![]() ![]() ![]() He did not stand back and wait to see if you would come to him. But when you believe, you will very quickly have an awareness that there was something going on beyond your believing. You come through the door when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, “I am the door.” Christ is the door, and “if anyone enters by the door, he will be saved” (10:9). The sheep who are called by name in John 10:3 are the same sheep who enter by the door in John 10:9. How does he bring us to himself and make us his sheep? “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (10:3). I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” (John 10:16) “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. Christ called you and brought you to himself. Christ’s sheep can say with Paul, “The Son of God…loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Jesus accomplished everything he had come to do and then he gave himself into death. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (10:18). “No one takes from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Never forget that Jesus chose to suffer and die for you. When he hung on that cross in agony, it was for you. And when he was condemned to death, it was for you. When he was scourged and beaten, it was for you. When he gave himself into the hands of the arresting party in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was for you. Here is something very wonderful: The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.Įverything Jesus endured in his passion was for you. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.…I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11, 15) The good shepherd knows what you need, and he is able to give you what you need at precisely the time that you need it. Because he knows you completely, he is able to lead you effectively. Here is the joy of following Jesus Christ. There is nothing you could ever tell Jesus about yourself that he does not already know completely. He knows what lifts you up, and he knows what gets you down. Christ knows your temperament, your moods. In the Psalms we read, “The Lord knows our frame…” (Psalm 103:14). Jesus Christ knows you completely! There may be times when you are a mystery to yourself, but you are never a mystery to Christ. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…” (10:14-15) You have been given by the Father to the Son. So, if you believe and follow Jesus Christ, you are one of Christ’s sheep. Christ’s sheep hear his voice, they believe his Word, and they follow him. So it follows that believing is a distinguishing mark of the sheep given to the Son by the Father. ![]() Jesus says earlier, “You do not believe because you are not among my sheep” (10:26). The identifying marks of Christ’s sheep are stated clearly in these verses: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (10:27). Now how would you know if you are one of Christ’s sheep? How would you know if you have been given by the Father to the Son? “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:29)Ĭhrist’s sheep are a gift that he receives from the Father. Christ has received you as a gift from the Father. In John 10, Christ spells out what it means for him to be our shepherd and for us to be his sheep in seven wonderful ways. The Lord is our shepherd we are his flock. The relationship of believers with Jesus Christ is that of sheep to a shepherd. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). ![]()
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