John 10
Sermon on the Good Shepherd: I Am the Door and the Shepherd
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
— John 10:11 (KJV)
Big Idea
Jesus claims for Himself both the only entrance to salvation and the only sufficient care of the soul — He is at once the Door and the Shepherd.
Context
Jesus speaks just after healing the man born blind (John 9). The Pharisees have just excommunicated the healed man — false shepherds throwing out a sheep. Jesus contrasts Himself with them.
Expository Outline (verse-by-verse)
1. I Am the Door (v. 7–10)
- •'By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.'
- •Two outcomes — life or theft, abundance or destruction.
- •Salvation is not a path but a Person — Christ is the entrance.
2. I Am the Good Shepherd (v. 11–15)
- •The hireling flees; the Shepherd lays down His life.
- •'I know my sheep, and am known of mine.'
- •His sacrifice is voluntary — 'I lay down my life… no man taketh it from me.'
3. Other Sheep, One Flock (v. 16)
- •Gentiles included — 'other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.'
- •'One fold, one shepherd' — the church's unity is christological.
- •The mission is global because the Shepherd is global.
Topical Outline (one big idea)
1. Marks of a Good Shepherd
- •Self-sacrificing love (v. 11).
- •Personal knowledge of His sheep (v. 14).
- •Power to give and take up His life (v. 18).
2. Marks of a True Sheep
- •They hear His voice (v. 27).
- •They follow Him (v. 27).
- •They are eternally secure (v. 28–29).
Cross-references
- Psalm 23 — The Old Testament's great shepherd psalm.
- Ezekiel 34 — God's promise to be the Shepherd over false shepherds.
- 1 Peter 5:4 — The Chief Shepherd's return.
- Hebrews 13:20 — That great Shepherd of the sheep.
Illustrations
- "A shepherd in Israel still sleeps across the doorway of the sheepfold at night — he is literally the door."
- "A hireling sees the wolf and runs; a shepherd sees the wolf and runs at it. The difference is whose the sheep are."
- "Sheep recognize their shepherd's voice. Even mixed flocks at a watering hole separate at the sound of their own shepherd's call."
Application questions
- Are you trying to enter the kingdom any other way than through the Door?
- Whose voice have you been listening to this week — the Shepherd's or the world's?
- Are you a hireling or a shepherd in the place where God has put you?
Closing prayer
Good Shepherd, we hear Your voice today. We come in through the Door. Keep us in Your hand from which no one can pluck us. And make us under-shepherds who lay down our lives for those You have entrusted to us. Amen.