Parresia · Beholding Jesus in His Amazing Grace, Session 2, “Jesus, Our Tenderhearted Good Shepherd”

Welcome to session 2 of Beholding Jesus in His Amazing Grace. This session is entitled, “Jesus, Our Tenderhearted Good Shepherd.”

There is no way that I could possibly do a thorough teaching on Jesus as our Shepherd in 30 minutes because “Shepherd” is used as an analogy for Jesus more than any other analogy in the scriptures. So I will simply share as few  passages and just a few details that have touched my heart most deeply.

John 10

John 10:1-2 – [Beginning in John 10 verse 1 – Jesus tells a parable] “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. [We’ll get to them in a minute.] 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [“a” instead of “the”]

Later in the passage, Jesus will tell us that He is the Good Shepherd, and He is also is the Door. And we are His sheep. Picture a walled-in enclosure where the sheep are kept safe – particularly at night when they are resting. And then imagine that the Shepherd makes Himself the “door.”

Once all the sheep are inside for the night, He lies across the opening so that no sheep can get out, and no thief can get in. This is a picture of the truth that anyone who is in Christ is safe. He is our eternal intercessor – our eternal gate of protection. The enemy will never be able to cross over Jesus to snatch us.

John 10:3 – To him [the shepherd] the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

How does Jesus lead us? He leads us with His voice. How does His voice come to us? Sometimes it’s not what we think. Like when God spoke to Elijah in 1 Kings 19. The Lord wasn’t in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. It came as a “still small voice.”

His voice might be like David described in Psalm 29 – like thunder, majestic, and powerful enough to split cedar trees in half.

The Lord speaks through the scriptures. Sometimes He speaks through others. He speaks through dreams and visions. He speaks through signs. He speaks through what I call “precious gems of promise” – little God-incidences that cannot be explained any other way. He speaks when we gaze at a sunrise or look at a bird.

Matthew 6:26 – Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Jesus speaks to us by His Spirit who lives inside of us. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and bring to our remembrance all the things that Jesus has told us.

John 14:26 – He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Jesus names us

John 10:3 [verse 3 again] – the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Jesus calls us by name because He knows us. And He knows us inside and out because He made us.

I have read that sheep are the most non-self-sufficient animals there are. The sheep is totally dependent on the Shepherd, and part of that is being named by the Shepherd. A sheep can’t name himself.

Jesus gives us our identity. We weren’t designed to give ourselves an identity. He was Creator long before we were born.

I remember years ago being so burned out because I thought I had to live up to an identity that I had imposed on myself, and everyone around me also affirmed that identity.

What a burden that was! Even though I was so miserable, I couldn’t find a way out. I was trapped.Everything I did was wrapped up in that false identity because I believed the lie that I AM what I DO.

I was continually disappointed in myself, and I always felt like God was disappointed in me, too.

Finally I came to the end of my flesh. I needed someone other than myself to identify me, and that Person was Jesus. And with one encounter, years ago, Jesus showed me what He accomplished through the cross.He showed me that I am His beloved – holy and blameless in His sight. That’s who I am. From then on, everything in my life has been built on that truth.

I am identified by the only Person qualified to do it. He is the only One with the power, the wisdom, and authority to name me.

He is the only One who will never let me down or disillusion me. And He will never base my identity on my performance. or behavior. And He is the only one who will truly love me to the end.

He leads us out to green pastures and still waters

John 10:3 [Back to verse 3 again] – the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [Where does He lead them?]

In the morning the Shepherd leads the sheep out to the green pastures -as David wrote in Psalm 23. He makes them lie down, and they feed on the green grass. He supplies everything they need to thrive and grow. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.”

Green represents life! The green grass of the pasture is like the Living Word that we feed on. It provides an endless supply of grace and peace – and everything we need for life.

2 Peter 1:2 – Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,…

The more we feast on the living word, the more we know Him. The more we know Him, the more grace and peace are multiplied to us. He gives us everything we need for life and godliness.

The Bible says that Jesus Himself is the Word.

John 1:1, 4 -In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. [Light is revelation.He is our revelation of God. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus in the word!]

Do you know what Jesus’ name is? What is His identity?

Revelation 19:11, 13 – [John’s vision of Jesus] Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True… 13 His name is called The Word of God.

That’s who He is. When we feast on the Word of God, we are feasting on Him who is Faithful and True. Every word written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures islife and light for us. It’s useful to teach us, to train us and even to correct us.

Proverbs 4:20-21 – My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

Psalm 119:50, 89, 103, 105 – This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me… 89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven… 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth… 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path…

Jesus Himself is our fresh daily manna. He is our wisdom for every day.

Proverbs 3:17 – Her [Wisdom’s] ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. [The Shepherd leads us on paths of peace – wholeness. If we don’t have peace, it’s a path of unpleasantness.]

Psalm 23:2-3 – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul… [restores – šûḇ (shoob) – to return, turn back. He returns my soul back to peace – He leads me beside the restful waters of the Spirit and RESETS my soul back to the natural state of every believer: PEACE]

Sometimes we aren’t at rest. There are things in this world or things about God that we don’t understand. One of the best prayers we can pray is one written by one of my own children a long time ago: “Lord, there are alot of things in this world that I don’t understand. Lord, help me to hear Your voice and to listen to You. I love You.”

When we aren’t at rest we need to hear the voice of Wisdom.

James 1:5, NIV – If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,… [No matter what you’ve done – even in troubles of your own making – God will always say yes to that prayer because that’s His will.]

1 John 5:14-15 – Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

And we should never be condemning to those who have unanswered questions about God or have doubts about Him. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Jude 1:22-23, the Message – Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin.

NLT – show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.

NIV – Be merciful to those who doubt

Jesus was merciful to me when I was miserable and on the wrong path.Let’s pray for those who have questions and doubts. Pray that they will open the door to the voice of the Spirit of Jesus to find their answers. He says –

Revelation 3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

That’s a picture of our Tenderhearted Good Shepherd willing to feed anyone who is hungry enough to open the door to Him in.

Thieves and Robbers

John 10:4-8 – [Back to John 10, verse 4 – ] And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [Like little children who know the voice of the Father, but instinctively are fearful of strangers.] 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.”

Who are the thieves and the robbers? The word “thief” is the Greek word kleptēs (from which we get our word kleptomaniac). It means an embezzler, pilferer; one who secretly steals in small quantifies. On the other hand, A robber – (lēstēs) – is a plunderer of all, a violent pillager. These represent religious leaders who are not motivated by love for people or Jesus. They are motivated by power, ambition, and wealth for themselves.

Jesus was particularly referring to the scribes and Pharisees who claimed to speak for God and be the mediators between God and man. And when Jesus came, they claimed the authority to shut the door to God for anyone who professed Jesus as the Messiah.

Luke 11:52 – [to the Pharisees Jesus said – ] “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” [They tried to stop the truth from getting to the people so that they could stay in power]

They maintained that the way to God was by achieving righteousness according to their own ever-changing standards of performance and their traditions. That religious system is still in place today and takes many forms out there in the world. And it’s all the same – you have to make your own way to God or be your own God.

John 14:6 – [But Jesus says,] “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” [I am the Door. Every other way depends on you!]

Matthew 11:28-30, The Message – “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? [Trying to make your own way] Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

“But the sheep did not hear them”

In verse 8, Jesus said, “but the sheep did not hear them” – speaking of the thieves and robbers. The thieves and robbers did not speak for God, and they lost their influence over the people when they heard the voice of Jesus bringing the Living Truth that they were starving for.

Matthew 9:35-36, NASB – Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited [NKJV – weary and scattered; NLT – confused and helpless; AMPC – bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless)] like sheep without a shepherd.

