The Good Shepherd

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

Good morning. We are excited to be able to worship together this morning, and we are thankful to be able to worship together this morning. So we're going to have a word of prayer. We're going to read some Scripture together and then spend some time in song. If you need an order or would like an order of service, there's a bullet in the back. Inside is a copy of kind of our sermon outline as well as some announcements on the back. And additionally, if you'd like to partake in the Lord's Supper, there are communion elements there on the table right as you come in. Let's go ahead and pray together. And then we're going to read from the 28th Psalm. Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus and grace, and I thank you for hope. And I thank you that we can gather this morning for worship. And I ask that you would bless our time together and bless us as we share a meal together and just help us to be encouraging to one another and be encouraged by your word.

So be with us as we read Scripture and as we sing and as we pray and as we open your word and as we gather together to remember Jesus. Just help us in all of these things. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So this morning we've been going through, in the Gospel of John, Jesus' statements where he will say, declaratively, who he is. He says, "I am the bread. If I am the light of the world, I am the door of the sheep." And then just a few verses later he will say, "I am the good shepherd." And so we are considering that together this morning. So as we do, let's stand and we're going to read from the 28th Psalm together. It starts like this, if you'd read with me. "Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy, strength, and my shield."

That's my bad for turning on the TV so I can see the words. Just take it off air and put it back on air again, Chrissy. And then you can just jump down to the Scripture reading. Hey, I can read it now up here, too. All right, let's start from the beginning. We've had a little practice, so we should start strong. "Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts, and I am helped. My heart exalts, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people. He is the saving refuge of the anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them forever." This is the word of the Lord.

"Who breaks the power of sin and darkness? Whose love is mighty and so much stronger? The King of glory, the King above all kings." "Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder? Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder? The King of glory, the King above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That You would take my place. That You would bear my cross. You would lay down Your life. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that You've done for me. Who brings our chaos back into place? Back into order. Who makes the orphan a son and daughter? The King of glory. The King above all kings. Who rules the nations with truth and justice? Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance. The King of glory. The King above all kings.

This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy, worthy, worthy. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me.

Let's pray. Standing on this mountain top, looking just half-flying, knowing that for every step, you were with us. Kneeling on this battleground, seeing just how much you've done, knowing that for every step, you were with us. Hearing every victory is your power in us. Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say. Yes, our hearts can say. Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful, God, you are faithful. Kneeling on this battleground. Seeing just how much you've done. Knowing every victory. It's your power in us. Scars and struggles on the way. But with joy our hearts can say. Yes, our hearts can say. Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful, God. You are faithful. You are faithful, God. You are faithful.

Skies and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can save. Never once did we ever walk alone. Carried by your grace, held within your perfect peace. Never once, knowing never walk alone. Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful, God, you are faithful. Every step, we are breathing in your grace. Evermore will be breathing in your place. You are faithful, God, you are faithful. Amen. Amen. Amen. We're going to sing, "All I have is Christ."

I once was lost in the darkest night, yet thought I knew the way. The sin that promised joy in life had led me to the grave. I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will. And if you had not loved me first, I would refuse you still. But as I ran my help out the race, indifferent to the cross, you looked upon my help the same, and led me to the cross. And I beheld God's love displayed. You suffered in my place. You bore the wrath reserved for me. Now all I know is grace. Hallelujah. All I help is Christ. Hallelujah. Jesus is my life. Hallelujah. All I have is Christ. Hallelujah. Jesus is my life. Hallelujah. Jesus is my life. Jesus is my life. Now Lord, I will be yours alone. In this all I might see

the strength to follow. Your commands could never come from me. Oh Father, use my ransom light in any way. Choose. Oh Father, use my ransom light in any way. Choose. Oh Father, use my ransom light in any way. Choose. And let my song forever be. My only ghost is you. Hallelujah. All I am is Christ. Hallelujah. All I help is Christ. Hallelujah. Jesus saves my life. Hallelujah. All I help is Christ. Hallelujah. Jesus saves my life. Jesus saves my life. Jesus saves my life. In the 23rd Psalm, we find these words, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul, and he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." And in the 23rd Psalm, we have this depiction that is truly wonderful, and since its writing has been a deep and abiding encouragement to God's people as it testifies to God's faithfulness as our good shepherd. And because He is our good shepherd, we lack nothing. We have all that we need. We're given green pastures and still waters. He brings us into His fold, and it is His business and His work to protect us and to guide us. And notice, as David writes, that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don't have any

