Turn with me tonight in your Bibles to John chapter 10. John chapter 10, as we read together the first 21 verses of that chapter. The text for our consideration is verse 11 of that portion of Scripture. In John chapter 10, in John chapter 9, Jesus had healed the beggar who was blind from birth. And He did that on the Sabbath. And that was not well received by the Pharisees. And then He goes on in John chapter 10 to give the discourse about the shepherd and his flock. The first 21 verses of John chapter 10. Hear now the Word of God. I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore, Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only 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 authority to take it up again. This command I receive from my Father. At these words, the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to Him? But others said, These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Again, the text, verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, with our Lord's Word from the cross, My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? We are reminded that Jesus came for such a time as this. He was born to suffer and die by way of the cross for you and me as believers. Such a wonderful, incomprehensible work was His saving sacrifice. And we have a symbol of that work before us tonight as the Lord's table is prepared for you and me as believers to come. Have you prepared to come? Have you prepared to come? Boys and girls and young people, even you who do not yet physically eat the bread and partake of the cup, have you prepared to participate tonight having asked the Spirit of God to teach you what this is all about. You see, Jesus prepared Himself to make this sacrifice. And He also worked to prepare those around Him for that sacrifice. The text before us proves that. And as the road to the cross became shorter and shorter, Jesus, in plain language that the disciples still didn't understand, told them that He must suffer and die. But even here in John chapter 10, where the context shows us that He was once again being challenged by the Pharisees, Jesus explains in metaphorical language that He is the Savior. He is the long-awaited Messiah. And as Jesus proclaims, I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. As He says that, He is proclaiming the word of victory for His people as He speaks of the sacrifice unto life. Now, as we consider this Word of God tonight, notice first of all with me the identity of the offering. And then secondly, the character of the offering. And then finally, the beneficiaries of the offering. Again, as I already mentioned, in chapter 9, Jesus healed the beggar who was blind from birth and He did it on the Sabbath. This was brought to the attention of the Pharisees and of course they didn't care one bit about the fact that this man was freed from his infirmity. They were outraged because Jesus did it on the Sabbath. And surely he broke the law and surely no truly religious man would even consider doing that. And in chapter 9, if you were to read that, you would see that the Pharisees interrogated the healed beggar, trying to get the beggar to agree with them that Jesus was a sinner. But this beggar, standing strong in his new faith by grace, says, whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see. And then in verse 31, he says, we know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will. And then in verse 33, he says, if this man were not from God, he could do nothing. In other words, Pharisees, you do the math. You figure it out. But all I know is I was blind. But now I see. And while the Pharisees work to prove Christ's sinfulness, this uneducated beggar beautifully and boldly affirms Christ's sinlessness. And notice what the Pharisees do. The last phrase of verse 34, And they threw him out. That's of chapter 9. Verse 34 of chapter 9. and they threw Him out. We need to understand what happened here. They threw Him. They cast Him out of the synagogue. As another Bible version says, they put Him out. He didn't have a choice. It's as if they picked Him up underneath His arms and carried Him through the door and threw Him out into the street. He was forcibly expelled. But even more, the same word for threw Him out is used when Jesus cast out demons and evil spirits never to return. And this beggar, as one translator's note says, was excommunicated. Congregation, the Pharisees were the shepherds of the church of that day. But they had not entered the fold of the sheep by the door, which is Jesus Christ. They were thieves and robbers who came to steal and kill and destroy. They came with their own agenda to do what was right in their own eyes, not really caring about the sheep, but instead doing the sheep more harm than good. You see, their task was to lead and to feed the flock, but they fed with the lies of their own making, and they led toward eternal danger. But in contrast to these, Jesus is now claiming ownership of His church. I am the good shepherd. He is, or at this time at least, will be the offering. And he identifies himself as the shepherd, the good one. That's the literal reading of the Greek. I am the shepherd, the good one. He is not simply a good shepherd, one of many, but the one and only good shepherd. Now, first of all, we must recall that the metaphor of a shepherd and sheep being used of God and His people is seen throughout Scripture. David says, the Lord is my shepherd. Asaph begins Psalm 80 with, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. Isaiah 40, verse 11 says, He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm. Ezekiel 34 speaks of both bad shepherds and good shepherds. And Ezekiel there condemns the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves and neglect the care of the flock. And in that same chapter, the Lord God, the true shepherd, says, Indeed, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out, deliver them from being scattered, feed My flock and make them lie down, heal and protect. I will establish one shepherd over them, and He shall feed them. And then verse 31 of chapter 34, You are My flock, the flock of My