Sermons | FBC Boerne

Sunday Sermon | Why He Came: The Good Shepherd

• FBC Boerne • Season 2 • Episode 5

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Some leaders take from people; the best leaders give themselves to people. That contrast sits at the center of a message that moves from a miracle in John 9 to a bold claim in John 10: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep and gives them abundant life. Pastor Jason Smith unpacks the tension between false shepherds who guard their status and the true Shepherd who guards our souls, and we follow the thread back to Ezekiel 34, where God promises to come and personally seek, bind, feed, and give His people rest.

We talk about the ache of wounded authority and why so many of us brace when we hear the word “leadership.” Then we let Jesus redefine it. His voice doesn’t manipulate; it restores. His authority doesn’t crush; it carries. Through vivid stories—a rescued sheep, a mother’s sacrifice, and a son’s baseball memories—we explore how love that gives itself away changes everything. The point isn’t to romanticize pain but to show that absolute abundance starts where lesser comforts end. Joy, peace, forgiveness, and deep purpose are not luxuries for the lucky; they are gifts from the Shepherd who knows our names.

Abundant life isn’t a lottery win or a platform. It is a soul stocked with lasting good: courage that steadies in dark valleys, grace that ends shame’s spin, and a sense that ordinary days can echo into eternity. We listen to Jesus’ promise, consider God’s delight in doing us good, and ask what surrender actually looks like—trusting in provision, receiving guidance, and letting His presence become the end behind every good gift. If you’ve been scattered by fear or burned by bad shepherds, this conversation offers clear-eyed hope and a better path forward with a Shepherd who is for you.

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SPEAKER_01:

Well, good morning, church family. If you are a guest with us, uh let me welcome you. My name is Jason Smith. I have the awesome privilege of being the pastor here, and it is a great privilege for you to uh visit with us this morning. Uh what an awesome privilege it is as a church to witness Sophia's baptism. Praise God for that. Amen. Right? And church family, this morning, we have the privilege of taking the Lord's Supper together, okay? If you are a born-again believer, okay, you are welcome to participate and take the Lord's Supper with us. If you did not get the elements on your way in, lift your hand up right now. We've got some deacons who are gonna pop around. Make sure you get those. Keep your hand up until you uh until you receive them. They will see you, I promise. Okay, but begin to prepare your heart now, believer.

unknown:

Okay?

SPEAKER_01:

