The assurance of a Christian's salvation is clarified by Jesus in the 10th
chapter of the book of John and is the topic of J. Vernon McGee's lesson.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
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The Shepherd And The Sheep-Assurance
by J. Vernon McGee
John 10
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the
fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and
a
robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the
sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 When he hath put forth all
his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his
voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for
they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things
they were which he spake unto them.
7 Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I
am
the door of the sheep. 8 All that came before me are thieves and robbers:
but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; by me if any man enter
in,
he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. 10
The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came
that they may have life, and may have (it) abundantly. 11 I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. 12 He that
is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth
the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth
them, and scattereth (them): 13(he fleeth) because he is a hireling, and
careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own,
and mine own know me, 15 even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have,
which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth
the
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18
No
one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to
lay
it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I
from
my Father.
19 There arose a division again among the Jews because of these words. 20
And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him? 21
Others said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a demon. Can
a
demon open the eyes of the blind?
22 And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: 23 it was winter;
and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch. 24 The Jews
therefore came round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou hold
us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly.
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I
do
in my Father's name, these bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not,
because ye are not of my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them,
and they follow me: 28 and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father,
who
hath given (them) unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to
snatch
(them) out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.
31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from the Father;
for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are
gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the
scripture
cannot be broken), 36 say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent
into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am (the) Son of God?
37
If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do them,
though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and
understand
that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
39 They sought again to take him: and he went forth out of their hand. 40
And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at
the first baptizing; and there he abode. 41 And many came unto him; and
they
said, John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spake of
this
man were true. 42 And many believed on him there.
Had the important relationships between Christ and His church because of
the
cross been kept in mind, the disease of denominationalism and the curse of
sectarianism might have been prevented. Thus would the church have been
delivered through the years from much of its sorrow and heartbreak which
have resulted from its divisions.
We understand that there are about three hundred sects in America today.
My,
how the church is divided! "Like a mighty army moves the church of God"
may
be on blueprint in a song, but it has not progressed beyond that stage. In
fact, someone has written a parody of "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and it
runs like this:
Like a halting caravan
Moves the church of Christ;
We are feebly faltering
Toward our timid tryst.
We are all divided,
Many bodies we,
Kept apart by doctrine
And lack of charity.
Careful, Christian pilgrims!
Walk in doubt and fear,
With the cross of Jesus
Bringing up the rear.
My friend, that is the picture at the present moment. Were the scriptural
relationships observed and obeyed, the narrow and limited conception of
the
church would not prevail as it does in this hour. These relationships, as
we
find them in God's Word, enable believers to see beyond the limited
borders
or confines of the church or little group to which they belong. The church
needs a full-orbed view today. It desperately needs 20-20 vision to see
what
the real church of the living Christ is and always has been. Certainly its
vision must be cleared of the myopic, jaundice-blurred view of some group
that wears a certain label.
Right now, loyalty to a sect is the test under the present system. A man
may
be rank in doctrine, but if loyal to some certain organization, he will
pass
muster. The organization is the sacred cow of the present day. Beloved,
the
total body of Christ, the family of God, is lost sight of at the present
moment, and, as a result, there has been a movement-a
superorganization-forged and forced down upon the church, operating under
the title of the World Council of Churches. That organization is not the
solution to the problem of the hour. This relationship between Christ and
His church is not maintained by an organization functioning from the
outside
but must rise from the grassroots as the individual believer keeps the
unity
of the Spirit. That is the thing that will cure today's sectarian
sickness.
It is the one remedy.
To see this we must note the seven figures used in Scripture to clearly
delineate the relationship that exists between Christ and His church. We
list them here: the Shepherd and the sheep; the Vine and the branches; the
Cornerstone and the stones of the building; the Head and the body; the
High
Priest and the priesthood of believers; the Bridegroom and the bride; and
the Last Adam and the new creation. All of these wonderful figures set
forth
the blessed relationship between Christ and His church-because of His
cross.
Did you note as you read this list that each figure is drawn from life?
All
are familiar figures; they are commonplace and are to be found in the
everyday experiences of most people. We find that they are drawn from the
animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms: from the animal kingdom, the
sheep;
the vegetable kingdom, the vine; the mineral kingdom, the stone. The Lord
Jesus just reached out and drew from those things that were around Him.
