If you would please, let's open our Bibles and we'll turn to the Gospel of John, the Gospel of John in the 10th chapter. And for this evening's message, we'll be reading from John chapter 10, verses 1 through 21. So John chapter 10. Let's give attention to the reading of God's word, John chapter 10, beginning in verse one. Hear now the word of God. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure is speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, 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 listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, he who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep and I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd, For this reason, the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. There was, again, a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, he has a demon and is insane. Why listen to him? Others said, these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. Let's bow together in a brief word of prayer. Let's pray. Father God, we are grateful that you have gathered us here on this auspicious occasion. We are grateful, O Lord, for your mercy in Christ. We are grateful, O Lord, for your love and for the gospel promises of salvation, of hope, and of eternal life. We pray, O Lord, that through the reading and the preaching of your word, that you would speak unto us words of life, that you would speak unto us words of hope, that you would speak unto us words of comfort and joy, and that in so doing, O Lord, you would bring glory to your name and further conform us to the image of your son. We pray and ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. I was recently with a former student of mine who, of course, graduated a number of years ago. He and his wife had come into the area and my wife and I went and had a meal with them. And it was not only a time where we could catch up and to be able to find out how they were doing, but eventually conversation came around as is natural between two ministers to start talking about things that had been going on in the church. And he had lamented the fact that within his own presbytery, there had been a minister who was found grievous of found in committing grievous sin. And so he had to be removed from the ministry. And then from there, we began lamenting the fact that this was not the only occasion when such a thing had happened, but that there were several other instances, both some that were out of the public eye and others that were very public, where various ministers were found guilty of a number of disqualifying sins. Now, as we, you know, reflected upon these things, we might quickly think that, you know, well, gee whiz, it looks like as if the church is in sorry shape, given the seemingly regular rhythm with which pastors seem to fall. Yet, I think it's at times like this where if we think of such occasions, and even when we can blessedly look upon the ministry of the church and be thankful for the many, many godly ministers that are faithfully shepherding Christ's flock, That we always have to remember that we always should look to Christ and to remember that at the end of the day, he is our shepherd. He is, in fact, as he tells us in John chapter 10, the good shepherd. And that while shepherds may fail us, Jesus Christ, our good shepherd, never does. And so this is why I thought it was fitting that we would meditate upon the words here in John chapter 10 so we can better appreciate how it is that Christ not only faithfully and lovingly and mercifully shepherds his flock always and without fail, but that he is also kind to give his church faithful ministers to shepherd and to tend his sheep to their growth in Christ. And so we wanna, this evening, think about this under three headings. First, we wanna give thought to the bad shepherds. In other words, why is it that Jesus announces himself here in John chapter 10 as the good shepherd? That, I think, brings the question to mind, well, if he's the good shepherd, he must be contrasting himself with some bad shepherds. And then secondly, we want to give thought to our good shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how he stands out in contrast to the bad shepherds that we find here in the scriptures. And then third and finally, we want to give thought and we want to ultimately give thanks for the good shepherds that Christ blesses his church with, something that we are here, even on this occasion, able to celebrate. So let's first give thought to what Christ and the Word of God has to say about the bad shepherds. And that is, as we come here to John chapter 10, we want to ask the question, as I mentioned moments ago, why does Jesus call himself the good shepherd? What is it that prompts his teaching here? You know, I think maybe if we come upon this particular passage of scripture, we might wonder, well, why is it that Jesus in fact called himself a shepherd to begin with? Was it that he happened to be preaching in a pastoral environment where he looked off in the distance and he saw a shepherd herding his flock? And so he thought, oh, this might make for a good illustration. This might make for a good metaphor. Well, it's possible. You never know who or what might have been wandering about in the background as he taught on this particular