SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 01 September 10, 2006

Jesus the Good Shepherd
Theme: Good News to Share
Theme Verse: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10b NIV
Readings: John 10:1-21
Memory Verse: "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. (John 10:14-16)

      We believe the Lord wants us to begin by looking at who Jesus says he is in John 10 -- The Good Shepherd. There are many things Jesus tells us about who he is and what he is like -- this is just the beginning. A word received: I Am the Good Shepherd. I know you and I make myself known to you. I want to do that for all the children in the Sunday School. I Am with you as you teach. I will teach through you and the other teachers. I Am able to do this. That is Good News.

TRUTH
      Look at the way Jesus begins both of these teachings in Chapter 10: "Truly, truly" or "I tell you the truth". A word received: I always tell you the truth and that is what I want you to share with others -- the truth. Recall what Jesus said (John 14:6) to his disciples the night before he died "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Jesus IS the truth and he speaks the truth. That is who Jesus is and his character as well.

      Some people will try to lead you with lies -- don't believe them. This is very important because lies destroy and lead to death. This is urgent. It really is a matter of life and death. The current world view is that all truths are relative -- your truth and my truth...no absolute truth. Pontius Pilate would fit right in. He said to Jesus, "What is truth?" He saw only politics and what suited him. If you were lost in the woods and came to a fork in the road and had been told that one path, though not always easy, would take you out of the woods and the other was easy and pleasant at first but ended in a swamp with quicksand and no way around it, wouldn't it make a difference which one was really truly the good path? (See the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14)

      Jesus wants us to know the truth -- the truth about who he is and the way to life. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the truth. At its core, truth is not just a thing or facts but a person! Jesus IS the way -- the way to life. We have to not only know what truth is, but choose it! The truth, the fact, the reality, Jesus wants people to know in this teaching is that he is the Good Shepherd.

OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND
      The imagery/picture of God as the Shepherd of Israel is deeply rooted in the Old Testament and that Israel are God's own sheep. An example is Isaiah 40:10-11, "Behold the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him (a conquering king); behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him (a righteous judge). He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young" (pregnant women and those with little babies). In the 23rd Psalm David sings of God as his shepherd -- just as David was a shepherd when he was a boy. But here, God is telling his people that he is a tender, loving shepherd as well as King and judge.

JESUS FULFILLS GOD'S PROMISE
      In Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Ezekiel 34:1-24 God is speaking judgment against the false shepherds of Israel (political and religious leaders) who were not taking care of God's sheep, but scattered and mistreated them. So God promised to send--in the future--good shepherds and a descendent of David to rule and shepherd His people. That is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus fulfills God's promise (vs.11) "I myself will search for My sheep and seek them out." "I myself will be the shepherd of My sheep." (vs. 15)

      So when Jesus says that he is the Good Shepherd, he is not only saying that this is who he is but he is pointing to the fulfillment of God's promise centuries before and also to the fact that God the Father is in him and he and the Father are one. (John 10:30) In Jesus, God, our Father, has himself become our Shepherd!

      So much is packed into these verses. What are the other most important things Jesus wants us to know about himself as our Shepherd at the start of this year? He wants us to know him personally and to know how to recognize his voice (vs.3, 14, 27). Jesus leads his sheep. He doesn't drive them. "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."(10:3) A word received: Your name is precious to me. I love you, I love your name, I know your name and you are mine.

JESUS IS THE DOOR, THE WAY IN
      Jesus tells us that anyone who does not enter by the "door" but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber (John 10:1). Then Jesus makes it even clearer by saying that he is the door (vs. 7) and anyone/and only those who enter by that door can be saved -- and find pasture and abundant life. Jesus is the Way to the Father, to abundant life, to God's kingdom and sheepfold. That offends a lot of people who want to think that there are "many paths to God" -- but that is not the fact, the reality, the truth. A word received: Which is the way you enter the sheepfold -- over the way or through the door I have opened? Anyone who refuses the way I have opened chooses to climb in some other way. "I Am the way, the truth and the life." There is NO other way into the kingdom. Jesus said it another way in John 14:6, "I am the way...No one comes to the Father but by me."

      There are other characters in this teaching about what Jesus is: the "gatekeeper" (vs. 5), the "thief and robber" (vs. 10), and the "hireling", a hired man. The worst is the hired man -- because he seems to be a shepherd but does not really care about the sheep. When he feels threatened he abandons the sheep. But he is the worst because the sheep have trusted him. No doubt Jesus was talking about the religious and political leaders of his day (that is the same as in Ezekiel 34.) The thief obviously wants to make himself rich or famous and takes advantage of the helpless sheep.

      The question for us is when God gives us a stewardship leading other people, are we being good caretakers, gatekeepers of God's flock? As teachers, parents, leaders, older brothers and sisters, we have influence and responsibilities for others. How do we care for God's sheep he has put in our care? Another question for us is, "Is Jesus my shepherd?" We cannot be good assistant shepherds unless we are following our own shepherd closely. Am I willing to have Jesus shepherd me and lead me? Do we know his voice? He wants us to spend time with him so we will learn to recognize his voice.

      "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." "I lay down my life, that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay down of my own accord." (vs. 11, 15, 17-18) Jesus is pointing forward to his own death and resurrection. No one makes him do it. Jesus will willingly die for his sheep -- us -- because that is God the Father's will for him. (Remember they are one.) Look again at vs. 14-15, "I Am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep and am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. Being "saved", that is, becoming one of Jesus' sheep is a personal choice, a personal relationship, and then we also become part of the larger flock that has Jesus as shepherd.

      A word received: I Am with you. I Am a shepherd who stays with the sheep. I do not abandon my sheep under any circumstances. I want the children to know that I will never abandon them. Every child is known to me. I make myself known to my sheep. I come with my Father's love for the children. I lay down my life for the children and I bring them into my Father's kingdom. This is a picture of Jesus that shows how much he loves us and wants to bring us into his sheepfold, his kingdom, his family. A word received: I love you enough to die for you (to lay down my life for you.)

      "Jesus used this illustration but they didn't understand the thing which he spoke to them." (vs. 10:6) A word received: My love for you does not depend on your understanding everything all at once. I told my disciples to "learn of me". I want you to learn of me. Learning takes time. I want you to spend time with me, learning of me.

      Be quiet a few minutes after asking this question: "What is the good news for you in this lesson?" Then, after getting an answer, ask, "What is the good news Jesus wants you to share with someone this week? We're going to ask for people to share what happened when they shared.

      HOW TO TEACH WORD FOR TEACHERS: The way to teach is to keep your eyes on Me. Sheep know where the Shepherd is and can see where he is heading. Your are My sheep; I will guide you as you keep your eyes and your attention on Me.

      Ideas for Lesson 01
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.

Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.

Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
1. Jesus always tells the truth.

2. Jesus says that he is the Shepherd, and that we are his little lambs.

3. A good shepherd is like a good daddy to the sheep, and always takes care of them. That is how much he loves each one of us. He will NEVER leave us or abandon us.

4. Jesus and His heavenly Father KNOWS YOUR NAME! He loves you!