This document provides an overview of Jesus as the true shepherd based on a sermon given at First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. It discusses how the Old Testament prophets foretold of the Messiah being a shepherd for God's people. Several Bible passages are presented that depict Jesus as the shepherd, including his words in John 10 where he contrasts himself as the true shepherd who enters through the door versus thieves who climb over the wall. The document explores the cultural significance of shepherding and sheepfolds in biblical times to understand Jesus' metaphor.

1. JESUS THE TRUE SHEPHERD
JOHN 10
NOVEMBER 17, 2013
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
November Bible Memory Verse:
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of
God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
JESUS THE TRUE SHEPHERD
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J. Vernon McGee's - Thru The Bible
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2. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Copyright © 1992 by
Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries.
Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
Barclay was a Scottish author, radio and television presenter.
(5 December 1907, Wick – 24 January 1978, Glasgow)
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary,
Copyright ©
Moody Press and
John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.
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John 8 - The adulterous woman
John 9 - The man who was born blind
John 10 - Jesus the True Shepherd
In the OT the sheep died for the shepherd.
In the NT the Shepherd dies for the sheep!

3. John 10
Jesus the True Shepherd
New King James Version (NKJV)
John 10:27-30 NKJV
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them
out of My hand. 29 My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and
no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are
one.”
John 10:27-30 NKJV
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4. 1 John 5:11-13 NKJV
11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does
not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know (not maybe, not hope so) that you have eternal
life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:11-13 NKJV
In John 9, Jesus heals the man that was born blind and tells the Pharisees that
they were spiritually blind.
True Vision and True Blindness
John 9:35-41 NKJV
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said
to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with
you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do
not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to
Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you
say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
John 9:35-41 NKJV
John 10:1-6 NKJV
John 10:1-6 NKJV
1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door,
but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who
enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
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5. 3 To
him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own
sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do
not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not
understand the things which He spoke to them.
John 10:1-6 NKJV
The Bible refers to Jesus Christ by many titles.
He is called the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 22:13), Immanuel (Isa 7:14),
King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15), etc.
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Perhaps the most endearing and
intimate title
for Christ is
that of
Shepherd.
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Centuries before the Messiah came, the Old Testament prophets had predicted
that He would shepherd His people.
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6. Micah 5:4-5 NKJV
4
5
And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One shall be peace.
Micah 5:4-5 NKJV
The New Testament
also depicts
Christ
as Shepherd.
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The apostle Peter described Jesus as the Shepherd of believers' souls (1 Peter
2:25), and later as the Chief Shepherd of the church (5:4).
The writer of Hebrews closed his epistle with the benediction in chapter 13,
Hebrews 13:20 NKJV
20 Now may the God of peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant
Hebrews 13:20 NKJV
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7. Even beyond this life, Jesus will
continue to
shepherd His
people for
all eternity
in Heaven:
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Revelation 7:17 NKJV
17 “for the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead
them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
Revelation 7:17 NKJV
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Nowhere in all of Scripture is Jesus Christ more clearly portrayed as the
Shepherd of His people than here in the tenth chapter of John's gospel.
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8. Throughout Israel's history, shepherding had always been a familiar part of
everyday agrarian life.
Everyone knew that sheep were the most helpless, defenseless, straying, and
dirty of animals.
They require constant oversight, leading, rescue, and cleaning or they will die.
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Being a shepherd was good training for leading people.
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In fact, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been shepherds as were
Israel's greatest leaders: Moses and David.
Ezekiel 34:23 NKJV
23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant
David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:23 NKJV

9. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CEljmA64BfE/TVQDkT-qqgI/AAAAAAAAAsY/8mt2og4Jhzw/s1600/david_as_a_shepherd.jpg
It is not surprising, then, that the Old Testament writers frequently used
shepherding imagery, depicting Israel as God's flock and her leaders as God's
undershepherds.
The New Testament writers also used that same familiar terminology to describe
the church (Acts 20:28-29; 1 Peter 5:2-3).
Acts 20:28-29 NKJV
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He
purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage
wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Acts 20:28-29 NKJV
1 Peter 5:2-4 NKJV
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by
compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords
over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away.
1 Peter 5:2-4 NKJV
While the metaphor of a shepherd suggests tender care, it can also depict
harsh, abusive, autocratic rule (from false shepherds).
The Bible refers to false spiritual leaders, as well as true ones, as shepherds.

10. http://bryanhehirexposed.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/false_teachers.jpg
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In verses 1-10 Jesus contrasted Himself with Israel's false shepherds by using two
images: He is the true Shepherd of the sheep, and He is the only door to the
sheepfold.
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John 10:1 NKJV
1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door,
but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
John 10:1 NKJV

11. The phrase most assuredly (amen, amen or truly, truly) introduces a statement of
notable importance.
The Middle Eastern sheepfold was very simple: a stone wall, perhaps ten feet
high, surrounded it, and an opening served as the door.
Each village had a fold where sheep were kept at night.
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The shepherds would graze their flocks in the surrounding countryside during the
day, and then lead them back to the communal sheepfold in the evening.
There the shepherds would stop each sheep at the entrance with their rods and
carefully inspect it before allowing it to enter the fold (Ezekiel 20:37-38).
Ezekiel 20:37-38 NKJV
37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the
covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against
Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the
land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 20:37-38 NKJV
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12. The porter (or one of the shepherds) would sleep at the opening of the fold and actually
become "the door."
Nothing could enter or leave the fold without passing over the shepherd.
In the morning each shepherd would call his own sheep, which would recognize
their shepherd's voice and come out of the fold.
Christ points out that the true shepherd comes through the door (v. 1), calls his
sheep by name, which recognize him (v. 3), and (vv. 4-5).
False shepherds and strangers, who are thieves and robbers, try to get into the
fold some subtle way, but the sheep will not recognize or follow them.
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Jesus began this discourse by identifying Himself as the true Shepherd, in sharp
contrast to all false shepherds.
Once in the fold, the sheep were in the care of the doorkeeper who would keep
watch over them during the night.
He would give only the shepherds access to the sheepfold; therefore anyone
who could not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbed up some
other way (sometimes over a wall that was ten feet high), was a thief and a
robber.
 Only the one who entered by the door was a shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:2-3 NKJV
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the
doorkeeper (porter) opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:2-3 NKJV

13. Whom does the doorkeeper (porter) represent?
The doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God came upon Jesus, and everything that He did, He did by the
power of the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit was opening the ears of His sheep to hear His voice.
His sheep have responded.
This ties in with the preceding chapter.
Those religious rulers were blind spiritually and, what is more, they were deaf.
They didn't even hear His voice.
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But He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.

14. The blind man heard Him call.
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Simon heard His call, and Jesus changed his name to Peter, which means a
stone.
He called James and John, Nathanael and Philip.
He stopped under a tree in Jericho and called Zacchaeus.
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When the Lord Jesus calls His own out of the world at the time of the Rapture, His
call will have every believer's name in it.
 I'll hear Him say personally, “Bill Boteler."
 That will be wonderful!
 He knows my name and He'll call it at that time.
 He'll also call you if you are one of His sheep.
You will hear your name in His shout!
He leads His sheep out of the sheepfold, out of Judaism.

15. The religious rulers had excommunicated the man whose sight Jesus had
restored.
Jesus is going to lead this sheep out of Judaism.
John 10:4 NKJV
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep
follow him, for they know his voice.
John 10:4 NKJV
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

The shepherd spends the night in his own bed.
When he comes to the sheepfold in the morning, his sheep are all mixed
up with somebody else's sheep -- there is no brand or marking on the

sheep.
How does he get the sheep that are his?


He calls them by name.
The sheep don't have to be identified; they know their shepherd's voice.
When he starts out over the hill, his own sheep come out of the fold and follow
him.
They know him.
Our Lord says, "The sheep will follow Him because they know His voice."
It is the most wonderful thing in the world to know that, when we give out the
Word of God, Jesus is calling His sheep.
The Spirit of God is the Doorkeeper (Porter) Who does the opening, and the
sheep will hear.

16. Our Lord will lead His sheep out of a legal system, perhaps even out of a church
where they're not being fed.
They will follow Him.
You cannot permanently fool God's sheep.
It is true that the sheep may get into a cult or an "ism" for a while, but the sheep
will recognize the voice of the Shepherd.
Unfortunately, many preachers are afraid to stand up for the truth; however,
when a man preaches the Word of God, the sheep will hear it.
We can depend on that because our Lord said, "My sheep hear my voice" (v.
27).
Don’t be guilty of sheepbite.
John 10:5 NKJV
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do
not know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:5 NKJV
You can fool some of God's people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of
God's people all the time.
For a time, God's sheep may think they hear Him but eventually discover that it
is not His voice
Then they will turn to the teaching of the Word of God because they know their
Shepherd.
John 10:6 NKJV
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He
spoke to them.
John 10:6 NKJV
The word parable in some translations is really not an accurate translation.

