I Am: "The Door of the Sheep"
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Greeting:
Greeting:
Good morning everyone
Welcome visitors
Come back and be with us again
Lesson Text:
Lesson Text:
John 10:1-10
Opening:
Opening:
This morning we are continuing on in our series..
We have began a study on a series of statements made by Jesus…
A series of statements that give us some insight as to who Jesus is.
Statements given o us directly by Jesus himself…
So far we have looked at the first two of these “I Am” statements he makes.
We have studied I am the Bread of Life and I am the Light of the world…
In both of these lessons we have saw who Jesus is and what he says he is like.
This morning Jesus will take another earthly concept and again use it to teach about wh he is…
As we continue on in our study of the book of John…
We come to chapter 10 and we see our next statement he makes…
I am the door of the sheep…
This morning we we will do as we have done with the previous lessons.
We will look at some background and on text, then the saying itself, and finally, what it means for us today…
Lesson:
Lesson:
As we come to chapter 10 this morning a lot of scholars believe this is around the same time as our previous lessons..
Though its not a definitive its a strong possibility that whaat we read here in chapter 10 follows very closely after the encounter we see Jesus had in our last lesson.
If you remember back we noted that Jesus has just come to Jerusalem and is thee for the Feast of Tabernacles…
In chapter 10 he begins by telling them most assuredly I say to you…
This saying could elude right back to what we have read and discussed in the previous chapters..
If we go back a chapter we will see Jesus and his discussion with the Pharisees following his statement of being the light of the world…
In Chapter 9 verse 40 they ask Jesus if they are also blind?
And in verse 4 Jesus replies that rather than being ignorantly blind they knew what they were doing in condemning them so their guilt remained…
Jesus essentially tells them they’re not blind but they are guilty
So as we come to chapter 10 and verse 1 its likely Jesus is following up this conversation to tell them how there is only one entrance, one door, one way into the sheepfold.
Jesus again is teaching these people…he is the way, and the only way.
Let’s read as we begin…
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear 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 does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus tells us a very important lesson here this morning.
A lesson that will serve as our main point and overall theme…
A lesson I hope we all understand, even though the world maybe doesn’t…
And that’s the salvation is only offered through Jesus Christ… there is no other way!
In the first 6 verses we see Jesus use his illustration for those he was teaching, but we see they didn't understand it.
They didn’t understand what he was talking about..
So Jesus beginning in verse 7, as we read, continues on by declaring he is the door to the sheepfold…
Jesus goes on to tell them, and remember these are Pharisees and scribes, Jewish leaders of the day, he goes on to tell them all the others who came before him were thieves and robbers…
They were leading the people, leading Israel in the wrong way..
He says the sheep wont hear them…
But as for Jesus, he is the door and those who enter by him have salvation…
Before we get further into the lesson I think its important we discuss and understand at his idea of shepherding in the first century…
I can attest to this and the first thing I tell everyone about sheep is, they aren’t the brightest…
They aren’t the most intelligent creatures you will ever find.
They make a lot of bad choices, they find a lot of ways to die…
During this time though sheep were a staple and shepherding them was very common due to the sheep’s dependency on the shepherd.
If it wasn’t for the shepherd the sheep would be lost.
So they had an important job… they were to lead and take care and provide life for the flock…
As dumb though as sheep can be sometimes, they can show some signs of intelligence.
One of those ways is by knowing the Sheppard.
If I go in the barn lot my sheep know m they will come running, if anyone else goes they will run right away..
So during this time when everyone would of had flocks of sheep, it was important that each sheep knew the shepherd.
During this time in the first century it was difffernt than today with everyone having their own fences and areas.
A lot of them just ran together.
But there was an area called the sheepfold.
This area in Palestine would typically be like a modern day corral with a wall or fences on all sides except for the entrance at the door or gate.
It was common in this time not to have a physical gate or door but rather the Sheppard himself would stay there in the door way and serve as the door.
He would know if any sheep tried to leave or anything else tried getting in…
So how does all of that apply?
What exactly is Jesus saying by stating he is the door to the sheepfold?
Well first we are a lot like sheep.
Helpless, sometimes we get lost, we look for ways to die spiritually
We need a shepherd
We need to enter through the door into the fold…
How is he the door?
Twice we have noted Jesus said he was the door to the sheep…
Part of his role if you will is to determine who goes in and who goes out, just as we stated with the physical example of a sheepfold.
Jesus is the way to heaven…
This has been and continues to be the point Jesus drives home.
He is the way to eternal life…
Whether the crowds liked this or not they were dependent upon coming to him for salvation..
Jesus is essentially standing up and confronting these teachers who are leading others away.
He tells them that only through him salvation is offered..
If we contrast that with the corrupt leaders Jesus was continually confronting we see the difference.
We can see Jesus consistently taught about their hypocrisy.
