I AM – 3
I AM THE GATE
… based on John 10:7-10
Couldn’t God have thought of something better than sheep to compare us to? (Matthew 9:36) … I mean, of all the animals,
sheep are the least able to take care of themselves. Sheep are simply dumb!
Have you ever met a sheep trainer? Have you ever seen sheep do tricks?
Do you know anyone who has taught their sheep to roll over? Have you ever gone to a Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus & witnessed a sideshow featuring “Kathy & Her Aerobatic Sheep”? Of course not.
Sheep are just too dumb to learn tricks.
In addition to that … they’re defenseless. They have no fangs or claws. They can’t bite & certainly can’t outrun a predator.
That’s why we never see sheep as mascots for sports teams.
We have the Indianapolis Colts, the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls,
Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions,
Denver Broncos, Memphis Grizzlies, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Bobcats.
But the Nashville Lambs? … Who wants to be a lamb?
I’m trying to imagine the cheerleaders …
We are the sheep! We don’t make a peep!
You’ll never see us leap! We only eat & sleep!
Raw … Raw … Raw
So, you get my point. Sheep aren’t real impressive. They’re not known as fighters. They’re docile. They generally don’t have much to brag about,
which means that the world tends to overlook the Church …
because the Church is supposed to be filled with a bunch of “good sheep”.
We’re not colts, or bulls, or bears, or tigers, or lions, or eagles, or broncos … we’re sheep.
The world wants excitement. It wants pizzazz & power. It wants to lead
& get ahead … & … well … sheep are generally followers by nature.
So why would we want to be compared to sheep? …
Well actually, we don’t get much of a choice. God says … “you’re sheep, whether you want to be or not.” (John 10:27) That’s how He made us.
He created us to be followers … of something. (Luke 5:27) And that’s what we’re going to be looking at this morning … & again, next time.
Good News from Jesus, as recorded by John, to us who have gathered
here for worship. Within our hearing now comes the Word of the Lord …
So Jesus said again, “I am telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep. All others who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness.” (John 10:7-10)
Jesus said, “Heaven & earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification. Amen
We’re in the 3rd week of a 7-part series …
7 different names by which Jesus chooses to identify Himself. Each of these names pop-up in the Gospel of John, & each gives us a glimpse at who Jesus really is. And He introduces each of these names with the expression … I AM. 1st it was, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35) Then last week,
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) This morning, & then next time,
we’re going to look at “names” that deal in some way with sheep.
Now if we lived in 1st century Palestine, we’d know a lot about sheep.
But we’re in Brown County in the 21st century.
Most of us know something about dogs & cats …
(well, nobody really knows anything about cats) … my grandkids have goldfish, & some kind of lizard. My neighbor has chickens. (And we have ladybugs!)
So, we’re going to have to do a little background study if we want to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
And then continuing next time, “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11)
So, what’s Jesus talking about when He called Himself
“the gate for the sheep”?
1st … He meant that He was the doorway to security.
“So Jesus said again, ‘I am telling you the truth:
I am the gate for the sheep. All others who came before me are
thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.’”
The “gate” Jesus was referring to belongs to the kind of sheep pen that shepherds used during good weather. (Presumably this is where the shepherds were keeping their sheep at the time of Jesus’ birth when the angels appeared & invited them to Bethlehem.) (Luke 2:8)
During nice weather the shepherds stayed out in the fields for weeks at a time. And once they found good pastureland they’d gather a pile of rocks & build a make-shift corral that had a single opening. Then at night the shepherd would herd his sheep through that opening into the pen. He would then lie down across the opening, thus becoming the “gate” to the sheep pen. He was literally the sheep’s protection. He was their security from thieves & robbers who wanted “to kill, steal, & destroy” the flock.
So, who are these “thieves & robbers” that Jesus is alluding to? …
Well, He gives several clues. He said,
“All others who came before me are thieves & robbers.”
The key is the verb “are” (εἰσὶν) … it’s present tense.
These people “are” currently on the scene. The thieves & robbers are His contemporaries. In John’s original text, there were no chapter or verse divisions. So, what we see as “chapter 10” was just a continuation of
“John 9”. The #’s came 100’s of years later.
And since our “chapter 10” begins with Jesus speaking about how thieves & robbers climb into a sheep pen without going through the gate
(John 10:1-2) … He’s obviously referring to those people that He had just been talking to in the previous paragraph at the end of “chapter 9” …
the Pharisees. (John 9:40)
If you remember, last week we were talking about the Pharisees who questioned whether Jesus could really be from God because He healed the blind man on the Sabbath. (John 9:16) (The Pharisees had destroyed the what the Sabbath was really supposed to be.) (John 9:18)
So, Jesus is saying … “I am the gate to the truth, & I’m here to protect you from those who would snatch you away.” (John 10:28-29)
In our Gospel passage Jesus is talking about sheep & shepherds.
