John's Gospel chapter ten, reading verse one. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice. He calleth his own sheep by name, and leader them out. When he puteth forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, and they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him. For they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heal them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal. and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is in Hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveeth the sheep and fleeeth, and the wolf catches them, and scattereth the sheep. The Hireling fleeeth, because he is in hireling and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. Now I am sure the Lord will bless to us the reading of these verses. Let us bow for prayer. Our Father, we again bow our hearts in thy holy presence. And since we have been reading again from thy word, the inspired word, the word that is established in heaven. We ask that by thy Holy Spirit, thou shalt cause it to live in our hearts. May we understand its truth. May we apply these things in our lives. Grant, O God, thy blessing to rest upon every listener now, for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. Now, all the listeners who have been listening in to each broadcast this week, will be aware of the fact that we have been dealing with reasons why Christ came to this earth. But for the sake of some who may have tuned in for the first time, let me say this by way of giving to you the link of connection with the subjects we have been treating. That in our first message this week we dealt with Reason number one, which was this, to do the will of God. That was based on John chapter six, verse thirty-eight. The second reason was based on first John chapter three, verse eight. There it was to destroy the works of the devil. The third reason why Christ came to this earth was to call sinners to repentance. based on Luke chapter five, verse thirty-two. The fourth reason why Christ came to this earth was to save sinners, taken from the text, first Timothy chapter one, verse fifteen. And now today we shall submit to you the fifth reason why Christ came to this earth. It's found in verse ten of John's gospel, chapter ten. write the latter part of that verse where it says, I am come, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. So the fifth reason we submit to you why Christ came to this earth was that they might have life. Now, I want you to stop for a moment or two and ask yourself this question. Who is he speaking about when he says, They? I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, or in all its abundance. Now, Christ then can give life. Not only that, He can give eternal life, and He can also give abundant life. Surely this is what people are seeking, is it not? Therefore, the fifth reason why Christ came to the South was to give life. Now, in reading down through this passage that I read to you, you will notice that reference is made to a number of doors. He speaks of the door of the shepherd. He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd. of the sheep, he says. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbers up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. So first of all there is the door of the sheepfold, in which the shepherd comes in, as well as the sheep. Then he speaks of being the door of the sheep. And then when you get down to verse nine, he speaks of the door of salvation. Now each of these has a particular meaning. And people who have been brought up in the country, and especially if they had been brought up in Palestine in the Middle East, they would understand what was meant by the sheepfold. They would understand what was meant by entering in at the door. And so he uses figures of speech here that people would well understand. But now the main thing here, he sets forth the character of the shepherd. First of all, the shepherd entered in a lawful manner. He didn't come over the wall. He didn't creep in in some unlawful manner. He that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. So the Lord Jesus Christ here entered in a lawful manner. Verse three says to him the porter opens. There's someone in charge. There's the porter. And the porter here recognizes the true shepherd. He opens the door and lets them in. Not only is he recognized by the porter, he's recognized by the sheep. Now, this may not seem an intelligent presentation of things to people who have been brought up in the city, but let me try and give you the background to it, and perhaps you'll understand it a little better. Suppose now that here was a shepherd. and he comes into the town and he brings his sheep in for the night. And there is a sheepfold there. And he takes his sheep along and he puts them in to the sheepfold. Now a sheepfold is a place where the sheep sheep and it has a wall around it. It may be a square wall, it may be a round one, but there's the wall, the fence if you like. And the shepherd puts his sheep into the sheepfold. He may go away and find a place to lodge for the night. And then along comes another shepherd, and he also has some sheep, and he puts his sheep into the common sheepfold. And with the time you're finished, there may be three or four shepherds who have come along, and they've put their sheep into the sheepfold. It may also be a customary thing that during the night, if the porter goes to sleep, A robber may come over the wall, and he may take one of the sheep, take it away, he steals it, and he steals it perhaps with the intent of killing it and having something to eat, or it may be he simply wants to steal the sheep in order to take it away and keep it for himself. So some come simply to steal and appropriate what doesn't belong to them. Others came in order to steal and to kill. And then