Michael Youssef - I Am the Good Shepherd

In our modern urban society, we can live our whole lives without seeing a sheep or a shepherd, except on television and probably for kids in a petting zoo. Today, that concept of a sheep and shepherd is so alien that we see it as something quaint, something of an ancient relic. So much so that now some pastors are telling their congregations, «Do not call me pastor; call me CEO,» because that’s more relevant to our time. Well, the sad part about this is that, in this process, we can lose some of the deepest and richest meanings of the term shepherd. Even though the concept is alien to our computer and internet-bound lives, in biblical times, everybody was familiar with sheep and shepherds; it was part of their daily experience. They saw it every day. It was part and parcel of their daily vocabulary.

And that is why when Jesus said, «I am the good or perfect shepherd,» he was telling us everything we needed to know about Jesus—everything we needed to understand as to why we should worship him, obey him, follow him, and submit to him. So we’re looking at the claims of Jesus; at least seven times, he said, «I am.» As we looked at the Greek words «ego ami,» since that is the name by which God introduced himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said, «Who do I tell them sent me?» He said, «Tell them I AM sent you, for I AM who I AM.»

The term «I am the good shepherd» tells us all we need to know about Jesus, right? Simply because «I am» is an all-exhaustive term. It tells us that Christ is timeless, that Christ is self-sufficient. That means that he needs nothing and no one; he needs no wisdom from anyone because he is all wisdom. He needs no power from anyone because he is all-powerful. He does not need anyone to worship him or serve him, for he is all-sufficient. He does not need accountability to anyone or is answerable to anyone, for he is timeless. He’s eternal; he’s unchangeable. He is the great «I AM.»

Think back then about the work of the shepherd, and if you don’t know, let me tell you about biblical times. Think of what a shepherd is. A shepherd’s work was considered to be the lowest of the low. It was considered to be the lousiest work there is; it is the hardest work because it is a 24/7 commitment. It is day and night work; it is summer and winter work because you have to do it in good weather and in bad weather. And if a family needed someone to take care of the sheep, guess who they gave that work to? The youngest boy in the family.

And that is how King David ended up being a shepherd; he was the youngest boy in Jesse’s household. You see, in the Middle East back then, and to a certain extent even now, the youngest boy is the runt. Ask me; I was the youngest boy in my family. Please think with me. The great God of the universe, the self-sufficient God, stoops down to do what? To do the work of a shepherd. He stoops down to take care of the flock. He first stooped down to find us; he stooped down to redeem us from the robber of our souls, Satan. He stooped down to lovingly lead us back to his fold. He stooped down to daily guide us and take care of all our needs. He stooped down to embrace us; he’s stooped down to heal us; he’s stooped down to protect us; he’s stooped down to defend us; he’s stooped down to lift us up. That’s the great shepherd.

But that’s not all. The word «good,» as in the good shepherd, is all-encompassing; it can be translated as the lovely shepherd, the beautiful shepherd, the noble shepherd, the genuine shepherd. For it reveals his inexplicable love for the sheep; it reveals his comprehensive love for the sheep; it reveals his total sufficiency for his sheep. But before I get carried away, I need to get to the heart of the message. Three things I need you to know with me about our perfect shepherd. First of all, I want to tell you that his character is all-attractive. Secondly, I want to tell you that his concern is all-inclusive. And thirdly, his call is unchangeable and unchanging for all of eternity. Can I get an amen? Amen!

Let’s look at these very quickly, and they are from the text. His character is all-attractive. This beautiful, this perfect, this lovely shepherd loves completely, without condition or reservation. Look at verse 11, John chapter 10, the Gospel of John, verse 11: «I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.» What is Jesus doing here? He is contrasting himself, as you look in the following verses, with three entities. Three entities. He contrasts himself with the thief, who only wants to steal the sheep.

He contrasts himself with the thief. A thief is very cunning and conniving; he would try to appear friendly. He tries to gain the trust of the sheep; he tries to look like he’s kind until he does his dirty deed. Think about the false teachers, the false preachers today, and the false prophets. Think about those who are building their own kingdom instead of the kingdom of Jesus. As we saw in the last message, the greatest contrast between the true teachers and preachers and the false teachers and preachers—one of the biggest contrasts—is what do they feed the sheep? Do they feed them the word of God, or do they feed them on pop psychology and pop culture?

Secondly, Jesus contrasts himself with the wolf. The wolf is a fearsome beast, and his strategy is this: Listen carefully, please; I plead with you. His strategy is that he comes in and scatters the sheep; he scatters them. Then he pursues one sheep at a time. Once he gets them away from each other, he goes for the one who is totally exhausted, the one who is helpless, the one who is the loneliest, and he devours that sheep first. Then he goes for the next one. Beloved, that is how Satan works. He gets us away from Christian fellowship; he gets us away from small home groups, which are so significant. They’re so important not just for fellowship—good as that may be—but for building each other up, protecting each other, and being accountable.

