SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 10/12/25

Today, we want to draw your attention to three unimaginable and unchanging truths about Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 10:11-18
TITLE: Our Good Shepherd
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
I. The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life
II. The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep
III. The Good Shepherd is On a Mission

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“Scripture is filled with pictures that help us understand our Savior and apply what we know about Him to ordinary life. We call them metaphors, and they are truly a gift from God.”

“One of the Bible's most common, powerful, and beautiful metaphors is the imagery of Jesus as a shepherd. It's one thing to speak of Jesus as King, Lord, and the Righteous One, but nothing captures the tender and compassionate heart of Christ for his people like the imagery of a shepherd. In the words of Timothy Laniak—The imagery is not just nice, it's necessary.”

“Five times in our passage, Jesus reminds us that he laid down his life. It's the great theme of his teaching and the grand expression of the Good Shepherd's goodness. According to 17, it's the reason the Father's eternal love for the Good Shepherd —in obedience to and in accord with the Father's will—He laid down his life for his sheep.”

“[This image is] a contrast to the hired hand who loves himself, not the sheep. Jesus says a couple things about the hired hand here. First, he is not a shepherd and second, he doesn't own the sheep. He's an employee. As an employee, his care for the sheep go as far as his ability to get a paycheck goes. He doesn't truly care about the sheep, he's not invested in the sheep, he's just trying to pay the bills.”

“So when danger comes, when wolves—and in context, the wolves are the Pharisees, but today beginning with pastors, it includes anyone who would use and abuse, fleece and deceive the church instead of loving and caring for the church—when those wolves come around, the hired hand is gone. After all, it's just a few sheep. Risking his own limb or life isn't worth it. Danger is above his paygrade.”

“Now, in fairness to the hired hand, his logic is pretty solid. His life is worth way more than a few stinky, dumb sheep. The shepherd's life is worth way more than a few sheep. Lose a few sheep, buy a few more. But don't lose your life over them. The only explanation is this—The shepherd loves the sheep that much.”

ILLUSTRATION: “In The Line of Fire Movie”, Has any President ever taken a bullet for an agent?

“That's what the Good Shepherd has done for his sheep. The good shepherd didn't merely risk his life, he laid down his life on the cross where he died, as a substitute for his sheep, so that his sheep could be rescued from the wolves of sin, death, and judgment, and instead, according to the promise of John 5:24—have abundant and eternal life in the presence of God.”

“In just about anything I've read about ancient shepherding, two things are consistent. First, Sheep are dirty, defenseless, and dumb. They are desperate for a shepherd.”

“Second, the shepherd knew his sheep personally. In the first century, sheep were raised primarily for wool, not food. So it was not unusual for a shepherd to spend years with the same sheep. The shepherd knew his sheep. He named them. They were like pets. A good shepherd could even pick his sheep out in a crowd.”

ILLUSTRATION: Shepherd pastor who “knew his sheep so well he could spot four lambs out of a flock from a moving train.”

“As Jesus reveals himself as the good shepherd, he gets very personal. He uses the verb know four times in these two verses. In the NT there are several words translated know. For example, the know in 4/5 is cognitive. But Jesus uses a different word—genosko in 14/15. It can be used to refer to the intimacy between and husband and wife. It's used to describe God's unique relationship with Israel in Amos 3:2 where God says—You only have I known (or loved) of all the families of the earth. Far more than cognitive, this knowing is relational and intimate.”

“What's amazing here is that Jesus grounds his relationship with his sheep in the eternal and mutual affections of the Trinity. Did you catch that? Jesus sets his Trinitarian attention and affections upon lowly sheep. How humbling is that? How scandalous is that? How astounding is that?”

“The Bible doesn't flatter us—it calls us sheep. Jesus knows how messy we are. He knows how defenseless, and yes, dumb, we are. Jesus knows the secrets of your heart. He knows my sinful tendencies. He knows our weaknesses and shortcomings. Yet, as the Good Shepherd, Jesus says As much as the Father loves me and I love my Father, I love you! If you are doubting the loving care and concern of your Savior, doubt no more.”

