"The Shepherd and His Sheep"(John 10:1-15)

John 10:1-15

In John 10:1-15, we read of how Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. Before this parable was given, Jesus had healed a blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees tried to use this to make Jesus look unfavorable. So Jesus rebukes the Pharisees through the parable of the sheep and the shepherd. Jesus was trying to make the point that the Pharisees did not guide people to a personal relationship with God. In fact, the Jewish leaders just added burdens to the people. The main funtion of the religious leaders was to bring the people into a personal relationship with the creator. These same leaders had failed whereas Jesus fulfiled that function to bring people closer to God. 

We are the sheep and we need a good shepherd. We need a good shepherd who would call each sheep by its name. Jesus also makes the point that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd but not the voice of the enemy. Moreover, the sheep will flee from the stranger's voice. It is the desire of Jesus to instruct us like friends. 

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 

John 15:13‭-‬15 ESV 

Jesus guides us, but he has also chosen us to do good works. 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 

John 15:16 ESV 

Have we ascended to that personal level that we can say we are friends? Are we still struggling with listening and obeying His voice?   Jesus desires us to have a personal relationship with Him. Although the parable was originally given to the Pharisees, it is also meant for us. 

The membership of the flock was made possible by the shedding of His blood and sacrifice. Because Jesus sacrificed His life, he is the true owner of the flock. He will never leave us and if Jesus gave up His life for us, than how much more will Jesus give us to meet our needs.  Jesus went through every kind of test that we might go through.  

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 4:14‭-‬15 ESV 

Jesus leads us by his spoken word. He calls us out by our names and knows all our weaknesses and faults. We can go to him honestly and hide nothing. However, our first responsability is to know the shepherd's voice. We need to listen for Jesus' voice. Jesus has taken the initiative to make his voice heard by us, and He has done this by His spirit. 

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 

Romans 8:15‭-‬17 ESV 

We are not left alone to seek Jesus. We have His spirit to help us to know him. But we must be willing to listen and to suffer through obedience. We often fail to the will of the Shepherd because we fail to listen. 

Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 

1 Corinthians 15:45‭-‬48 ESV 

We have a role from turning away from sin and disobedience. The sheep will not follow but rather will flee from the stranger. We need to deliberately turn away from other voices. The enemy will not give you an easy game. There are some voices that are too much for us that we need to flee. They will not go away automatically or easily. There are others which need much more deliberate action to run away. Let us listen and accept His voice which has good purpose for us. 

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 

John 10:5 ESV