The thieves and robbers did not offer Living Truth. They offered form, not substance. They were only concerned with the external. But Jesus was concerned with the heart, and He brought the compassion of the Father. They heard the voice of Good Shepherd, the guardian of their souls, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and the masses followed Him. It was a great awakening. Once you see Him, you can never unsee Him.

John 10:9-10 –[verse 9 – ] I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, [That Greek verb sozo – saved, restored, rescued, delivered, cared for, healed] and will go in and out and find pasture. [He’ll find rest and peace. In John 14, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Peace is the #1 thing the enemy wants to steal because Shalom is our completeness, our wholeness. He wants us broken emotionally, physically, and relationally.] 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

Who is “The thief?” He is the Liar who inspires the other thieves and robbers –

John 8:44, NASB – [Jesus said to the them] “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Every time our joy is stolen, every time discouragement sets in, every time a dream is destroyed, when years are stolen, or a childhood is robbed, or a relationship is destroyed, it all begins with lies.

The liar says, “No one loves you. You are a failure. You don’t fit in. You’re not smart enough, wealthy enough, pretty enough. You’ll never make it. Everything is stacked against you. Or how about this one: you can never be forgiven for what you did.”

The thieves and robbers say, “You can be forgiven if you just pay – give more, serve more, pray more. If you will just try harder, you’ll find the peace you’re looking for. If you will just do this or do that, you’ll succeed.Just get this degree, take this pill, go see this person, read this,watch that, get up earlier, stay up later. Exercise more. Eat this, don’t eat that. Just Google, and you’ll find all the answers.”

So we have the Liar, the thieves and robbers, and we also have the stranger.The stranger is anyone whose voice we do not recognize. We don’t know them, so we don’t follow the voice of a stranger.We follow the voice of the Shepherd.

There are so many voices! We must learn to discern! And just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it true! Just because it sounds good doesn’t make it right. Just because the argument is persuasive doesn’t make it true!

I told Frances the other day that without the discernment of the Holy Spirit, the internet and AI is just the Tree of the Knowledge of Good Evil. If we attempt to figure out what is good and what is evil on our own, it will bring death!

All that knowledge will just confuse us, scare us, and lead us astray if we don’t ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to discern.

We will be as James described, “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:6, 8)

1 Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. [He wants us to know. All we have to do is ask.]

Life and Life

John 10:10, cont – [Back John 10 – verse 10 cont. ] I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. [more abundantly – perissos (per-is-sos’) – over and above, more than is necessary, super-added; exceeding abundantly, MUCH MORE than ALL – how can you have “more than all”? Only through Jesus!] 11 “I am the good shepherd. [good – kalos – beautiful, handsome, excellent, precious, magnificent, praiseworthy, pure in heart, comforting] The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

In both verses 10 and 11 we see the word “life.” but they aren’t the same Greek word.

In “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” the word for “life” is zōē – it’s God life – heavenly life – It’s the life that Jesus brings in order to restore the life that is stolen, killed, and destroyed by the thief and the liar.

In “I am the good shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep,” the Greek word is psuche, from which we get our word psychology. It’s the natural soul life – the mind, will, emotions, feelings, personality.

He gave His psuche – His natural human life – not only His body, but also His emotions and desires, and His will – so we could receive His superabundant zoe –

Ephesians 3:20, NIV – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power [of His love] that is at work within us…

The Hireling

John 10:12-13 – [John 10, verse 12 – ] But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

The hireling is a hired shepherd who does not care about the sheep. He’s just there to get paid. Hirelings represent ministers – shepherds – who are only in it for their own advantage. They don’t love the sheep and have no interest in self-sacrifice in order to protect the sheep. At the first sign of danger they run and leave the sheep exposed to wolves.

The wolf is the natural enemy of the sheep. He attacks the sheep, catches them and scatters them. A wolf represents anyone who would harm one of Jesus’ lambs – to trap him, confuse him, or to separate him from the flock and lead him astray. Sometimes they come in sheep’s clothing so they are hard to recognize.