need to fear, because our shepherd is there with us. We're never alone, even when it gets dark, even when it gets dangerous. His presence is with us always. And then the picture shifts from green pastures and still waters, to the valley of the shadow of death, to the midst of a battle, surrounded and overwhelmed by enemies. He has prepared a table for us, and he welcomes us to his banquet hall, anoints us with oil, and overflows our cup. And I want you to notice that this table was prepared ahead of time. This isn't one of those situations where we're hurriedly throwing together a meal, or somebody shows up, and we're trying to figure out something to cook for our unexpected guests. This table is prepared ahead of time by our Lord. Notice also that it's not a meal on the go. A hamburger wrapped in aluminum foil or chicken nuggets in the back of our car.

The enemy is pounding at the door. The world is still spinning, and God, unhurried, beckons to us to sit down in perfect peace and to take refuge in him. And this table, ultimately, we see in the New Testament, is our Lord offering himself up for us. The Good Shepherd, as we'll talk about in a few minutes, has laid down his life for his sheep. And so, if you are one of God's needy sheep, we come to this table. If we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow him, when we come to this table, the valley sometimes is dark, sometimes there's enemies at the door, but here he restores us and promises that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Here's the reality. If Christ is your Good Shepherd, it doesn't matter what trials or what persecutions.

Surely, goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life. Let's pray. Father, as we come to this table, bring us to Jesus. Assure us that you are the one who provides for us in the green grass and the still waters, and that you are with us in the dark valleys, and that you prepare a table of redemption and restoration and peace in the midst of the battle. I ask this morning that as we partake, you restore our souls. You give us strength, that you remind us of your love. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would take this bread with me together as we remember Jesus. And in the same way, if you would take the cup with me as we remember Jesus, our Good Shepherd. And we remember the good news of the Gospel. And we seek to proclaim it not just here, but in our lives and throughout the world.

In just a few minutes, we're going to be in John. And before we get there, we're talking about Jesus being our Good Shepherd. It's a picture that Jesus uses frequently in his ministry. So we're going to start by learning about how Jesus pursues the lost sheep. Watch this video.

Jesus taught everyone about God's love. All kinds of people would come to hear Jesus speak, including tax collectors and people who made bad choices. The Pharisees and Jewish leaders mad. They didn't think that Jesus should be around these kind of people. Jesus told them this story. If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the 99 others and go to search for the one that is lost? And when he's found it, he will joyfully carry it home. When he gets home, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, "Hello, everyone. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here with me, because I have found my lost son. There is more joy in heaven over my lost sinner who returns home than over 99 others who haven't strayed away."

All right, let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the hope that you give us. We thank you for the good news about your Son, who has come to be near us, who nourishes us, who is the light of the world, who is the one who stands between us and danger. Help us this morning as we look to your good shepherd. May you strengthen and encourage our hearts. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. So this morning, if you haven't guessed, we are talking about shepherds. So each week, I particularly, sometimes all of us, I generally pass by two flocks of sheep, and I normally wouldn't know this, but when you have children, one of the things that happens is you begin to notice any kind of road siding animals, whether it's having to yell cows every time you see a cow, or yell sheepies every time you see a sheepie. And so we have found that in our travels in a general week, we end up seeing about two flocks of sheep. And it's now the time of the year, and it has been for the last couple weeks, where all the little baby sheeps are being born, all the little

little lambs, and they're bouncing around, and they're filled with joy, and it's enough to warm your cold heart after the long winter, and it brings joy to our life. Most of these sheep are cared for in a big field with a big fence. They kind of do their own thing. Sometimes there is a livestock dog, but more often than not, they just kind of hang out in a field. They're fed, and they're watered, and they're taking care of it. Most of us are unfamiliar with the idea of a shepherd, not the animal. Like, we may be pretty familiar with sheep, but we're not very familiar with ancient shepherds. In Jesus's day, it would have been a pretty familiar picture, both physically, as you look around, and there's a shepherd, and there's a shepherd, and there's a shepherd, but it would also have been a familiar picture spiritually.

