The Shepherd and the Only Door

I’m certain that you have all heard that old cliche, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing”. And brothers and sisters in Christ, there sure are a lot of them out there today. The sadder thing is a wolf in shepherd’s clothing. If you consider that picture literally, you could easily tell. But today we are not talking about literal things but spiritual matters.

I was amazed when I arrived in Apple Valley for the first time before I began my Vicarage. There are an overwhelming amount of “Churches” in this area. Some I recognized, Nazarene, Baptist, Non-Denomination (which is really just a new name for Baptist as it is all baptist theology), Catholic, and even Episcopalian. However, there are a number of small store front churches also, whose theology is not able to be determined by their name.

I pray that all “Christian Churches” here in the high desert are indeed just that, Christian, wherein the Word of God is properly taught and the sacraments are administered according to Christ’s institution. Sadly that’s not always the case as good intentioned men or women may be charismatic enough and begin a congregation with no formal theological training an eclectic spiritual background.

Our text that grips us today is Jesus’ parable about the Good Shepherd, well, at least our text gives us a portion of the entire parable. What I find interesting is that there is a parable within a parable. First, Jesus begins by saying, “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” (v. 1).

The sheepfold is the Kingdom of God. And all who enter the Kingdom of God all enter through the same way, through faith in the Shepherd, Jesus. So let’s dive into a little background here. This text comes in the middle of a conversation Jesus is having with some Pharisees after they held a council regarding the healing of the man who was born blind. That was one of our readings not too long ago. So, Jesus is speaking with these Pharisees and all who were around, and His final words prior to our text today, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains” (:40b)

The people to whom Jesus is addressing this parable to really are the Pharisees and any who think their life is really good. The Pharisees were highly respected laymen in Israel who wielded great power within the synagogue and Temple. Basically, these are a part of what is wrong with Israel. They lorded their power over the people, they exercised authority with a heavy hand, and boy were they loaded. The people of Jerusalem and Judea had relegated so much authority to a group of men, that now they were under their spell of corruption. The temple grounds were being used as a marketplace for foreigners to purchase sacrifices, money was being unequally exchanged, and who knows what else was going on that we’re not told about.

So the ones trying to enter the sheepfold, or the Kingdom of God, by climbing over the wall, these are people who are trying to enter the Kingdom of God through other means.

The Jews lead by the corrupt Chief Priests, scribes and Pharisees, believed they were in the sheepfold. Jesus tells them that the One’ 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.” (vv 2-3)

The Pharisees just declared they were not blind; yet they could only truly ‘see’ is if they were a sheep of Christ. The Pharisees issues were that they were vain and proud, and full of incurable arrogance. But, guess what, these attributes don’t only apply to the Pharisees.

You see, dearest family, we live in a time when people truly think they are perfect. There are good people—good men and women—so called “good” because they appear innocent, and doers of what is commanded them by the Law, they pay respect to their parents, they are not murderers, no adultery is found amongst them, and they don’t give false witness against anyone, and as Lenski continues, “observing all else that the Law requires—yet are not Christians; and for the most part ask boastfully, like these men, “Are we blind also?” This can happen even to a seasoned “Christian”.

I cannot count how many times I have said, “Pride is the hardest sin to repent of”. And I am convinced this is why our blessed Lord allows us to grow old, our bodies fall apart, and we have to rely on someone or something else for daily routines. It is a very humbling thing to allow someone else to clean your backside during an adult diaper change.

Because of pride, we too can become blind and not see. There are well intentioned people out there claiming to be a follower of Jesus who truly believe that they keep the Law perfectly and because of that, they could be counted a part of that 144k, or that they, after they die, would become a god of his own planet, wherein he populates his planet with all his spirit wives.

What really boggles my mind are the reports from therapists and psychiatrists that people today actually, truly believe they are perfect. I did hear that from more than one Healthcare Professional, and it can be seen all over Facebook.

Back to the text. Jesus says that the sheep of the sheepfold/Kingdom of God know the voice of the true Shepherd and it is only His voice that they will follow. And as soon as He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, leading the sheep through spoken Word of the Shepherd.

All these other guys, the imposters, the unrepentant, the self-righteous, are strangers to the sheep, and the sheep will not follow them, but rather flee from them.