To take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner of the broken body and shed blood, the new covenant that has been given to us by Jesus. So this morning we're gonna continue along in our Christmas sermon series looking at why Jesus came. We began with the truth that Jesus came to glorify the Father, to glorify the Father for his mercy. Then we looked at that Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And then two weeks ago, Pastor Daniel looked at the fact that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. This morning, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. If you do not have a Bible, there's a Bible in the Purec in front of you. You can keep that as a gift from us to you. We would love for you to keep that so that you can have a copy of God's word. John chapter 10, hold your spot there. Shrek was a Marino sheep. Not supposed to show the picture, yep. Act surprise here in just a moment. Shrek was a Marino sheep in New Zealand who was notorious for being mischievous and for wandering away. He hated having his wool sheared. Well, it turns out that Shrek escaped his enclosure and he would hide in caves, okay, uh, avoiding getting sheared for six years. For six years. And when he was finally discovered, this is what he looked like. Here's another story from 2005 in Turkey. Okay? I'm not sure if you are aware, but sheep instinctively followed the one right in front of it. Well, sadly, that meant 1,100 sheep simply walked off a 45-foot cliff. Apparently the first one walked off, and 1,099 followed right after. Killing 400. You ask, well, why didn't they all die? Well, it was the first 400 that died, and then the others had a much softer landing. Alright, one more. I want you to watch this video.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, so what I've got here is actually a cast ram, alright. So this happens quite a lot. And what they basically do is just roll over on their back and they can't get up and move. So what you want to do is just get them up so they're on their feet, and just hold them to get the blood circulating because they're going to be a little bit unbalanced. And obviously, if I didn't get to this ram, the ram could blow, he could go out, you know, um, get a bit gassy, and ultimately die if I don't get to him fast enough. So you just want to hold him just to regain his balance, and once it's been a minute or two, he should, you can see he's a bit wonky falling away. And do you know what he's just done? The exact same thing. So, what I'm gonna do is just hold him for a little bit longer.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright, why am I sharing all these sheep stories? Well, one of the most common metaphors in all of Scripture in the Bible is that we are sheep and that God is our shepherd. That's right. Sheep are stupid, they are vulnerable, and they are completely dependent upon the shepherd for all of life. The shepherd carries the authority of a king. Sheep cannot imagine life without the leadership and guidance of their shepherd. And in the best situations, the shepherd is like the personal love of a father, caring, protecting, feeding the sheep, the way a father does for his own children. Now, why are shepherds invited to the birth of our Lord and Savior? Well, for many points, it is simply because that Jesus has come to be your shepherd. He calls himself the good shepherd. Listen as I read in John chapter 10, verses 7 through 11. So Jesus said to them again, Truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Now pause real quick. I'm not going to explain this in the sermon, but in this aspect, uh imagine the sheep in a sheep pen, and Jesus says, He is the shepherd that guards the door, letting those in and out. Okay? Right, the safety, security. All those who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheaf did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, this morning, as we have come to gather around your word and to sing your praises, God, we pray right now in Jesus' name that your spirit would blow our minds in comprehending this truth. That King Jesus, you have come to be our shepherd, to be our life, to be our guiding force, our king, our loving Father, all of those ways that a sheep desperately needs a shepherd. Jesus, you have come. Father, I pray that that would penetrate our hard hearts, and that we would be, and that we would see with magnificence this morning that incredible truth, and that each of us would be willing to surrender to you as shepherd. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now the narrative in the chapter before, John chapter 9, is incredibly important because that actually leads into John chapter 10 and what Jesus says here. So in John chapter 9, Jesus was walking through Jerusalem with his disciples, and he proclaims to his disciples that he is the light of the world. And in order to display that proclamation, Jesus walks up to someone that has been blind his entire life, and he heals him right there. Heals him just like that. Now, understandably, there is great excitement around this healing, right? All the people that have known the blind man his whole life, his neighbors, his mother, the whole community is celebrating, except for the Pharisees, his local synagogue leaders. He who had never seen a sunset, never stood upon the mountain and beheld the beauty of creation, never seen his mother's face, could suddenly see. And the shepherds over him critically debate whether this is a good thing. Secretly, they fear that this might diminish their own authority, and they are jealous that God is working outside of them. So the final result is that they label Jesus a sinner for healing on the Sabbath, and they cursed the blind man as a sinner from birth. Now the contrast could not be more stark. The blind man who can suddenly see, but those who are supposed to be the shepherds are in fact spiritually blind. And these shepherds are in fact the very shepherds that God warned us about in Ezekiel chapter 34. Now you may not be familiar with Ezekiel 34, but it is a passage that is worth your attention. Remember that Ezekiel is in the Old Testament and therefore is looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, the coming of Jesus. But in Ezekiel 34, God the Father is looking down from heaven and he is greatly distressed. He is fraught with the fact that his sheep are not being cared for. The shepherds who are charged to care for his sheep, instead they are eating the sheep. They are not caring for them. They are selfish in how they use the sheep for their own personal gain. They do not mend the injured sheep. They do not heal the sick. And God's flock, as a result, are left scattered, vulnerable, and hurting. And in response to this situation, God says, I will rend the heavens and I will come down and I will care for my sheep. I will search for my sheep. I will rescue and gather them. I will heal and mend. I will feed them and I will give them rest. Fourteen times God says, I will, I will, I will. And then in the end he says, I will send my servant David, and he will feed, and he will shepherd my sheep. Our passage in John chapter 9 and 10 is a direct fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 34. The leaders in Israel are the false shepherds who selfishly abuse the sheep for their own personal gain. They do not teach that the only way to God is through faith in God's grace. That is only because God is gracious that you can come to Him. No, no, no, no. Instead, they teach a self-righteous system of laws, exalting themselves while pushing down the exhausted. A man who lived his entire life blind can miraculously see, and they do not rejoice, they worry about their own authority, threatening to put them out of the synagogue. So as Jesus says in John 10 10, the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And these false shepherds are in line with the ultimate thief, Satan, because in their hearts they deny God's provision, God's kindness, what God did to heal. They don't care. They suffocate life. And they cannot help but put others down in order to exalt themselves. They take what is not theirs as if they deserve it. Now you have had many shepherd figures in your life. From your parents to your grandparents, ranging from all of those who've had authority over you, right? Role models like teachers and coaches, and especially those in spiritual authority like pastors. Now I hope that those shepherds in your life have been amazing. But undoubtedly, across this room, right, probably every one of us has experienced oppressive, prideful authority in your life. It is the most hurtful the longer you sit and the closer to home that it hits. Those over you who are meant to bring about life, but instead they bring about destruction. No splash of mercy, no grace, only the reminder that you did not and you cannot ever measure up. See, it is into this darkness that Jesus comes as the good shepherd. I will feed, I will bind, I will heal the sick, I will gather the scattered, I will lead and protect and provide for all the things that a good shepherd would do. Which, if you really stop and think about it, there is one thing that the shepherd is for the sheep. The false shepherds, they are for themselves, but not Jesus. Jesus is first and foremost for the sheep, even to the point verse 11 says that I lay down my life for the sheep. On August 16th, 1987, Northwest Flight 255 took off from Detroit Airport. Now, as the plane lifted off from the runway, it immediately began to roll from side to side. Not having enough sufficient speed or lift, uh, its wing clipped uh a light pole from a rental car place. And soon the wing was on fire and it completely disintegrated. Now the plane was in an uncontrolled crash, killing two people on the ground and 148 people aboard. There was one lone survivor, Cecilia uh Seychand. Cecilia's account of what took place, she was a four-year-old little girl. Her account of what took place is as they were taking off and everything began to be chaotic and everyone began to scream, that her mother, sitting next to her, took off her own seatbelt, laid her body over her, and squeezed her as tight as she had ever been squeezed. That was Cecilia's last memory. That tattoo you see on her wrist is a constant reminder of her mother's sacrifice for her. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Now Lane and I are nowhere near perfect, but as good parents, everything we do is for the good of our children. We provide, we protect, we lead, we care for. Even when we discipline, we are pointing them to truth. We are shaping their character. Now I remember as a kid that right before my father would spank me, he would look at me and he would say, This hurts me more than it hurts you. And I remember thinking, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. It's my rear end. But now as a parent, I know that everything we do is for their good. How much more so does Jesus, friend, he has come to be your shepherd. Do you long for someone to lead you, to bind your wounds, to teach you his ways, to give you purpose and meaning and life. That is why he came. He came to be your shepherd. Listen again to Jesus, listen again to his heart. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Abundant, overflowing, thriving life. The best things in life, the most meaning, true depth, and true riches. I want you to picture the Most generous person that you've ever met. Do you believe that Jesus is more generous than they? He is not a stenchy miser. He wants, he says it right here. This is why he came. He came to give you abundant life. Now I need to head off some of you who have just prayed for your Powerball numbers. The abundant life does not mean earthly riches, wanton pleasure, and unyielding power. Jesus wants to give you so much more than your fleshly desires. Listen to the way that C.S. Lewis puts it. It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but rather too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us. But like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea, we are far too easily pleased. Jesus said that I came in complete contrast to those who want to abuse you or oppress you. I have come as your shepherd, and I have come to give you life, abundant life, a love and a joy inside of you that is so real that there are times where you don't know whether to bust out in laughter or to weep because your heart wants to explode. A peace so secure that even as you face darkness and death, your courage stiffens. A forgiveness that is so freeing, you float along like you are a feather. Relationships and meanings so deep that you know that your life, your years here, you impact eternity. Friend, Jesus can offer you abundant life because he is the source of abundant life. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. In his presence is a fullness of joy. Listen to John 15, 11. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. Listen to God's word. When God's word says that He delights to save you, He delights to do good to you, listen to this. Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exalt over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. I don't think you comprehend what that verse actually says. That verse says that God delights, not that he will make you joyful, but that God himself delights in doing you good, in saving you. And more than anything, hear me. Jesus delights to give you himself. Because he is the end of every good thing. Who gave food its taste and the robin its color? Who made the oceans roar or the view from the top of a mountain? Who created a mother's love or a father's protection? You see, everything good points to him because he is its end. So I grew up a Texas Rangers fan because my father was a Texas Rangers fan. And my father loved baseball. Okay? I love the drama of all sports. I kind of felt like baseball is fair. It's about a six out of ten. But my father would give baseball a ten out of ten. And we love to watch baseball together. Okay? We would go to the old stadium in Arlington and sit on the metal uh bleachers, and it was hot during the summer, but those were the cheap seats, those were the ones we could afford. We would lot watch a lot of baseball on TV, and if my mom was distracted, he would let me stay up later so that we could watch baseball. Actually played baseball two years longer than I would have because my father loved baseball so much. Okay. Now in in 2011, the Rangers made uh a World Series run. Okay? And even though I was married at the time and with kids, this World Series run by the Rangers gave my father and I a lot of opportunity to talk on the phone and to text, right? We would watch every game and text and talk about it. I was at an important game where Nelson Cruz hit a uh a grand slam to send them to the next round, and the first thing I did was call my dad, okay? And we talked about it. Now, in 2011, the Rangers got one pitch, one strike from winning the World Series. And there was this notorious fly ball to right field. You can see the picture in the bottom right. There is Nelson Cruz missing that catch. Okay. And I don't remember where I was when I watched it. All I remember was immediately picking up my phone and talking to my father about that play. 2011 is my favorite baseball memory. Now, fast forward to 2023. Because in 2023, for the first time in the Rangers' 63-year history, they won the World Series. An unbelievable run, full of drama. They didn't cheat like the Houston Trash Drows, okay? They won it. Fair and square. That's right, pour it on. Okay. And for all the drama, all the excitement of finally winning that World Series, it doesn't even come close to comparing to 2011. You see, in 2020, my father passed away. And so even though the Rangers finally got to the mountaintop, baseball was never the same again. Because, you see, the Rangers weren't the end. My father was the end. He was the joy. He was the excitement of it all. The Rangers were just what we shared together. Friend, I share that with you to illustrate to you that Jesus is the end of every good thing. He is the good shepherd. Every good thing in your life he has given so that you might enjoy him in it. He has come so that you would have abundant joy and peace and forgiveness and life in him. And frankly, I am a fellow sheep who simply gives testimony to you that my life is more abundant. It is filled with more joy, more meaning, more purpose than I ever could have imagined. Because Jesus is my shepherd. And he can be your shepherd too. My friend. So let me ask you, will you surrender control and allow him to lead? Will you stop worrying? And will you trust him to provide for what you need? Will you quit hiding from his discipline? Like Shrek? Will you quit running because you know he's convicting you? He does so for your good. Will you rest in his unfailing love? Will you trust him to lead you through the dark valley that you are in? I want you to take the Lord's supper. I want you to prepare the bread. I'm gonna give you a moment to contemplate here. Here in a moment, I'm gonna read the first portion of Psalm 23. I'm gonna give you time to reflect, and then we're gonna take the elements together. As you hold a small piece of bread, I want you to be mindful of the fact that the shepherd's body was broken for you. As he said in this text, I lay down my life for the sheep. He came and he found you in your sin. And he was broken in order to purchase you back to himself so that he might be your shepherd. I want you to listen as I read the first three verses of Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. In the quietness of your heart, will you express your gratitude to your shepherd for laying down his life to purchase you to himself? And he says, Take and eat. Now I want you to prepare the cup. He has saved you in order to bless you beyond all comprehension with his mercy and grace. It is greater than you could possibly comprehend what it is going to be like in his presence for all of eternity. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Take a few moments to contemplate the future promises of God towards you. And he gave it to his disciples, and he said, This is my blood that is poured out for the new covenant. Drink this in remembrance of me. There is no God like you that lays down his life for the sheep. Your love towards us, your mercy towards us to pursue us and to find us when we were your enemies, when we were far from you. Father, I pray that your love would continue to wash over us and change us, that it would be a testimony of our lives, that you are our shepherd. And that although we are deficient and we are limited and we are so finite, our shepherd is amazing. You are so good. We give testimony of that this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Church family, the praise team is going to come and lead us in one final song, and it is a chance for you to respond. I know you have responded in participating in the Lord's Supper, but this is a time for you to stand and sing in faith. You should belt this out with so much enthusiasm, giving your hallelujah back to the Father. We'll have ministers down here at the front who would love to pray with you. Okay? If there is any burden you carry and you need someone to walk alongside you, that is why we are here. We're not here to play church. We are here to worship our King together. So we'll have ministers down here at the front if you want to use these steps as an altar to pour out your life before the Lord. Whatever decision or prompting that the Spirit of God has placed upon you, you be obedient.