Again we would like to pass on to you a bit of verse that expresses the
fact
in a wonderful way.
He talked of grass and wind and rain,
And fig trees and fair weather,
And made it His delight to bring
Heaven and earth together.
He spoke of lilies, vines, and corn,
The sparrow and the raven;
And words so natural, yet so wise,
Were on men's hearts engraven.
Author Unknown
So the Lord just reached out and from life drew these figures of speech
which carry a wealth of spiritual meaning to us today.
There are Sheep of Kinds
Let us break into this study of relationships at the figure of the
Shepherd
and the sheep. The figure of the sheep is, no doubt, the broadest term He
ever used. It is the broadest term set down in Scripture. Actually we find
all humanity spoken of as sheep. Every person is a sheep. This term fits
every man who ever lived upon this earth. Read this: "All we like sheep
have
gone astray." That applies to everyone. Now someone is going to say, "Yes,
but the Bible says that there are sheep and goats." If you go back to the
twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew and read it carefully, you will find that
He
is not talking of individuals, but of nations. He never did call an
individual a goat. It is recorded that when He saw the multitudes, He was
moved with compassion for them for "they were as sheep without a
shepherd."
That is His figure for every man on earth-a sheep. Pin that down in your
thinking; it is important. Note that the gentile nations are called "goat
nations" in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew.
Also we must recall that He made a distinction in sheep. He said to the
religious rulers, "Ye are not of my sheep," and then He said, "My sheep
hear
my voice." So then, there are two kinds of sheep-those who are His and
those
who are not His. But let us understand one thing: They are sheep and not
goats; all are sheep in His eyes.
Now it is true that the nation Israel was spoken of in just that fashion
back in the Old Testament. Turn to Psalm 74, for instance, and read this
reference to the nation Israel: "O God, why hast thou cast us off forever?
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?" This is the
nation Israel. Then in Jeremiah 23:1: "Woe be unto the pastors that
destroy
and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord." He speaks there of
the
nation Israel.
Now in Christ's day, when He was here upon the earth, it was true that the
nation Israel was considered in Scripture as being in a particular way
God's
sheep. The religious rulers, however, assumed that those of Israel were
the
only sheep that God ever had or could have. That is where they made their
blunder! Therefore, the statement made by the Lord Jesus Christ in the
tenth
chapter of John, which seems so natural and normal to us because we have
heard it ever since we were children, was without the shadow of a doubt
the
most revolutionary, the most radical statement the religious rulers had
ever
heard.
Notice that it all went back to the incident of the opening of the eyes of
the blind man who was sent down to the pool of Siloam. When he returned
from
the pool, his sight restored, he sought the Lord but could not find Him.
However, the religious rulers quickly seized him who had been blind, for
he
had been healed on the Sabbath day. They questioned him, but he could tell
them very little. He as much as said, "To begin with, I did not see the
Man
with my eyes because He anointed them and sent me to the pool of Siloam.
It
was not until I reached there that my eyes were opened, and then He was
gone. I do not know a great deal about Him, but I do know one thing: Once
I
was blind, now I can see-that is my testimony."
The statement of the blind man so enraged the Pharisees that in their mad
effort to condemn the Lord, they called in the man's parents. But the
parents were afraid to testify, for they knew that they were in danger of
being excommunicated. Therefore, they quietly compromised and moved out of
the picture.
But this man whose sight had been restored still came at the Pharisees
with
his argument which virtually was as follows: "It is a funny thing that you
are saying that this man is not one who works miracles of God. My eyes are
opened. I know that He did it, and I know that it is a miracle!" It is a
wonderful thing, beloved, when you come to know that much! When you can
say,
"Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was lost, but now I am found." It
is a gift of His grace in your life. This poor blind man knew it.
The positive nature of his testimony so heightened the anger of the
religious rulers that they called a meeting of the Sanhedrin and put the
man
out of the synagogue. He was excommunicated. It was then that he found
himself in a precarious position, for he was ruined socially and
economically. They wrecked him. Scripture records that "they cast him out"
(John 9:34). Then the Lord Jesus came to his defense and told the
religious
rulers that they really did not understand.
Christ-the Shepherd
Thus He began to set forth the truth. John records His words in chapter
ten,
verse one: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the
door
into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a
thief and a robber" (ASV).
