 38? The scripture says that He believed and He worshiped. So we see this theme of the series, Christ the Son of God, believe and live. Very evident there in chapter 9.

And we see the Good Shepherd coming and touching this man that was born blind. Now in chapter 10, we will see Jesus introduce some very familiar teaching examples. You know by now that Jesus likes to teach in examples, illustrations, and parables. Now this is very familiar language to His audience, but it's not necessarily familiar language to us. If you know the passages before us, Jesus uses the imagery of a sheepfold. The new international version says a sheep pen. There is language of a shepherd. There is a door keeper or a gatekeeper or a night watchman, as well as other imagery that is connected to a sheep pen or a sheepfold.

Now this example of the sheep pen was obviously connected to the occupation of shepherding. Shepherding - one who would keep sheep. Now a shepherd was one who did keep sheep, and they also sometimes would keep goats as well. Now we see this first mention way back in the book of Genesis. The first mentioning of one keeping flocks was Abel in Genesis chapter 4. Of course probably the most famous shepherd was David, the shepherd boy who killed Goliath, the Philistine, and of course this shepherd boy was the shepherd boy that became the great king, King David. And of course he was a shepherd. Now shepherding was very common.

It was a very common profession both in New Testament and in Old Testament times. There were shepherds who came to worship the baby Jesus in Luke chapter 2. The scriptures say that they were tending their flocks in the fields near Bethlehem when an angel of the Lord came and revealed himself and announced to them the birth of Jesus. And as these shepherds led their flocks out in the fields, they were in very isolated places. That's why it says that they were in the fields near Bethlehem. But these shepherds led their flocks out in isolated places and they had to provide protection. That's where the sheep pen or the sheep fold comes in.

They had bandits, they had thieves, and they also had predators. So at night they would put them in sheep pens. These sheep pens would be something like a shallow cave with a stone wall in front of the mouth of the cave. Sometimes they would use stones to build an enclosure, a round enclosure or a square enclosure. And then there would be an opening for a door. Sometimes they would even use thorns or vines to make an enclosure. And at night when they put their sheep in the sheep pen, the shepherd would literally lay across the opening of the enclosure. Thus protecting the sheep.

Most villages or towns in Jesus' day and in Old Testament days, they would have a larger common sheep pen that would have been used by many shepherds. Sometimes they would be indoors for safety from the elements. But in these common sheep pens, many times they would hire a watchman. And that watchman would be hired to guard the flock. And listen, it was a common criminal practice for thieves to climb over the walls and to steal the sheep. In my mind, as I was studying this week and learning some of the background of the shepherd and the sheep pen and the flocks, I couldn't help but think about modern examples.

You know, I've heard stories of little boys who were raised in the country how they would venture into the neighbor's watermelon patch and steal a little watermelon. We've heard stories like that. I remember growing up listening to my granddad talk about the days before the automobile. And he would talk about how they would have the large livery stable where everybody in town would bring their animals to be taken care of in a common place. Now, examples like that can kind of help us. Because in that day, shepherding was very common. That's not very common for us today.

But what I've sought to do is to help you understand the imagery that Jesus is using in this example, in this story, in this teaching to illustrate truth. Now with that imagery, there is a very rich background. I guess if I could say it like this, those who would have been listening, they could have heard the sound of the sheep. They could have smelled the smells of the flock. They could have seen the imagery of the shepherd. No doubt they knew who those shepherds were. And they understood that there would have been a communal sheep pen to guard the sheep. So this was very rich imagery that they would have understood.

And no doubt they would have known of the thief or the bandits who would climb in to steal the sheep. Now these verses that deal with Jesus as the good shepherd, they're really verses one through 21. We're going to divide them up into a part one and part two. This morning with the part one, we're going to cover verses one through 16. And next week, we will deal with verses 17 through 21. Now the title of the message is very simple. It is the good shepherd part one. And how we're going to break down the verses, they are very simple. We're going to cover quite a bit more verses in some of our main truths. We're going to look at the difference.

This will be the difference between Jesus and those impostors. The difference verses one through 10. And we're going to look at his duty. Verses 11 through 16. There's a lot that we're going to learn, but I want us to see that Jesus is the main character. Because Jesus is teaching and illustrating himself as the good shepherd. Using this example, this imagery that they would have been very, very familiar with. Let's look at the verses. We'll read them together and then we'll dive in head first to cover as much as we can in a short amount of time. Look at verse one.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. And he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens or the watchman opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all of his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. And a stranger they simply will not follow but will flee from him because they do not know the voice of the stranger." And verse six shows us that this is a teaching parable or a teaching tool.