SPEAKER_03:

Would you stand the lady between us? I could not climb in despair, darkness, you're loving kindness of us Christ.

SPEAKER_01:

Jesus Christ every time it's every free death has lost his prep on me you have every day salvation in your name Jesus Christ I believe Amen Amen if you are a guest with us we are really grateful that you are here we would love to make a connection with you there's a card in the Pew rack in front of you it says connection card now we don't have our usual connection tent up because it's really cold outside and no one wants to stand out there so on your way out to your right there is a cart that has some information about our church and a gift for you okay we would love to give you that gift and take any information that you might need about our church okay maybe you visited a few times and you're thinking how do I take a next step membership I want to serve somewhere Pastor Garrett is over here at our next step sign give him five minutes right after service he will take down your information and get you anything that you need to follow up okay church family let me pray over us as we leave let me remind you that uh Bernie Bright's tonight we're gonna have 2,000 people on our campus depending upon weather um uh remember to pick up prayer cards if you didn't get them okay we promised that we would pray for these so grab those and let's leave Heavenly Father we thank you for this day we thank you that you are the good shepherd King Jesus help us to leave here surrender to you resting in you trust in you to get us through every trial and tribulation in our lives help us to shine our light to tell others of our good shepherd that you have have come near so that you can be accessible to all God give us a heart and a passion for lost sheep for people that do not know you that they would come to know you. Help us to walk worthy of you as we leave here. In Jesus' name we pray amen God bless you guys have a great week