Bible Lesson: Parables-Our Lord's:
The Good Shepherd.
Occasion:
Jesus Reveals Spiritual Blindness.
Lessen:
Christ The Only One Who Gives Spiritual Sight, And Entrance To
Eternal Blessings.
Bible Text:
John 10:1-21 NLT (The Good
Shepherd.)
1 “I tell you The Truth, anyone
who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through
The Gate, must surely be a thief and
a robber!
2 But the one who enters through The
Gate is The Shepherd of the sheep.
3 The Gatekeeper opens The Gate for
Him, and the sheep recognize His voice and come to Him. He calls His
own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 After He has gathered His own
flock, He walks ahead of them, and they follow Him because they know
His voice.
5 They won’t follow a stranger;
they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this
illustration didn’t understand what He meant,
7 so He explained it to them: “I
tell you The Truth, I am The Gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before Me were
thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
9 Yes, I am The Gate. Those who come
in through Me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will
find good pastures.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal
and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and
satisfying life.
11 “I am The Good Shepherd. The
Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.
12 A hired hand will run when he
sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t
belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks
them and scatters the flock.
13 The hired hand runs away because
he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the
sheep.
14 “I am The Good Shepherd; I know
My own sheep, and they know Me,
15 just as My Father knows Me and I
know The Father. So I sacrifice My life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are
not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My
voice, and there will be one flock with one Shepherd.
17 “The Father loves Me because I
sacrifice My life so I may take it back again.
18 No one can take My life from Me.
I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down
when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My
Father has commanded.”
19 When He said these things, the
people were again divided in their opinions about Him.
20 Some said, “He’s demon
possessed and out of His mind. Why listen to a Man like that?”
21 Others said, “This doesn’t
sound like a Man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of
the blind?”
These words in
response to the unbelieving Pharisees.
John 9:35-41 NLT
(Be sure to take the time and read the whole chapter verses
1-41.)
(Jesus had healed a
blind man.)
35 When Jesus heard what had
happened, He found the man and asked, “Do you believe in The Son Of
Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is He,
sir? I want to believe in Him.”
37 “You have seen Him,” Jesus
said, “and He is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the
man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered
this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to
show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were
standing nearby heard Him and asked, “Are you saying we’re
blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you
wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty
because you claim you can see.
Jesus explains to those unbelieving,
the blind will see and those who think they see, will be revealed to
be the blind ones. The Pharisees, understood that He was speaking to
them.
The Good Shepherd:
3 The Gatekeeper opens The Gate for
Him, and the sheep recognize His voice and come to Him. He calls His
own sheep by name and leads them out.
The sheep know His voice of love, trust
and care.
The Shepherd calls His sheep by name.
The Shepherd leads His sheep.
4 After He has gathered His own
flock, He walks ahead of them, and they follow Him because they know
His voice.
5 They won’t follow a stranger;
they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
The Shepherd gathers His flock.
The Shepherd leads them on.
The Shepherd protects His sheep from
danger.
11 “I am The Good Shepherd. The
Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.
15 just as My Father knows Me and I
know The Father. So I sacrifice My life for the sheep.
The Good Shepherd
sacrifices His life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are
not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My
voice, and there will be one flock with one Shepherd.
Jew & Gentile,
from Palestine to around the world, The Good Shepherd will gather all
His sheep.
The Good
Shepherd:
Psalm 23:1-6 KJV
1 The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall
not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my
cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in The House Of
The Lord for ever.
Isaiah 40:11 KJV
He shall feed His flock like a
Shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in
His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Hebrews 13:20,21
KJV
20 Now The God Of Peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd Of
The Sheep, through The Blood Of The Everlasting Covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in
His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
I Peter 2:25 KJV
For ye were as sheep going astray;
but are now returned unto The Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
I Peter 5:4 KJV
And when The Chief Shepherd shall
appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Jesus , The
Good Shepherd, and only Savior:
John 3:16 KJV
For God so loved the world, that He
gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 6:68,69 KJV
68 Then Simon Peter answered Him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, The Son Of The living God.
John 8:24 KJV
I said therefore unto you, that ye
shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall
die in your sins.
John 14:6 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am The Way,
The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
Acts 4:10-12 KJV
10 Be it known unto you all, and to
all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead...
11 This is The Stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which is become The Head Of The Corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.
I Corinthians
3:11 KJV
For other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Psalm 79:13 KJV
"...We thy people and sheep of
thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy
praise to all generations.