pasture. In Matthew 26, verse 31, when foretelling that His disciples would forsake Him, Jesus applies the prophecy of Zechariah 13, verse 7 to Himself, which says, Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Now we know that the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is to be an intimate one. Sheep are not too bright. Now most of us don't know this by experience, but we've read about this, we've heard about this. Little lambs might seem cuddly and gentle and cute, but they're short on intelligence. They depend on the shepherd for everything, even for their very survival. Shepherds had to search for abundant fields in which to graze, and they had to make sure that the field was clear of debris, which the sheep would not be smart enough to resist. For example, in our day we might say broken glass or wire or jagged metal. They also had to make sure that the field was safe from dangerous predators. Sheep not only need to be led to water, but almost need the water literally put under their noses before they will drink. Sheep need special care when they are sick. In short, the survival of the sheep depends completely upon the shepherd. But the sheep then trust the shepherd. They know Him. They know His voice. They will follow Him wherever He leads. As Jesus says, they will not follow a stranger. In fact, they will turn and run away from a stranger. The shepherd-sheep relationship is a distinctive relationship. And Jesus says, that's what describes the relationship that I have with my people. But Jesus also makes it clear that his relationship with his sheep is unique. It's one of a kind. Again, he identifies himself as the good shepherd. Good here refers to his excellence and beauty. We speak using superlatives, good, better, and best. But you see, when something is good, it is able to answer to its purpose. It is able to do what it's supposed to do. When we speak of the goodness of God, it doesn't get any better than that. Some simple illustrations of some things that are good are these. A good hammer drives nails straight into the wood. A good car transports me where I need to go without breaking down. Good food not only satisfies my hunger, but it also satisfies my taste buds. Something that is good is able to answer to its purpose, to do what it was intended to do. Jesus is the good shepherd. He is the beautiful and excellent shepherd who answers to the ideal in both his work and in his character. He's in a class all by himself which he shares with no one. None other is nor can be like him. As well that by saying he is good, he is claiming divinity, telling them that he is God. He said to the rich young ruler, why do you call me good? For there is none good but God. He defines what it means to be good. As the good shepherd, Christ's inner love and beauty was revealed in his outer tenderness for those around him. As well in the perfection of his work. In congregation, we also cannot overlook the fact that given the context, the portion that we read, the good shepherd is contrasted to the thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy. And notice there's a progression with the intention of eliminating. Steal and then kill and then completely destroy. And that is what our adversary, the devil, wants for us. Don't kid yourself. That's His only goal. But the good shepherd comes for the opposite reason. As verse 10 says, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Or as another version beautifully says, that they might have it abundantly. And this is a life with overflowing measure. Everlasting life that begins in this life with the blessing of God's grace and joy and peace. This full, this abundant life includes all the benefits of Christ's sacrifice unto life, regeneration, conversion, justification, adoption, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. And this table before us tonight is a beautiful portrait of that full of that abundant life earned only by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful portrait of that guaranteed provision of the Good Shepherd unto eternity. It is a portrait of the Good Shepherd's tender care over His flock. which are unable to care for themselves. But this table is also a portrait of the character of the sacrificial offering. What is that character? The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Laying down his life is a demonstration of or reflects the goodness of the shepherd. He is everything to the sheep and He sacrifices His all for the sheep. He gives His life in place of, instead of, beloved, the objects of the Good Shepherd's love benefit not because He simply came to hold our hand as we suffer the wrath and punishment of God. He didn't come simply to walk beside us to make us feel good, to help us get through it. But we benefit because He replaces His sheep. He is their substitute. He moves them out of the way and says, I'll take it all. Why does the good shepherd lay down his life? Because danger was very near. There was an urgent need to intercede. You see, it was either the shepherd or the sheep, one or the other. It was going to be one or the other. And the shepherd removes any danger from the sheep by giving his whole self. As Isaiah 53, verse 12 says, he poured out his soul unto death. And Paul says in 1 Timothy 2, verse 6, who gave himself a ransom for all. Now we need to notice two contrasts here. First of all, Jesus says the hired hand, the one who is not the owner of the sheep, at the sight of the wolf, which obviously means deadly danger, The hired hand is out of there. He doesn't care one bit about the sheep. He only cares about his paycheck. But the good shepherd, because he knows his sheep, and his sheep know him and his voice, he lays down his life for them. He doesn't abandon them even in the slightest degree. But the second contrast is this. We would all understand that normally the death of the shepherd would mean more danger for the sheep because now they are unprotected. When the shepherd is dead, the sheep are becoming an easy target. But not with the good shepherd. His laying down his life for his sheep means the gaining of life, meant the gaining of life for his sheep. And this is where the spiritual truth far outshines any earthly metaphor. Why does the good shepherd's death result in abundant life for his sheep? Because Jesus Christ reclaimed His life. He took it up again. And He was able to do that. Because He voluntarily gave it of His own power in the first place. No one took it from Him. Some people like to say that I nailed Jesus to the cross. No, I didn't. Because of my sins, He went to the cross. He voluntarily gave Himself. Notice verses 17 and 18 again of chapter 10. the reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. And beloved, this is the key. Jesus Christ rose again. He lives. And because He lives, His sheep also live. He has completely removed any deadly danger, eternal danger from you and me as believers. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. The Good Shepherd has been highly exalted and given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, as Paul says. The death of the Good Shepherd serves in winning life for the sheep in that He gave His life a ransom for many. But there's one more detail with regard to the character of the offering that we need to consider. When Jesus says the Good Shepherd lays down His life, again, the force of the original Greek language teaches us that He laid it down. It's a done deal. That has been accomplished. But it has continuing results. Continuing results. The accomplishment is still good today and will be good forever. And that means that no one can undo what Jesus did. No one can take away that full, that abundant life from His sheep. Our sins are forever paid for. That means that even though we might get tossed around and bumped and bruised and scratched in this life, His sheep cannot be eternally touched or eternally harmed. People of God, we have the table of the Lord before us again tonight by the grace of God because our good shepherd Jesus Christ laid down His life and He took it up again. This table is a symbol of that. And it preaches a visible sermon to us of not only life, but also of the eternal safety and eternal protection and eternal nourishment of that life. Finally then, who are the beneficiaries of the offering? Well, that's simple, isn't it? The sheep. You see, Jesus was not simply a martyr for the truth or a good example, a good moral example of self-sacrifice, but the fact is He really didn't accomplish anything then. The infinite value of His work of making satisfaction for sin had a specific purpose. It did something. He provided atonement for a people, His people, And He didn't just make salvation possible for His people, as some have taught. Some say that He didn't really do it for anybody in particular. He did it in general. And then whoever comes to Him by their own accord, they are the ones who benefit. No. He made it actual. He made it a reality. If this divinely appointed and divinely provided substitute had not died for His people, there would be no spiritual and eternal life for Him. But His sheep do have life. They have it fully and abundantly. But not all who died in Adam, which is everyone, not all live in Christ. He laid down His life for His sheep, not the goats. His atonement is limited. That's the teaching of Scripture as we know. In verse 16, Jesus says, I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. He speaks very specifically about a certain people. Yes, Jesus Christ died, laid down His life. He died for all the world, but not for every person in the world. Jesus laid down His life for His body, the church, the holy, Catholic, or universal church, chosen from the beginning to the end of time, chosen by God. And as Paul says in Acts 20.28, 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. And Jesus makes it clear in John 6 that all that the Father gives Him will come to Him. In John 17, Jesus prays, Not for the world, but for those whom the Father had given to Him. The teaching of Scripture is that Jesus died for His people, a specific people, even as the angel said to Joseph, You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. That means there are some who are not His people. Beloved, the sheep of the Good Shepherd are those who, by the grace of God, because they are temples of the Holy Spirit, having been born again unto newness of life. They have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. They are spiritually discerned. And they know the truth when they hear it. In other words, they know the voice of their Shepherd. They believe on the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith. And by God's grace, they know abundant eternal life even today. Even if it's just a small beginning of new obedience. Even the newest believer knows that abundant eternal life. Even today, the sheep of the Good Shepherd are those for whom He died. It was their sins for which He was nailed and which were nailed with Him to that cross. If you believe on Him that you need Jesus Christ because there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you might be saved, then your comfort, beloved, is that He died for you he laid down his life for you and took your sins from you and he gives you life in him and he says to you come to my table do you hear the Holy Spirit's voice? do you know it? if you don't know and recognize the voice of the good shepherd then unless you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of God you will be stolen killed and destroyed by the enemy. You will face the danger of hell alone. This table before our eyes tonight is a portrait of Christ's sacrifice of life. Unto life. The table of the Lord is a visible demonstration of the heart of God. It is a visible demonstration of His love and forgiveness. A love that doesn't simply allow His sheep to come, but a love that prepares a place for each of His sheep and prepares His sheep to come and says, come. Your place is here. I earned it for you. This is where you belong. Take, eat, and drink. Remember and believe that my body was broken and my blood was shed unto a complete remission of all your sins. I lay down my life for you that you might have life in me and have it fully, have it abundantly.