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T H E K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S
APRIL 22, 1923 JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD—John 10:1-18
Golden Text: “ I am the good shep herd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). Outline: (1) The Guarded Sheepfold. (2) The Good Shepherd. (3) The Gate to the Sheepfold. In tro d u c tio n : Jesus is now beginning the th ird year of His m inistry. In the n in th chapter He had pronounced th e Jews blind, and th is charge was proven by th e ir words and deeds. They had false conceptions of God’s fold and of the way of entrance into it. In this te n th chapter Jesus makes th e way plain. (1) * THE GUARDED SHEEPFOLD. The church is th e sheepfold. The door and the shepherd are th e Savior. The flock are the saints. The p o rter is th e Spirit. The false shepherds are the strangers. The wolf is Satan. The u n d er shepherds are th e servants of Christ. The Jews could not understand -the parable, and th is is not strange, for they were bigoted and blind. The p ar able is a beautiful allegory. Jesus had already set H imself fo rth by many titles, as Bread, W ater, Light,' T ru th , Way, Life, Gift, Word, etc., but here He takes a most touching and tend er title, ‘Shep h erd .” It was an Old Testament figure and fam iliar to the Jews (Psa. 80:,1; Isa. 40 :11 ). “ H e s h a ll fe e d h is flo c k lik e a s h e p h e rd ; h e s h a ll g a th e r th e la m b s in h is b o so m , a n d s h a ll g e n tly le a d th o s e t h a t a r e 'w ith y o u n g .” The Jews, in a peculiar sense, were God’s sheep. The leaders had become such by the grossest fraud,— the cun ning of th e thief, th e force of th e rob ber. They were robbing and despoil ing th e sheep. (2) THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
There are certain m arks which char acterize th e good shepherd. He owns th e sheep, (v. /14) . “ I a m th e g o o d s h e p h e rd , a n d k n o w MY s h e e p , a n d a m k n o w n o f M IN E .” * He purchased the sheep a t a g reat price (Acts 20 :28 ). “F e e d th e c h u rc h o f G o d w h ic h h e h a th p u rc h a s e d w ith h is o w n b lo o d .” He knows them (v. 14) ‘‘I know my sheep.” He knows every th ing ,' b u t He has p articu lar knowledge of His o.wn (2 Tim. 2 :1 9 ). “ N e v e r th e le s s th e fo u n d a tio n o f G od s ta n d e th s u re , h a v in g th is s e a l, T h e L o rd k n o w e th th e m t h a t a r e H is ; a n d , L e t e v e r y o n e t h a t n a m e th th e n a m e o f C h ris t d e p a r t fr o m in iq u ity .” He calls them (v. 3). “He calleth his own sheep by nam e.” The Lord spoke to Noah, to Abraham , to Moses, to Samuel,— by name. When He spoke to P au l He mentioned names, “Ananias,” “S traigh t S treet,” etc. He leads them , (v. 4 ). “He goeth be fore.” There is no driving the sheep, bu t He “ goeth before,” meeting first every trial, every experience. We have an illu stration of th is ' in th e crossing of th e Red Sea and of the R iver Jordan. Daniel experienced His presence in the lions’ den, and th e th ree Hebrew chil dren were conscious of th e presence of “ one like the Son of God” as they walked in th e m idst of th e fiery fu r nace (Dan. 3 :2 5 ). Our shepherd has been over the way from th e cradle to th e grave (Psa. 80 :1 ). He chastens them (Heb. 12 :6 ). “F o r w h o m th e L o rd lo v e th H e c h a s te n - e th , a n d s c o u r g e th e v e r y s o n w h o m h e re c e iv e th .” (Rev. 3 :1 9 ). He pu ts them fo rth (v. 4) or “ th ru sts fo rth ” (Deut. 32 :11 ).
“A s a n e a g le s t i r r e t h u p h e r n e s t, flu t- te r e t h o v e r h e r y o u n g , s p r e a d e th a b r o a d h e r w in g s , t a k e t h th e m , b e a r e th th e m o n h e r w in g s .” The eagle shakes o u t the eaglets from YOU CAN INSURE YOUR INVESTMENTS FOR
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