This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, "But they did not understand what those things were which he had been saying to them." Now let me pause there. They would have understood the imagery, but they did not understand the spiritual implications. But notice it changes. Verse seven. "Jesus therefore said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep; all who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.

I came that they may have life and might have it abundantly.'" And then he transitions again in verse 11. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is the hireling and not the shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and he leaves the sheep and he flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know me.

Even as the father knows me and I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep." In our last verse, verse 16, "And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they shall hear my voice, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd." Now we're going to look at the first ten verses and we're going to look at main truth number one, the difference. The difference. Here in these passages we see Jesus differentiate between the true shepherd, verse 2, and the stranger or the hired man. Now in verse 1 he mentions the thief that climbs into the sheep pen, and in verse 5 he mentions the stranger.

So these are the main characters in the story. The true shepherd, the thieves, and the stranger. And so in verses 1 through 10, multiple main characters to teach, and we will see Jesus plainly speak of the difference between them in these verses following verse 1 through 6. Now first thing out of these verses is the parable. Is the parable. We've got to go down from verse 1 to see this. Look at verse 6. This figure of speech. This is a parable. This is a parable. This verse tells us that this is a parable. The King James Version says or reads a parable.

Now in the original language, this term figure of speech is a word that describes veiled language with a purpose of concealing symbolic meaning. We need to see the importance of this parable. Jesus is teaching some, but yet he is holding back truth from others, and we will understand that as we proceed. But also notice at the beginning of this parable in verse 1, what does he say? Truly, truly. We know the meaning of this language by now. This is that double amen, which is meant to introduce very important information. I've said it like this before. Everything Jesus ever said was true and noteworthy and needed to be understood.

But when he says truly, truly, he is really raising the bar. So we have a story that is meant to teach, but also to conceal. A story that is meant to illustrate the difference between the Good Shepherd and those thieves, those robbers, those strangers. And we will see this as we look into the parable. There are four things out of this parable I want us to see. Notice the sheep enclosure. Verse 1, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door to the sheep fold. Now remember this imagery, the sheep pen or the sheep fold. This was common in every village.

The shepherds would graze their sheep out in the countryside during the day, and then they would return their sheep to the community sheep pen in the evening. Once they were in the pen, a gatekeeper many times would be hired and they would be placed at the entrance to stand guard over the sheep at night. So we have the sheep pen, the sheep enclosure. Then notice the thief. Look at verse 1. Verse 1, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and he is a robber. The thief never would have come to the door. Why? Because the watchman would not let a stranger into the sheep.

The thieves would commonly slip over the walls and they would steal sheep because sheep are very unintelligent animal. Some of the writing that I read described them as bandits, as who would come in and they would slip into the pen to steal the sheep. So we have the enclosure, we have the thieves. And then notice, third, the shepherd. The shepherd. Look at verses 2 through 4. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper or the gatekeeper. He opens and the sheep hears his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out.

And when he puts forth all of his own sheep, the sheep follow him because they know his voice. Here we see that the shepherd is the one who enters the door for his rightful property. This phrase, his own, in the original language, communicates a clear and intimate relationship between them. He had a clear relationship to the sheep. The gatekeeper would gladly, would have gladly allowed the shepherd to enter because he is the shepherd and those are his sheep. Now notice the behavior of the shepherd. The text says that he comes into the sheep and he speaks to the sheep by name. Verse 3.

It was very common practice for shepherds to give the sheep names. As a matter of fact it was common for them to sing to the sheep and even play little musical instruments to the sheep while he was there with the sheep. Then after gathering the sheep, verse 4 tells us that he goes out before the sheep and he led them where he wanted them to go. Now this is in sharp contrast to much of our understanding of a shepherd today. Most of us have the image of a shepherd driving sheep. As a matter of fact, most of us have the image of a shepherd using a dog or dogs to work the sheep. That's not what's taking place here.

This is a shepherd who has intimate knowledge of the sheep. They belong to him, they know him and he does not drive them but he leads them. This is a very intimate relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. Then fourth, notice the sheep. Notice the sheep. For Ed verses 1-4, notice verse 5, "And the stranger they simply will not follow, but they will flee from him because they do not know the voice of the stranger." Here we see this behavior. They hear the shepherd's voice as he calls to them by name. Maybe he sings that familiar song or sings or plays that familiar instrument but they hear the shepherd's voice.