We must first understand that the sheepfold was Israel, and then we are
ready to follow our Lord as He patiently opened the truth to these men of
the synagogue.
He explained to them that He had not crawled over the fence as a robber
but
had come to the sheepfold in a regular way, though He could have come in
many ways. He could have come as an angel of glory or have been born in
Caesar's palace. This He did not do. He was born of the line of David,
followed the Mosaic law all the way through, and had thus come in at the
door of the sheepfold. He had not climbed over the fence as a thief or
robber.
As we follow His telling of this great truth, we are startled with a
tremendous statement He makes in verse three when He says that the porter
opened the door for Him. Did you notice that? And have you read carefully
enough to ask yourself who this porter might be? The writer believes that
the porter is none other than the Holy Spirit.
Then He said a most radical thing to them: "But he that entereth in by the
door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the
sheep
hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name." Now listen, "and
[he]
leadeth them out" (John 10:2, 3). Remember, the sheepfold is Israel, and
the
Lord Jesus said, "I am the Shepherd who has come in a regular way into the
sheepfold, and I have called My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and they
follow Me, and this man who was blind has come out because he is My sheep.
Other sheep came out also, but there were those which stayed inside." He
said, "I am the shepherd, and Israel is the sheepfold." Now read this:
"When
he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him: for they know his voice" (John 10:4, ASV). Thus the Lord defends the
blind man by the simple explanation: "I have come in the regular way into
the nation Israel. I am not a thief or robber but have come into the
sheepfold and am calling My sheep by name and leading them out of the
sheepfold, Israel." This is tremendous!
The Shepherd Forms His Flock
To these bewildered men He further says in verse sixteen: "And other sheep
I
have, which are not of this fold." Unfortunately this has been translated
"fold," and it really ought to be "flock." Let us read it again. "And
other
sheep I have, which are not of this flock." This body which He is forming
by
a calling out could not be a fold or sheepfold, because Israel is the
sheepfold. Christ says that He is forming a new flock and that He has
called
out this man who was blind and was in the sheepfold to be a member of His
new flock. Then He added that He has sheep other than those whom He has
called out of this sheepfold: "them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and there shall be one fold [flock], and one shepherd."
As far as His flock is concerned, it is one flock today. How tragic it is,
and has been, to have the Baptist sheep over here and the Presbyterian
sheep
over there and the Methodist sheep in still another area. After all, sheep
are sheep, and those who are in His flock are one. There is one flock and
one Shepherd-that is the picture of His church today.
He said, "There are other sheep I have who are not in this flock here. I
must bring them. I have called the blind man, but I have some red, some
yellow, some black, and some white; and even in Los Angeles, New York,
London, and other points down yonder two thousand years from now, there
will
be more sheep that are to be members of My flock." He has one flock, and
there is one Shepherd today. We find that the Lord Jesus Christ has a
threefold relationship to this flock which is known as His church. First
of
all, He is the Good Shepherd, and He defines the Good Shepherd in verse
11:
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
Then He is the Great Shepherd, for we read in the magnificent benediction
given in Hebrews 13:20, 21: "Now the God of peace, who brought again from
the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal
covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you perfect in every good thing to do
his will" (ASV). He is also the Great Shepherd of the sheep in Psalm
twenty-three. But wait, that does not tell the total picture. He is also
the
Chief Shepherd. That speaks of the future. Peter says in his first
epistle,
chapter five, verse four: "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."
The Good Shepherd
We have already seen verse 11 of John 10, but drop down to verse 15 and
read: "Even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay
down
my life for the sheep" (ASV).
He is not through with this thought for it is very important to Him, as we
see in verse 17: "Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my
life, that I may take it again" (ASV).
Again and again He repeats the fact that He is the Good Shepherd and that
the Good Shepherd will lay down His life for the sheep. That was an
amazing
figure of speech to those people, for in the Old Testament we learn that
while the shepherd cared for his flock, at times he reached down into the
flock and took a sheep to be slaughtered for food when he was hungry. If
he
was cold he would slaughter a sheep for his clothing. If he needed a
sacrifice he would use a sheep for the sacrifice. In other words, the
little
sheep had to die for the shepherd.
But it is passing strange that here is a Shepherd who will die for His
sheep. Stranger still, He identifies Himself with His sheep. "He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is
brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
he openeth not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7). He not only is the Shepherd, but
He
came down here into the flock and became a sheep that He might die on the
cross. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for
the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the
grace
of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
But that is not all. We must read in verses 14-16 of that same chapter:
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also
himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For
verily
he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of
Abraham.