There are a whole lot of shepherds in the Bible. Just in the book of Genesis, you have Abel, you have Abraham, you have Isaac, you have Jacob, you have Jacob's wife, Rachel, she was a shepherdess. Their sons, Joseph will say, there are shepherds, and that's just the first book of the Bible. Famous shepherds, and these are just a few. Moses, David, and Amos, the prophet, were all shepherds. Being a shepherd wasn't just about taking care of real-life fuzzy sheep. Those who led God's people, both politically and spiritually, were considered shepherds. When David is crowned king, he calls back to the instructions that God gave to Saul, where he says, "Shepherd my people." Instead of David in the 78th Psalm, that he shepherded God's people with an upright heart. The religious leaders, the priests, and the Levites were referred to as shepherds of God's people, both physically, you have shepherds with sheep, and you have spiritual and political shepherds. And so as we think about what is a shepherd, it's more than just somebody who has sheep, right? Not everybody who owns sheep is a shepherd. Not everybody who works with sheep is a shepherd.

And is a shepherd. And so we want to, as we begin to look at this remarkable thing Jesus says, where he says, "I am the good shepherd," we need to know what a shepherd is. In Ezekiel chapter 34, God is going to speak to the shepherds of Israel. And listen to what he says, "The word of the Lord came to me," that's Ezekiel, "Son of Man, sigh against the shepherds of Israel, prophesied sigh, and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, ah, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding yourselves, should not the shepherds feed the sheep?" And God comes to the religious leaders of Israel and say, "You are the spiritual shepherds of the people, and you've been doing it wrong." The first 10 verses of Ezekiel, the 34th chapter, are all about how they have been bad at shepherding.

And so how does this condemnation of Israel's shepherds connect us to Jesus' statement in John the 10th chapter, where he says, "I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." What we find is John the 10th chapter is part of this very big conflict that goes back to the beginning of John chapter 7 and the Feast of Tabernacles or booths in Jerusalem. And there's controversy, and it grows and grows around Jesus. And in John chapter 8, Jesus says, "They light up the temple with the light that symbolizes God's presence and his leading and his protection and his hope for his people." Jesus says, "That's me. I'm the light of the world." And as the festival ends, he walks out into John chapter 9, and there is a man who is born blind.

Jesus heals him. And immediately following this healing, there is this inquisition. And religious people like to have meetings, right? That's how you know you're really religious, is you go to a bunch of meetings, and you have a bunch of meetings, and so they start having meetings about this man who was born blind. And this guy literally gets in trouble for being healed by Jesus, right? Imagine this. Like, we're a church who likes to pray. Imagine we have somebody here who is struggling with their eyes, and so on alternating Sundays, Dave gets up and prays, and the next Sunday, Russell prays, and we all pray during the week, and we pray that God would restore the sight to this person who sits in and amongst our church, and then God does it, and they can see. So we have a church meeting, and then we kick them out of church, right? That's a weird reaction to God healing somebody of blindness.

That's exactly what happens to this guy. He's healed, and then they begin to have meetings. They call him in. They call his parents in. They call him in again, and then they kick him out of church, and it wasn't just that he can't go to the synagogue anymore, but it's now broken all of those relationships. It's broken his community. It's broken his support. It's broken those who are near to him, and Jesus does. He comes to this man at the end of John chapter 9 and goes, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And this guy goes, "Hey, I was blind. I would like to, but I don't know who he is." And Jesus simply says, "Hey, he's standing right in front of you." And this man begins to worship. And using this moment of this man who has been hurt so badly by those religious leaders who claimed

