[Matt's Messages] "Life!"

“Life!”
Resurrection Sunday
John 10:1-21 :: April 8, 2012
Well, I know that on a Sunday when we have a baptism, that I’m just the opening act for the main event!  Amen?

In just a few minutes, we’re going to hear Lucinda Socoski tell us her story, and then we’re all going to have the privilege of witnessing her baptism.

But before we do that, we need to hear a word from God’s Word.

And the word is, “Life!”

Last week, the sermon title was simply, “Death.”  And we meditated together on our great enemy, death.

By the way, we ordered a few copies of that book that I was talking about, and they will be available next week if anyone wants to buy one at our cost or borrow it from the church library.

Last week, we talked about death.

This week, life.

That’s the whole point of Resurrection Sunday.

It’s about life, new life.

And a new kind of life.

Resurrection life.
Abundant Life.

Life!

And to think about what God says about life, on this Resurrection Sunday, I want us to turn together to the Gospel of John chapter 10.

I’m doing something I’ve never done before in 14 years of Easters. I normally take you to a passage of scripture after Jesus’ death. Most of the time one that tells the story of His resurrection or from a New Testament letter that explains His resurrection.

But this year, we’re going to go to John 10.  John 10, which comes before Jesus’ death and resurrection but it predicts and explains it.  John 10.

John chapter 10 follows John chapter 9. Impressed yet?

In chapter 9, the Lord Jesus had a fight with the Pharisees over a man born blind that Jesus healed.

And chapter 9 ended with that fight. Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are spiritually blind themselves.

And chapter 10 just takes off from there. Jesus calls the Pharisees spiritual thieves and robbers and uncaring hired hands.  While He is the Good Shepherd.

I wish I had time to preach everything in chapter 10, but Lucinda can’t wait to get baptized, so I’m going to read verses 1-21, but not preach all of that.

I’m actually just going to point at the verses that talk about life.

But we’ll read the whole thing. Do we have time for that Cindy?

Ok. Let’s read. 

Jesus is speaking. He says...

“‘I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [He’s talking about the Pharisees.] The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [We are the sheep. Jesus’ followers are the sheep.] When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.’

Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. [Not just the shepherd, but the gate, the way into life.] 

All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. [That’s what’s happened to our friend, Lucinda. She has entered through the gate of Jesus and is saved. That’s what her baptism means.  And here’s our key verse.]

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have [WHAT?] life[!], and have it to the full.

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [Listen for that phrase again. It’s important.] The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again [!]. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’

At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’ But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’”

I’m going to tell you a story so good, you won’t hardly believe it.

There was a man, a good man, a great man, the greatest man in all of the world.

No man was like this man.

And He died.

In fact, He was killed.

In fact, He was killed by torture.

And he was buried.

And three days later, he came back to life.

No, really, I mean it.

This man was a corpse. He hadn’t just fallen asleep.

He had lost too much blood and He had stopped breathing.

And His heart had stopped. And His brain had stopped.

And He had gone all purple and then all white.

And He was dead for days.

He died on a Friday. And He was still dead on Saturday.

But on Sunday, He was alive.

Christ Is Risen.
He Is Risen Indeed.

Indeed. I mean, really.

This happened.

Doesn’t it sound almost too good to believe?

His name is Jesus, and He is alive today.

And He predicted what happened to Him.

In fact, He chose it.

John chapter 10 is from before Jesus died.

And Jesus said (how many times, 5 times?) that He was going to, what?, “lay down His life.”

Verse 11.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Now, that’s a pretty good shepherd that will die for dumb old sheep.

That’s Jesus’ point. The other spiritual leaders up to this point weren’t good shepherds. They were spiritual thieves and robbers. They were hired hands who ran away when the danger comes.

But not this good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep.

Which normally meant, he took risks to protect them.

But Jesus means something much deeper.

Jesus means that He will lay down His life willingly for the sheep, instead of the sheep.  He takes the place of the sheep.

There has never been a shepherd like that!  “Don’t kill the sheep. I’ll take their place!”

And He stresses and stresses that He does this intentionally. He chooses it. V.17

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life. . . (v.18), No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”

Not Pilate. Not Herod. Not the Sanhedrin. Not Judas. Not even Satan.

They are all at fault.  (And so are we.)

But Jesus is choosing it.

Last week we said that Jesus “tasted death.”

And here we see that Jesus tasted death on purpose. No one forced it down His throat.

He picked it up death and ate it down by His own free will.

But He didn’t stay dead.

V.17 again.

“The reason my Father loves me (one of the reasons!) is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. (V.18) I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

Now, that is unlike any shepherd there ever was.

Jesus laid down His life and then took it up again.

LIFE!

Why?

Why did He do this?  Look again at verse 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.”

King James:
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Abundant life.

Who is the “thief?” of verse 10?

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...” Who is the thief?

It doesn’t say, and in the context, the thieves are the false spiritual leaders, the Pharisees, and the others who have failed the sheep time and time again.

But, we know who is behind that.

We know who their father is. It is the devil. He is a thief.

He comes to steal and kill and destroy.

We saw that last week in Hebrews 2. That the devil held the power of death.

But that Jesus’ death destroyed him.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [but] I have come [Jesus says] that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

What does that mean?

I don’t really know.

I can’t really imagine what full life means.

Have you ever felt fully alive?

Just one of those moments where your life is so full of life that you feel fully alive.

I think that’s getting at it.

Here, in the context, it stands for fat and happy sheep.

A sheep is happy when it has plenty to eat and drink, is safe with no predators nearby, and has someone watching out for it.

That’s what makes a sheep happy.

Jesus says in verse 9, that those who enter by the gate (and He’s not just the shepherd, He’s the gate) will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.

That means lots of green grass for eating.

Fat and happy. Safe.

Life as good as it gets.

That’s what Jesus has come for.

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

And that’s what we’re celebrating with Lucinda today.

She has received life to the full.

Do you want to know what abundant life is?  Look at her face when she’s telling her story.

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

But don’t worry, in case you’re wondering, this is not as good as it gets.

Lucinda, this is good, but it’s not as good as it gets.

That full life is here in principle, but it will get much better when it is fulfilled.

Life is coming when we receive our resurrection bodies and live in the resurrection world that is coming.

Indestructible life.
Live that never dies.
Life that is full and never empty.
Life that is blessing.
Life that is joy.

Life that is life the full.

That’s still on the way.

It only gets better.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [but Jesus is the opposite of that] I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

No more dying.
No more crying.
No more tears.
No more suffering.
No more sickness.
No chemotherapy.
No more wheel chairs.
No more hospitals.
No more funeral homes.
No more cemeteries.

That’s what Jesus came for.

That’s what Jesus promises for His sheep.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Not just eternal existence. Everyone will have that.

Eternal LIFE!

Eternal blessedness.

Eternal joy.

Heaven is a party that will never end.

That’s abundant life.

And Jesus secured for His sheep by laying down His life only to take it up again.

That’s what Lucinda is about to picture with her baptism.

And she laid down into the water, she is proclaiming to the world that Jesus laid down His life for her.

And as she is brought up out of the water, she is proclaiming to the world that Jesus came back to life to give her LIFE and have it to the full.

How about you?

What do you think, I mean, really?

When Jesus said these things, the Jews were divided.  Verses 19-21.

Some said that Jesus was stark raving mad.

Maybe you think I am, too.

You really think that Jesus came back from the dead?

Yes, I really do.

And if He did, then it makes all of the difference in the world.

Because Jesus died for His sheep.

Are you one of those?

He has sheep that are not of this fold...yet. But He will bring them in also.

He’s talking about the Gentiles. Like you and me.

They too will listen to his voice and come in through the gate.

Lucinda came in through the gate. She heard the Shepherd’s voice and came in.

Now, she’s telling the world.

How about you?  Have you come in?

V.14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

V.9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

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