again it may be that a wild animal would get in, but if the porter was there and wide awake, he was there to guard the sheep. Now in the morning when the shepherd came along, the porter had to recognize him. He wanted his sheep. so the porter lets them in. On the other hand, the sheep have got to recognize them, and so the shepherd calls his sheep by name. He doesn't take the sheep that belong to the other shepherd, he only takes his own sheep. His sheep know his voice, and he calls them. See, if a stranger comes along and calls them, these sheep will not respond. A sheep will respond to the call, to the voice of its own shepherd. And so the shepherd comes and he calls his sheep. And these sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. They follow him and he leads them out. They're his. And he's going to lead them out to the place of pasture. He has led them in to the place of safety for the night. Now he leads them out in the morning. to the place of pasture. Now that is the background to the passage I have read. First of all then we see the character of the shepherd. The shepherd enters in a lawful manner. He doesn't jump over the wall. He's recognized by the porter and he's recognized by the sheep. But now as you read down through this passage you discover this. that there are things in the passage whereby the shepherd stands in contrast with others. First of all, he's in contrast with the violent thief. See, verse one says, the thief climbs up some other way. The same is a thief and a robber. He's a violent man, and he comes to steal. He comes to take that which does not belong to him. And then later on, further down the passage, he speaks in verse ten, The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill. Now in verse eight he says, All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. He puts that in the plural. There were thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them. Now when he comes to verse ten he narrows it down and says, The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. So that the true shepherd then stands over in contrast with the violent thief. And then he stands over in contrast with the porter. It's obvious that the porter is not the shepherd. Now, if John the Baptist was the porter, he opened the door and let the Savior in, so to speak, and he pointed the sheep to the true shepherd, and they followed him. Now then, they could hear his voice. They recognized the voice of the true shepherd, and they that were his sheep followed him. Then there is the contrast between the shepherd and the stranger. And verse five it says, And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. It is very interesting in certain places where we've done this. We've stood on the hillside, where perhaps there was a whole flock of sheep, but these sheep were scattered over the hills, and they were feeding themselves on the green pastures. Now, if you just put your fingers in your mouth and gave a shrill whistle, you would discover that all these sheep would stop eating the pasture. They would raise their heads at the shrill whistle. They would look, but they wouldn't come to you. In fact, they would run from you. Now, you could watch then for the shepherd. If the shepherd came along, And the shepherd would take his stand at a special place. And if he gave the whistle, the sheep would lift their heads again. But this time they seemed to recognize their own shepherd. And it was an amazing thing to watch the sheep as they would all come following down one after the other, coming in from different directions. And they would all gather round the shepherd. He also may have his two dogs. One old man used to say that the two dogs were called goodness and mercy, and they would follow you all the days of your life when you would watch the shepherd with his dogs, as they would go round in large circles, bringing in those sheep, and the shepherd would count them as they came in. He would know when he had his whole flock that he would start leaving them down from the hills, down to the shelter of the fold. Now you see, When you see those things, you understand them a little better. And so, therefore, it was a common thing for me in my boyhood days to watch shepherds as they would gather their sheep together. But the point in verse five is this, a stranger will they not follow. Now, someone may ask the question, as it has been asked of different shepherds, Is there any time at all when a sheep would follow a stranger? One shepherd said, oh yes. There are certain circumstances in which a sheep would follow a stranger. And what is that? Well, a sheep will follow a stranger when it's sick. A sick sheep will follow a stranger, almost follow anybody. But then the sheep that's enjoying good health It will only follow its own shepherd. So a stranger will they not follow. My friend, have you been following the stranger, and you've been carried away into strange paths, and you've found yourself in the slow despond? Remember this. You've been sick, spiritually sick. You've been listening to the wrong voice. You've been following the stranger, and he has led you astray. See, the good shepherd stands over in contrast to the violent thief who comes to steal. He stands in contrast to the porter. The porter may be a good man, but he's not the shepherd. He just opens the door for the shepherd to come in, and John the Baptist just opened the door and introduced the true shepherd. He stands over in contrast to the stranger. The stranger, they don't know. Then there's someone else here that's brought in in verse twelve. But he that is in Hyreling and not the shepherd, whose own sheep they are not, see of the wolf coming, leave of the sheep and fleeeth, and the wolf catches them and scattereth the sheep, the Hyreling. This is the man who simply takes on a job. Oh, he hasn't got