The Good Shepherd Is Known by the Life He Gives

Introduction

Anyone who has spent time around sheep knows that sheep are not the most impressive animals in the world.

They are easily frightened.
If one sheep begins running, the rest of the flock may run without even knowing why.
A sudden noise can startle them so badly that they panic.

Sheep are not guided by maps or strategies.

But they do know one thing very well:

They know the voice they trust.

Sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd.
And when they hear that voice, they follow it—because they know it leads them to safety, water, and life.

That is the image Jesus gives us in John chapter 10.

But this passage is not mainly about sheep.

It is about the Shepherd.

When we read Scripture, one helpful question to ask is this:

"What is God doing here?"

Because in the Bible, God is always the main character.

And in John 10, Jesus reveals something essential about himself:

The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.

You recognize the Shepherd not merely by what he says, but by the kind of life his rule produces.

So today we will look at three things:

1. The difference between the true shepherd and false voices
2. How the Good Shepherd leads his sheep
3. The life that the Good Shepherd gives

And as we move through the passage, we will return again and again to this truth:

The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.

Expository Walkthrough

1. The True Shepherd and the False Voices (John 10:1–2)

Jesus begins with an image that his listeners would recognize immediately.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."

A sheepfold was a protected enclosure where sheep were kept safe at night.

If someone climbed over the wall instead of using the gate, it was obvious:

They did not belong there.

They came to steal or harm.

But the shepherd enters through the door.
His presence is open and legitimate.

Jesus is speaking into a world full of competing voices.

There were religious voices.
Political voices.
Violent voices.
Voices promising safety, power, or control.

And the same is true today.

Our world is filled with voices telling us what will save us, what will protect us, and what will give us life.

But Jesus warns us:

Not every voice that claims authority truly cares for the sheep.

Some voices steal.
Some voices destroy.

This teaching comes right after Jesus healed a blind man in John 9 and the religious leaders expelled him from the synagogue.

They believed they were the shepherds of God's people.

Jesus gently—but clearly—says they are not.

You will know the true shepherd not only by his words but by what his leadership produces.

Does it produce fear or life?

Control or freedom?

Condemnation or restoration?

The Good Shepherd does not steal life.

The Good Shepherd gives life.

Transition: But if false shepherds are recognized by what they destroy, then how do we recognize the true Shepherd? Jesus answers that in the next verses.

2. The Sheep Recognize the Shepherd's Voice (John 10:3–4)

Jesus continues:

"The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."

This is a deeply personal picture.

Jesus knows his sheep by name.

But there is another important detail here.

The shepherd goes ahead of them.

In the ancient world, shepherds did not drive sheep from behind the way cattle are driven.

They walked ahead.

And the sheep followed.

Why?

Because they trusted the shepherd's voice.

During World War I there was an incident near Jerusalem where soldiers attempted to steal a flock of sheep.

They tried to drive the sheep away.

But the real shepherd awoke and called to his flock.

And the sheep immediately turned and ran back to him.

They recognized the voice that led them to life.

You see, we recognize a voice not only by its sound.

We recognize it by where it leads.

A voice always leads somewhere.

Toward safety or danger.

Toward life or death.

Toward restoration or destruction.

And Jesus says:

"My sheep know my voice."

In other words:

My sheep recognize that I lead them to life.

And that brings us to the heart of the passage.

Transition: If the sheep follow the shepherd's voice, the next question becomes: Where does the Shepherd lead them? What kind of life does his leadership produce?

3. The Life of the Shepherd's Kingdom (John 10:7–10)

Jesus continues with another powerful image.

"I am the door of the sheep… If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture."

In the ancient world, shepherds sometimes slept across the entrance of the sheepfold.

Their own body became the gate.

No predator could reach the sheep without going through the shepherd first.

Jesus says:

"I am that gate."

This tells us something profound about God.

God does not protect us from a distance.

God protects us through self-giving love.

The Father sends the Son.

The Son enters our humanity.

And the Son places himself between the sheep and the danger.

This points us directly to the cross.

The Good Shepherd does not simply guide the sheep.

He lays down his life for them.

Jesus absorbs the violence, sin, and death of the world in his own body.

He carries what we cannot carry.

He defeats what we cannot defeat.

And then Jesus says the words that summarize his mission:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Notice what Jesus offers.

Not mere survival.

Abundant life.

Not just existing.

But living in the fullness of God's kingdom.

A life where:

Fear does not rule.

Relationships are healed.

Peace overcomes violence.

Generosity replaces greed.

Love overcomes hatred.

Once again we return to the central truth:

The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.

Application

So how do we recognize the Good Shepherd at work in our world?

One way to ask the question is this:

Where do we see the life of the kingdom appearing?

Where life is protected instead of discarded.

Where enemies are reconciled instead of crushed.

Where the wounded are healed instead of blamed.

Where the poor are lifted instead of ignored.

Where the outsider is welcomed instead of rejected.

Where you see those things happening, the Shepherd's voice is near.

The Spirit opens our ears to hear that voice.

And the Spirit invites us not only to recognize the Shepherd's work—but to join it.

We become people who echo the Shepherd's voice.

People who participate in the life of his kingdom.

Conclusion

Later in this chapter Jesus says something remarkable.

"I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also… so there will be one flock, one shepherd."

The kingdom of the Good Shepherd is always larger than we expect.

It breaks down walls.

It crosses boundaries.

It gathers people we never imagined would belong together.

And wherever that gathering happens—where love grows, where healing begins, where life breaks into places of death—the kingdom of God has come near.

Because the Good Shepherd's rule does not destroy.

It restores.

The Good Shepherd's rule does not steal.

It redeems.

The Good Shepherd's rule does not kill.

It gives life.

So may we learn to recognize his voice.

May we follow where he leads.

And may our lives begin to reflect the life of his kingdom.

Because wherever that life appears, we know the Shepherd is near.

And we remember:

The Good Shepherd is known by the life he gives.

Amen.

Click on link to see original sermon: https://equipper.gci.org/2026/03/sermon-for-april-26-2026-fourth-sunday-of-easter