Fourth Sunday of Easter

Sermon Text: John 10:1-10

Other Readings: 1 Samuel 17:34-37 and Hebrews 13:20-21

 

  1. Who were the Pharisees, and in what ways were they stealing and robbing from the people of Jesus’ day?

 

  1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Explain based on these verses or other parts of God’s Word. “Now that Jesus has come, we don’t need to be as worried about false teachers acting as strange shepherds.”

 

  1. In these verses Jesus describes people who shepherd his flock of believers. In our church body, who serves that way? Talk about a spiritual shepherd you had whom you really admired.

 

  1. What are things good shepherds do as they take care of God’s flock?

 

  1. Explain what Jesus means when he says that his sheep will “find pasture” (cf. Psalm 23:2,3) and explain the connection between “pasture” and having a full, abundant life.

 

 

  1. The Pharisees were one key group of religious leaders among God’s chosen people of Israel. The Pharisees stressed that the people must follow their rules to stay right with God. Their manmade rules and judgments according to those rules robbed people of the confidence they could have in God’s gracious forgiveness.

 

  1. Disagree. Plenty of New Testament passages warn Christians after Jesus’ time about the danger of false teachers (e.g., Matthew 7:15 and 1 John 4:1). In fact, with so many different forms of media through which people can reach us, you might say we need to be more worried.

 

  1. We refer to them as called workers – those called by congregations to serve them as pastors, teachers, or staff ministers. Answers will vary for the second part.

 

  1. Among other things, they approach their people through Jesus’s works and words (v. 2), they gently lead them (vv. 3,4), and they know people personally (v. 3).

 

  1. By “pasture” it seems that Jesus means the gospel in Word and sacrament. These give us a more abundant life because they give us confidence before God and peace in this life, even when our earthly blessings may not be as abundant or plentiful as our culture emphasizes.