He gets us away from other believers; he gets us away from accountability; he gets us away from feeding upon the word of God until we become spiritually emaciated, and then he moves for the kill. Please listen to me; I know you don’t lose your salvation, but listen to me. The greatest joy and the greatest sorrow for a pastor who has ministered for over five decades—the greatest joy and the greatest sorrow—when you live as long as I have and pastor for as long as I have. The greatest joy is to look over the congregation and realize that I, as your pastor, and many of you have grown in Christ and grown in the word of God. It is the greatest joy because if I’m not growing, then I’m dead before I’m dying. But the greatest sorrow, by the same token, is seeing people who, years ago, were on fire for Christ but are now nowhere to be seen. It breaks the heart of a pastor.

Then Jesus contrasts himself with the hireling. «Hireling"—oh, we don’t use that word very often, I know. Can you say it with me? «Hireling.» It’s a powerful word. Again, we don’t use it much. A hireling is one who works with only one thing in mind, and that is his compensation—the one who works only for the paycheck. That’s a hireling. A hireling does not have the owner’s interest at heart; his heart is not on the sheep, but on his selfish ambitions. His life is not lived for the welfare of the sheep but for his own. Oh, that is why, as soon as the hireling sees danger, he cuts and runs to save his own skin. As soon as he gets a better field, a better opportunity, he jumps ship.

By contrast, the beautiful shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Our Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life for us; I’m going to tell you in a minute. Well, I’m trying to bring this to a modern-day context so you can understand it. Just think of an employee. If you are an employee, please understand I’m going to explain it. And then you look at your company and see the writing on the wall, and it’s about to hit some rough waters. The very natural thing, if you have a family, is to go and find another job. This is absolutely natural; there is no condemnation here, no judgment. It is absolutely natural, and it is the right thing to do. I am not focusing on that; that’s not my point.

But I want you to think of the owner of the company. He cannot do that. All of his life investments are in that company, so he hangs in there. He works day and night; he sacrifices, and he foregoes some necessities of life. When Jesus hung on that cross, he rendered the wolf ineffective as far as his sheep were concerned. Listen to me: Never fear the devil; never fear Satan. Run to Jesus instead. His character is all attractive.

Secondly, his concern is all-inclusive. We’re talking about the exclusivity of Jesus, but his love, his care is all-inclusive. Not only on the cross did he knock Satan’s teeth out, but even after the resurrection, his protection of the sheep from the big bad wolf is non-stop. His continuous arms give us his full armor so that we can stand in the battle. He is continuously fighting our battles for us; he is continuously defending us when we can’t defend ourselves; he is continuously protecting us when we can’t protect ourselves. He knows each of us not just by name—of course, he knows us by name; that is given. He knows us individually. But he knows each of our strengths and weaknesses. He knows each of our limitations; he knows what thoughts go through our heads before we think them. He knows what burdens us; he knows what causes us to stumble; he knows what blesses us and what encourages us.

And while he loves us all equally, he treats us differently, individually. What a great shepherd we have! But there’s even greater news than that. Can you imagine that? It is great news. None of his sheep are excluded from his love and care. Did you get that? None of his sheep are excluded from his love and care! None of his sheep can say, «Well, you know, I’m just not his favorite like so-and-so.» He has no favorites. Did you get that? He has no favorites. He loves us equally; he cares for us individually, and his concern for us is all-inclusive.

John 10:16, look at verse 16: «I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold; I must bring them in. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.» Jesus is talking about you, and you, and you, and me—the ones who will come to believe in him 2,000 years after the disciples. That’s who he’s talking about—those who will come to believe in him and place their faith exclusively in him. He is talking about the generations of believers that will come from the first century to the 21st century, who will come from every tongue, from every language, from every tribe. He’s talking about people who will come to him years or even centuries after he was standing there speaking to his disciples, who will come to believe in him and place their faith exclusively in him alone.

The early church was made up primarily of Jewish believers. The Gentiles came later to join the sheepfold when the Holy Spirit was permanently given on the day of Pentecost and began to direct the disciples. The Holy Spirit gave Peter the first vision to go and lead the very first Gentile, Cornelius, to come to Christ. After that, the floodgates opened for whosoever. Whosoever! Can you say that with me? Whosoever, to come into that sheepfold.

The exclusivity of Christ issued an inclusive message and invitation to whosoever. Why do you think we take the gospel from this place to 195 countries? Because we believe in that message of whosoever can come from every language, every tribe, and every nation—from the jungles of Indonesia to the heart of Africa, to Australia, to Europe, and South and North America. He will gather his sheep into one sheepfold, so that they will be worshiping him alone, the good shepherd, exclusively. People literally put their lives on the line when they come to Jesus.

And yet, here in America, in England, and in many other Western countries, pastors and Christian singers are turning their backs on the faith. And that convinces me, beloved—this is my personal opinion, take it or leave it—that the Lord is gathering his sheep; he’s gathering his elect and getting ready for his return. Our good shepherd’s characteristics are all attractive. Our shepherd’s concern is all-inclusive. Thirdly, our good shepherd’s call is unchangeable, unchanging.

If you look at John 10, go all the way down to verse 27. Jesus said, «My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they know me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand.» All these cacophonies of voices and sounds are vying for our attention; they really are. Oh, but listen to me! The shepherd’s voice is recognized by his real sheep.

I don’t know whether you’re wandering off from the shepherd and from his voice; I don’t know where you are, whether you have dug in your heels in disobedience. Maybe you left the sheepfold a long time ago, or just a few days ago. All I can tell you is this: When the authority of God’s word speaks, the shepherd is calling you back. The shepherd is calling you back.