This morning we are preaching a resurrection message, but it will at first seem like I don't know where you're going with this. Is this a resurrection message? We're preaching on the Good Shepherd, and we're going to preach that from John chapter 10, verses 1 through 18. If you'll follow along here as I read this to you from the English Standard Version. Truly, truly, I kind of like the King James here, Verily, verily. Verily, verily seems to have more of a righteous ring to it. Something like that. But verily, verily, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in another way, that man is a thief and a robber. The Lord has somebody specific in mind when he said that statement. Who is it? I'll show you here in a minute, but I want to call your attention to that. He has somebody specific in mind when he said, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in another way, That man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. So here's the contrast. We've got somebody who is entering the sheepfold. What is the sheepfold? Well, let me just give you a little bit of a clue. It's the father's house. The father's house. And he's using this illustration here of shepherding and sheepfolds and so forth to prove his point. To him, the gatekeeper opens the shepherd, because he recognized this is the shepherd. He's welcome in there. And then not only that, but the sheep hear his voice. There's an amazing thing about sheep. They don't listen to strangers' voices, but their shepherd, they know his voice, and they respond to his voice. So you can have a whole bunch of sheep from different shepherds mixed up together, and the shepherd who owns those sheep can come to that crowded sheepfold and call out, and his sheep will immediately perk up their heads, and they will come out. He doesn't have to worry about separating them by brands or ear tags or anything like that. He knows who they are and they know him and they follow him. They come out and follow him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he has brought them out, brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. That's Christianity. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them. this figure of speech. In other words, he's using a common thing among them to illustrate a spiritual truth. That's what it means here. He used this to illustrate what real Christianity is about, but they did not understand. So the guys that he's addressed there in that first verse are the people now who are responding and saying, We don't know what you're talking about. We don't understand this at all. So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. I'm gonna get specific. I'm the door of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. So he's addressing the same people now. 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. See, he's talking to some specific individuals and he calls them thieves. Who is it? We'll find out here in a minute. They come only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I came that they might have life and that they may have it abundantly. I'm trying to quote the King James there. I came that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. That's King James. Then verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Whoa. 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. Now he's comparing another group. There's two individuals here that are two groups of people that he's talking about. One is the thief and the robber who comes in another way and now there is the hireling and not a true shepherd. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Just as a father knows me and I know the father 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 and one shepherd. That's an interesting revelation right there. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life And then we have a purpose clause, a hinnah, in the Greek language there, hinnah, in order that I may take it up again. I lay it down to 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 in other words i'm not doing this at my own will i'm doing this at the father's will so let's look into this and uh and you say well this is easter i thought this was about resurrection well you weren't listening because i have authority to lay it down and what authority to take it again Now this is definitely a resurrection message. So let's get into it here by way of introduction. I want to go back and you're going to wonder where is he going with all this. Well you just listen because there's a principle here. The Old Testament lays out patterns. Look for this, look for this, look for this. And if you see this pattern and you see it repeated, then you know there's something here. And if that pattern is repeated in the New Testament, you know that it's something important. So I'm going to show you the pattern first here. And we want to go back to Moses. And my point here is Moses fell into reproach. This is the, and I will just say this much right here, that Jesus is being reproached when he gives this Good Shepherd message. He is suffering reproach. From who? Well, that's, I'm gonna show, I'll show you. But Moses also suffered reproach. And he did this because of his efforts to, or he was in this condition because of his efforts to defend his true kinsman, which then led to the death of an Egyptian at his hand. You remember the story? Moses was raised in Pharaoh's court as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. But he also knew that he was a Hebrew That was his, and those slaves out there were his kinsmen. So one day he goes out there and he finds an Egyptian overly aggressive there with one of the slaves. And Moses said, this isn't right. So he slew the Egyptian, buried his body in the sand. The next day he comes out there and he finds two Hebrews arguing. And he said, hey, guys, you shouldn't be doing this. You're brothers. And they said, who are you to interfere with us? Leave us alone. And besides that, are you going to kill one of us like you did the Egyptian? Uh-oh. Moses realized. And then it even came to the ears of the pharaoh himself, who then said he needs to be put to death. Well, Moses fled. He was now rejected. I think Moses understood that God had a special place for him. And I think he was trying to assert himself before God called him. He wanted to help his people because of their problem and their bondage and their slavery there in Egypt. So he was rejected. We don't want you. Get out of here. And because of the murder of the Egyptian he fled this reproach and went to out of Egypt over into Arabia and so we read there in Exodus chapter 2 let me show you this now the priest of Midian Jethro had seven daughters and they came and drew water and filled troughs to water their father's flock the shepherds came and drove them away. So here's these girls, they have got water in the troughs here and these bully shepherds came and drove them off so that they could use the water themselves, water their own flocks. But Moses saw this and he stood up to him. to deliver them, to save them, and watered their flock. So here's one guy by himself, and he drove the shepherds off. Then when they came home to their father, Raul, he said, how is it that you have come home so soon today? They said, an Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock. Notice, they identified him as an Egyptian. He's an Egyptian, not a Hebrew. Probably because the way he dressed and the way he spoke and everything. Because he was raised in Pharaoh's court. This man who was in line to become the king of Egypt. As Pharaoh's daughter's son now is a shepherd in the wilderness of Sinai. He had this opportunity to take care of his father-in-law's flock. So in keeping with his father-in-law's flock, God calls him into greater service. And you know the story here too in chapter 3 verses 7 and 8. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. And I know their suffering. And I've come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. You see the parallel? Moses saw these girls afflicted by the shepherds and he stood up for them and now God says this is my desire to go down and deliver my people out of the hand of the Egyptians who are being afflicted and to bring them out of that land to a good land and a broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So what is Moses going to do? He's going to become a shepherd now, not of sheep, but of people. God has called him to be like Jesus Christ, a shepherd of sheep. There is definite parallel between Moses and Jesus in this situation. So the beginning of the nation of Israel is illustrated by a good shepherd, delivering the people of God, the sheep of his pasture, from evil shepherds to bring them into the Lord's fold. And here's the interesting thing. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Did the people, the slaves that Moses delivered out of Egypt hear Moses' voice and follow him? No, they were constantly complaining and they refused to hear God's instructions to them. But then the same pattern is followed then when the Lord chose David. David's a shepherd to be king over Israel in the place of the failed king Saul. So we read there in 2 Samuel chapter 5 verses 1 to 3. Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, Behold, we are your bone and flesh in times past when Saul was king over us. It was you who led us out and brought us brought in Israel. You remember the The women used to sing, Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands, because Saul was using him to go out and to lead the troops out and to bring them back in again. So now the tribes are saying, when Saul was king, you did it, and now you're doing it here in Judah, and the Lord said to you, I shall, you, And here's the words, you shall be shepherd of my people, Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron and made David a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord and they anointed king over Israel. He's been king over Judah, but now he's going to be king over Israel and he goes up and takes Jerusalem to do that. So, in these four runners, the pattern is established. And here it is. First is reproach. Then is suffering, even to death. Then victory in deliverance. That's how God works. First is reproach. Then is suffering, even to death. Then is delivery, or victory in deliverance. Moses and David are Old Testament types to serve as the pattern for Christ, the true shepherd of his people. So this is what we want to look at. So now, I want to identify, remember I told you that first verse, I want to identify who he's talking to here. And it's the false shepherds of Israel. The people are crying out. So who are the false shepherds of Israel? Here they are being exposed. Here's the thing that you need to understand. Watch out for chapter breaks because often chapter breaks kind of spoil it for you because you think you're starting something totally new. In this case, beware. Chapter 10 does not begin a new subject. There is a continuation coming from the previous chapter. John 10 continues the Lord's response to the Pharisees. Remember he healed a blind man, the man born blind. His disciples asked who was born blind, this man, or who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind. They thought somehow this physical infirmity was due to sin in somebody's life. And Jesus corrected them. He said this man was not born blind for anybody's sin. Now here, he's in his 40s now. So this man has lived 40 years of his life in blindness. Because God wants to glorify himself through Jesus Christ in that blind man's healing. He can see now. He said it was to the glory of God. Well what happened? When This blind man begins, they ask him, obviously we've known you forever and your parents, they ask his parents the same thing. How did you gain your sight? And he said, Jesus. And they said, we don't want anything to do with Jesus. Come up with some better story. We're not going to recognize Jesus. And he said, what, you want to be his disciples, you know? Because they kept bringing him back and asking me, how is it you're