theme. But the more scriptural answer comes to us from the Bible itself. And it's in the book of Ezekiel where the prophet in the 34th chapter of his book has these words to say against the bad shepherds of Israel. He says this, and this is God speaking through the prophet, Ezekiel 34 verse 2 and following, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, ah, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. In the overall scope of Israel's history, It was essentially more or less a spotted history, one with a collection of bad shepherds, one after another. And rather than feeding the sheep of Israel, sheep that were hungry, sheep that needed the gospel, sheep that needed the manna from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, Israel's shepherds, their religious leaders, were scattering the sheep. and they were serving their own selfish needs. They were too busy feeding themselves rather than feeding the sheep. This was true, of course, in Ezekiel's day, but we know even from a cursory reading of the Gospels, this was certainly true in Christ's own day. Self-absorbed shepherds were too busy feeding upon the sheep of Israel rather than feeding the sheep of Israel. But there are, I think, further connections between Christ's teaching and the prophet Ezekiel, and that given that Israel's shepherds in the Old Testament were failing to pastor the people well, God himself said, he says, I'm going to come down and I'm going to shepherd my people. Again, in this same context, the prophet Ezekiel says this in verses 11 and following, for thus says the Lord God, behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by the ravines and in all the inhabited places of their country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. "'There they shall lie down in good grazing land "'and on rich pasture they shall feed "'on the mountains of Israel. "'I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep "'and I myself will make them lie down,' declares the Lord.'" So God himself says, because you shepherds of Israel are not doing what I have called you to do, because you are ravaging the sheep, because you are feeding upon them, because you are taking advantage of them, because you are abusing them, I myself will come down and I will shepherd my flock. I will shepherd my flock. And so this is the backdrop. This is what sets us up for what Jesus has to say here. Secondly, in John, chapter 10, as he tells us that he is the good shepherd. Now, to say the least, we, of course, can see a significant difference between the wicked shepherds of the Old Testament in Ezekiel's day and Jesus. Because unlike those shepherds who did not feed the sheep, Jesus himself says, I'm gonna feed the sheep. In fact, I'm gonna lay my life down for them. He says this in verses 11 and following, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." Notice that when the hired hand sees the threat coming, he takes off. He takes off. I can remember when I used to work in college, I was in college and I was also working retail security for a major retailer. And I used to walk around the store and I would carry a radio and handcuffs and I would look for shoplifters and I would arrest them sometimes if they, you know, stole something and walked out of the store. Well, then I would identify myself, put them in handcuffs and carry them back into the store or walk them back into the store. I remember it struck me one time when we received some instruction. They said, remember this, that when you're doing this job, do your best, but at the same time, don't risk your life. Don't risk your life for merchandise. You know, we can replace the merchandise. We can't replace you, and we don't want to see you harmed. And I thought that was wise advice. You know, you don't want to get injured or worse over a pair of jeans. You know, not a good trade. And that I think is something that informs, you know, the idea as to what the hired hand does here. The hired hand says, yeah, here comes a threat. I don't want to risk my life for mere sheep. So rather than defend the sheep from the wolf, I'm just going to take off because my life is worth more than these measly sheep. But unlike the hired hand who runs away, Jesus did not run away and he himself was willing to die for his sheep, to lay down his life for them. Now mind you, this is not a martyr's death where somebody grabs him, lays hands upon him and puts his life to an end and he dies as a martyr. No, this is something that Jesus voluntarily does. It was a calculated decision on his part. He says in verses 17 and 18, for this reason, the father loves me because I laid down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. The father tells the son in eternity before the foundation of the world, will you lay down your life for the sheep? And he says, yes. I'll sacrifice myself for them. Again, I want you to think of this. Think of the disparity between sheep and shepherd. Sheep are mere chattel. They're property. And as we know, they're not very intelligent creatures. And in fact, I looked it up on the internet. I thought, I have no idea. I live in the suburbs. I do my shopping for meat and Costco. So I don't know what it costs. So I looked it up, and a sheep runs about $500. $500. And so if you think of it, the hired hand probably