My beloved, this is wonderfully strange. Here is a Shepherd who not only
dies for His sheep, but He comes down into the flock and becomes one of
the
sheep! May I say, ever so reverently, Mary had a little Lamb.
When Abel brought the offering to God of a little lamb, he knew that there
was coming a day when a forerunner would step out, put an X mark on a
sheep,
and say, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."
Jesus Christ was the Good Shepherd giving His life for the sheep.
You may recall having read David's account of his purpose to go out and
meet
Goliath. It is given in 1 Samuel 17:33-36.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to
fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his
youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's
sheep;
and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I
went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and
when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him and
slew
him. Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of
the
living God (ASV).
The strong Son of God, the Good Shepherd, came down to this earth and went
out and met the devil. The other sheep could not! Certainly we could not
meet him-we are no match for him. But Christ met and conquered him and
wrought salvation on the cross. Today He gives this invitation out of His
great heart of love, "I am the door"-the door to the flock-"by me if any
man
enter in, he shall be saved."
The Great Shepherd
"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for
the
sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I
must
bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold [flock],
and one shepherd"
(John 10:14-16).
The emphasis here is upon the word my. They are my sheep. Now that is
where
the twenty-third Psalm comes in. Listen to Him as He says, "They are my
sheep." And His sheep can say, "The Lord is my shepherd." Oh, how
wonderful
is the little possessive pronoun there! My sheep-my Shepherd. It makes all
of the difference in the world whether you say "Christ is a Shepherd," or
whether you say, "Christ is my Shepherd."
There was a group of believers who got together and started a Christian
day
school in Pasadena, California. How thrilled we were that first year to
see
all of the little ones who came. I went almost every day to watch them
come,
and then back again to watch them as they left for home when school was
out.
Little lambs, they were. Then one day I took my little lamb over. I never
shall forget. She did not want me to go in but asked that I leave her at
the
sidewalk. I did and then watched her walk up to the door. I did not know
it
was so far from the walk to the door; nor did I know that she was so small
compared to that small building. Then I was right back over there when the
hour came for school to be dismissed, and they came out-those precious
little lambs. But all of a sudden, I saw my little lamb! There is a lot of
difference between sheep and my sheep.
Your Security as His Sheep
Listen to the Lord Jesus now in John 10:27-29. My friend, you can be
included here. "My sheep hear My voice. I know them. I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no
created thing can pluck them out of My Father's hand. I have the hand of
deity; He has the hand of deity. And I and My Father-we are one. When we
put
a sheep between our hands, the little fellow never gets out! We do not
lose
sheep. We are not in the business of losing sheep!" One may get out of the
flock-yes, they do-but this Shepherd went out on the mountainside and got
that one that everyone else had given up. He was not satisfied with
ninety-nine; He had to have one hundred.
"I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish." Now we can
well
imagine that someone might say, "I do not like that. After all, I might
get
saved today and lost tomorrow." It is true, my friend-you might, and so
might I. For if it depended upon me, I might be lost within the next five
minutes.
Let us imagine one of these little sheep trotting up and saying, "Say, I
am
a clever little sheep, and I am smart. I know my way around. Do you want
to
know how I remain safe, how I have missed the wolf? Well, now, look here,
do
you see these claws of mine, how sharp they are-lions are afraid of them.
I
am a mean little sheep. And look at these fangs-I can bite wild animals
with
them. Say! If I get in a tight place these legs of mine can run." You say
that is utterly ridiculous because no sheep has sharp claws and fangs and
neither can a sheep run fast. You are right. Do you know why our Lord said
that His sheep are safe? It is because of the keeping power of the
Shepherd
and certainly not because of any ability that lies in the sheep. "My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish." Why? Because no man is going
to
pluck them out of His hand!
We must return to His invitation: "I am the door: by me if any man enter
in,
he shall be saved" (John 10:9). I do not know who you are as you read this
message, but if you are His sheep, you will hear His voice. If the Spirit
of
God speaks to you-and I say this very kindly and carefully-for God's sake
listen to the Shepherd; He is calling you. "I am the door." If you will
not
step through this door, it is because you will stay out. His invitation is
to you.
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