John 10 Class 48:The Journey to Understanding the Good Shepherd: Growing Closer to Jesus and God

Are you ready to uncover the meaning behind the Good Shepherd and His sheep? Join us in this enriching episode as we explore John, Chapter 10, and learn how our relationship with Jesus and God is vital for everyday life. Discover how scripture helps us understand the messages God is trying to convey and how the spiritual world and God's ever-present guidance are evident in our lives.

We dive into Jesus' teachings about the Good Shepherd, His sacrifice, and how to learn from Him to become better people and shepherds ourselves. Hear about modern-day examples of shepherds and the lessons they teach us about Jesus' guidance. Plus, learn to trust in God for peace, understanding, and personal growth by putting Him first and nurturing a one-on-one relationship with Him. Don't miss this insightful conversation that will elevate your spiritual journey!

 I'm so glad you're here. It's a pleasure to study with you.

Support this show!!
www.blessed2bs.com
Instagram: @Bleesed2bs/ @Legion_love
Facebook: Boujeebiblestudies

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

let's talk about love. Let's talk about money. Let's talk about sex. Let's talk about drug. Let's talk about you. Let's talk about me. Let's talk about us. Let's talk about we. Let's talk about you. Let's talk about me. Let's talk about us. Let's talk about we. Let's talk about wealth about wealth. Let's talk about greed. Let's talk being broke, living in poverty. Let's talk about black. Let's talk about white. Let's talk about how we still fight for our rights. Let's talk about men's sex games and drugs. And let's talk about God. Let's talk about love. Let's discuss our feelings.

Speaker 2: 0:44

Hey y'all, welcome to Blessed 2BS. I'm your cousin in Christ, juan Trel LeVette, and this is Buji Bible Studies. If you are new here, i'd like to welcome you to the number one Bible Study class that you will ever come across. If you are not new here, you already know how we get down as we dive into the Bible and read a chapter a week and get the inside stories of what took place back in the ancient Bible that is so vital and preached around the world for our lives today. If you are new here, you could read out any version you choose to. I read out an NIV version to simply just simplify things the stories. That really breaks down what we should understand and know of what took place back in those ancient times that Jesus talks to us about individually. If you want to gain a relationship with God and Jesus, this podcast is for you, as you could be from anywhere that you choose to be from in the world, religiously, in the background of religion, however you choose to look at it and be. This is no judgment podcast, simply here for a relationship with Christ, a relationship with the Lord, god, our Creator, the one who created all of us both in and out, ups and downs, good and bad, alive and dead. So I am honored to be your host, juan Trel LeVette, and we've been doing this for some time that I'm still getting my feet wet as I dive into the Bible. I am no expert, i am not a preacher, i am not a prophesier, i am not a pastor. I just simply like to read the stories out loud, and I created this podcast so that I can have a place to vent to and talk to basically myself and other people about the relationship that I'm creating, or that has been created, with me and the Creator, and I hope that you also are establishing a relationship out here with Christ, where it is so important and vital for your life to just enjoy an everyday life without being condemned of this society and this world. So I welcome you, i welcome everyone and I hope you guys enjoy the story, today's title and today's class. We will be in John, chapter 10. The title for our episode today is The Good Shepherd.

Speaker 2: 3:06

Now, a lot of the stories in the Bible we do here in church, certain places, but for me it's really important that I understand the stories so that I can really see what God is talking to me and dealing with me about, as life can be challenging every day. I don't have it figured out and I am just solely just relying on God to guide me, with the Holy Spirit and dependent on Jesus and all of that good stuff that just brings spirituality into place of surviving here in the world, because there's things that happen in a spirit world that we cannot fight against if we are not aware that God is having our back the way that God does. And so I welcome you Again. We will be in John, chapter 10. The title for our episode today is The Good Shepherd, and if you are ready, i don't need to chat too much. I am ready as well, so go ahead and grab your Bibles. I have a Bible tracker here for those who are new. I advise you to check out any episode before this so you can kind of see how this goes. It's very quick, short and straight to the point, and, again, i'm not a preacher. So if you got it, i got it as well. Let's get this story going.

Speaker 2: 4:20

John, chapter 10. The Good Shepherd and his sheep. Let's go. Very truly.

