JOHN 10
"IN the former part of this Gospel (chap. 6.) the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken of Himself as the life, and (in chap. 8.) as the light of the world; but here He speaks of Himself in a different character, as the Good Shepherd.'
“He does not call Himself the Shepherd of the world, but the Shepherd of the sheep.
“It is true that the Lord Jesus made the world, and that He rules over everything; but it would be a poor thing to know Him only as the Creator. To know Him as a Shepherd, and to be one of His sheep, will make you very happy.
“Jesus is not in the world now, neither is His sheep-fold in the world. He is in heaven, and His sheep-fold is there too. Heaven is the home of His sheep.
“Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He never did anyone any harm; yet wicked men killed Him, and casa Him out of the world. But He always did What pleased God; so God raised Him up from the dead, and opened heaven to Him, and took Him up there. There He is now; and He is the door into heaven. John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6).
“We are all born in sin, and are not, by nature, fit for heaven. But those who come to Jesus, and believe in Him, are washed in His precious Blood, and so are made fit for heaven, and go in by Him who is the door.
“What a happy thing it is for poor sinners, that Jesus is the door into heaven. He is the only door. He is the door to let in those who come to Him; and He is the door to shut them safely in when there. There they are, forever safe with Jesus.
“It is said of the Good Shepherd that He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. So when Peter, James, and John, and the other disciples, were called, they were called out from the religion of the world, and from a religion of form, to worship God in spirit and in truth.
“It is something like this now. People say they belong to the fold of Jesus, and call themselves Christians, but they do not follow Jesus, because they are not His sheep; if they were His sheep, they would hear His voice, and follow Him. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows His own sheep, and calls them all by name they hear His voice, and follow Him.
“Two children may be sitting close to each other, hearing the word of God read, or spoken, to them, but they may hear it very differently. One may hear it as the Word of God; that is, as the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calling to him, and may listen to it, and obey it, and be called out of everything here blowout—of sins—out of pleasures—out of everything his heart was full of before.
“The other may not listen to the Word, nor believe it is the voice of Jesus calling to him, and remain just the same as before.
“I wish you to pay attention to those words—called out, which I mentioned just now to you.
“The sheep of Jesus have two characters; the first is, that they are called out; the second is, that they hear His voice and follow Him.
“They are called out to forsake and give up the things which they formerly pursued and delighted in.
“This is what is called taking up the cross, which is sometimes very hard.
“We do not naturally like to do this; and there are many who would persuade us not to be so foolish as to give up the world; but be sure that this is the voice of the stranger, which you must not follow.
“There are plenty of strangers and robbers in the world, and many wolves iota sheep's clothing which look very like sheep, but they come only to lead the sheep astray. Suppose a lamb of Jesus heard a person say, that Jesus is not a Savior; or that He is not God, but a mere man; that lamb would know that it was the voice of the thief and the stranger.
“Satan is the great thief. He comes to steal some glory from God, and some blessing from man. If he can get our hearts to love the world, he is very glad: he then tries to kill and destroy us, as he did Eve.
Sometimes worldly relations do the devil's work, by being very kind to young Christians, and seeking to draw them into the world, and away from Christ.
“The wolf carne in the person of Judas, but Jesus did not run away like a hireling whose own the sheep were not, but met him, and said, Whom seek ye? ' And when they said, `Jesus of Nazareth,' He said,
If therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way.' Did not this show His great love?
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' And this is what Jesus did; for knowing nothing else would do, He gave Himself up, and laid down His life for His sheep.
“Jesus, having died for His sheep, now shows His great love for them by watching over them as the Good Shepherd: if any sheep or lamb goes astray, He goes after it Himself, picks it up, and carries it home on His shoulders. The poor little foolish lamb may bleat and cry very much, yet He will not stop, but put it into the sheep-fold, because He loves it. If one is weak, He takes even more care of it than of the others, for He carries the lambs in His bosom. Isaiah 40:1111He 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. (Isaiah 40:11).
“All the sheep and lambs of Jesus are very precious to Him, for He has bought them. You know that you value what you have bought, and paid, perhaps, a high price for. So Jesus says of those who follow Him, that they are His sheep,' and they are precious to Him.
“No man can say of any number of believers, 'My sheep,' or 'My flock;' not even the apostle Paul, for no man has bought them: the Lord Jesus alone can say, ' My sheep.' They are His in two ways: first, His Father gave them to Him; secondly, He purchased them. If He were to lose one of these sheep He would not be the Good Shepherd.
“Satan cannot take the least lamb away. But I will tell you what he can do, and has often done: he can scatter the sheep, if they will be foolish enough to let him; and he can frighten and distress them very much, whenever they are so foolish as to go astray from the fold. Indeed he is always watching for an opportunity to do this.
“All believers in Jesus are His flock and His sheep. It is true that Satan has been able to divide and scatter them very sadly; but still, the Good Shepherd tares for them, and watches over them all; and not one of them shall be lost, for no one is able to pluck them out of His hand. John 10:27-2927My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (John 10:27‑29).
“If a little child can say in his heart, I believe in Jesus,' even though it finds itself sinful, yet that little child may be cure that Jesus cares for it; and may say, 'I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me.'
“No matter how needy you are, you have a mighty and a Good Shepherd, who is able to save to the uttermost all those who come unto God by Him, and trust in Him.”
[The foregoing little paper forms one of sixteen small books bearing the title of Gospel Stories, all written by the same lady, and sold by the publishers of this volume, at four pence per packet of sixteen, and in a cloth-bound book at one shilling. They are also translated into the Norwegian and Swedish languages. At least a million and-a-half have been sold in the English language.]