has the good idea, which is this thing's only worth about $500. I'll let the wolf take it, because what if the wolf comes after me? What if the wolf harms me? I'm worth way more than these sheep, but not so for Christ. Why would the shepherd lay down his life for the sheep? Moreover, when you think about it, Not only does Christ liken us unto sheep, but the prophet Isaiah even indicts us even more so when he says in chapter 53, verse six, he says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And yet in God's mercy, He has given us his only begotten son to save us from our sins and to save us from death. As he says again in verse six of chapter 53, Isaiah says, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So not only is this, and this is an amazing thing, the more that you meditate upon it and you think about it, mere sheep that we are, wandering sheep at that, the Lord Jesus willingly lays down his life for us. The Father places our sin upon his shoulders and he carries it for us. And he does this because he loves us. But not only does he love us, but John also tells us here with Christ's words that Christ loves us and he knows us, he knows us by name. And again, I don't know what it's like to own sheep, but I'm willing to take a guess that the average shepherd doesn't name them. You know, I mean, I can see naming a dog, naming a cat, you know, naming if you have a couple of, you know, chickens, maybe naming them. You know, it's like but beyond that, if you have a herd of sheep, that's not something that I think you're going to take much time to say, well, let's let's name them all individually. And yet, what does Jesus tell us in verses three and four of Chapter 10? The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name. and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Jesus calls us and he knows us by name. If you think about it from before the foundations of the world, God set his love upon us by writing our names upon the hands of our shepherd, upon the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as our good shepherd, he lays down his life for us. He protects us. He loves us. He shepherds us. Or in the words of Charles Spurge, and he says, and thus does the shepherd of Israel's sheep defend them from harm and distress. In safety, he has and always will keep the sheep who his care will confess. He keeps them amid all the storms of this world and can never allow them to fall. His foes from his face will forever be hurled while his sheep to his arms he will call. Against them not one in the world shall prevail nor molest through that long happy time. In safety they all with the shepherd shall dwell when his sheep come from every climb. Jesus loves us. He lays down his life for us. What a stark contrast between Jesus, the good shepherd, and the wicked shepherds of Old Testament Israel, the wicked shepherds of Christ's own day. And dare I say, even the shepherds that fall short in our own day. I think what this does is with Jesus's words here in John chapter 10, it also helps us to look at perhaps one of the most famous passages in all of the Bible, sometimes not only just to the church, but even to those outside the church are familiar with the 23rd Psalm. But in the light of what Jesus says here about being the good shepherd, doesn't this cast an entirely different light on the 23rd Psalm? When we say, the Lord is our shepherd, The psalmist is essentially saying the Lord Jesus is our shepherd, and we shall not want. He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still waters. He restores our soul. He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil for you, Lord Jesus, are with us. Your rod and your staff, they comfort us. You prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. You anoint our heads with oil. Our cups overflow. And this is one, beloved, that I've mentioned in years past, but it's certainly worth remembering here that the English doesn't get it right in the English Standard Version when it says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life. It doesn't say follow. It says a much better word. It says, surely goodness and mercy shall pursue us all the days of our lives. Pursue us. Maybe you know what it's like to be pursued. Maybe you know what it's like to have someone who has great affection for you pursue you. I know what it's like to be pursued. And it was an unwanted pursuit. It's because my brother happened to plow through freshly laid concrete on his bike and he says he didn't see it and then the person that had laid the concrete was not very happy at all. And we took off as fast as we could because we were scared and we thought we had enough distance. And then we looked over our shoulder and here he came in his pickup truck and oh my goodness, we took off even faster. I've never been so scared in my life. Well, maybe a few other times, but this was one of them. You have to remember, I was 10. I was being pursued. How much different, how much better is it when you look over your shoulder and it's the Lord Jesus Christ relentlessly pursuing you. Chasing after you with his love, chasing after you with his affection, chasing after you with his grace. We need to realize this, that at no point in our lives, even for you, saints of Pine Haven, as long as you have waited for a