Speaker 2: 4:27

I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all of 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 the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore, jesus said again very truly I tell you, i am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pastor. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

Speaker 2: 5:44

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own 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 should 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.

Speaker 2: 6:49

The Jews who heard these words were again divided. Many of them said he is a demon possessed and raven mad Why listen to him? But others said these are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. When a demon opened the eyes of a blind, further conflict over Jesus' claims Verse 22. Then came the festival of dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was in the temple courts, walking in Solomon's colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him saying how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. Jesus answered I did tell you, but you do not believe The works I do, in my father's name, testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my boys. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. I and the father are one.

Speaker 2: 8:03

Again, his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? We are not stoning you for any good work, they replied, but for blasphemy me, because you, a mere man, claim to be God". Jesus answered him. Is it not written in your law? I have said you are gods. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside. What about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sit into the world. Why, then, do you accuse me of blasphemy? because I said I am God's son. Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father, but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.

Speaker 2: 8:59

Again, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptized in in the early days. There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true, and in that place many believed in Jesus. And that's the end of our chapter. Let's break it down.

Speaker 2: 9:31

A modern shepherd What a good shepherd will look like today. Chapter 10, verse 10. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Some of the Bible's rule illustrations simply do not transfer easily into modern life. What is a good shepherd like? What did Jesus mean by the term?

Speaker 2: 9:58

A small drama that took place on the slopes of Washington's Mount Rainer may shed light on the meaning of the good shepherd. One Memorial Day weekend, a Christian dentist named James Reddick was teaching his 12 year old daughter and 11 year old son the joy of mountain hiking. A sudden storm came up, battering them with hurricane force winds and thick wet sheets of snow. A blinding white out made it impossible to see or move on the steep slope. Willing to die, reddick laverously dug an oblong trench with an aluminum mess kit, then tucked his children into sleeping bags away from the entrance. He covered the opening with a tarp, but it kept one away, exposing the trench to the swirling snow outside. Reddick found he had to lie directly across the opening, using his own weight to hold down the edges of the tarp. His body protected his son and daughter from the howling wind. Two days passed before searchers finally noticed the corner of a backpack protruding from deep snow. They rushed to the site, hoping the snow covered mound wood contained the three missing hikers. Inside they found Sharon and David Reddick very much alive, but the stiff body of their father laid against one wall of the snow cave. He had taken the cold spot, in one searchers words, by using his own back as the outer wall.

Speaker 2: 11:34

An image something like that must have filled the minds of Jesus listeners, as he described a good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. In verse 11,. Nothing not raging cold thieves or wolves would come between the good shepherd and his sheep. He would die for their protection. Popularity for a while, as Jesus headed toward his final days in Jerusalem, the theme of death, his death, kept surfacing in his parables and direct statements. Ironically, his followers were growing in numbers. His popularity had reached a peak with the feeding of 5,000 people on a handful of morsels, a miracle mentioned by all four gospel writers. The groundswell of support to make Jesus king deeply impressed his followers. Jesus, however, escaped into the hills. In chapter 6, verse 15,. He would not be a king on the crowds term. He continued on his lonely missions, stirring up controversy and hatred by healing people on the Sabbath and by proclaiming himself equal with God.

Speaker 2: 12:46

Ignoring an impressive miracle, many Jews came over to Jesus after one of his most impressive signs, bringing Lazarus back to life. But simultaneously, religious leaders concluded callously that it was best for one man, jesus, to die rather than to risk the whole nation. In chapter 11, verse 50, four separate times they tried to seize him. Jesus came to offer life, one of those one syllable words swollen with meaning that John threaded throughout his narrative. Lazarus received that life in an astonishing literal way, providing yet another sign of Jesus ultimate power. Jesus, though, made preparations to give up his own life, making the ultimate sacrifice of the good shepherd. What have you sacrificed for the sake of another person? The guided tour of John. 10, no secrets.

Speaker 2: 13:50

Jesus is a man on a mission Chapter 10, verse 24,. The Jews who were there gathered around him saying How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. Every few years, an author or scholar, or even a movie maker raises new questions, or the same old questions about Jesus' identity. Often, such portrayals show him wandering around the earth in the days, trying to figure out why he came and what he is supposed to be doing. Nothing could be further from the account given by us, by John, jesus' closest friend. According to John, jesus was a man on a mission who knew exactly what he had come to earth to accomplish. John states his purpose in writing very clearly to get people to believe in Jesus the Messiah. Chapter 20, verse 31. His book selectively features incidents from Jesus' life to demonstrate who Jesus is.

