GCT “I am” Series Week 3/ I am the Door

Intro - Story

Parable of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15:3-7

Luke 15:3–7 ESV

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Who is the shepherd?

Who are the sheep?

What does it mean for the shepherd to find his lost sheep and what does it mean for the sheep to return home?

“I am” Series Recap

Week 1 - I am the bread - John 6

THE Spiritual bread from heaven that fills souls for eternity

Week 2 - I am the light of the world - John 8

THE spiritual light that leads souls out of darkness

Week 3 - I am the door - John 10

THE one and only entry way into the family of God

John 9 - Healing of the Blind Man / How we got here…

As they are walking in Jerusalem after Jesus was getting stoned by the Jews from his teachings at the temple, Jesus and his disciples pass by a blind man from birth.

Disciples ask, “Who sinned? This man or his parents?”

Christ answers, “Neither, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”

Christ spits on the ground to make mud, takes it and anoints the man eyes. Tells the man to wash in the nearby pool.

Man receives his sight.

Upon receiving sight, people did not recognize him. He tells them what happened, then the people brought him to the Pharisees to question him.

He tells them exactly what happened, they don’t believe and still question him for they believe that Christ is a sinner and not God.

They ask his parents. His parents out of fear for the pharisees, tell them he is of age and is able to answer for himself.

They return to him and ask him again. They say to give glory to God but know Jesus to be a sinner to put him in a position of saying whether or not he believes in Him.

He tells them plainly, I do not know if he is a sinner or not, what I do know is that I was blind but now I see!

They ask him another time what Christ did. Clearly still in disbelief. They insist to the man who who recieved sight that he is a disciple of Christ as they are disciples of Moses. And go on to say in John 9:29,

John 9:29 ESV

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

Side note: If you’ve been reading John, this might point you back to John 7, when the people in the crowd speak with Jesus about where He is from and where He is going. They were aware of where He was from. We get this back in John 7:27

John 7:27 ESV

But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”

How can there be a confusion, specifically for the pharisees, to be part of the people who said previously that they knew where he was from, but later, admit they do not really know where Jesus was from?

If there’s something I want you to learn from chapter 9 John is that it teaches of two kinds of blindness.

Physical blindness (The man had this)

Spiritual blindness (The Pharisees)

Both types of blindness, Christ has the power to heal.

We continue with the story…

The man tells reminds them that they do not know where Jesus came from and that He did such a sign which should have pointed them into the direction of believing He is the Christ.

At this point the Pharisees are tired of arguing with the man and cast him out.

Jesus then finds the man after he was casted out and asks him if he believes in Him, the man professes his faith in the Lord and the Lord says this in John 9:39

John 9:39 ESV

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

The Pharisees overhear his words and ask if they are blind. Obviously they are that. Spiritually blind. Not just spiritually blind, but also, in denial.

Upon highlighting John 9, what is an encouraging truth from it that God might be teaching you?

Example of Nick Vujicic fits here. God takes the lame, the foolish, and unwise to reveal His glory.

We are new creations in Christ and belong as part of His family, this is a perfect transition into John 10 as Jesus continues in speaking to the people…

I am the Door (John 10:1-10)

John 10:1–5 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Are you guys tracking?

There are four different kinds of people he’s discussing of here:

Thief/Robber who climbs over the sheepfold and doesn’t enter by the door.

Shepherd of the sheep. He enters by the door.

Gatekeeper, the one who enables the shepherd to enter the sheepfold.

The Sheep, they live inside the sheepfold and obey the shepherd.

Who is each person likely to be?

Who is the thief? Liars/False Teachers/ Satan

Who is the Shepherd? Christ

Who is the Gatekeeper? The Father (Gives authority to the Son & the Spirit (through the power of the Spirit, Christ is who He is). But most simple answer is the Father.

Who are the Sheep? (The people of Christ)

Another analogy that could fit is a classroom.

Students/Sheep

Teacher/Shepherd

Principal/Gatekeeper

Thief or Robber/Whatever that is trying to take you out of school (Flesh, other friends, bad influences etc.)

Now that we are tracking, let’s continue with Christ’s teaching…

John 10:6–10 ESV

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by 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.

What does Jesus mean then by saying to the people that He is the door?

In the following verse, verse 11, Jesus includes another I am statement. This is the only time He says to I am statements back to back in one teaching. He emphasizes there that He is also the Good Shepherd, this is his 4th “I am statement” and we will return to this one in our next lesson.

That I am statement is more self-explanatory than “I am the door” because the shepherd is a person. The shepherd leads, guides, and cares for His sheep. That is everything who Christ is and proclaims Himself to be.

By Jesus teaching that He is the door He is insisting that He is not just our Guide but He is our only one entry way into the family of God.

You could attempt to go around the sheepfold and climb over into the family of God, but what that would make you is a thief and a robber who is trying to lead the other sheep astray.

Do remember who he is speaking to, specifically the Pharisees after everything that took place with the blind man. They likely take the role of the thieves as they attempt to mislead the sheep.

However, the sheep know the voice of their shepherd, and best of all, the shepherd knows His sheep personally. He calls us by name and enter through Him (the door) and follow Him (our Good Shepherd).

Another way that I will try to explain this parable and teaching of Jesus is for you to imagine having tickets to a concert or event. You buy the tickets and line up at the gate to enter that event to see whatever artist or thing you want to see. You present your ticket and have to enter the gate to get inside. You are the member of the audience through the cost of admission that you paid for your ticket. If you didn’t have a ticket and you tried entering through the gate, it would be impossible for you to get in unless you climbed over a fence. But like any other venue, that’s impossible to do. If you attempted to do that, that would make you a thief.

But you have a ticket and you enter through the gate. As you enter you wait to be led by an experience provided by the artist, that artist would be that of comparison to the shepherd as he leads and directs the flow of the performance as well as the involvement of the audience.

This is a poor attempt of me trying to explain Jesus’ parable because there’s one major flaw that story has. The artist in the arena is not the gate. The artist cannot be both the door and the shepherd as they are limited to providing one portion of the experience. Christ in His fulness, is the entire experience. He is the entry way, and the guide all in one.

I began this lesson with the parable of the lost sheep shine light on a third option that John 10 doesn’t illustrate. In John 10, Jesus differentiates two people that we could be. We could either be like the Pharisee who is like the thief or we could be a member of the sheep.

Matthew 18 and Luke 15, tell us the third option and that’s the lost sheep. Maybe you are in a place in your faith where you feel very far from God or have taken a few steps away from Him. The truth is, whether you believe it or not, through the problem of sin we stumble and veer off in other directions leading us to wander away from our shepherd.

By His grace and power, the shepherd calls us and requires one simple task of us when we wander: Take one step closer to Him. For every one hundred steps we take away from Him, all it takes is one step to walk back into His arms because our Good Shepherd is far nearer than we could ever imagine.

This my friends is the abundant life. Comfort, peace, rest and fulfillment. Trials and failures will come, but by having once entered through the door, we will be fed spiritually with the living bread from heaven that never perishes, and constantly led by the Light that puts out the darkness in our lives.

In closing, what is something you can do this week to experience the abundant life that Jesus has to offer?