I Am
Week four - I Am the Good Shepherd
John 10:11-18
When someone shows you who they are, believe them. —Maya Angelou
In this series, we’re looking closely at who Jesus tells us He is - “I Am…” It’s important so we don’t try to make Jesus what we want Him to be or think He should be.
***It’s also important because in our journey of figuring out not only who Jesus is, but also who Jesus is to you and to me specifically, it helps to look at the relationship between who Jesus says He is and what He does.
Jesus tells us who He is. He also
This is who I am, and this is what I do.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me —15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again.18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” —John 10:11-18
Who is He? Jesus is the Good Shepherd
‘Shepherd’ was a regular image for ‘
- Jesus is claiming
- He’s claiming
He’s claiming
-Only Jesus as king is radically different and why He leans into the shepherd illustration to explain that this isn’t just who He says He is, but this is what He does.
What does He do? He lays down his life for his sheep.
A shepherd’s whole life is their sheep - watching over them, protecting them, guiding them.
It takes focus. It takes aggression. It takes sacrifice.
-Jesus was talking about what He was going to do on the cross, but He was also talking about what He was already doing.
The Pharisees have started trying to figure out if they should kill Jesus, and Jesus is about to make it clear that the decision simply isn’t theirs. He will lay down his life - by his own authority, and of his own accord, and for the sake of his sheep.
Sovereignty. Authority. Intimacy.