Speaker 2: 14:58

Shepherd of Israel. I am the gate, jesus says in chapter 10, verse 9. I am the good Shepherd verse 11. Jews who hear these words undoubtedly think back to Old Testament king like David, who were family, thought of as the Shepherd of Israel. Unlike modern day Shepherds who use dogs to drive their flocks, shepherds in Jesus' day walk the head of the sheep, calling them to follow. The sheep will respond only to a familiar voice. In the Old Testament, god is also called the Shepherd of Israel in Psalms, chapter 80, verse one.

Speaker 2: 15:39

In claiming to be the good Shepherd, jesus is asserting his leadership over a flock he is willing to die for. When some challenge him bluntly if you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. In verse 24, jesus answers them with equal bluntness saying I am the Father or one. Verse 30. The PS Jews, understanding Jesus all too well, pick up stones to execute him for blasphemy. Not even these hostile reactions surprise Jesus, though He expects oppositions, even execution.

Speaker 2: 16:16

As he explains here, a truly good Shepherd, unlike a hired hand, lays down his life for the sheep Verse 11. This chapter explains why he makes the choice that he makes the life question What different does it makes to you that Jesus is God and not just a man? The other life question was what have you sacrificed for the sake of another person. Woo, let me just say I really did get a good understanding of the good Shepherd, since understanding what that term mean. It means somebody that will lay down their life for their flock. It also means a Shepherd who voice is very familiar to the flock of his sheep.

Speaker 2: 17:03

Now, everybody nowadays wants to be the goat. They wanna be the goat, you know, and me personally, i don't wanna be the goat, i kinda don't wanna be any animal, but I do consider, like sometimes myself, a lioness, even though I'm not a Leo or a scorpion because that's my birth sign. But more or less I think I'm just a sheep, following my master, following my creator, following the one that saved me, looking to that creation, the one who Jesus is, you know, looking to all that, what Jesus has done for me, are remembering those things, are trying to understand that those type of life interactions has took in place where Jesus was the good Shepherd and he laid down his life for the sheep. It's like being a parent, you know. Some of us lay down our life for our kids, our other people. You know, sacrificing yourself for people or ending up in a situation like Mr James Reddick where he had to save his kids on the mountain slope after they got snowed in, basically, being that person that laid down your life for somebody else, that's a good Shepherd And I appreciate what Jesus did for me, like in all the ancient stories that I read and I noticed you know the good deed of Jesus.

Speaker 2: 18:33

He's just identifying that he and God is the same and he also installed and let us know that God is also within us as well, especially for those who believe, even for the non-believers. You know God has also installed with them as well. So for me it's just like. It makes me think of parenthood. It makes me think all of the sacrifices that I would do, i would lay down for my kids to protect them, just so that they could survive, starting generational well, just so that they could survive, not even knowing if they're gonna appreciate the outcome or not.

Speaker 2: 19:12

But it's just like you know some things we do to lay down our life or our family, our friends or people and things like that. It just made me understand and realize that term and really get an understanding of how to use the term and know who the good shepherd is And, if I can mimic, jesus be a good shepherd here on earth to other people, to my kids, my family, my friends or, you know, just anybody that needs my help in a way that I could help, because obviously I can't protect and save everybody, but Jesus can, and he did, and he gives us that opportunity to look to him and be comforted in places where we may feel unprotected, where somebody could come in until your your then Your then could be your house, where you are comfortable at, and somebody could come still kill and destroy what you built or trying to do something like that. You know, you gotta watch out for people that sneak in through windows and cracks and stuff like that. And I'm just speaking hypothetically, but the gatekeeper to your house, to your heart, to your mind, to your soul, should be our creator, you know, should be God, should be the one where he said we could come in and out and go away with and be in pastors. You know, like who gives you that opportunity to come in and out, being yourself, getting that love and that peace and that everything that you need from God.

Speaker 2: 20:44

It's amazing to me to watch God in my life because I'm always, you know, looking at my situations and I'm always trying to identify God and people And I'm always trying to look at the heart. and also, while I'm looking at the heart, i'm also getting my heart worked on. God is constantly working on my heart, constantly being the surgeon the best hand surgeon possibly that there could be to fix my heart, fix things that should be different or should be right or should be better, you know. So I'm always paying attention to people and how they think and how they act and how they be And, really importantly, doing that for myself, because I'm the one to blame if I accept something or if I don't accept something. I'm the one to have that feeling if my heart gets broken or if I put myself in a situation to allow such things, you know I'm the one who have to deal with that.

Speaker 2: 21:49

So I'm always relying on God to be that good shepherd in my life to help me to understand the healing process or the tweaks of my understanding, just, and how he works in his creation and things like that. So it doesn't make a difference to me that God was God or a man or whatever figure. How people just want to characterize our God. It's just like I said last time it's vague, it's a word that's been thrown out there, but we all carry God within us And to have that oneness with the Creator. It comes from you, it comes from knowing and it comes from believing, it comes from hoping, it comes from faith And it just comes from trusting and knowing that at the end of the day, you have a good shepherd in your life And you can also be a good shepherd in somebody's life, and so I appreciate Jesus being a good shepherd in my life. I appreciate being able to go through things in the world and spiritually feel that it's going to be alright and I'm going to be okay. Things cast all the time and I'm just very appreciative of diving into the Bible and sometimes, as much as I'm not like super thrilled about sharing my voice or sharing my outlook on the story or sharing what I'm going through with people, it is something that I don't mind doing and I thank God that I have the opportunity to do this because you know it's just you never know what people are going through.

Speaker 2: 23:40

It's not an easy task to wake up and to ask God for help or to even fall on God or to rely on that Holy Spirit to just guide you and things like that. Like I said before, everybody wants to be the goat and you know, i don't mind being a sheep, regardless of how people may look at me. Some people may look at me like a goat, a lion, a dolphin, an owl, you know just any animal they choose to, because every animal has their thing going. But honestly, i'm a human. I'm a human animal, but I am a child of God and I belong to God and my body is here, but my spirit definitely belongs to God and I really take pride in just knowing that. I would love and I want to always put God first and I just thank God for the opportunity to be able to do that. So it's a big deal for me and I hope this story resonated for you, gave you an understanding.

Speaker 2: 24:46

I probably was all off topic and subject about what the Good Shepherd or Modern Shepherd, but lay down your life for somebody man, if not anybody that you could lay your life down for. Do it for yourself. Lay down your life for yourself where you say you know what. Today is the day. Enough is enough. Have a reset. I just recently, literally yesterday, had a reset. I'm going through a reset. Right now I'm closing up, going celibate, face down, working hard, keeping my face in the Bible and the Word, just making sure that God has continued to guide me, but taking that time with really just one-on-one with God and rocking out the last six months of the year, me and God only. I'm on the mission right now and that's what I'm on.

Speaker 2: 25:36

I don't know what you guys are doing out there, but I hope you guys are laying down your life for yourself. You know, stop playing about you. You know what I'm saying. Stop playing about getting into a better position, learning something new, getting up, breaking out of curses. That was put onto your life. That you and you asked for and I know it sucks that we got to be the one to do that, but we got to lay down our life for ourselves so that we can lay down our life for other people. Like I think about my kids. I think about, in the future, having more kids. I will always do what I got to do to protect my kids and that's a big deal for me. So not only just my kids, but myself too. You know, protecting my heart, protecting my mind and everything like that, and I hope and I pray the same for you guys.

Speaker 2: 26:22

So you guys have been rocking with me on today's episode of the Bible. Check us out on social media. Blessed to be. Us on Instagram, bougie Bible Studies on Facebook. I really appreciate all my listeners, everybody. They from all across the states. You know that's not in the states, out the country. Whatever so be, may this word and the words of the Bible reach globally, around the world, and just touch everybody in their own way, in every way. We all should know the words of the Bible. That way we know that God is the main source. So until next time, you guys, i'm your cousin, juan Trolevet, and I really appreciate you guys. Don't forget to support the podcast. Anything helps. Click the link below Until next time, i will talk to you later. Bye.