“Jesus loves and cares for you with divine affection and attention. He KNOWS you. He KNOWS your need. He KNOWS the condition of your heart. He KNOWS your struggle.”

ILLUSTRATION: A cast sheep

“The Bible calls a cast sheep a bruised reed, someone who is spiritually weak and struggling. Isaiah 42:3 says—A bruised reed he will not break. Did you come here a bruised reed today? Your Good Shepherd KNOWS. Look to your Good Shepherd. That's what sheep do.”

ILLUSTRATION: Sheep are known for looking to their shepherd in the midst of danger

“Look to your Good Shepherd. He will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). He will always strengthen you (2 Corinthians 12:9). He perfectly provides for you (Romans 8:32). He is good, and he loves to pour out his goodness into your soul. Humble yourself, turn from your sin, and look to your Good Shepherd.”

“Last week, I mentioned two kinds of sheepfolds—Country and City. The City sheepfolds were communal, meaning multiple flocks shared the pen. The way this worked was that the shepherds would hire a gatekeeper to watch over the sheepfold at night. In the morning, when the shepherd came to lead his flock into pasture, the gatekeeper, recognizing the shepherd, would allow him into the sheepfold so he could gather his flock for pasture.”

“The sheepfold in 1-5 represents Judaism. The sheep in the pen are Jewish. And the point is that Jesus is the true shepherd—over and against the Pharisees, who were religious leaders in Israel, they were the robbers and thieves, better yet, the wicked shepherds of Ezekiel 34 that left God's flock scattered and vulnerable—Jesus is the true shepherd who calls the Jewish people out of Judaism to follow him, remember last week in 7-10—the door, the only true way to God.”

“Look back down to 16 where Jesus says—I have other sheep who are not of this fold. If Jesus has other sheep who aren't Jewish, he must be talking about the Gentiles. And if he is talking about the Gentiles, then, when he says I am the Good Shepherd, he is revealing himself as the fulfillment of the OT prophecy in Ezekiel 34.”

“Moses was a good shepherd. David was a good shepherd. But they were a shadow of the true Good Shepherd to come. From Isaiah to Ezekiel to Micah, the prophets foretold of the ultimate Shepherd.”

“This is the Good Shepherd's mission: To call all his sheep, chosen before the foundations of the world, to experience the Spirit's work of regeneration, which allows them to hear and respond by genuine faith to the shepherd's voice when he calls them to himself through gospel proclamation. And he has called them to care for, strengthen, and protect them as his flock.”

“This is the foundation of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. This is why we are planting a church on the east side. This is why we have asked one pastor to dedicate himself to leading us in evangelism.”

“Because the Good Shepherd, who has been and is always so good to us, has graciously joined us to his mission of saving sinners and building his church. As his sheep, we hear his voice calling us to mission, and we follow him into the mission field. The Good Shepherd has other sheep in this neighborhood, in Oro Valley, South Tucson, Rita Ranch, Vail, Sierra Vista, Marana, Catalina, The Foothills, Green Valley, Sahuarita.”

“…this mission is guaranteed. Christ cannot fail. He laid down his life and he took it back up again. He is indestructible with all authority under heaven and earth to finish the mission of gathering his sheep into one blessed flock. The Good Shepherd himself guarantees it.”

“God saves all He chooses before the foundations of the world and Jesus keeps and protects every one of them, not losing one of them, but bringing all of them to that great day in Revelation 7 where his sheep will live under the Good Shepherd's eternal care.”

“Sheep Gathered. Mission Accomplished. Eternity Enjoyed.”

ILLUSTRATION: Richard Burton, “I know Psalm 23; he knows the shepherd.”

APPLICATION:
Q. Do you know the Good Shepherd? If you do, have you strayed from him? Today, by faith, run to the Good Shepherd. Cling to the Good Shepherd. He's your Shepherd and he's GOOD.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ezekiel 34:20-24
Revelation 7:17

QUOTES:
F.F. Bruce - “The good shepherd shows himself to be a good shepherd because the welfare of the sheep, not his own, is his primary care.”

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Come Praise And Glorify
We Are Yours Forever
All I Have Is Christ
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
In Christ Alone

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Celebration Sunday - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER: