John 10:19-21
But Who Is He?
In studying this chapter, I have been considering the whole book of
John and I have a thought. My thought is that the Book of John
focuses on answering three questions.
1. Who is Jesus? (the Savior, Messiah, Son of God)
a. We have been given a lot of hints through this book.
b. the Word, God, Creator, Life, Light, Living Water, Bread
of Life, Door, Good Shepherd
2. What did He come to do? (Bring salvation, peace, power)
3. How will He do that? (He will die on the cross.)
It is because these basic questions are the main topic of this book
that the Gospel of John is so widely used to win the lost and to grow
the Christian.
1. The Gospel of John is often given out as a soul winning tool.
2. The Gospel of John is often the first book recommended to new
Christians.
It is obvious in this Bible passage, that at least part of the
chapter is answering the first question, "Who is Jesus?" It is also
obvious that the majority of the people still did not know. (I
suppose that shows just how effective the religious leaders had been
for it seems to me that these people ought to have figured it out by
now!)
I. Who is Jesus (as revealed in this chapter)? In addition to Him
being designated as the Door \\#9\\ and the Shepherd \\#11\\, He
is…
A. \\#25-30\\ He is the Giver of eternal life.
1. I start toward the end of the chapter because I think this
is one of the most important truths we can know as far as
knowing who Jesus is.
2. To be the Giver of eternal life means Jesus is the Giver
of spiritual life.
a. There can be no eternal life for sin-corrupted bodies.
(1) That is why the body must die even after we are
saved.
(2) They have been ruined by sin and so we need a
new, sin-free body.
(3) That is what death gives to us.
(4) Read \\#1Cor 15:35-58\\.
(a) This body will be the seed for the new but
with any corruption.
(b) The new body will be better than this one
would be if it had not been corrupted by
sin.
1Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the
dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in
glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in
power:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a
spiritual body. There is a natural body, and
there is a spiritual body.
b. The only way to have spiritual life is to trust in
Jesus Christ as your Savior.
3. But the phrase Jesus uses is not spiritual life. It is
eternal life.
a. Eternal and everlasting life are terms used 36x in
the Bible.
b. Most religions, including Methodist, Church of God,
Assembly of God, and some Baptists, teach that you
can be saved and lost again.
(1) I understand that there are some Bible verses
that "seem" to indicate this.
(2) However, the term that Jesus used and that term
alone means that is not the case.
(3) \\#28\\ The take away is that if one is saved, he
receives eternal life.
(a) If it is eternal, you can not lose it.
(b) If you can lose it, it was not eternal.
(c) Friend, that is just what the term means.
(4) Some, seeing the problem with having eternal
life and still believing that one can lose their
salvation say, "You don’t get eternal life until
after you die."
(5) However, that is not what the Bible teaches.
John 10:28 And I GIVE unto them eternal life…
(a) Give is present tense.
1Jo 5:13 These things have I written unto you
that believe on the name of the Son of God; that
ye may know that ye HAVE eternal life, and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
(b) Have is present tense.
c. But Jesus goes further to state some facts about the
gift of eternal life.
(1) \\#28\\ …they shall never perish….
(2) \\#28-29\\ …NONE (the word "man" is italicized
meaning it was added by the translators for
better understanding but the text says) NONE
will take them out of MY (Jesus’) hand.
(3) \\#29-30\\ Then Jesus added none will take them
out of the FATHER’s hand, implying that the if
you don’t know enough to know who Jesus is, you
should be satisfied to know that God the Father
is keeping them too!
B. \\#10\\ He is the Giver of abundant life.
1. This was actually mentioned in the first parable about the
sheepfold. (We spoke about that last week.)
a. There is a barrier between God’s people and those who
are not.
b. Jesus is the Door and He is the Shepherd. The Door
means that no one is getting in unless they come
through the Door (salvation).
c. But all of these (sheepfold, the Door, the Shepherd)
speaks of the sheep being protected.
d. Here is an additional thought.
2. We are not just protected in the sheepfold, but we have
the ability to really live life!
a. The lost think living is in sin. It isn’t. That is
prolonged death.
b. Living is….
(1) …being saved.
(2) …then enjoying the blessing that come with the
Christian life (living in the sheepfold).
c. Sadly, there are a lot of professing sheep who refuse
to live inside of the sheepfold.
(1) If they are saved, they have wandered back into
the world.
(2) That is where the dangers are! You won’t live
life to the fullest out there. You will just
get killed.
3. What is available to the sheep who live inside the flock?
(Over the years, I have summed it up in three words.)
a. Peace - Forgiveness from God, with others, and inside
yourself.
b. Purpose - God created us for a purpose. No person
will ever be satisfied without knowing and fulfilling
that purpose.
c. Power - God gives to His own all kinds of power.
(1) Internal power or abilities such as wisdom,
understanding, joy, determination, selflessness,
godliness….
(2) Eternal power - prayer power, faith power,
ministry blessings, the body of Christians
helping, God’s over-powering miracles!
C. \\#14\\ He is the Shepherd that knows His sheep.
1. Shepherd, sheep, sheepfold - They are the center of the
parable that Jesus was giving.
2. As the Door and the Shepherd, Jesus is our Protector.
3. As the Shepherd who knows His sheep, Jesus is our Friend.
a. This is Jesus telling us that He knows us. He cares
about us. He watches over us.
b. This theme is interesting because part of the time
the parable speaks of false shepherds trying to steal
the sheep \\#10\\ "The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy" and part of the
time it speaks of false sheep trying to discredit
the Shepherd \\#26\\ "But ye believe not, because ye
are not of my sheep…."
c. The solution to both of those problems is knowledge.
(1) The Shepherd needs to know the sheep to protect
them—and He does.
(2) But the sheep also need to know the Shepherd—
and they do!
d. The relationship that we have with Jesus and that
Jesus has with us weeds out the potential problems—
plus, it is a whole lot of fun!
4. Just as footnote to the parable of the sheepfold, let’s
notice a statement that Jesus made.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold: them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be
one fold, and one shepherd.
a. Who is the other fold? It is us, the church.
b. Jesus was talking to the Jews. Although they would
become Christians and belong to the church, as Jesus
spoke, they are Jews looking for a kingdom.
c. Jesus was saying that He will be Shepherd to both the
Jews and the Church.
d. While the promises made to the Jews and Church are
different, there is still much we have in common.
(1) We are all God’s by faith.
(2) We are all to be obedient.
(3) We are all going to stand before God and be
rewarded.
(4) We are all going to spend eternity together.
(5) Jesus will be All and All to all of us.
II. What did Jesus come to do and how will He do that?
A. He came to lay down His life (to die for our sins).
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might take
it again.
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father.
B. Jesus made a special point to say that no man was taking His
life. He was giving it up.
1. There is no doubt that the Jews and the Romans bear some
accountability for crucifying Jesus, but only the
smallest bit! (One of the reasons Hitler hated the Jews
is because he said they crucified Jesus.)
2. Neither is there any doubt that every human being sins put
Jesus on the cross for we did.
3. However, Jesus was emphasizing His GIFT.
a. Of course the gift would not have been needed if we
had not sinned but it is Jesus who GAVE Himself for
us.
b. People give gifts all year (anniversary, birthday,
Valentine), but there is no time when we concentrate
so hard on giving as during Christmas.
c. All other gifts pale along side of what Jesus gave for
us!
This is one of those text that you could continue to mine truths out
of for hours—if not days. We will stop with this thought. Jesus
wanted us to know no one can take His things—not His life and not
His sheep. Why not accept what He has done for you tonight?
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