John 10:11-15 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.… I. WHAT THE GOOD SHEPHERD DOES FOR HIS SHEEP? 1. He protects them. Sheep are exposed to many dangers, from which they are not able to protect themselves. When David was a shepherd, he tells us of a lion and a bear, that each came and stole away a lamb from his flock; and how he went after the wild beasts, and slew them, and saved his lambs. And this is just what Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does for His sheep. He protects them from Satan, their great enemy. And in the same way He protects them from all their enemies, and from every danger. A Christian mother who lived in the city of New York, in very humble circumstances, had only one child, a little boy about seven years old, whom she had taught to know and love the Saviour. One day, when this good mother was going quietly on with her work at home, she was startled by a loud knock at the door of her humble dwelling. On opening the door she received this alarming message: "Hurry away to the police station; your little boy has been run over." She was terribly frightened, and, hastening as fast as she could to the station house, on arriving there she found her little boy surrounded by strangers. The doctor had been sent for, but had not yet arrived. She was told that the wheels of a large carriage had gone over his foot, but, on examining it carefully, she was surprised to find no real injury about the foot. "Why, Willie darling, how was it possible for the wheel of the carriage to have gone over your foot, and not have crushed it?" The child looked tenderly up into his mother's face, and said — "Mamma, dear, I guess God must have put it in a hollow place." This shows what faith that little boy had in the protection which Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has promised to exercise over His sheep. He always has "a hollow place" to put them in when danger is near. 2. He provides for them. This is something which the sheep cannot do for themselves, and unless the shepherd does it for them they must perish. II. WHAT THE GOOD SHEPHERD EXPECTS HIS SHEEP TO DO FOR HIM? 1. To hear His voice. "My sheep hear my voice," He says. 2. To follow Him. The sheep set us an example here, not only in hearing the shepherd, but in obeying him. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.WEB: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. |
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