pastor, you have never been without a shepherd. Ever. Not one minute. Christ has always led you, always guided you, always protected you, always loved you. He has relentlessly pursued you. Moreover, we have this blessed assurance that even if we wander, God forbid, What does Jesus say in Matthew 18 verses 12 and following? What do you think if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, he does not leave the 99 on the mountains and go search for the one that went astray? And if he finds it truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that any one of these little ones should perish. If you wander off, the Lord Jesus relentlessly pursues you. He leaves the 99 and he goes to find you, to bring you back. In the words of Francis Thompson's well-known poem, The Hound of Heaven, this is a poem that C.S. Lewis quoted in his Mere Christianity, when he describes how the Lord sets the hounds of heaven to chase after us, to pursue us, to collect us, to capture us with his love. He says, I fled down the nights and down the days. I fled down the arches of the years. I fled him down the labyrinth in ways of my own mind and in the midst of tears. I hid from him and under running laughter. The poet describes how he fled Jesus as quickly as he could, and yet how does Christ respond? All which I took from thee I did but take, not for thy arms. but just that thou mightest seek it in my arms. All which thy child's mistake fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home. Rise, clasp my hand, and come." The shepherd, the Lord Jesus, reaches out his hands and he says, come home, come home. What joy, what rapture, and what hope we have in our glorious shepherd. But we might think, well, okay, Christ is our shepherd, but he's ascended. Can we actually still hear his voice? The voice of our shepherd, the voice of his correction, the voice of his comfort, the voice of his cheer. And this is where we have to realize and rejoice and give thanks, thirdly, that Christ has sent us good shepherds. You see, when Christ ascended, One of the blessings that he did is he poured out his spirit upon the church. And in so doing, among the gifts that he gives to his church, Paul says in Ephesians 4, 11 and 12, are pastors and teachers. And the Reformed tradition has placed a high premium upon the preaching of the word, and that what it has historically said, and this is a quotation that comes from the second Helvetic confession, which was a confession of faith written by Ulrich Zwingli's successor at Zurich. The preaching of the word of God is the word of God. In other words, God speaks to us when it is read, but not only does God speak to us, God speaks to us in Christ through the Spirit when it is faithfully preached. We are never without the voice of Christ. Or we can put this more powerfully in the words of Christ in John chapter 13, verse 20. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. We need to therefore give thanks to Christ, our good shepherd, who's not only loved us and laid down his life for us, but he feeds us through the gift of pastors. We should give thanks, therefore, that we are here on this occasion to install the pastor. We should give thanks that Christ speaks to us through his preachers. We should pray, of course, that Christ, our good shepherd, would not only save and protect us, but that he would preserve and protect our pastors. We should pray the words of John the Baptist for ourselves, but especially for our pastors. He must increase, but I must decrease. We should pray that our pastors would shine forth the truth, the love, the compassion, and the glory of Christ. Rejoice, beloved in Christ, that Christ has given you pastors. Rejoice that Christ is your good shepherd. Remember these words from 1 Peter 2.25, for ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of your souls. Rejoice that Christ has given you shepherds, pastors, those who speak his words unto you, words of life, words of hope, words of love, shepherd who tend your wounds, comfort you in times of trouble, and feed you Christ, the manna from heaven. But remember these words. These words come to us from Isaac Watts. The Lord my shepherd is, I shall be well supplied since he is mine and I am his, what can I want beside? Let's bow together in a brief word of prayer. Father God, we are grateful that you have given us the Lord Jesus Christ the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls. We rejoice, O Lord, that you have laid down your life for us, mere sheep that we are, even wandering sheep, that you love us, and that you even go after the lost sheep. You leave the 99 to find us. Father, help us to take shelter in the Shepherd. Help us, O Lord, to heed the voice of our Shepherd. Give us ears to hear. Take away our wandering spirit. Take away our rebelliousness, O Lord. Take away our foolishness and give us the mind of Christ. We give thanks, O Lord, to you on this special occasion for the installation of Pastor Salinas. And we pray your blessings upon this church. We give thanks, O Lord, that you have given us your son, Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, the one who leads us in paths of righteousness for his namesake and who feeds us and our cups runneth over because of him. We pray and ask all of these things in Christ's name, amen.