Amen. If you would please take your Bibles and turn to John chapter 10. We'll be reading the first 21 verses of John 10. After the reading of God's Holy Word, we will respond by singing the Gloria Patri which is in your bulletin if you need it. John 10, pay attention to the word of the Lord. 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 of 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 has 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 has 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? The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let us sing. Please bow your heads with me once again and let us go to our God in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for this day which you have given us, your Lord's Day, to gather together as your saints, as one church, united by our faith in Jesus Christ, united by his work in the ministry of your Holy Spirit and your calling, our God and Father. We thank you for the privilege and the opportunity to sing praises to you and to hear your word proclaimed. We ask that you would add your blessing to the reading of your word, and that it would not fall on deaf ears, but we would each have open hearts and open ears, ready to receive your word with joy and humility. That your name and your word would be exalted above all things. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. Amen. One man has said the shadow of a man follows him into the pulpit. The shadow of a man follows him into the pulpit. The life of a minister bears heavily upon the ministry. The life of shepherds affects the life of the sheep. And this is one of the main themes of our passage this morning. The contrast between the thieves, the robbers, and the hired hand compared to the true, the rightful shepherd. Paul says in the book of Romans, speaking of those who put their trust in the law, if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. So the question is, do you practice what you preach? What Jesus is getting at here is he is assessing who is fit to be the true, the good shepherd over God's sheep. It was not the religious leaders of Jesus' day. It was not the Pharisees. And we see this from the immediately preceding context from chapter nine with the healing of the blind man where he rebukes the Pharisees for their blindness. He says, some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? Jesus said to them, if you are blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. And so when Jesus is speaking of thieves and robbers and the hireling who enter by some other means, some other means than the door, he is speaking of the Pharisees, of other religious leaders as well, who fed themselves rather than cared for God's sheep. And so in this first illustration, these first six verses, Jesus offers the character of the shepherd in contrast to how he will later describe the false shepherds. So I'll list these characteristics off and then we'll discuss them briefly. One, the shepherd enters by the door. The gatekeeper, who is typically understood to be the father, He opens the door and lets the shepherd in. The sheep hear the shepherd's voice. They recognize the voice of the one who is over them. This shepherd calls each individual sheep by name. He knows them intimately and personally. And he goes before them. He leads, guides, and directs his sheep. and a characteristic of the sheep, where the shepherd goes, they are sure to follow. So this shepherd, he enters by the door, and this is in contrast to the thieves and the robbers who enter through deceit by some other means. to try to trick and pull away the sheep. But the shepherd, the true shepherd, has every right to enter through the door. There is no need for trickery. There's no need for deceit because the gatekeeper, the father, recognizes the shepherd. And he opens the door that he may come in to care for his sheep. And there is an exclusivity to this shepherd. There is one shepherd over the sheep. And the gatekeeper recognizes only this one who is the rightful shepherd. None other can fill that role. The last four characteristics emphasize this beautiful intimacy in the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. The sheep hear his voice. They recognize his voice and refuse to follow the voice of any other. Many of you are aware that out of my family's farm, we have a good number of sheep out there. The sheep are accustomed to me and my family. They trust us, and when we enter their pen, oftentimes they'll come over to us, and they like to get scratched. And when we call for them every single time, they come over to us when we shake a bucket of sweet treats for them. But that's how Jesus is better. He's a better shepherd than me and my brothers. Jesus doesn't need that bucket of sweet treats. There's an intimacy and a trust in the voice of the shepherd as he calls each individual sheep by name. He knows them personally, intimately, deeply. He calls them, and the sheep delight. They rejoice in the voice of the shepherd. They rejoice to see Him. They turn from whatever they were doing and follow after Him. And when He has gathered them all up, the sheep follow. There's a trust there as well. where the shepherd leads the sheep say. Surely he must lead us to safety, to protection, to a place of abundance which will end only in the good of the sheep. I liken this trust unto how Jonathan, my son, trusts in me as his dad. When he cries out, he knows that I am going to answer and I'm going to come to Him. When He grabs my hand and He tries to eat the whole thing, He knows I'm not going to get angry, but I'm just going to look down and smile at Him. Or when He relentlessly attempts to rid my face of its beard, He knows I'm not going to get angry, but I'm going to smile down at Him. And He smiles back. It is one of the most delightful, joyous things that I have ever experienced, to walk into the room and he immediately turns and looks up and smiles at his dad. This is one of the great differences between the rightful shepherd and a hireling or a thief or a robber. that as much as the sheep long for and delight in smiling at their shepherd and seeing him smile back, the shepherd himself delights in smiling down upon his own sheep. As a father unto his children, the sheep trust him And the shepherd is this picture of beauty, of delight in a person in whom they rejoice. And so he leads them. He guides them, as the Psalms say, to green pastures and quiet waters. He leads them in safety to their place of rest. And as he leads them, the sheep are led by him. They follow. Where he goes, they follow. They know that there is nothing but safety and abundance with their shepherd. Because the shadow of a man follows him. They see this true shepherd. They see that he is pure, undefiled, and that his care is truly for his sheep. He feeds the sheep, and they know him. But not so the thieves and the robbers. And so we enter into this second illustration that Jesus gives beginning with verse 7. The thief, he says, he only comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. That is the purpose of the thief and the robber. Take your Bibles once again and turn to Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel 34, we'll look at the first 10 verses here. This gives us the definition of the false shepherds. Beginning at verse one, the word of the Lord, it