Matthew 18 – Good Shepherd goes after the sheep

Matthew 18:5-6, 10-14 – [Jesus said – ] “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, [TLB “if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith.”] 6 it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea… 10 Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, [How does one “despise the little ones?” They lead them away from Jesus] for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Ezekiel 34:12-13, 16, NLT – [Jesus says – ] “I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them back home… 16  I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.”

Isaiah 40:11, NIV – He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…

It may seem for a moment that the wolf has been able to snatch a wandering sheep, but that’s not the end of the story. No one can be snatched from the Good Shepherd’s hand.

John 10:28-30 – I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Isaiah 43:13, NLT – “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”

The devil does not understand the eternal power of blood of Jesus. Nothing can separate one of Jesus’s little ones from His love.

You remember that Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail, but we know that Peter’s faith would fail before the cocked crowed that very night. But that wasn’t the last word. In the end, his faith did not fail. He returned to Jesus and strengthened many, many people with his ministry. Jesus got what He prayed for.

God does not remember our sins. What is recorded in heaven is our faith, not our faithlessness. If His sheep wanders, that isn’t the end of the story.

1 Peter 2:25, NASB – For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Jesus, Our Tenderhearted Shepherd

John 10:13 tells us that the hirelings don’t care about the sheep, but the Good Shepherd does. Jesus has tenderhearted compassion for those who are weary, discouraged, distressed, confused, or sick.

The Good Shepherd has demonstrated that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. No one is beyond repair. No one is worthless to Him.

Matthew 12:20 – “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory.”

I’ve heard that in Bible times in the Middle East, children would pick reeds that grew beside River Jordan, and they would make little straws out of them.

If they found a reed that was broken, bruised, or damaged, they would throw it away. Why? Because there were hundreds of them, so they would just find another one.

I remember one time I was in a football stadium, and at the time I was in great pain because of rejection I had experienced. At that time, I rarely went in public because of the shame. Sitting in the bleachers surrounded by screaming fans, I heard Jesus say my name, “Tricia.” I looked around at the 10’s of thousands of people. And I thought “Out of all these people, He sees me and He knows my name.”

I thought of Mary Magdalene – the first person to see Jesus alive after the resurrection – a woman who had been demon-possessed – a reject in society – at first she didn’t recognize Him, but then He said her name.

John 20:16 – Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!”

One of my favorite old songs is “He Knows My Name.”

“I have a Maker, He formed my heart, Before even time began, My life was in his hands. He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls, And He hears me when I call. I have a Father, He calls me His own, He’ll never leave me, No matter where I go.” (1996 Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Songs, Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

When we are bruised, our Tenderhearted Good Shepherd doesn’t break us and throw us away. He won’t say, “There are billions of others out there. I don’t need you. “A bruised reed He will not break.”

And “A smoking flax He will not quench.” The flax is a small cloth that they would use as kindling to get a flame started in an oil lamp.

The moment the cloth would start growing dim and smoking and becoming charred, they would throw it out because there were always many more pieces of flax.

When we are burned, worn out, rejected, Jesus doesn’t snuff us out. He will rekindle the flame of His love and life in us. He will take us by the hand and lead us to a victorious life.

Matthew 12:20 – “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice [and by the way, Jesus is our justice – He is our righteousness] to victory.”

That’s actually an Old Testament prophecy that Jesus fulfilled. But Jesus changed one word. See if you notice what it is.

Isaiah 42:3 – A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for TRUTH.

Notice how Jesus changed one little word “truth” in Isaiah to the word “victory” in Matthew. Truth is our victory!

John 8:32 – “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Here is the truth that I want to leave with you:

Psalm 139:1-18, NIV – You have searched me, Lord, [My Tenderhearted Good Shepherd] and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

Copyright info: All scriptures in the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

• (NKJV) New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
• (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• (NLT) Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
• (NASB) Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
• The Message, Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson