Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Introduction: Beautiful… what is beauty? In eyes of beholder… Ponder what is beautiful to you. Why I’ve used the word beautiful rather than good shepherd will come out later. But close your eyes right now and imagine the most beautiful thing you can. What is your response to beauty? Let’s read the passage

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep 10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 7

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 11

1

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 14

So why the word beautiful??? Where does the idea of the beautiful shepherd come from? The greek word that is translated Good in this passage is kalos… when I looked at the lexicon, fancy word for greek dictionary, one of the meanings of this word is beautiful… the reason why I want us to use this word is that this is a familiar passage The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd has often been presented. Like this picture… an image that does not accurately present even the color that we know Jesus would have been. and sometimes familiarity breeds a sense of ya… I know… and then we hurry on to the next thing. but do we? Do we know he is beautiful? When you see something beautiful what do you want to do? Gaze, come closer. Stand in awe. SO continue to think of beautiful as we press on. This text is really about intimacy, about a loving, caring, mutual relationship. Intro: Knowing I am the beautiful Shepherd… you KNOW my voice. Words of challenge and comfort…. A shepherd is to be followed. The challenge is will we follow? The comfort, the shepherd knows us. He wants to lead us and we really do know his voice… we CAN be led. Here’s where we’re going to go today: We’re going to look at Who he is…Who we are… and what we do And back again to who he is and what he does… 1. He is not a Thief “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. So who is the thief? We’re coming into the middle of a conversation here. … So we need to ask What had just happened in chapter 9? Jesus had healed a blind man, and the Pharisees had a serious problem with it because he healed on the Sabbath, So instead of celebrating with this man, celebrating the beauty of healing, they kicked him out, excluded him from the community. So Jesus is talking to the Pharisees when Jesus starts this passage describing that anyone who doesn’t enter by the gate is a thief and robber, intent on harming the sheep. He seems to be implying here that the Pharisees are more like this… a thief and robber has evil intent for the sheep. Not there to protect or provide, but to destroy.

2

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Jesus then describes how a shepherd acts… enters by the gate, the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 2. He is the gate Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 7

He repeats that he is the gate twice. Knowing what he is about to say about being the shepherd… this confused me. I got a bit stuck on this as I was studying and I wondered about this. Then I read in a commentary how when the shepherds would stay in the fields overnight with the sheep they would build a pen with rocks, See pic on powerpoint put thorns on top of the rocks for protection, then lay in the opening, thus he would wake if anyone tried to enter or leave… so he was the gate and the shepherd Jesus said “I am the gate…” whoever enters through me will be saved… come in and go out and find pasture. Come in for protection… go out for provision. Thief wants to steal but Jesus wants to give abundantly. This clarifies the difference between the thief. This is who he is. 3. He is the Beautiful Shepherd “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 11

and again in

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 14

Again, Jesus repeats the I am statement twice Again… the I remind you the greek word we translate good is kalos… and the first word that comes up for translation is beautiful. Also noble, admirable, ideal. It is noble, admirable, beautiful when one lays their life down for you. What a contrast to the hired hand who runs at the first sign of trouble and leaves the sheep alone with the wolf, the attacker. The shepherd is beautiful… the noble, admirable shepherd would never do that. Also, struck me of the confidence of the shepherd. The shepherd is confident.

3

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

It takes confidence to lead… he isn’t hovering.., or standing in the back and pushing… he leads. He believes the sheep know him so well, and are drawn to him, that they will follow… I am the beautiful shepherd… (Familiar word is good… competent… skilfull… behavioral …. ????) He is beautiful… makes me want to come near. Now to us. 3. We are the Sheep…. Picture on powerpoint Jesus didn’t go into detail here to explain what sheep are like. Sheep were very familiar to those listening to him. Not quite as familiar to us. He focuses on what his sheep do… but let’s talk about what sheep are like… Description of sheep: Wikipedia, not an academic source Timid, fearful, easily panicked… little or no means of self-defense… can only run, flight no fight… Look for easy places to rest… creatures of habit, get into ruts. Honestly, as I read through this… I have to tell you I wasn’t really happy to be called a sheep. How about a gazelle? Or a horse? Or a lion? But no, Jesus chose sheep. I’d like to think I’m not like this, but as I think about it, I admit, I have sheep-like tendencies. Don’t we all? a. As his sheep… so we will listen. Verse 3. the sheep listen to his voice….

The sheep listen to his voice… HOW??? Because they know him? What we’re talking about here is prayer. Not prayer to get something. Not words that you’ve memorized that you recite without thought, but a conversation with someone who protects you and provides for you, the beautiful being. How do we recognize the shepherds voice? How do we recognize anyone’s voice? We listen to them. . I remember back to when Matt and I pre-dating… How did I know Matt’s voice…I saved voicemails he left. I would listen to love. I absolutely loved the sound of his voice. I would listen intently every time he spoke. I would recognize the tone of his voice, I came to know what he loved to talk about. This is like us with the beautiful shepherd. From teaching on Hearing God by Dallas Willard: Tone: a weight to it. A sense of “I would never have thought of that”

4

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Spirit: like the Holy Spirit’s fruit, loving, peaceful, gentle. God is not a bully. Content: We need to know what God likes to talk about. Best way to know if through scripture. What the Shepherd says to you will agree with what the Bible affirms. Counter-Cultural Quiet time for Kids? Describe it Why? Because city is loud, and kids are so busy… If what we hear draws us closer to God, makes us feel loved, and fills us with love for others…and it agrees with the Bible its’ him. And if we’re not sure, or we think we’re not sure, we can check with other followers of Jesus to see if they think it sounds like him. What makes it hard to hear? We’re distracted… and oh there are SO many distractions… and so many reasons to want to be distracted. As I was researching this week I learned that in ancient Greek there was no word for boredom. But we get so easily bored. We are afraid of silence… so we go to our gadgets.

Great  quote  from  Blaise  Pascal,  “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Blaise Pascal, Pensées

We’re Confused… other voices…. Which one is his? Other voices besides his: -ours - others: friends, old tapes from mom/dad, our boss… There can be voices of accusation, of condemnation, of temptation. But we can tell the difference. As I explain to the kids when we do our quiet time, If what we hear makes us afraid of God, makes us feel bad about ourselves, if it fills us with fear or hate of others, its’ not the beautiful Shepherd. Paul gives us instruction on what to do with those kind of thoughts… “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. A third reason it’s hard to hear: We like to be in control… what if I don’t like what he’s saying and how he’s saying it How he speaks????

5

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Like in Bible Times, the way God would speak was often so dramatic… like King Balshazzar in Daniel’s day, writing on a wall. Or the dreams of Joseph. Yes, I do believe God still speaks in dramatic ways. But for the daily conversation between us and our beautiful shepherd often it’s more like Ezekiel’s encounter •

1 Kings 19:11-12 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

•

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Still small voice…. Most common. Oh yes, there are other ways…. Dreams, visions, etc… but Gentle… not a bully Important… you may make mistakes as you’re learning to hear. The consequences for not hearing accurately in the Old Testament were harsh… but the beautiful shepherd… can redeem even our mistakes when we’re trying to hear him. 4 b. He calls so we will… follow v. 3 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Comment: Every time I read this I embrace this as a promise. This is a promise for us… and for those who we love who are sheep. We will follow because we KNOW his voice. They will NEVER follow a stranger; in fact will run… This is my prayer for our kids. This is my prayer for each of us. Where? a. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. In and out… in for protection, out for provision…. There’s freedom… echo of Psalm 23

6

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Comment: Sometimes where he leads may not seem safe… trust him anyway… may not look abundant… still follow Psalm 23… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. The beautiful shepherd is with us. Why? a.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 10

Such Promise!!! Why would we follow anyone else? With him we will have all we need. Last week, and often here at New City, we talk about the idols we try to go to instead of to Jesus. We try to protect ourselves, we try to provide for ourselves, instead of receiving everything the Jesus has for us. 4. He is the Lamb Twice in this passage Jesus says he will lay down his life for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 11

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 14

willing to lay down his life for his sheep. The really good news… “I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the father – I lay down my life for the sheep.” What is more noble, admirable or Beautiful than this? He leads us to the cross… and invites us to die with him… crucified with Christ… so that I may live This is the gospel… we like sheep have gone astray, but he chose to go to the cross, to have victory over the thief and robber. To have victory of death and destruction. So we might have life. 7

Knowing I AM: Gospel of John “The beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW my voice” John 6:60-71 Kevin Haah

July 20, 2014

Lose my life that I might have it… eternal life… abundant life…. Final PowerPoint: The Beautiful Shepherd… You KNOW his voice. I believe this promise=filled passage will Leave us today with confidence… are you a sheep? You’re here aren’t you? Most of you could choose to be somewhere else this morning… but you’re here. There is some hunger in you to know him. If so, then you DO know his voice… dig through the boredom, sit still and listen… it will be noisy for a while, we will have to fight the boredom… the noise of our distractions… but the noise will dissipate… and he is there… Why? Because of his Beauty… not just because we want to be led. Not just because we have a problem we need him to solve… but because he is beautiful. We love to hear his voice. But also, because of because of his beautiful promise. Would like us to practice listening… and remember if you hear things that make you feel bac about God, yourself or others, its not him… take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ… then keep listening… If you hear words of encouragement for others? Remember and share them later. You may sense God prompting you to speak words of compassion to someone. We’re going to be silent for a while. It will be awkward. You’ll feel restless. I’ll feel restless. Let’s press in through the restlessness and believe he is speaking now.

8