And then they follow him because verse 4 says, "They know his voice, but they will not follow the stranger." As a matter of fact, it says, "They flee from the stranger because they do not know his voice." They simply know the shepherd's voice and they follow the sheep and they follow the shepherd. So what do we see here? We see this parable in these verses, verses 1-5 and we've already seen that Jesus shows us that this is a parable in verse 6. Now I want us to see the second main truth and that is the point of the parable. The point of the parable. We see Jesus transition in verse 7, do we not? Look at the text, verses 1-6, verses 1-5.

It's all about the parable. The imagery that they would have been very familiar with. No doubt they would have thought about shepherds they knew, situations they knew. Maybe they knew of bandits who had recently stolen sheep from a family member. But then he transitions into verse 7 to drive home the point of the parable, verses 7-10. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." Notice how he changes? "All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly." So we see the point of the parable. Jesus is just explaining the story and what it means. Once again, he gives this double amen. This truly, truly. Look back at verse 7. "Truly, truly." Another word. "It was important for them to hear the parable. Now it's important for them to hear the explanation." Now, he is saying that this really needs to be heard. Four things out of these verses. Notice he says Christ is the door. He is the door. Look at verse 7.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." Jesus is stating that in this parable, he is the door to the sheep pen. Also notice, the sheep are his people. Look at verse 7. "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." What is he saying? "The sheep that are within the sheep pen belong to him." Remember, it is the shepherd who keeps watch over the sheep. And then sometimes he hires the gatekeeper. So the sheep, they are his people. And we will see that taught further in the verses. Jesus is simply saying that they are his people. Then notice the thieves. Look at verse 8.

"All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them." What are we seeing? Jesus is stating that all who had come before him, all of the wicked kings in the Old Testament, all of the false prophets, all of the self-seeking corrupted priests, all of the false messiahs who had ever come, they all came without his authority and they came as thieves and strangers to steal and to kill and destroy. So the point of the parable. Christ is the door, the sheep are his people, the thieves, they have come before him. And then fourth notice is teaching in this story. Verses 9 through 10. He says, "I am the door.

If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly." Here Jesus repeats that he is the door and then he adds that all who enter through, through what? Through the door, through him. They shall be saved and they shall be saved for abundant life. Go back and look at the text at the end of the verse. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. Verse 10, "And I came that they might have life and have it abundantly." That is an interesting word here. This abundant life is an overflowing life.

A very, very, a very bright word here in the original. He states that the thieves or the false teachers are like the devil for they've come to kill and to destroy just like the father, their father, the devil. So in this teaching he's saying that he is the door and all who come through him, they not only find safe pasture, but they find abundant overflowing life. Now it is important to see here what Christ is teaching through this imagery. He is stating that he is the Good Shepherd who has come to Israel. You see, he is first revealing himself to the nation of Israel and all those who are his sheep shall come to him.

He is stating that he is the door of salvation first for the Jew and those Jews who would come to him would be saved and they would have true and abundant and overflowing life. They would have joy filled life. Now question, have we not seen these truths illustrated in chapter 9? I mean in other places in John's gospel there have been Jews who have believed and trusted in Christ and his Messiah and followed him. Jesus was the door for so many as we have learned. Yet there were those who did not hear his voice and they were those who were the thieves and the robbers, those religious leaders and their deception of the people.

They denounced Jesus as the Messiah and they deceived the populace and so what do we see? In this seeming chaos and confusion about who Christ was, Christ came, he revealed himself to the Jews, he called those who were his sheep unto himself, there were those who entered in the safe pasture, abundant and full life, just like the blind men. And this is a beautiful example. Now all of the other examples that we see, are they just as beautiful? Yes, but this one is so beautiful because we see it from beginning to end. Jesus touched the man, healed the man and later saved the man. Wonderful illustration. And what do we see?

This man had abundant, full, joyful life because he had entered through the door. It was Jesus. And that's important for us to see that Jesus is differentiating himself between those thieves, those robbers and he's exalting himself as deity, the Son of God. Let's move on, let's notice truth number two, his duty. Notice his duty, it changes in verse 11. We see how the verses change. Verses 1 through 5, it's a parable. Verses 7 through 10 is his explanation, the point of the parable. And then we will see his duty starting in verse 11 down to verse 16. I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is the hireling and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming and he leaves the sheep and he flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my own and my own know me. Even as the father knows me and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep and I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. Now here in these next verses, there's a transition.

He's explaining the parable and now we will see he will talk about the future and his duty. And of course we know he's talking about the cross. But notice first, the good shepherd. Notice the good shepherd. Look back at the verses. Verse 11, I am the good shepherd. Verse 14, I am the good shepherd. Earlier he called himself the door but now he's saying I am the good shepherd. Now I want you to see that this is the fourth of the wonderful I am statements made by Jesus. If you keep up with him, you will notice that periodically Jesus claims to be deity by saying I am. We know that he said I am the bread of life.

In chapter 6 verse 35, he said I am the light of the world in chapter 8 verse 12. And then he has just said I am the door in chapter 10 verse 9. And now he is saying I am the good shepherd. Now it's very interesting here. The original text. The original text reads the shepherd the good one. What Christ is doing is he is setting himself up above all of the other shepherds who have come. John does this purposely. John knows that others have come and John words this purposely. And he says the shepherd the good shepherd. He is greater than all of the other ones who have ever come. This word good means of true and noble character.

And again he's differentiating between the others. So we see the good shepherd. This wonderful I am statement. He's saying I am, I am God, I am the good shepherd. The good, the true, the noble shepherd. Unlike any of the others who have come. Now under this good shepherd there are three things I want us to notice. Notice that he lays down his life. Look at verse 11. I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. We see that over in verse 15 again. Even as the father knows me and I know the father, I lay down my life for the sheep.

Two times Jesus states that as the good shepherd he lays down his life for the sheep. Now this was a very common risk that shepherds took in that day. They would have understood this. We might not understand this but this was a very common risk that shepherds took. As a matter of fact in 1 Samuel 17 verse 36, as David before he was king he stood up to fight Goliath. What does he say? He says that he had killed both the lion and the bear as he defended his father's sheep. You realize that?

He said this uncircumcised Philistine is no different than the lion and the bear and what he is showing us is the great risk that he took in defending the sheep. This was very risky business in that day. They had very simple weapons in that day. As a matter of fact they only had a couple. They had the rod. Some would say it was a club. It was used at very close quarters. It was used also with the sheep as well. But they also had the sling. It would have been a leather pouch with about two foot straps and they would have been able to sling a stone. As a matter of fact they were very accurate at using this as a weapon.

But yet very crude, very crude weapons here. But we see that in that day they would have risked their lives to protect the sheep. And that's what Jesus is saying. He as the Good Shepherd lays down his life. Third notice, he knows his sheep. Verse 14, "I am the Good Shepherd and I know my own and my own know me." And notice the layer here. Verse 15, "Even as the Father knows me and I know the Father." You see? Jesus says, "I know the Father, the Father knows me. I know my sheep and the sheep know me." Here in verse 14 we see that Jesus says that he knows his sheep and they know him.

The key word here is "know." This word is used to indicate a loving relationship. It's not just a distant knowledge. This is a loving relationship. All throughout the Old Testament and New Testament it is used to describe the relationship between a man and a woman. You see how intimate that is? That's exactly the word that John uses because that is the relationship that the sheep had with the shepherd and the shepherd with the sheep. John MacArthur describes this multi-layered knowledge like this. He says the simple truth here is that Jesus in love knows his own and they in love know him.

The Father in love knows Jesus and he in love knows the Father's. He goes on to say about believers. Believers are caught up in a deep and intimate affection that is shared between God and the Father and the Lord Jesus. See the knowledge that he had of the sheep and the sheep of him? He knows the sheep. Then notice he has other sheep. Verse 16, "And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them in also. And they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock with one shepherd." This is none other than the Gentiles. This is what Jesus is talking about. He's talking about non-Jewish peoples.

See from a Jewish perspective you have Jews and then Gentiles. All who are not Jews are considered Gentiles. And this is exactly who he's talking about. Those Gentiles who would believe. It is interesting to notice the language here. This word "I have" indicates that this is a future event. And we know that the apostles in the early church, they do take the gospel to the Gentiles. They even take it to the Samaritans. Why? Because they are doing as Christ desired them to do. So he's saying that I have other sheep. So you see the good shepherd. He lays down his life. He knows his sheep intimately and they know him.

And he has other sheep, those who would be Gentiles. And then under this duty, notice second, the hirelings. The hirelings. Look at verses 12 through 13. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming. He leaves the sheep. He flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. And what does it say? He flees verse 13 because he is a hireling and he is not concerned about the sheep. Now the English Standard Version reads, "He who is a hired hand." Now this would have been that hired gatekeeper or that watchman or that one who was to keep watch over the sheep.