17. The Greek word for parable is parabole and the word in this verse is paroimia,
which really means "an allegory."
The Gospel of John does not record any of the parables of our Lord.
It records the metaphors and allegories such as "I am the light of the world"
(John 8:12) and "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).
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

These are not parables but are figures of speech to let us know something
about God.
They are intended to give us light on the subject so that we can see.
So it should actually read, "This allegory spoke Jesus unto them."
 They didn't understand what He was saying because, as He had said, they
were blind.
Our Lord also said, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt. 13:9).
It is possible to have ears and yet not hear.

18. They hear it all right, but they don't hear it as the Word of God.
That is the important thing.
How do you hear it?
It is this important difference in hearing to which our Lord referred when He
quoted Isaiah, "...By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing
ye shall see, and shall not perceive" (Matthew 13:14).
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John 10:7-10 NKJV
Jesus the Good Shepherd
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of
the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be
saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:7-10 NKJV

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20. http://www.renewthemindministries.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/I-Am-The-Door.jpg
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21. The door (vv. 7-10).
Jesus Christ is the door, and as such He leads the sheep "in and out."
The blind man in chapter 9 was "cast out" (excommunicated) by the false
shepherds because he trusted Jesus, but he was taken into the new fold by
Christ.
Theologian Arthur Pink points out that there are really three doors spoken of in
this chapter, and we must distinguish them if we are to get the full meaning of
this passage.
1) "The door into the sheepfold" (v. 1).
 The sheepfold here is not heaven but the nation of Israel (see Ps 100).
 Christ came to Israel through the way appointed in Scripture; the porter
(John the Baptist) opened the door for Him.
2) "The door of the sheep" (v. 7).
 This is the door that leads people out of their present fold; in this case,
Judaism.
 Christ opened the way for multitudes to leave the old religious system and
find new life.
3) The door of salvation (v. 9).
 The sheep using this door go in and out, which speaks of liberty; they have
eternal life; they enjoy the pastures of God's Word.
 Satan, through his false teachers (thieves and robbers), wants to steal, kill,
and destroy the sheep; but Christ gives abundant life and cares for the
sheep.
John 10:7-21
(From Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Copyright © 1992 by
Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights
reserved.)

22. John 10:11-16 NKJV
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
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12 But
a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep,
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the
sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does
not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and
am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father;
and I lay down My life for the sheep.
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16 And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and
they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:11-16

23. The Shepherd Knows His Sheep
John 10:22-30 NKJV
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus
walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and
said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us
plainly.”
25 Jesus
answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do
in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because
you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father,
who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch
them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
John 10:22-30 NKJV
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24. http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/my-sheep-hear-my-voice-kimhawkins-eastern-sierra-gallery.jpg
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The events in the first half of John, chapter 10 (vv. 1-21) took place right after the
casting out of the man born blind in 9:34, while teachings in the last half (vv. 2242) took place two or three months later.
The entire chapter, John 10, is tied together by the symbolism of the shepherd
and his sheep.
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John 10:16-21 NKJV
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and
they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 “Therefore
My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it
again.
18 No
one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from
My Father.”

28. 19 Therefore
there was a division again among the Jews because of these
sayings.
20 And
many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to
Him?”
21 Others
said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon
open the eyes of the blind?”
John 10:16-21 NKJV
Zechariah 13:7 NKJV
7
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
Against the Man Who is My Companion,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered;
Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Zechariah 13:7 NKJV
This discourse in which Jesus presents Himself as the Good Shepherd flows
directly from the events of the preceding chapter; there is no time gap or break
in thought between chapters 9 and 10.
The Lord continued to speak to the same people—His disciples, the formerly
blind beggar, the hostile Pharisees, and the others in the crowd.
This opening section of chapter 10 presents four distinctives of the Good
Shepherd's pastoral work.
It is a shepherding ministry marked by contrast to false shepherds, by concern
for the flock, by compliance to the Father, and by controversy in a fallen world.
These first six verses are a picture of the relationship between the shepherd and
his sheep.
Christ is reminding the people of what shepherds and sheep act like.
Later in the chapter He makes a more direct application.
A sheepfold is an enclosure where shepherds put their sheep for the night.

29. The porter has charge of it.
http://reflectgrace.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/thenarrowsheepgate.jpg
When His sheep hear His voice, they will follow Him.
For a long time J. Vernon McGee worried about those who will not listen to the
message.
He reached the point that he doesn’t worry about them.
The reason they don't hear His voice is that they are not His sheep.
Wherever we find people who are eager for the Word of God, we know they are
His sheep.