He’s tying into a word picture that would have been all too familiar to His Jewish listeners who knew their O.T. Now, you & I, when we think about shepherds & sheep, theologically, it’s usually in a positive sense.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.” (The Psalms 23:1)
Jesus is “the good shepherd.” (John 10:11)
The Psalmist writes, God is our shepherd & we are
“the flock for which he provides.” (The Psalm 95:7)
But Jesus’ listeners would also recognize that the term “shepherd” was used in Scripture as a description of bad religious leaders,
who failed to nurture, who failed to protect, who failed to guide their sheep.
“They have led God’s people astray.” (Jeremiah 23:13)
“They didn’t tend the sheep” … but instead “treated them cruelly.” (Ezekiel 34:2)
And at 1 point God announced …
“I have put a shepherd in charge of my flock,
but he does not help the sheep that are threatened by destruction;
nor does he look for the lost, or heal those that are hurt,
or feed the healthy. …
That worthless shepherd is doomed. He has abandoned his flock.”
(Zechariah 11:16-17)
Those bad “shepherds” were more concerned about themselves than they were in caring for the flock God had given them. (1 Peter 5:2) And in this particular situation, they were all about keeping the Sabbath laws, & couldn’t have cared less about a man, who had been blind since birth, getting healed.
(John 9:7) For these Pharisees, the Law was more important than people,
& Jesus wanted to protect His sheep from them. So, the primary objective of the shepherd is to lie across the opening of the sheep pen to keep out thieves & robbers … to keep out bad religious leaders.
In The Acts, the Apostle Paul deals with this very same subject.
He’s speaking to a group of Pastors, who he refers to as “shepherds” of their churches. Paul teaches that the primary role of a shepherd is to protect the sheep. And he refers to the enemies of the sheep as “wolves”.
But they’re the same group of people that Jesus had been talking about.
“Keep watch over yourselves & over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son. I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, & they will not spare the flock. The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers
away after them.” (The Acts 20:28-30)
Now who are these “wolves” that Paul’s referring to? Once again,
they’re religious leaders. They’re false teachers who distort God’s truth, & in doing so … mislead the sheep. (And they’re all around us today.) (Matthew 7:21)
So, how does Paul tell the shepherds to protect their sheep from heretical teaching? He writes, “And now I commend you to the care of God & to the message of his grace.” (The Acts 20:32) The message … the Word …is how pastor/shepherds are to protect their sheep from thieves & robbers, from wolves, from false teachers who attempt to take them away from God, by misrepresenting the Gospel.
That’s why I put so much emphasis on Scripture.
That’s why I encourage each of you to read this Book, to study it. This is our protection. This is our security. It’s why we must come to know it.
“Your word I have treasured in my heart.” (The Psalms 119:11)
I can’t begin to even guess how many times … at least 5,280 … when I needed to hear a word from God, a Scripture verse would pop into my mind.
That happens because I’ve spent time in the Word. Jesus wants us to be part of a sheepfold where His Word is used to teach & to protect & to nourish.
But we also have to be careful. John warns us …
“do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit,
but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God.
For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.” (1 John 4:1)
And he’s not just talking about those who claim, “thus sayth the Lord.”
But false teaching can come from lots of sources: from peer influences,
from marketing people who tell us that our life is incomplete unless we buy this or that; from best-selling authors, from radio talk show hosts that we may listen to. From any # of places.
God’s Word is our protection. Jesus wants us to be part of His fold.
He’s “lying down” across the opening to protect us. He uses His Word to make the sheep pen secure. Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
2ndly, Jesus is the doorway to salvation.
“I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved.”
What does it mean to be saved? I have in my files this theological definition … “Saved is the comprehensive term for the whole process whereby people are delivered from the consequences of sin & brought into the blessing
of God.”
Jesus is the doorway, not a doorway.
(Definite article here) … “the” doorway to salvation.
We’ve talked about this before. Skeptics are fond of saying,
“Oh, you Christians are too exclusive with your truth claims. … You talk as if Jesus is the only way to God.” How do we respond when people say that? …
Let me tell you how I typically answer that kind of accusation. I say, “Yes, Jesus is the exclusive way to God. And here’s why I believe it … 1st,
because Jesus has asserted it for Himself.” (Now I understand that’s a little bit of a dodge. But it’s my way of saying, blame Him don’t blame me.)
This is something that Jesus has claimed about Himself. (John 14:6)
Plus taking the imagery of a sheep pen indicates that. There was only 1 gate. To have had multiple gates would have been disastrous for the sheep.
There was only 1 gate & the shepherd would lie down across it. He guarded it. He was the entrance … & he alone was the entrance. (So, just the idea of the gate that Jesus uses here indicates that He’s the only way.)
That thought is echoed in this cross reference.
Jesus said, “Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide & the road that leads to it is easy, & there are many who travel it.
But the gate to life is narrow & the way that leads to it is hard,
& there are few people who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Now, I didn’t say that … Jesus said it. In John’s Gospel,
when He’s talking about this, Jesus uses the 1st person pronoun twice.