came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, all shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat. You clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened. The sick you have not healed. The injured you have not bound up. The strayed you have not brought back. The lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered. because there was no shepherd and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered. They wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth with none to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord, as I live, declares the Lord God. Surely, because my sheep have become a prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths that they may not be food for them. These shepherds of which the Lord has spoken against Ezekiel are the very thieves and robbers which Jesus speaks of in John 10. Those who are meant to be faithful shepherds but only fed themselves. The sheep starved. The sheep were slaughtered so that the shepherds could fatten themselves. They clothed themselves with the wool of the sheep. Everything which they worked for was perverse, selfish, and led only to the destruction and the scattering of the sheep. He says, you did not show mercy. You showed no compassion. You did not bind up the weak. And when My sheep went astray, you did not seek them. They wandered to and fro, lost and hopeless and helpless, food for the wolves. And then God gave the warning. You shepherds, I am against you. And the blood of my sheep, whom you slaughter, whom you let wander to be a prey for the wolves, I will require on your heads and on your hands. Because the shadow of a man follows him. How great is the shadow of these shepherds. The trail which they leave behind was only death and decay. There was no hope in them, no safety, only slaughter. These thieves, they enter deceitfully. with the only purpose of pulling the sheep away to lead them astray, to lead them unto slaughter. Even the hired hand, Jesus says, who may feed the sheep for a time, but he doesn't own the sheep. He doesn't care for the sheep. He doesn't know the sheep. And when the threat comes, when the wolves come, He abandons the sheep to be slaughtered. He does not stand and fight to put Himself between the threat and the sheep. But He flees. Brothers and sisters, we are the sheep of God's flock. The human sheep of God's flock. And He does not leave His sheep without hope. He gives this wonderful promise. Continuing in Ezekiel, He says, For thus says the Lord God, Behold, I, I Myself, will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered. 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 God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. That promise is fulfilled in John 10. Jesus Christ has said, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved. He will go in and out and find pasture. Jesus offers life and freedom, the privilege to delight in the shepherd. 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 here we get a glimpse into the beautiful relationship which Jesus Christ has entered into with His sheep. He did not give sparingly or wantingly, but He likens the relationship between Him and His sheep unto the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Father. Just as I and the Father know each other, so too do My sheep know Me. I know them, and they know Me. and all My sheep will come to Me, He says. There are sheep who are not of this fold, they will come to Me. That is to say, the Gospel does not remain only in Israel, but the Gospel goes forth, the Good News goes forth to every tribe, every tongue, every language, every nation. God has chosen a people from every corner of the world. And that very Gospel invitation goes out to you this morning. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, and He will lead you in safety. He will lead you in righteousness. Let us sheep never forget our Shepherd, but follow Him always. The one who is righteous. Because the shadow of a man follows him into the pulpit. The man who stands in the pulpit every Sunday morning is not your hope. It's not Pastor John, it's certainly not myself. It's not the elders, the under-shepherds who are stewards of God's flock. Your hope, your only hope is in the Good Shepherd. Because the shadow of a man follows Him. And this Good Shepherd is also the light of the world. He exudes glorious brilliance. He has no shadow. He has no sin following behind Him. No trail of violence, death, or decay. He is spotless, blameless. He has no want of care for His sheep. No want of righteousness. And when the threat approached His sheep, He was the one who stood between the enemy and His sheep. which is why he was fit, why he is fit to be the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, who has authority to lay down his life for the sheep, to give you safety from our greatest enemy, which is nothing less than the wrath of God Almighty. The wrath of God for our shadow, for the sins which we have borne against Him. And so this Jesus, under the charge of the Heavenly Father, laid down His own life willingly But our hope lies not in the fact that He laid it down. Our hope lies in the fact that He had authority to raise it up again. On the cross, He took our sins upon Himself, but when He rose, He rose unto everlasting, unbreachable, everlasting life. And where the shepherd goes, the sheep are sure to follow. He has in himself everlasting life. So too do his sheep, his people, receive that same everlasting life because he came for that purpose. to give life and to give it abundantly, so that we would all be one flock, one church with one shepherd, one church with Christ as our head. Let us always live in that joyful expectation of the fulfillment of that promise. That where Jesus is, so too will be His sheep. We follow Him now by faith, but the day is coming when we will look upon our Lord Jesus Christ in our own bodies with our very own eyes. in a place of safety, in abundance and joy. Let us live always with that in mind. Amen. Praise God. Let us bow our heads, please. Our God and Father in heaven, We are humbled by your amazing grace that you have looked down upon a sinful people, people who were wretches before you, who were as nothing before you, and yet you have met our needs so abundantly in Christ Jesus, that you have given life, you have given it abundantly, so that all whom you have called to be your children, not one of them will be missing. We thank You for so perfect a salvation. Not because we were good. Not because there was anything of value or worth in us. But You, because of Your love, have chosen a flock and secured that flock for Your glory and for the exaltation of Your name. And we thank you for your Holy Spirit who has made us alive in Christ, who has made us new creatures that we could do good works in Christ in joyful expectation of the glorious hope to which you have called us. Please grant us the strength as we leave this place this morning to be faithful saints called to your holy purposes. Let your word go forth in power, not only here, but in every place where your saints call upon your name. That every knee would bow and every tongue would confess Jesus Christ as Lord, to your glory, so that your name and your word would be exalted above all things. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our shepherd. Amen.