saying? He said, Jesus healed me. So he really got cross with them there at the last, insisting, you know, that Now Jesus, they needed to listen to Jesus too, and so they threw him out of the synagogue. They excommunicated this blind beggar, whom the Lord had restored his sight. So what happened then? Jesus found him. And when Jesus found him, he asked him, do you believe in the Messiah? And he said, who is he that I might believe in him? And Jesus said, I'm he. And he said, Lord, I believe. And not only did he say that, he worshipped him. So Jesus then took this lost sheep and brought him into his fold. Then he turned to the Pharisees who had cast him out for challenging the rejection of Jesus. And so now he follows up here with this declaration, which was aimed at the false shepherds of Israel. For judgment, chapter 9, verse 39, for judgment, I came into this world. that those who do not see may see. Now he's using physical sight here but he's really talking about spiritually. For those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind. The issue here is judicial. Judicially incapable of apprehending and receiving the truth to which they have willfully shut their eyes, the Pharisees ask him, are we blind also? I want you to note chapter 10 there in verse 6. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. They said, are we blind also? See, their question revealed their pride and rage against Jesus. It was a sarcastic, sneering question. And the Lord responded to these recognized spiritual leaders. They're in verses 39 to 41. If you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now you say, we see. Your guilt remains. See, these were blind guides of Israel. They were false shepherds. And they're condemned clear back in the book of Jeremiah. They're in chapter 2, verse 8. Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. That describes the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day. So remember then the pattern used to introduce this message. God's true shepherds, and this is very evident in Jesus, God's true shepherds first experience reproach and rejection, particularly by those in leadership. Jesus was resisted and rejected because he was a threat to these religious charlatans. Note there chapter 10 and verses 19 and 21. There was again a division among the Jews. When John uses the term Jews he's referring to the Pharisees. primarily. There was again a division among the Jews, the Pharisees, 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? At least there were some fellas that were starting to put two and two together, and they said, Jesus can't be all bad. He healed a blind man. He can see. So, he's going to be reproached and rejected. Why? Because, number one, he will not subject himself to their program. Show me your credentials. What seminary did you attend? And secondly, he exposed their false claims to godliness and righteousness. They weren't interested in that blind man and his spiritual welfare. Not at all. So here's the activity then of false shepherds, which is revealed. Jesus first concerned First condemned them, these assumed leaders, in their persons, and then he exposed their unlawful plans. How? He calls them thieves and robbers. You guys are nothing but thieves and robbers. And then he exposed their unlawful plan. He exposed their unlawful entry into the sheepfold. They come in by some other way, not the door. True shepherds and sheep enter and exit by the door. Actually it wasn't a door, it was just an opening in the corral. And the gatekeeper was one of the shepherds. One of the shepherds said, OK, it's my turn. I'm going to sleep here at the entrance of the corral. And the sheep stayed in there, and the wolf stayed out there. He's the gatekeeper. So in the morning then, when the shepherds came to get their flocks, the gatekeeper looks up and says, I know you, and I know you, and I know you. You guys are all good. So they stand there and call their sheep. The sheep come out. All others laying claim are shown to be but thieves and robbers. Their entering and their means or scheme is to climb in by some other way, indicating they had no divine commission or authority for their claim. They can't say God called us to this. Rather, they were the servants of Satan. And what Jesus already established back in chapter 8 verse 44 when he said, you are of your father the devil and the less of your father you will do. So what is Satan's plan? Satan seeks to do one thing. He wants to steal, kill and destroy. To steal, kill and destroy. By contrast, The true shepherd's goal for the sheep is that they may have life and have it abundantly. See the contrast? There in verse 10. So here the passage also distinguishes hirelings from false shepherds. That's in verse 12. So who are the hirelings? Hirelings are not there to steal, kill, and destroy. No. A hireling are those hired, see, they're hireling, hired to look out for the sheep, but they look out only for themselves and not for the sheep. This is the thing that Jesus wants to warn. There are those who will be involved with the sheep, but they're really not interested in the sheep, they're interested in themselves. What kind of money am I gonna get for this? You know, what are the benefits? What are the wages and what's the benefits of my taking care of these sheep? And what does that do? I think that explains an awful lot of preachers in the world today. And I really think what God is doing in his church today is weeding them out. He's exposing them. Who are they who have a real burden and a concern for the sheep? Who are representing Jesus Christ who really want nothing more but that the sheep should thrive? And they're willing to suffer that the sheep may thrive. The hireling, he's only worried about his own safety, so when the wolf comes, he flees the wolf. But Jesus, on the other hand, Not fearing the wolf says he lays down his life for the sheep. There in verse 15. This raises an interesting question. If the shepherd dies, how does he care for the sheep in his charge? David slew a lion