the shepherd's heart. He's simply pretending to look after the sheep, and he'll do that as long as everything is all right. Ah, but let the wild animal come in. Let the wolf come near. Let the enemy come along. And the hireling says, well, they're not my sheep anyway. Why should I be troubled? I'll just leave them, and I'll run. And so the hireling runs away. My friend. When you read through the Word of God, you discover this, that God speaks of men as being shepherds, even a way back in the Old Testament. Do you realize that some of God's greatest men were trained as shepherds? Do you know that Moses was trained for forty years in the back side of the desert as a shepherd, before he was able to take on the responsibility of leading God's people for forty years? from Egypt to the borders of Canaan? Do you realize this, that Jacob, that great man, Jacob spent his years as a shepherd, he knew how to watch sheep? And then again, do you realize that Joseph was a shepherd? Do you realize that David the great king was a shepherd? See, these men had shepherd hearts. They knew how to look after sheep. Now, of all the animals you have ever seen, a sheep, you know, is the one that calls for the greatest care. A sheep needs to be cared for from the day it's born as a little lamb until the day that its life goes out. A sheep never reaches the point where it doesn't need to be cared for. Sheep always need a shepherd. So therefore... Here is the thought here that we need men who are shepherds. Not hirelings, not strangers, not thieves and robbers, but shepherds. Now the Lord Jesus Christ said that he is the shepherd. He's the good shepherd. And the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I've always liked that verse. He's the good shepherd. And a good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. The hireling won't do that. The hireling runs away when the enemy comes. The hireling turns and flees when he sees the wolf coming, that which is going to destroy. Oh, if he's had his wages, that's all he's concerned about, and off he takes. But know the shepherd is prepared to stand between the sheep and the foal. There was a time when David was tending his sheep. And he saw that wild animal coming in order to take one of his little lambs. But David was able to take his club. He was able to stand between his sheep and the cruel enemy. And he killed that cruel wild animal that was going to take that innocent sheep. You see, David knew how to defend the sheep that were under his care. Likewise in the spiritual sense in Israel, there were men who had to act like the shepherds. They had to act like fathers in the nation. They had to care for the people who were under their charge. That's why you still have this title used in some cities today in speaking of the council to speak of the fathers of the city. That is those who take the care of the city. They've got the concern of the people at heart. At least that's what they're supposed to have. And also when you come to spiritual things in a local church, there are men who have to have the shepherd heart in order to care for the sheep. But the Lord Jesus Christ said, I'm the good shepherd. Now that leads you right up to the crux of what we chose for our text. These other men come. One comes to steal and to kill. The other comes for his wages. He's only a highling. But he says, I am come, that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly, that they might have it in all its abundance. See, the Lord Jesus Christ can give life. Who to? To them who believe on him, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved, shall go in and out and find pasture. He says, I am come that they might have life. He's able to give life to his sheep. He's able to give eternal life to his sheep. Here's what he says in that same passage. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. You see, he's there to defend them. He's there to protect them because they're his. He died on the cross to save them. And he's not going to let any enemy take his sheep from him. He gives life to those that trust him. For eternal life is in Jesus Christ. He gives that eternal life to his sheep. And he says, I am come that they might have life, that they might have it in all its abundance. He's giving abundant life to those of his sheep, to the men and women who have trusted him as Savior. He gives them life. Ah, there was a little verse that used to say, This world has nothing new to give, but just take the life that Christ can give. How true that is. This world is nothing new to offer you, my friend. But Christ gives us life. And He gives us abundant life. And that's the kind of life that men and women want. Now, in drawing this message to a close, I want to stress something here. In verse eight, this is all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. But now when he comes down to verse twelve, he says, But he that is in Hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveeth the sheep, and fleeeth, and the wolf catches them, and scattereth the sheep. Now in verse ten he says, The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill. May I draw attention to this. There have been false shepherds in the past. They are exposed in the Old Testament. But remember this, there's a day coming when the false shepherd shall appear on the scene. He is the thief. He's the one that will come to steal and to kill. And while the nation rejected the true shepherd, While they would not hear his voice and they would not follow him, the strange thing is they will be prepared to lend their ear to the false shepherd. The Bible calls him the idol shepherd, the one who will place himself up as being God. They will be prepared to follow him. But might I ask each listener today, where do you stand, my friend? Have you given your ear to the voice? of the true Shabbat.