“I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved.”
Jesus leaves no doubt what He’s talking about.
He is the exclusive access point to a relationship with God.
2ndly, Jesus is the 1 & only way to God because He did something that no one else has ever done for us … & it’s related to the gate theme.
Scripture teaches that our sin alienates us from a perfectly holy God.
Our sin keeps God at a distance. (Habakkuk 1:13)
This is dramatically portrayed in the 1st book in the Bible. In the 3rd chapter of Genesis, we read how the 1st man & woman disobeyed God & were banished from the Garden of Eden. And as they exit God posts an angel guard brandishing “a flaming sword which turned in all directions,” (Genesis 3:24)
as a way of saying, “you can’t come back in. You’re on the outside now.”
1,000’s of years later when Solomon built the Temple,
this idea was underscored in the design. There was an inner sanctum where God could be met, called the Most Holy Place/the Holy of Holies. But only the High Priest could go there, & he could enter only once a year. (Hebrews 9:7)
Everyone else was kept on the outside. In fact, there was a curtain,
several inches thick, 60’ high & 30’ wide, which hung across the opening.
It was a way of saying … the gate is closed … no access … no entry.
When Jesus died on the cross, 1 of the things that happened was that this curtain in the Temple was torn in 2 from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51)
It was a symbolic way of saying that something took place that has opened the access to God that people never had before. Our sin had been dealt with. The penalty which we deserved to pay was paid on the cross by Christ. (1 Peter 2:24)
“He opened for us a new way, a living way,
through the curtain – through his own body.” (Hebrews 10:20)
Now there’s a warning that comes with this too …
the gate will not stay open forever.
Jesus said, “Do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able. The master of the house will get up & close the door; then when you stand outside & say, ‘Open the door for us, sir!’ he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from!’”
(Mark 13:32)
That’s frightening. So, the opportunity is now. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
The door is open, & we don’t know when it will close. (Mark 13:32)
Have you ever been frustrated by a too narrow door?
I remember buying a sofa for a house that I lived in. I called a friend of mine who had a truck. (He was a friend before this, not sure afterwards.) Anyway, we went & picked up the sofa, took it home, uncrated it in my driveway & carried it over & put it up against the door frame … & sure enough, we couldn’t get it in. We turned that stupid sofa, (the sofa was stupid) … we turned that stupid sofa every which way. And after about 35 minutes came to the realization that it just wasn’t going through the door.
We’ve got to go in through the door/gate.
Have you gone through that door/gate? Jesus is the only way.
“Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world
there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.” (The Acts 4:12)
That’s what Jesus claimed. He said, “no one goes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) So, He’s either who He claimed to be … the only gate … or He’s crazy, or He’s an out & out liar. I don’t think anyone makes it clearer than the agnostic turned theologian C. S. Lewis.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the 1 thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man & said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, & is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him & kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet
& call Him Lord & God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
3rdly, Jesus is the doorway to satisfaction.
“They will come in & go out & find pasture. …
I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness.”
Eternal life is not just a quantity of life … it’s more than just a life that goes on forever & ever & ever … it’s a quality of life.
Jesus describes it as “life in all its fullness.”
It’s something way beyond what people normally experience.
So, are you enjoying life in all its’ fullness? …
In other words, where are you turning for satisfaction?
Well, the spiritually correct answer to that question is … “I’m turning to God. He’s giving me life to the fullest.” But practically speaking,
I wonder if that’s true, or are we trying to fill-up on other things?
Someone has said that theologically many of us are Christians,
but practically we’re atheists. In other words, we believe it up here …
Jesus gives life to the fullest but practically speaking … we seek to meet our needs in every other way imaginable. And I include myself in this.
When was the last time we chose to spend time with Jesus,
rather than spend time in front of the TV? … rather than spending time on our i-phone? … rather than spending time reading a book? …
I want to get real practical here with some suggested applications that hopefully will stimulate your thinking. How do I get life in all its’ fullness from Jesus, especially between now & Easter?
Consider doing less of something you’re doing too much of right now so that you can spend more time with Jesus. Maybe you could spend less time on the internet, or on the phone, or watching TV … what do you spend most of your time on?
How about this? Spend 10 minutes on Sunday morning, after you get up, but before you come here, in prayer … realign your spirit with the Lord. We get physically ready to come, spend some time getting spiritually ready.
How about recommitting yourself to reading the Scriptures daily,
& try to apply this morning’s message to your reading?
Today we’re talking about Jesus being the gate/door. Pray this week …
“Thank you, Jesus, for being the gate so that I can come through you into God’s presence. When I had no access to God, you made a way for me.”
Start talking to Jesus spontaneously during the day. Talk to Him about your life. Talk to Him about whatever you’re working on. Practice the presence of God.
We all live busy lives. What Jesus wants for His sheep is for us to “come in & go out & find pasture” … to feel protected & be nourished.
So, make an effort to spend time with Him.
“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads,
& I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
MARANA THA