and a bear with his own bare hands there in order to protect the sheep. But what if that lion and the bear had ripped David to pieces? His protection of the sheep would be gone. And Jesus says, here I lay down my life for the sheep. Then he makes this outrageous claim. I say outrageous by human standards. Not only does he lay down his life for the sheep, he also declares that he will take it up again. because he has other sheep he must bring into the fold. He said, I'm going to lay it down, but then I'm going to take it up and I'm going to continue the business. I'm going to continue the business. And then he expresses another thing. The father loves me. Which says the father does not love the Pharisees. But he loves Christ. They're rejecting Christ. But he said, don't you understand? My father loves me. And he had previously stated, if you had loved me, if you had loved the father, you claimed to love the father, you would love me also. You don't even know the father. Because if you knew the father, you would know who I am. But they didn't. But now he's turning it on them and saying, The Father loves me and because he willingly sacrifices himself for the sheep. There in verses 17 and 18. So now we're going to leave John 10 for a moment and we're going to explain John's purpose in his gospel. We have three synoptic gospels. We call them synoptic gospels because they are very similar in nature. have many of the same stories in the same order and everything like that. There are some differences in them, but basically the synoptics are the same. That's why they're called synoptics. John, however, is completely different. And the reason is John has a reason for what he's writing and why he's writing it. He has a purpose in mind. And what is, so we want to ask ourselves the question, what is the purpose that John is writing? And I've heard many say that John's gospel was, the synoptics were written primarily to Jewish people. Although I have some dispute about that because we have a Gentile whose name is Dr. Luke that wrote the gospel of Luke. And John is a Jew. No, I don't think John's gospel was written as a Gentile view of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe it was written to the Jews. He's writing to them. And I believe his purpose in writing to them, and I don't want to get ahead of myself here, To understand this, we need to go back to the very first public act of Jesus' ministry. And it's preceded by the marriage of Cain of Galilee. And at the marriage of Cain of Galilee, they ran out of wine. And Jesus' mother said to them, go ask my son. And he can fix it for you. And what was Jesus' response? His response was, my time has not yet come. What did he mean by that? I'm not ready yet to reveal my ministry, my life to Israel. But that time did come when he first cleanses the temple. Only the Gospel of John has the two cleansings of the temple. The one at the beginning of his ministry, the other at the end of his ministry. And both of them have the same significance. What is it? It's the cleansing of the Father's house. and it really involves the false shepherds. So we read here, the Passover in John chapter 2, the Passover of the Jews was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting there and making a whip of cords He drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. Wow. Now why did he do this? He told them, those who sold pigeons, take these things away and do not make my father's house a house of trade. His disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me. That's important. Zeal for your house will consume me. That's Psalm 69. 9. The Lord's zeal for his house was a plan foretold in Psalm 69. This psalm is quoted seven times in the New Testament and clearly speaks of Christ as evidenced where cited. Every time that it is cited, it's clearly evidenced why it's cited. For example, in verse four, the psalmist said, those who hate me without cause, This refers to Jesus as John declares there in chapter 15 verse 25. But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause. So Jesus there applied it to himself. They hated Jesus because he opposed their fraudulent scheme to use God's house to enrich themselves. That was a money-making operation and it was set up in the court of the Gentiles so that when Jesus drove them out the second time, he said, he cites another reference in the Old Testament, you made my house a house of merchandise. My house is supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations. Gentiles. See, they weren't interested in reaching the Gentiles, not at all. And here they hate Christ because he opposed their fraudulent scheme. And which is seen in that in verse 9. For the zeal of your house has consumed me. It's interesting here that the second half of verse 9, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me, is cited by Paul there in Romans 15 verse 3. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. So here John shows the importance of this psalm by having the quote cited by the disciples which has to do with the purpose of God to destroy his Jewish house, the temple. So you get to the 23rd chapter of Matthew, and I'm adding a little bit here, but you get to the 23rd chapter of the Matthew, and what is Jesus doing in the 23rd? That's his scathing rebuke of the scribes and the Pharisees. And he ends it by lamenting over Jerusalem and declaring, behold, your house is left unto you desolate. This Destruction was necessary to accomplish his purpose in a way that was totally unexpected in the world. So here's what he does. Here's the purpose of God. God's physical house is going to now be replaced by a greater spiritual house. And no, I do not believe that the church replaces Israel. But I believe the church fulfills Israel. What God wanted for Israel of old is fulfilled through the gospel and Jesus Christ in the church. So we read there in verses 10 and 11, He was in the world, the world was made through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. That's chapter 1. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. So what's first got to happen? He's got to be rejected. Reproach and rejection. So here again, in this first cleansing of the temple, the purpose of God is declared when the Jews, the false religious leaders, pressed Him for a sign. What's the sign that you show to us? And what is the sign? It's miraculous evidence to confirm the word of a prophet. You're making a prophetic declaration? Let me ask you, what is your authority? Where's the sign? Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, and remember Jews means Pharisees, the leaders, the leaders of the Jews. The Jews then said, it has taken 46 years to build up this temple and will you raise it up out of destruction in three days, raise it up again in three days? But notice what we read there. He was speaking about the temple of his body. Because he's now going to be the true temple. And those who are united in Him will become the body of Christ. So then when, therefore, He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this, and they believed the Scriptures and the word that Jesus had spoken. This is what we don't often understand in the reading of this. These disciples confirmed that he was a prophet from God. They said, what's the sign? He said, you're gonna destroy this temple and I'm gonna raise it in three days. He's referring to his own body. And the disciples said, yep, that's a true word. That's a true word. So here, what's the connection now? draw this to a close. What's the connection then with John 10? Jesus was the true prophet of God, revealing to the nation the word of God. And like the prophets of old, whose word was rejected and their persons subjected to suffering, Jesus followed their path. So what do we read there in Matthew? Woe to you shepherds, this is the 23rd chapter when he rebukes them with this scathing rebuke. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. Thus you witness against yourselves, for you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets, Fill up then the measure of your fathers. What do you mean by that? He said, kill me. Because that's what they're going to do. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape the sentence of hell? Therefore, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, All these things will come upon this generation. So Jesus, however, and here's the great thing, he won the victory by which he promises his own that their victory is assured. You're going to take my life from you, but I'm going to raise it up in three days. And what are you going to do then? And this is it, he won the victory. So we read there in John 14 verse 19. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live. You also will live. Sending that to his sheep. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now what can we learn from this? What's the lesson? First of all, the question, We need to ask ourselves this. Are you one of the good shepherd sheep? He has sheep. He came to rescue those sheep. Are you one of them? And I think there's three defining characteristics of his sheep. First of all, his sheep hear his voice. Not audibly, not in your dreams or in trance or state, but through the scriptures. His sheep hear his voice. He calls them by name. and leads them out, verse three. Second, his sheep enter by him the true door and thus will be saved and find pasture, verse number eight. You recognize that there is no salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And then number three, he knows his sheep and they know him. Do you know Christ? Do you know him? Do you really know Christ? This is, in my opinion, the whole purpose of John's gospel is so that his people might know him as he really is. So then, do these facts characterize you and your relationship to Jesus, and are you a true Christ follower? If he calls you, do you follow him? Lots of Christians don't follow Christ. They like to think that they're going to go to heaven when they die, but they're really more interested in their own lives. And they'll tip their hat to Him on occasion, but they don't really follow Him. Are you a Christ follower? That is, are you willing to do anything and everything that He asks you to do? Even to death? And secondly, do you see the glorious truth that we celebrate in his resurrection? Because he lives, we live also. There's nothing the world can do to us. You say, well, they can kill us. Yeah, but what after that? We go to be with him. One of the most glorious truths of scripture. We talked about Moses. One of the things Moses said was when he wanted to see the glory of God was God said, I'm going to hide you in the rock and pass by you and you're going to only see my trailing parts. And the reason is because no man shall see my face and live. But then we read over in the book of the Revelation, they shall see His face. Why? Because we have new life. Because He lives all His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. And He gives them eternal life and secures them in He and His Father's hands. Let's pray. Father, I thank You for This powerful, powerful passage where he lays it out to these thieves and robbers, these Pharisees who have no real interest in the welfare of the sheep, but only in their own welfare. And they insist that people follow them, but they don't even keep their own rules. We see a lot of that today among those who we look up to as leaders of our nation and even leaders in our churches. Father, I pray that you would enable us to come back to a real Christianity, a simple Christianity, like that of sheep and shepherd, where the sheep place all their welfare hopes on the shepherd who leads them out to pastures, who protects them from the dangers, who secures them by leading them beside still waters, who prepares tables in the presence of their enemies, who causes their cups to run over. Lord, we want to follow a savior like that. And we want to be the kind of sheep that hear his voice and follow him. Lord, I pray and thank you for the opportunity to see this truth today. And we ask it in Jesus name.