to be shepherds of Israel, Jesus begins to teach. And this statement where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd," it's set against the background of the shepherds and the shepherding by the religious leaders of Israel. In fact, most commentators say that this statement, "I am the good shepherd," and Jesus is teaching both before and after it, is set against God's word, against the shepherds of Israel in Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel chapter 34 is not just context, but it's Jesus coming and saying, "I am the good shepherd who does the opposite of what these shepherds do." And Ezekiel 34, even though it's written in the negative, is a list of what a good shepherd should do. And we understand this. Imagine you go out to lunch, not today, because we have lunch downstairs. But you go out to lunch, and you sit down, and an employee comes in, they've just opened, and the boss goes, "Who closed last night?" And this guy raises his hand. And the boss just begins to berate him, going, "The doors weren't locked, the lights weren't off, the trash wasn't taken out, and there's raccoons in the kitchen." Now you would be able to assume, from hearing this, that part of closing this restaurant means what? Right? You turn off the lights, you take out the

trash, and you lock the doors so the raccoons don't get in. That's how we're going to approach the context of the good shepherd in Ezekiel chapter 34. As God says to these shepherds, "You didn't feed my sheep. You didn't heal the wounded. You didn't go and find the lost." We're seeing that a good shepherd should feed God's sheep. That a good shepherd should care for God's sheep. That a good shepherd should correct God's sheep. That a good shepherd should God's sheep. And then here comes Jesus. And he goes, "That good shepherd is me." It's me. That's what he's telling us in this text. And as we come to this, I want you to understand that shepherding is not a passive text. When Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd," and we have this picture of him watching over the sheep, this does not mean he sits at a desk with a bunch of security cameras and

watches the sheep. Think of it more like a bunch of wild children at recess. And you're trying to make sure they're okay, and you're corralling, and you're correcting, and you're helping. That Jesus, the good shepherd, is not passive, but he is active. Jesus, the good shepherd, and shepherds in general feed their sheep. If you want to follow along in Ezekiel or in verses 2 and 3, I'm not going to read them. We're just going to reference them. Feeding sheep is not just about finding grass, right? There has to be enough grass. It has to be the right kind of grass. You can't have things growing that would be poisonous or cause problems. The grass needs to be located safely, right? You're not going to be grazing sheep in the median of Interstate 81, right? That's going to be pretty disastrous for your flock pretty quickly. One of the primary responsibilities of the shepherd is to make

sure that the sheep are fed. And in fact, if you're a shepherd who doesn't feed his sheep, right, you're not going to have a flock for very long. In Mark, the sixth chapter, Jesus is in the wilderness and this large crowd has followed him and they followed him very enthusiastically. As he goes into the wilderness, they're running from town to town going, "Hey, come see Jesus." And so before you know it, this massive crowd has found Jesus in the middle of the wilderness. And Jesus coming across the lake looks out at this crowd and says when he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them, not just an intellectual compassion, but in his guts. He felt this in the core of his being. And why did he feel compassion? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

And so Jesus looks out over this flock and he teaches them. And he feeds them spiritually. And then what happens next is because they're in the middle of the wilderness and nobody has any food, he feeds them physically. That Jesus, when he looks at this crowd of people gathered in the wilderness, he says, "It is my job as their shepherd to feed them." Both physically and spiritually. Jesus, our good shepherd, feeds us. Right? This is not just about sheep or shepherds in the first century. This is about us, and we are hungry. And there's a problem with being hungry, right? The food that you have isn't always the food that you want, right? All of us have experienced that. We sit down and we eat and we go, I'm going to eat this because I'm hungry, but it's not what I really want. And I've shared this before and I'll share it again because my absolute favorite cheeseburger on the planet, some of you know this, Slanesville General Store, Slanesville, West Virginia. They don't use, see, we can get some amens about that. Like, they don't use like some kind of weird brioche bun, no pretzel bun, no burger between waffles or cheesecakes, right? It's just seasoned burger, good old American cheese, not some weird cheeseburger,

and they just put it together. And my favorite one is that doesn't happen very often, but they make a couple extra and they throw them on the warmer and they go so fast. But when you get them out of the foil and it's all melty, it's so delicious. And then sometimes I'm like, man, I'm not insulin, so I'd really love a cheeseburger. So I get a cheap cheeseburger. I'm like, man, this isn't what I wanted. It doesn't taste good. They used waffles instead of bread. There's some kind of weird chow chow relish on top of it. I just want a cheeseburger. So there's a problem, right? We come hungry and then the things we go to eat, they don't satisfy us. But there's more than that. Not just the disappointment is that fullness from the food we eat doesn't last, right? Monday after we get done working and riding horses, we stop and we grab a cheeseburger, come home. Guess what? By six o'clock and it's

dinner times, right? Ready for another one, but it's 40 miles away. You see, the food we eat doesn't always satisfy our desires, and it doesn't always keep us full. And so here we are, not physically, but spiritually in the wilderness, and we're hungry. And when God has created us, he has put within us a desire for himself, and that is the thing that truly nourishes us. He nourishes and satisfies us, and there are no substitutes. There's nothing that comes close. And so here we are, you and I, and we're trying to feed our appetites with achievement, or relationships, or with pleasure, or entertainment, or having some kind of mission in our life. And most of those things, don't get me wrong, they're God-given gifts, and they are good gifts when they are in their proper place.

But when we seek that as our nourishment, we find out that it never measures up to what we have in Christ. And that fleeting moment of achievement or joy disappears like dust into the wind. You see, Jesus, he has just got done saying in chapter 8, the bread of life, he's the one who truly satisfies our soul. Jesus is the good shepherd who feeds his sheep. And secondly, Jesus is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep. Ezekiel 34 tells us what it means to care for the sheep. It means strengthening the weak. And the picture here is fearful and struggling sheep that can't stand on their own two feet. And the good shepherd comes and he wraps them up and he gives them his strength. He encourages them. But then he talks about how caring for the sheep means healing the sick. And with these sheep, it could be their wounds that need mending. Or in some cases it talks about needing peace.

When everything is stormy inside. The kids mentioned earlier during prayer time, we got a couple of dwarf hamsters. And we got those little guys yesterday and we had all the stuff we already needed because of the rabbit. And they're in their little boxes coming home. Do you know how terrified those little tiny hamsters were? They're just in their little box shaking. And sometimes that's how life feels for us, right? That everything is shaking around us. Everything is changing so rapidly. I don't remember it being like this when I was younger. And this world is so different. And I don't understand it. And I'm scared. And there's opposition. And here we are shaking. Healing the sick doesn't simply mean coming and fixing the problems of the sheep, but it means bringing peace to their lives. Then it talks about binding up the injured. Literally means taking those who are broken into pieces and putting them back together.

You see, when we talk about caring for the sheep, we mean strengthening the weak, healing the sick, and binding up the injured. Listen to what Jesus says, our good shepherd. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, quoting from the book of Isaiah, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And that's exactly what Jesus does. Not just physically, although He does that too. The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. But Jesus comes and takes those who are weak and gives them strength. He takes those whose lives are storm-tossed ocean, and He brings calm.

He binds up those who have been broken into pieces and brings them into the kingdom. And once again, this isn't really about sheep. It's about a good shepherd who comes and picks us up. When we've collapsed, when we've fallen over, when we're sick, when we're broken into pieces, and all of us need all of it. But more specifically, we need all of Him in our fears and in our weakness, in our sinful sickness, in our stormy hearts, in our brokenness, where it feels like life has been smashed into a thousand pieces. There is a good shepherd who comes and he cares for his sheep. And the care of the sheep is not just meeting their needs, but it's also caring and caring for their hurts. Part of dealing with sheep is correcting. Ezekiel 34 says it in two ways: bringing back the strays and looking for the lost.

And what you're going to find is some sheep are going to try to wander off, and the shepherd's got to grab them and direct them into the flock. And then there are some sheep who will successfully wander off, and the shepherd goes and finds them. And Jesus is saying, "This isn't just about those fuzzy sheep. It's about you and it's about me." Because we tend to wander. Sometimes we say it, right? Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart and seal it. Seal it for your courts above. And the good shepherd, when we tend to wander, brings us back. And when we're lost, as we heard about Eve earlier, he comes and finds us. And unlike the shepherds in Ezekiel 34, Jesus is not forceful and harsh.

Jesus is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep. He is the good shepherd who feeds his sheep. And he is the good shepherd who protects his sheep. I want you to understand something about shepherds. We kind of see this guy. And he's kind of easy going, and he's got a bunch of fluffy, fuzzy sheep. It seems like he might be a pretty easy guy in a fight. Maybe that's our picture of shepherds. That's not the biblical picture of shepherds. Listen to David talking to Saul in 1 Samuel 17. And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine, and to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." He goes, "David, you're not strong enough." David goes, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can fight anybody."

You know why? Because I'm a shepherd. And David said this, "Your servant used to keep sheep, be a shepherd, for his father. And when it came a lion or a bear, and it took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth." What David is saying, instead of running from bears and lions like we might do, he chases them down, hits them with a stick until it drops the sheep, picks up the sheep, and takes it back to the flock. That's not an easy-going, weak-handed man. But look what he says next. "And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him." And so here is the picture of David the shepherd. A sheep gets taken by a lion or a bear, he chases it down, hits it with a stick until he can save the sheep.

And if that lion or bear makes the mistake of getting back up, he grabs it by the beard and hits it until he is dead, until that lion or that bear dies. Don't mistake shepherds for some sort of fluffy guy. Yes, they care. Yes, they love. Yes, they bind up the sheep. But they're not afraid to punch somebody in the face. That's literally what David says, "I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him." For example, we read from the 23rd Psalm, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," not a nice valley, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me." So part of the comfort in the valley of death is that the shepherd is with us, but listen more, "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." When you think of that rod, don't just think of a stick.

There would be a stick with a knot on the end, and some shepherds would drive nails or spikes into that rod. Think of it more like a guy carrying a mace, right? A stick in one hand and a mace in the other. The reason the psalmist doesn't fear any evil is because the shepherd's with him, and the shepherd is armed to the teeth. And the shepherd defends his sheep by defending them from their enemies. But there's another way the shepherd defends. He defends by leading the sheep. Probably most of us, especially the guys, have done something dumb. And if you're doing something dumb, especially in the company of your friends, generally you want them to go first, right? You're standing on the edge of a cliff looking down into the lake, and you're going, "Hey, we should jump off this cliff into the lake. You go first."

Right? And we try to get somebody else. Maybe you were the guy who went first, right? Make sure if they survive, then you can do it after them. Right? The one who goes first faces the greatest danger. Do you know what it means when the shepherd leads his sheep? It means that any danger that those sheep encounter, the shepherd has encountered first. Understand that about your good shepherd, Jesus who leads you. Your sorrow, Jesus has encountered it first. Your struggle, your hurt, your brokenness, Jesus has been there first. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Our shepherd goes before us. He doesn't just defend us, but he also leads us. Meaning that anything you encounter, Jesus has encountered first. Jesus protects us by standing in front of us, between the sheep and their sin, between the sheep and judgment, between the sheep and death.

And he walks in front of the sheep. Jesus walks in front of you. He walks in front of you, up that hill, to the cross, and he dies in your place. And on that cross, the good shepherd becomes the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And understand that the blow that the sheep deserve falls upon their shepherd. It's at the cross, Jesus takes the price of sin that the sheep deserved. Three days later, in their place, defeats death, destroying our enemy. Our Good Shepherd then leads us from the darkness of sin into the light of joy and peace. And the question for us is how do we respond to this truth? When Jesus looks at us and He says, "I am the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,"

how do we respond to these words? For the Christian, it's a restoring of joy to our salvation that we are not alone, but we have a shepherd who feeds us, who cares for us, who protects us, who goes before us, who has saved us. He has taken our place, and He will bring us home, and we respond with worship, and joy, and a desire to follow that shepherd throughout all eternity. But some of you may hear this, and hear that Jesus is a good shepherd, and you think, "You know what? It's fine. I'm all good." I don't need a shepherd. I can find my food myself. I can take care of myself. I can protect myself. I can tell myself where I need to go. And you simply respond by saying, "I'm good." And here's the reality: you are until you aren't anymore.

There will be a day where everything that you have trusted in and hoped in will fail. And all of a sudden, when that emptiness comes, I want you to know that in that moment, there is no one who can feed the hunger of your soul like Jesus. There is no one who can give direction to your life like Jesus. There is no one who can bind up your wounds like Jesus. Follow Him. And maybe some of you this morning hear about this good shepherd who cares and who feeds and who leads and who protects. And you say, "That sounds good, but I'm the sheep that nobody would ever want." I want you to understand the context of this text. There's a man who's born blind. It's sad, but it's not the end of the world.