When the predator comes or that band of thieves comes, the hired man runs away because the sheep are not his own. Now let's notice four things about the hirelings, sir. Let's notice four things about the hirelings. First, he is not a shepherd. We see that in verse 12. He who is a hireling is not a shepherd. Here this is a contrast between the shepherd who owns the sheep and the hireling who has been put in charge of the sheep. So he is not a shepherd. He is just a hired man. Second, notice he is not the owner. We see that in verse 12. Just a little another layer there.

We see that he is not the owner and that makes all the difference in the world. The sheep do not belong to him. He's just a hired hand. He's not a shepherd and he is not the owner. Then also notice he allows destruction. What does the verse say? The wolf comes and the wolf, he flees from the situation there and we see that the wolf comes and the wolf snatches up the sheep. The wolf scatters the sheep. The sheep flee. So what do we see? He allows destruction to the sheep. The hired hand flees. The lion or the bear, when it comes, he flees. Why? Because he is not the shepherd and he does not own the sheep.

And then I've already stated this, the last thing, notice he flees. Verse 13, he flees because he is a hireling and he's not concerned about the sheep. He runs away. He runs away for his own safety. He is not the owner. He does not desire to risk his life for the sheep because they are no property of his own. And this is just the hirelings, the hired workers. Now, it is important to see that Christ is emphasizing his duty. Remember truth number two, his duty. He is emphasizing his duty to lay down his life for the sheep, which is in sharp contrast to the hireling, the hired man.

The good shepherd knows the sheep and he willingly lays down his life for the sheep while the hired man runs away for his own safety, leaving the sheep for destruction. And here, Jesus is talking about the cross. We know that. He's talking about the cross. He's talking about that he would go and die on the cross for the sheep. He is the good shepherd while the Jewish leadership that had been so antagonistic, so violent and hostile against him, listen, they were the hired men. They were the gatekeepers and they were given a stewardship over the people of Israel. Yet they did not lead them properly because why?

They were of their father, the devil. You see the difference in this duty that we are seeing. Now, we have already seen a foretaste of what Jesus is saying here in John 4. Remember when Jesus goes down and he goes to Samaria? Remember he had to send his disciples off on an errand. Why? They would have been in the way because they would not have understood Jesus' ministry and intentions there in Samaria. And after he brings eternal life to the Samaritan woman, he teaches his disciples that they do would minister in Samaria. We see that in John 4 verses 35 through 38. And if we fast forward real quickly to the book of Acts, what do we see?

Wonderful ministry there in Samaria. But why does Jesus go to Samaria? He's not a hireling. He is the shepherd. And the hirelings would never go there because they would not go where the good shepherd goes. Now, as we move away from these verses, I want to make a little more explanation and I want to make application. You know that I work hard. I try to work hard to make application of the text. We learn the scriptures. We learn the verses, the phrases. We learn the words. We look at the context and the examples. And it brings the word alive to us. We must take the word of God and we must apply it to our lives in our day. Now an explanation.

We see that Jesus is the good shepherd. Isn't it wonderful? This good shepherd would ultimately lay down his life for the sheep. This sheep he is speaking about here are the sheep of Israel, the ones he went after first. They are those who know him. He knows them and they follow him. We see through the Gospel of John every so often there are those who do believe and they follow him illustrating this teaching that is before us in chapter 10. And we see that there are those other sheep, verse 16. They are the Gentile sheep, the non-Jews who would follow him as well. And I want you to notice the beautiful unity in verse 16.

And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them in also and they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock, Jew and Gentile, one flock and they will follow Christ as well. And then we see the hired men. They are all the false prophets, all the wicked kings, all of the imposter messiahs that came before Jesus. And listen, this is beautiful imagery which these Jews would have understood vividly. Now an application for us. First of all, we who were born again, we are of the other sheep in verse 16. I hope you see that. I hope you saw that before I brought that to your attention.

I hope that when I read that verse and again explain that verse, that your heart warmed with joy. I hope that there was praise that sprang up in your mind and in your heart because you saw, wait a minute, I am of that other flock. So what do we see? Those of us who were born again, Christ is speaking of us right there in verse 16. And just like he sent his disciples to those Samaritans later on by his divine plan, he has sent the gospel to us and we are the other sheep. Second, I want us to see an application. If you are not born again, you are not in the sheepfold. Let me repeat that.

If you are not a born again Christian, you are not in the sheep in, you are not in the sheepfold. You need to see that. You need to fully embrace that. And I want to speak directly to maybe one of you or two of you that you know down deep that you have never been converted. Maybe God through the power and the work of the Spirit is drawing you under himself much like he did the blind man in chapter 9, but you need to hear. You are not in the sheepfold. You might know the Bible. You might study the Bible. You might pray. You might attend church very faithfully. You might even do things in the life of the church.

