Home Defense

This morning, we’re looking at the first part of this passage. This week we will be focused on Jesus’ defensive nature as the door to the sheep. Next week, we will look at Jesus being the Shepherd of the sheep, and it all comes from the same passage.

In the last few days, a video was released, footage from a hotel lobby camera. It was a very disturbing video of a woman being suddenly attacked and beaten on the sidewalk in front of this hotel. Two onlookers are also on the video, security guards for the hotel. The attack goes on for about 30 seconds, and all the security guards do is shut their open doors. No one comes to the aid of this poor woman. She’s left to pick herself up. She had no one around to defend her. And what she needed was one of these two big security guard men to come out and intervene. They weren’t even appalled. They just quietly shut the door. This is not the kind of defender Christ is. He is an active and sure defense.

READ vv. 1-3

The Sheep

You ever think about the fact that Jesus calls His followers sheep again and again? It’s not a very flattering picture. Especially for us. We’re bootstrap Americans! We can and we will! We’re going to get things done! Back-to-back world war champions, right? We value heroes who make their own way in the world by hard work and determination.

And then we come and follow Jesus! And surely we’re going to go from this strong mighty eagle into something more glorious, right? And then Jesus refers to us as… sheep?

So there’s probably a little lost on us when the Bible describes us as sheep.

We can learn a lot, spiritually, from sheep. The very fact that Jesus would call His followers sheep is both humbling and encouraging.

We tend to not think about the sheep thing so much. You know much about sheep? Sheep aren’t very smart animals. I don’t like being a sheep. As a matter of fact, that’s a common complaint I mutter to Katie when we’re in a tight crowd… “Ugh, this makes me feel like such a sheep.” But regardless of how much I kick against the goads of my nature, I cannot change that I am a sheep.

In Christ, I have been given a new identity.

As a sheep, I must remember that as a part of my nature, I am: meek, obedient, quiet. These are the characteristics of the sheep that I am to model. I think, spiritually, we’d do a lot better if we learned to be quiet and follow the voice of the Master. (vv. 3-4)

Sometimes I forget that, and I become contentious, stubborn, and rude.

The sheep have no defense mechanisms. They are fully dependent upon their shepherd to protect them.

Unless you’re like this guy. He was able to survive in the wilderness for a long time. But his wool growth, while naturally happening, has been cultivated over generations and generations of sheep, and requires the shepherd to shear him. And also because of this unnatural wool growth, this guy is now unable to see, run, and eat.

Much like Christians who stray from the sheepfold. You may be protected from the elements, but you’re hardly an effective sheep. It’s for these that Jesus leaves the 99 to find the one… And brings them back to the sheepfold.

The point is, we are like sheep. We need Christ as our shepherd. As unattractive of a thought that is, it’s the truth. The closer we get to our Master, the more sure of a defense we will have.

The Door and the Thieves

In vv.1-2, Jesus lays out what it means to be the door. He’s not talking about a physical door. He’s not saying, “Hey, that thing on the hinge, yeah that’s me.”

Shepherds would often lay across the opening to the sheepfold so that he would know all who go in and come out. None would get past the door unless he knew.

What He’s telling means a couple of different things. It means, first off, that as sheep under the care of the shepherd, we will never be let go. He is our protector.

He is not a tool for us to use. He is not on the political spectrum, that we can say He would vote this way or that way. He’s the coming King, who will tear down all of our political mockery and establish His dominion on the earth. And He will care for His sheep. He will fight the battles, fending off the thieves who seek to destroy and scatter the sheep.

Who are the thieves and robbers?

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan does that. He wants us to see security, place our trust in the world, and end up in misery. Whether that’s misery on this earth or in eternity, his whole goal is your destruction and for God to receive as little glory as possible.

But Jesus says, “All who came before me...” Who is He referring to? Obviously they have something to do with the Enemy. But just who are those that came before Jesus? Are they the prophets of the Old Testament? No. It’s most likely that these are other people who claimed to be the Messiah. There were a few of those around Jesus’ time. However, these messianic figures sought to be political and military messiahs, leading their followers into insurrection and war and despair. Many messiahs would rile their followers up into failed rebellions against the Roman government. They didn’t feel their place was to be ruled by the kings of this earth, so they rose up against them to reestablish the government of the Jews.

These, Jesus says, are the thieves and robbers, and those who know Jesus will not listen to them. And listen, there’s a lot to be said in our day and age about those who would tell you, “Jesus would do this,” and “Jesus would do that.”

There’s a growing online presence of two dangerous camps of theology that I will tell you right now are thieves and robbers. One of these is the “Progressive Christian” movement. These are folks who are willing to bow to the tides of cultural change because they believe that cultural change is always a shift for the better. On this end, you hear the age-old tempting question, “Did God really say?” And they want you to question what you’ve been taught.

And listen, it’s okay to question what you’ve been taught, but your answer needs to come from a solid understanding of the Scripture, and I’ve seen what these folks have to say. I’ve wrestled with it. It’s called, “cherry-picking the scriptures” to make it say what you want it to say. “Progressive Christians” typically deny the divinity of Jesus, they deny that Jesus came to save your soul, and they deny that Scripture is the inerrant Word of God. Becoming a “progressive Christian” is the first step on the road to deconversion. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy.

On the other side, you have the QAnon conspiracy theorists who replace Jesus with Donald Trump. Whereas these folks would tell you they still believe in the biblical Jesus, what they’re blind to is that they’re subverting Christ and His values for their own political values. And they’d go so far as to storm the Capitol, raise a cross right next to the gallows that were put up for Mike Pence. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy.

Thieves. And Robbers. They promise liberation. They promise you the destiny you’ve always deserved. They promise a utopia on this side of Heaven. And it always ends in destruction.

Truthfully, a utopia has been proven over and over to be unable to exist. It’s a myth. But those with the utopian dreams of the future say Heaven is a myth! Jesus is clear. Heaven’s reality beats the myth of the utopia.

Jesus, however, gives His followers life, and life to the full. (v. 10)

The Pasture

I’ve mentioned a few times in the past weeks that the abundant life doesn’t just exist at the end of time. Now, the Bible does say that the abundant life exists primarily in the future. And we should look forward to that. But we can’t ignore the present abundant life to which we are now called, either.

This abundant life, in which we will come in and go out and find pasture exists in the joy we have with the Savior. The Savior and Lord who calls us His own and comforts us.

Life does not start at the end. Life in Christ starts right now.

In order to receive this promise, we must be like sheep, humble, quiet, obedient to the master, and join His sheepfold.

What is the abundant life?

The abundant life is the life of joy because of Christ. It’s a life understanding that all the worries of this world pale in comparison to the eternity that awaits us.

Are you stressed out, tired out, weary and worn from the suffering of this world?

Turn on the news and you see the hardship and difficulty. People are looking for a reason for all the hardships of this world and they grasp at anything they can besides calling it what it is. Sin. It seems like every month there’s a new cultural perpetrator to blame, and I will tell you they’re mostly right, but what they miss is that the Main Offender is sin.

Are you seeking the abundant life? Get close to the Master.

Some of us miss out on the abundant life because we refuse to get close to the Master.

There’s nothing magical you have to do… Just go spend time with Him in prayer and in the Word.

If you don’t know Him, I invite you to come and know Him today.