Matthew 23 speaks at great lengths concerning that.
The woes…
We can also see they corrupted Gods law…
He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
Jesus knew what their intentions were and that they were willing to do whatever it took to remain in power…
And because of this Jesus knew of the dangers that presented themselves.
He knew the followers could end up corrupted by following these people Jesus refers to as thieves and robbers…
Interestingly enough we can see the major prophets addressing these false shepherds…
Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord.
The point of all of this is Jesus telling and warning them that no matter what anyone says, Jesus is the only way…
Be use Jesus knew all of this things and problems he wanted people to know the correct and only way…
So that’s some of the background and context, what about a closer look at his actual statement…
I am the door…
First we need to consider that the idea of a door is something that grants access.
Think of the door to our house right?
If someone comes to my front door and I open it, I am allowing them in or granting access to come into my house by opening the door...
Jesus is that same way for us spiritually.
He is the access to the Father that both they and we today need.
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Because of Jesus we have access that’s been granted to God the father..
Thats only through Jesus…
No one else..
All due to what he has done and who he is for us…
When looking at his statement…I think its fair to ask exactly what Jesus is the door to though?
We have mentioned this one already but first and foremost He is the door to….salvation.
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Salvation is only available to those who come through Christ…
It’s interesting that’s in todays time its so similar to the time we read of and study this morning…
Much like those Jewish leaders and false teachers of Jesus’s time, we have our own today don't we?
How many religious groups or figures today preach this same thing? A false way to salvation…
Our world today preaches and teaches the exact opposite of what Jesus says..
A we have noted in each study and will continue to, all of these statements Jesus makes are singular…
There aren’t multiple lights, there rent multiple doors, there are multiple ways, its only Jesus…
No matter what the world tells you, Jesus is the one and only way to salvation.
Next, we can also see Jesus is the way to safety…
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
One of maybe the most beautiful invitations we can read..
Jesus invites us to come to Him, to take rest in Him, to take safety in Him..
He again is the door to all of those things…
We might seek out that safety, place of rest, whatever it is, in the world or in others but Jesus is the true source of those things..
Jesus wants his followers to know what’s available to those willing to come to Him.
Just as that shepherd provides safety to his flock so does Jesus to his people.
We can also see, not only is he the door to salvation and safety but he is the door to abundant life…
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
He offers abundant life tho his sheep.
It’s not enough for Jesus’s people to have life, but he wants us to have life and have it more abundantly..
How amazing is that?
Were else can we find that offered?
Again, this is something only possibly and only found in Jesus Christ…
So as we begin to close out this morning what lessons an we learn from this?
We have already looked at and mentioned a few but I believe there are the big takeaways for us today.
If you don't get anything else out of this lesson I want us to understand these 3 things…
First, there is only one way to heaven.
That one way is through Jesus Christ and none other…
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We noted this about Jesus and his statements, but we also notice it here with Pauls statements..
Singular…
One body, spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, God and Father…
This is the only way to heaven…
The world s going to tell you this isn't the case, but it is…
There aren’t multiple ways or roads, there is one…
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
That one name is Jesus.
Salvation is only offered through Him…
Second big takeaway this morning, Jesus knows who His sheep are…
We should take consolation I the face that Jesus knows his sheep.
We will talk more about this in our next lesson of the Good Shepard
But Jesus knows his people…
Are we one of the sheep?
Do you know for fact you are a Christian this morning?
Are you a child of God?
And finally, we need to be aware of the wolves…
We talked about this at the beginning of the lesson but just as in Jesus’s time all the way to todays time there are going to be false teachers..
There are going to be those wolves who try to kill the sheep, try to pull them away and separate them from the fold…
This is why we see warnings issued all throughout scripture concerning this…
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
We need to be on guard against the wolves.
We must protect ourselves and seek out hat safety that’s offered in Christ…
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
This morning as we get ready to off the invitation I want us to all think about where we are spiritually…
Jesus wants us to be one of His.
We have seen what’s offered to those who are his.
We see the salvation, safety, abundant life, all of those blessings…
The question I want to ask you this morning…
What’s holding you back?
What’s holding you back from making the decision to be a Christian?
What’s keeping you from becoming part of the fold?
Gods word has laid out or us exactly how we do that and how its possible.
Gods plan for us is simple to follow.
We are to hear believe repentance confess and be baptized having our sins forgiven…
IF you’ve never done that why not?
Why not make the greatest decision you will ever make?
As for hose of you who are Christian’s this morning I have a similar question for you…
What’s separating you?
What has came in and caused you to wander away and leave the fold?
Are we faithful to God?
Are we are aiming part of the fold?
Or are we that lost sheep that’s went astray…
Thankfully we have a good shepherd, the best shepherd that’s willing to welcome us right back home….
If we need to become a Christian this morning or come back home I hope we make that decision today…