You might even be very successful in leading an external Christian life. But if you are not converted, do not fool yourself. You are not in the sheepfold. Jesus says it. The third thing I want you to see is that if you are not born again, you do not know the good shepherd. Is that what we learn? Remember that intimate language? Jesus knows the sheep and the sheep know him. Remember the shepherd? The shepherd knew the sheep by name and they knew his voice. They knew his voice. They knew his songs. They knew his instruments and they followed him. And that was very intimate language.

And if you are not born again, you do not know the good shepherd. You might know all about the living Lord Christ, but you do not know him intimately. You do not know him personally. You do not know him as one who has been redeemed and he dwells within you and he walks with you and he talks with you and he leads you through your life. You know factual information, but you do not know him. Very important for you to see that because there are a lot of people. They equate education with salvation and they think that because they know so much about Christ and so much about the Bible and so much about theology that they know Christ.

No, if you've never been born again, you do not know the good shepherd. Fourth, if you're not born again, you do not know the good shepherd's voice. Remember he went into the sheepfold and he called them by name and somehow those sheep perked up and they followed him. He didn't drive them. Not with a dog, not with a rod, not with a stick, not with other hired men. He called them by name and they followed. Why? They knew his voice. Now this when the Christian life becomes mystical and it becomes experiential because those of us who were born again, we know the good shepherd's voice.

We know what took place when God saved us and we know what it's like to be led of Christ. We have a personal intimate relationship with him and he comes and he works in our life. It's just not coincidence. It's just not opportunities. It's just not those external things that have brought us to where we are. It is knowing the good shepherd's voice. I was reminded of this reality even this morning. As I was studying or finished studying and I was preparing to come, I was listening to a particular pastor. As a matter of fact, it was John Piper and he was speaking and talking about the great Martin Lloyd Jones. Many of you have heard of him.

Many of you have never heard of Martin Lloyd Jones. He was a great Englishman, lived in the 20th century. He was a great pastor, a great preacher, a great theologian. He was reading and elaborating on teaching from Lloyd Jones. Lloyd Jones attested to a Christian hearing the voice of God, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God coming and taking the word of God and speaking to individuals and therefore leading them. Look, those who are outside of Christ, you do not know the good shepherd's voice. If you have the time, I can sit down and tell you how I know the voice of God in my life.

You can sit down with my wife and she can tell you how the Spirit of God and the voice of God have led me and worked in my life. Those who are outside of the fold do not hear his voice. Then fifth, if you are not born again, you will follow hard men. This is a warning to you. I want to warn you, some of you are in a position where God is drawing you. Remember the man who was born blind? Christ wonderfully by his sovereign grace was drawing him.

Isn't it wonderful he healed him and he ended up having to go through those difficult times of being questioned and abandoned and neglected, but he fought through by faith to get to the feet of Jesus and that was a work that God was doing, Christ was doing to get him to the moment of conversion. I want to tell you something, listen, if you are here and you are not converted, you are in the middle of the process of the work of God. God is sovereignly working and bringing you to the place we trust to save you.

I don't understand all of the great mysteries, but I have seen through the years those who come in contact with the work of God and the preaching of God and the truth of God and the work of the church, somehow, someway, they get out from under that influence. They move away from it and they immediately become susceptible to what? Hired men. I can name you names who at one time would have been right in these pews, but now they are chasing after hired men. So an application right out of this beautiful story, Christ, he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life. He knows his sheep and his sheep know him and praise the Lord.

Those were the Gentiles as well. And this beautiful imagery here communicates a loving relationship between the Good Shepherd and those who are redeemed. But I want to tell you, if you are not born again, you are not in the fold. And if you are not born again, you do not know the Good Shepherd. You do not know his voice. And I'm very afraid. I don't understand it. But if you move away from what God is doing here, you could possibly, not always, but possibly follow after the hired men. Now those of us who are his sheep, when we hear a message like this and we read passages like this, we praise him. We love him. We adore him. We thank him.

And our heart wells up with joy and praise because we see ourselves as sheep. But if you are not in the fold, I have one final word of encouragement. Seek him. Isaiah 55 says, "Seek the Lord while he may be found." And if you are here, that is evidence that Christ is seeking you first, therefore enabling you to be able to seek him. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you so much that you called and enabled and equipped John to write in such a beautiful in descriptive way.