DNOW 2020- John 10:7-10

Introduction

Methods of Communication

If I tasked you with delivering a message to someone, what are some of the ways you could go about getting that message to said person? Call, text, email, snail mail, carrier pidgeon, morse code, smoke signals, etc… The possibilities are endless. There is often times more than one way of doing things, though some are more effective than others.

There are some things, though, that there are very few ways to do.

and still yet, there are some things in life where there is only one way that will do. For example, The toilet paper roll always goes over, never under. Only one way to pronounce “gif”, I don’t care what you say, I’m not calling them “jiffs”. It stands for “graffics interchange format”. Until we all start walking around saying Jaffics in stead of graffics you can’t tell me it’s pronounced any other way than gif.

likewise, were going to see today that there is onle one true good shepherd, and he alone holds the way to salvation and life abundant

Setting the context

Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 10 and hold on to your place. Before we jump in we’re going to try and get a feel for the context in which Jesus was speaking. We know from last night’s session that Jesus is the Good shepherd, and we, his followers, are the sheep. This is not the first time in the Bible that the people of God have been symbolized as sheep. In fact, some 600ish years before Jesus the prophet Jeremiah said this about the Children of Israel:

- God’s people were lost sheep looking for a good Shepherd

Jeremiah 50:6 ESV

“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.

Israel and Judah were going to be swept up by several foreign nations because of their disobedience. Until they one day were restored they were going to be lost sheep, needing a good shepherd.

God’s people were lost sheep looking for a good Shepherd

Around that same time, the prophet Ezekiel said this:

- The children of God had been plagued by harsh rulers (shepherds) who did not care for them. Therefore, there nation was in poor shape

Ezekiel 34:1–6 ESV

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

The children of God had been plagued by harsh rulers (shepherds) who did not care for them and the people of God were left in poor shape. They were oppressed by rulers who did not care for them. And it did not get better. For 600 years they were opressed, exiled, longing for restoration. Sheep looking for a good Shepherd.

Then a man by the name of Jesus comes and starts performing miralces. Healing the sick, spending time with the poor. Sharing meals with beggars and theives. Standing up to the oppressive religious elite. And in , Jesus heals a man born blind on the Sabbath.

tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees confronted the man and cast him out. Jesus finds the man, and is also found by some nearby pharisees. As we begin chapter 10 Jesus no doubt is now talking for a crowd of people. A crowd of people oppressed by bad shepherds (corrupt rulers, pharisees, sadducees)

And this caught the attention of the Pharisees, one of the groups of people that fall into the category of Bad Shepherds. The Pharisees confronted the man and cast him out. Jesus finds the man, and is also found by some nearby pharisees. As we begin chapter 10 Jesus no doubt is now talking for a crowd of people. A crowd of people oppressed by bad shepherds (corrupt rulers, pharisees, sadducees)

And this Jesus, speaking to people who had endured hundreds of years of bad shepherds, evil rulers, corrupt religious leaders. These people who were lost sheep. says in chapter 10: I am your good Shepherd.

Point 1: Jesus is the gate, the only way of salvation

And now, were going to pick up where we left off last night, in verses 7-10 of John chapter 10.

John 10:7–10 ESV

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.

Now, not many of us today fall under the occupational title of Shepherd, so I’m going to try and paint a picture here of what Jesus is describing.

Early in the morning a shepherd would enter through a gate, into a walled enlosure that has several flocks of sheep in one pen. This walled pen was guarded at night to keep theives and wolves and such out. The shepherd enters the pen and calls his sheep. His sheep know his voice, and they separate them selves from the other flocks to follow their shepherd out. Sheep would not follow strange shepherds.

After the shepherd’s flock had been separated from the other sheep, he takes them all out into the pasture so they can graze. Near the pasture is another small pen. While his sheep grazed, the shepherd would stand at the entrance to this pen and act as the door. The sheep could go out and graze, or if they were afraid they could run into the pen where the shepherd stood guard. The only way in for safety, and out to graze, was through the shepherd.

