The
Shepherd's Fold
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and
know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15
As the Father knoweth me, even so I know the
Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one
fold, and one shepherd.
17
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down
my life, that I might take it again.
18
No man taketh 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 commandment have I
received of my Father.”
1. I Know My Sheep
2. I Know My Father
3. I Have Other Sheep
4. I Lay My Life Down
1. I Know My Sheep
Verse fourteen: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”
There may be tens of millions of children in our land today, and though my children may be far away from me [their father], [living in some other quarter of the land] I can guarantee you … in the very day they come to see me, I will immediately recognize them as my children.
They are my children! I superintended them, as they came into this world, and from day one I nourished them with all the strength that was within me with the emotional, the spiritual and the physical sustenance necessary for their growth.
I KNOW my children, and I know them far beyond mere acquaintance. They came from me [the father is the begetter]. I studied them, and I watched over them while they grew up. I know my children!
Now, may I remind you of something? I am speaking from a severe limitation. I am an earthly father, and this is about as far as I can go to try to show by way of analogy the relationship of Jesus Christ, the SON of GOD to THOSE who are the REDEEMED … those who are the SAVED by the BLOOD of THE LAMB.
When Jesus Christ said here in verse fourteen: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine”, there certainly is an involvement with the supernatural.
[The supernatural is beyond the natural.]
These things involve spiritual things, and no mere natural man [or unsaved person] can understand them. [1 Corinthians 2:14]
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
The concept I bring to you now will require spiritual discernment to understand. When we DIE to self, [and we all have to die to self in order to get saved according to the BIBLE] we are RE-BORN [born again – see John three].
Therefore, to become a CHRISTIAN there is an involvement with DEATH first.
We need to DIE in order to LIVE. "You are a MAD MAN" … says the unsaved man!
[The natural man can not receive this.]
This truth is clearly shown by the HOLY GHOST in [John 12:24-25]
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
In another place in SCRIPTURE, the apostle Paul [by the Holy Ghost] reinforces this TRUTH in this way. [Galatians 2:20]
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Amen!
Do you understand this now? [You will need spiritual discernment.]
We need to DIE in order to LIVE!!!
Now the term “Christian” means: a person WHO IS IN CHRIST.
This was a mystery according to the Bible. This was a mystery to all men everywhere until 33 A.D. This mystery is now revealed in Colossians chapter one, verse twenty-six and seven. [Here we go.]
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
This is what “Christ in you” means. Are you ready for this? It means
WE ARE ONE.
Now, who are the “WE”? It is, according to this Authorized Version of the Bible, [The 1611 King James Bible or any edition of it], THE FATHER, THE SON and all of US who BELIEVE in Jesus Christ.
Please do not believe me! You need to check it out for yourself. Be like those of Berea! [Acts 17:11] They “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
“Search” the Scripture!
Turn to John chapter seventeen, and see for yourself, that THE FATHER, THE SON and WE [the believers] ARE ONE. [John 17:21-23]
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
Maybe now, when we read Philippians chapter one, verse twenty-one it will have a NEW meaning to you. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
2. I Know My Father
This relationship of the FATHER and of the SON in the Godhead [Colossians 2:9] is shown throughout the whole New Testament. Perhaps it is here, in John chapter seventeen, that we see so vividly this intimacy that the FATHER and SON have together. [John 17:5] “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
Something else: in Luke twenty-three, verse forty-six we see the pinnacle height of this relationship in the darkest of moments ever experienced in all of TIME. “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
The statement by Jesus Christ: “I Know My Father” [here our text in John chapter ten] was made even as HE looked forward in time to CALVARY. He knew from the beginning HE would lay down HIS life for the sheep, and that HIS FATHER would turn away from HIM. HE could not look upon the SON because HE was made a CURSE for us.
We see this truth in [Matthew 27:46].
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Why was he FORSAKEN by the FATHER?
The answer is in [Galatians 3:13]. Turn there to see. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
Jesus Christ became a CURSE for us on the CROSS. He knew the FATHER would have to FORSAKE the SON the whole duration of time HE hanged on that TREE.
Think about that for a moment. Jesus Christ laying down his life for the sheep takes on new meaning in the light of God’s word. Verse fifteen in our text again: “As the Father knoweth me, even so I know the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
3. I Have Other Sheep
This is where we [you and I] come in to the sheepfold. Amen! We [Gentiles] need to realize something here first.
We are not Israel!
We are not replacing the Jews.
The CHURCH is not Israel.
Those people who are of the REFORMED faith [the Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, and the Anglicans] are confused because of their UNBELIEF in the SCRIPTURE. They allegorize it [THE BOOK] away! They believe GOD is done with literal Israel, and that, therefore, the CHURCH has REPLACED Israel.
My friend, God is not done with the literal nation of Israel. He has put them ASIDE until the times of the Gentiles are complete. [Romans 11:25]
God has a plan for Israel, and God has a plan for the Gentiles.
We [Gentiles] are shown in the Bible to be the outsiders!
We are shown in the Bible to be the dogs [in Mark 7:26-28] and we are shown in the Bible to be the strangers to the promises of God. [Ephesians 2:12, 19]
But having said this, God, all along, has had a plan to bring us [Gentiles] into this so great SALVATION of HIS. Amen! Jesus Christ said here: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” See [Romans 11:11-13, 25] [Romans 15:9, 16, 18].
Now, this is only a partial listing of the verses in the Scripture that show that it is the GENTILES who are these OTHER SHEEP in our text. [Ephesians 3:6] says this so concisely: “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”
4. I Lay My Life Down
Three times in these five verses, Jesus Christ said HE came to this earth to lay down HIS life for the sheep. The last part of verse fifteen: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” And part of verse seventeen: “I lay down my life”, and again in verse eighteen: “I lay it down of myself.”
Oh, what a SAVIOR!
Why would HE do such a thing for you and me? For a dead and dying world the SON of GOD went to Mount Calvary.
He laid down HIS life for you and me! Amen!
[John 3:14-17] “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Why do you not come?
Jesus Christ laid down HIS life for you!
Oh, what a SAVIOR!
COME!