Dearest family of sheep, where are you? We are in exile right now and whose voice are you listening to? Are you still following the voice of your Good Shepherd, or has what’s been on television disguised as shepherds beginning to tickle your ears with twisted gospel of health, wealth and prosperity? Are you in the Shepherd’s Word being led by His true Under-shepherds (pastors), who are properly trained, educated, examined and sent out to be His under-shepherds?Dearest family, during this time of ‘stay-at-home’, it is so easy to get swayed by the glitz and glamour of those on Television saying that God wants you blessed right now in this life with good health, material blessings/wealth, and that life will always be good for you if you are a believer in Jesus. No where are sins mentioned, no where is redemption mentioned through the cross of the incarnate Son of God and what the implications of that are for you.

It is so easy to miss it, even those who were with Jesus didn’t get it either. Therefore, Jesus begins His parable within a parable. Jesus moves from the imagery of being the Shepherd, to now of being the door. “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep” (v 7). The one thing you do not understand about the crushing blow to the Pharisees in this statement translated into English. So, for us English speakers, for a complete sentence one must use a subject and a verb. so, you are often using at least two words if not more to get the person completing or doing some action. So as we see in this text, “I am the door of the sheep”…we think....”cool a ‘Jesus is the door’” metaphor. In Greek, not so much. In the Greek language, you will not necessarily see the subject of the verb, because it is connected to the verb. But in this exact verse, Jesus uses exact words, that were unnecessary, yet packs one heck of a punch, words that every Jewish man and woman knew the impact of. Jesus says, ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων. The first two words there. ἐγώ εἰμι, are the exact same words Moses was given at the burning bush, Yahweh, or I Am. So to literally translate this verse would be: “I am, I myself am the door of the sheep”. The I am is redundant, but it conveys to those around that Jesus is the great “I AM” of the burning bush, the I AM that led them out of the house of slavery and into the promised land. The same I AM that sent His angel of destruction upon Egypt that night when all the firstborn everywhere was killed, except those who had the sacrificial blood of the lamb on their door posts and lintel. Jesus is the Great I AM of the parting of the Red Sea and the Great I AM who keeps covenant with rebellious people. Jesus is God in human clothing.

Jesus tells them and He tells us today that there is only One Door, Jesus, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all that dwells there. He promises that any who enter the kingdom of God through Him will be saved and will be able to go in and out and find pasture. (8).

The thing that I don’t care for about today’s Gospel reading is that it ends too abruptly. It ends with Jesus telling the false shepherds that they are thieves who only want to steal, kill and destroy, but He came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” It’s like stopping in the middle of a story. Or, one of those cliffhangers of a season ender of your favorite TV show. There is more to the picture. It is not until we get down to verse 11 where we find out how Jesus, who until this verse, didn’t say, but now He is calling Himself the Good Shepherd, and what gives Him that title: “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep”. We finally get to Christ’s passion. Here we finally see the cross in full sight. And from this point on through to verse 18 Jesus reiterates three times that He lays down His life for His sheep. This is pure Gospel here, brothers and sisters.

What makes Jesus the Good Shepherd is the cross and empty tomb. “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (vv 17-18).

Because our Good Shepherd is the only one who has laid down His life for His sheep, but Who also took it back up again on the third day. His empty tomb grants us assurance that faith placed in Christ and what He has done for His sheep, grants us pardon, peace and forgiveness of sins. Christianity is the only religion on the face of this planet whose God dies to redeem His lost creation. All of this was accomplished by Christ crucified and His subsequent resurrection.

And all this, His perfect life, innocent suffering and death, are given to you in Baptism. Here, the Father takes a goat and transforms it into a lamb, a sheep. And we are placed under the care of our Good Shepherd. And from that moment on, we have a great relationship with our Shepherd and His Father, a relationship that will outlast the ages.

Jesus’ lasts words to us today are that He came that we may have life and have it abundantly. We have an abundant life now. Each and everyone of us is cared for by our Great Shepherd. He leads us to springs of water and beautiful emerald green pastures. Jesus restores our souls though Word and Sacraments. He strengthens us for the journey through the valley of the shadow of death. We will walk that path, with our Good Shepherd at our side, fending off predator and leading with staff.

And once our journey through that valley of the shadow of death comes to an end, our Good Shepherd will be right there to lead us on our last journey through the Door of the sheepfold. Where He will lead us out into eternal pastures green and threatened no more.

In the name of Jesus and for His eternal Glory. Amen.

Nestle, E., Nestle, E., Aland, B., Aland, K., Karavidopoulos, J., Martini, C. M., & Metzger, B. M. (1993). The Greek New Testament (27th ed., Jn 10:7). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.