Likewise, Jesus is the gate to God’s provision. He is the only way to salvation, which is my first point this morning.

Verse 8 says that all who came before Jesus were theives and robbers. How many of us here today are trusting in something other than the one Good Shepherd for salvation? They will all lead us astray, into pain and destruction. Our friends and family will one day fail us, our good deeds can’t save us.

notes “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven among men by which we are saved.

Acts 4:12 ESV

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the only way to salvation. We are all born sinful, separated from God. Left to our own devices we would all go our entire lives carrying around the weight of our sin and shame, only to one day die and be eternally be separated from the God who created us to be with him. But through Jesus, who died in our place, we now have access, by faith, to grace and a restored relationship with God. When we place our faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven! Following Jesus brings salvation, and opens up other meaningful blessings as well.

Point 2: Jesus leads us to safe pastures

Verse 9 paints a picture of Jesus standing guard as the door of the pen.

John 10:9 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

The sheep can go out of the pen and graze. If they get nervous, or if trouble comes, they can run back into the pen where Jesus stands as the door, comforting and protecting his flock. Which leads me to my second point: Jesus leads us to safe pastures.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1–4 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Where do you turn to when you need comfort? Who do you run to? Is it your friends? What do you do when your friends aren’t there? Is it in your reputation? Is it money, popularity, grades, the government, or whatever else? It will all one day fail you.

But when the storm comes, and the winds blow, and everything seems hopeless and lost, we can run to the shepherd who stands guard at the gate. He is there with peace that surpasses all understanding, a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light. The Shepherd cares for his sheep, and he leads them to green pastures.

Jesus provides for our needs, and comforts us when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. His provision is abundant, which leads to my last point: Following Jesus leads to a full and abundant life.

Point 3: Following Jesus leads to a full/abundant life

We noted earlier that among those listening to Jesus were the Pharisees. In verse 10 Jesus really drives his point home by contrasting his leadership, with the leadership of the pharisees.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

This idea of an abundant life is closely related to a theme Jesus repeats throughout the entire book of John. The theme of eternal life. I’m sure most of us know

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

When Jesus is talking about an abundant life, or eternal life, he isn’t talking about simply living forever. We’re all going to live forever. This isn’t a matter of quantity, but of quality. Jesus is saying that the life he offers us is one of great blessing. But, what exactly is that blessing? I think it boils down to one word: Joy.

There’s this thing called the Westminster Shorter Chatechism that once upon a time we all had to memorize sometime around your age. It was a series of questions and answers based on the Bible to help us make sense of the Bible and what we believed. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Chatechism is this:

What is the chief end of man? The answer given: to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. What it’s saying is that you and I were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to bring glory to God by finding our Joy in Him.

And when we Follow Jesus, Joy is exactly what we find. That doesn’t mean that our lives are always easy, or that everyhting we want is just given to us. No, what it means is that whatever the circumstances we face, we can be sure that we are loved by God, we are kept by Jesus eternally, and that we can trust God when he tells us “all things work together for the good of those who love God”. Maybe that good come in this life, maybe the next. But we can always be certain that it will come. And that certainty gives us hope. And that hope leads to joy. Joy that cannot be taken from you by any one or anything in this world. Joy that we no longer carry the weight of our sin and shame, but have been set free by our good shepherd.

Pharisees offered their followers a hope of a life lived in strict obedience to laws and traditions

Sadducees offered their followers a hope of a life lived in constant repitition of rituals and sacrifices

The rulers of the day offered the hope of a life lived in submission to corrupt leaders, paying unfair taxes, and just general oppression

Jesus was offering his followers the certainty a life filled with Joy and peace.

Conclusion: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the only means by which we are saved. Following him leads us into comfort in our darkest times and a life/eternity full of joy and purpose.