But in the community that he lives in, this man we learn in John chapter 9, his entire life is a debate about is this man blind because he sinned or because his parents sinned? And what they're doing is they have turned this man's hurt into a judgment about his character. Is he blind because he's terrible or is he blind because his parents are terrible? It's so bad that they can't even accept that Jesus would do one good thing for this man by healing. In the eyes of his community, he is worthless, and they cast him to the side. Do you know what Jesus does? In John 9:35 it says this, "Jesus went and found him." Understand this morning that if you look at your life and you say, "I'm the sheep that nobody would want."

John 9:35 says Jesus went and found him. Jesus went and will find you. And at the cross, he has taken all of those things that you are running from. Your sin and your shame and your brokenness and your sadness. And he has paid the price. This thought that Jesus would never want you, the good shepherd, he has come to find you. I want you to understand this morning, it is the good shepherd who leads us, as we follow him, into joy and peace. He's the one who leads us out of pride, saying, "I'm good enough." But he's also the one who leads you out of despair when you say, "I am not good enough." That this good shepherd has come, and he's come to feed you, and to satisfy your soul, and to bind up your wounds, and to care for you, and to correct you.

When you're running into danger, he pulls you back. He comes and he finds you, and ultimately, he walks up the hill that you and I should have walked up. And he dies the death that we should have died, in our place for our sins. The good shepherd becoming the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, saves us from our brokenness. Let's pray. Father in heaven, this morning, wherever we are, may be in worship over your son coming to save us. May be in pride saying, "I don't need it." May be in despair saying, "I don't deserve it." Help us to see that Jesus has come to save us all. Help us to run to him, to come near to him. Help us to follow this good shepherd. Through the joys and the sorrows, through the brokenness and the pain, through the victories,

bring us safely home. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and we're going to sing by the grace of God and understand that this shepherd who leads us, it is all of grace. And if we can pray for you, or we can answer some questions, we can tell you more about Jesus, we'd love to do that, whether now or later. I just want you to see the good shepherd who comes in grace. I put my trust in Jesus the moment I awake. And when my soul is lost at sea, He will be my rock.

My vision be in Christ alone. This grace is all we've got. His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. So I, upon His shoulders, safely brought this far. Helper of my helpless soul, the King of broken hearts. His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. When breath grows still and night draws near, I will not be afraid. I know the plans He has for me. Don't finish at my grave. His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. Oh, His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God.

So thankful that you are here with us this morning. Next Sunday we will be here talking about Jesus, being the resurrection and the life. Also, this Wednesday we are gathering for Bible study, Wednesday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. We're talking about what happens after the resurrection, that period of time between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension, talking about the certainty and the confirmation, the mission that Jesus gives His church. Also, next Sunday is our monthly children's church, Sunday, May 5th. You'll notice that it's the first Sunday instead of the second Sunday. That's because Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12th. And so that's what's happening there. Also, men's breakfast, the third Saturday of the month. I believe that's the 18th this month. Chrissy, is there one more slide or not? Do I have one more announcement or is that the end? Oh yeah, there's lunch. I don't know how I forgot that. I did a bunch

of cooking. So if you don't have lunch plans, come eat lunch with us. It's downstairs, hopefully mostly ready. Not like the last time I cooked a brisket and it was 10:30 and me going, "Hey guys, the brisket's ready." But there is chicken. There's some pulled pork. There's a lot of good food. Come downstairs and have some lunch and fellowship with us. I'm going to pray. We'll sing the doxology. I'll read a passage or I'll pray, read a passage of Scripture. We'll sing the doxology. Be dismissed. Father in heaven, I thank you so much for Jesus and for grace. I thank you for how you care for us and how you watch over us. Thank you that you are our good shepherd. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm going to read from Hebrews, the 13th chapter. This benediction to this letter encouraging strength and commitment

to Jesus in the midst of struggle. It says, "Now may the God of peace, who has brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, may he equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. One more quick announcement. If I do not have your email address, you'll know that because you don't get emails from the church. If I don't have your email address, I need that, so if you could give that to me later, if I don't have that. Thank you very much. Let's go eat. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.