Thursday's lesson. And today we're going to talk a little bit about chapter 10 of John: Jesus, the Good Shepherd. It's a shame that we can't go deeper.
You only have 13 weeks to talk about the entire book of John, but chapter 10 would deserve, I don't know, at least two or three lessons. This figure is so emblematic of Jesus’ demonstration as the Good Shepherd. A while ago I had the opportunity to go to the region of Israel and when I saw a shepherd from afar with the sheep on that side taking care of it, I immediately remembered that this was what Jesus was saying to those who were nearby.
Your side. And he said this exactly because whoever was on His side understood this idea of the shepherd, of the sheep. And many times, I imagine that Jesus was there talking to himself, to the crowd, to his audience and exactly what He was saying was happening next door.
Ah, because a man went out to sow and next door there was a man sowing. Because I am the Good Shepherd and people suddenly looked at a shepherd passing by with his sheep and he was carrying a lamb. I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to be on the side of sheep, but sheep are an interesting animal.
He has one, we have this feeling that he is extremely fragile. And so, they need guidance. So the shepherd in the life of the sheep is extremely important.
And Jesus, now He comes and He says: Hey, I am the Good Shepherd. But this figure of the shepherd is not simply a figure being used in John chapter 10. Come with me and see how interesting it is.
The Messiah is presented to us in the book of Psalms as the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep. In that in Psalm 22. Like the great shepherd who lives for the sheep, that in the verse in Psalm 23.
And like the Chief Shepherd who will return to his sheep, in Psalm chapter 24. So you have the perspective of Jesus as being the Good Pastor in Psalm 22, Psalm 23, and Psalm 24. Here's a tip for you to then read these three Psalms, which are super interesting and super well-known, especially Psalm 23.
And when I look and say: Ah, the Lord is my Good Shepherd and I will miss nothing and nothing. And there he brings all of David's experience talking about how God is his shepherd, being him, he was a shepherd. He knew how important it was to be a good shepherd to his sheep.
And here then in John chapter 10, verse 16, and before verse 16, verse 11, it says: I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Good Shepherd. How good shepherd?
The good Shepherd, He lays down His life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd, He could be like this: Dude, I have 100 sheep. If one is lost, I will think that I still have 99.
The Good Shepherd is the one who has 100 sheep, 99 of them are saved and if necessary, He gives His life for that one sheep that is lost. This is the Good Shepherd. It is at this level that we are talking about what it means to be a good pastor.
Ok, I still have verse 16 that I want to talk to you about, but we'll talk about that tomorrow, okay? It's worth it until tomorrow.