I Am...The Gate

Intro:

Where we have been:

Week 1: John 6 I am the Bread of Life. Jesus sustains us

Week 2: John 8:12 and 9:1-7 I am the Light of the World. Jesus alone is the hope we need.

Let’s also revisit the purpose of John recording his Gospel.

The thesis statement of John’s Gospel and the question he is answering, “who is Jesus?”, is found in John 20:30-31:

John 20:30–31 NIVUK84

30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

This week we are exploring the next I am statement we find in chapter 10. This statement is picking up in a series of events and conversations Jesus is having with some Pharisees.

This series of statements is in response of Jesus to the question the Pharisees ask in John 9:40

John 9:40 NIVUK84

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

This conversation is a result of Jesus healing the blind man and his testimony to his encounter with Jesus and response of belief.

John 9:35–38 NIVUK84

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.

This recap gives context to this next “I Am” statement of Jesus we will be focusing on.

Read John 10:1-10

John 10:1–10 NIVUK84

1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In verse 6 we are told that that the Pharisees did not understand this figure of speech Jesus is using.

It might be helpful for us too to have some visuals and a little more understanding of what Jesus is talking about here.

(Show slides of pens made with materials found in the area of grazing sheep.)

We see in these images the types of pens that were commonly made or used and the type of materials.

These pens were used to keep the sheep gathered and protected during the night.

Notice the opening where the sheep were driven into…what is missing? (A gate)

The shepherd or more common in larger flocks, and under-shepherd slept in these openings.

It wasn’t that the Pharisees did not understand the how shepherding works, or the pens that were used. They didn’t understand who the “cast” was in his metaphor, or what this had to do with their question in 9:40. So Jesus begins to explain who is who in this metaphor and still leaves some room for them to put some of the pieces together of the others in this expression.

Again, Jesus understood his culture and context, and he never wasted words or stories or expressions that didn’t have some type of meaning to his audience. The pharisees had context and knowledge of shepherds in some OT prophets.

Many of the OT prophecies refer to shepherds who did evil in the sight of the Lord. They led the sheep, the people of God, in the wrong way, away from God. They sought to take care of only themselves and did not truly love their flock. These “shepherds” were sometimes religious leaders and rulers.

Ezekiel 34:1–6 NIVUK84

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them.

It made God angry to see his people mistreated and he makes a promise to step in to our world himself.

Ezekiel 34:11–12 NIVUK84

11 “ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

So Jesus’ accusation to the Pharisees is that they are the poor shepherds, the ones who do not enter through the gate, they are thieves and robbers

When Jesus identifies himself as “the gate” in verse 7 and 9, we see how he identifies himself in verses 1-5.

John 10:1–5 NIVUK84

1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.”

If Jesus identifies himself as “the gate” in verse 7 & 9, then in this section he would be the “watchman”

The watchman guards the opening, gives access to the pen only to the shepherd that knows the sheep by name and who the sheep know the shepherd’s voice.

The Gate Gives Access to Salvation

One thing that becomes fairly apparent in this metaphor is that Jesus alone is the Gate of salvation:

John 10:8–9 NIVUK84

8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Jesus is the only door by which a person can enter for salvation. That is, Jesus is the only door that brings us to God.

Jesus is also the only door that leads us to the forgiveness of our sins.

If we look also at the first 5 verses we see an important attribute of the sheep.

They listen to the voice of the one in the pen.

This salvation offered to us through “the Gate” unites and connects us to the ‘good shepherd”. We enter into a special relationship through a process of faith and repentance to be saved.

We then learn the voice of the shepherd. We know and trust his voice and leading. He knows us and we trust him.

Seeing Jesus in this way, trusting in Him in this way, is critical for us in true relationship with God.

[Note: This provides another great opportunity to present the gospel and how one “enters through Jesus,” through faith and repentance, to be saved.]

The Gate Gives Access to Healing Through Salvation

It is through Jesus that the shame, hurt, and brokenness of our lives can be healed.

I don’t know anyone who has come to Jesus without these things present in their life in some way.

This healing of our life through salvation allows us to enjoy the “good pasture” that he leads us to.

Did you notice that Jesus he knows the sheep by name?

Despite the sins we have committed, the shame that we may feel, the brokenness we experience, Jesus knows us by name, not by our sin and not by what what we have done. Thats how the ‘the evil one’ knows us.

The Gate Gives Access to Freedom and Life

John 10:9 NIVUK84

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

We tend to look at following Jesus or being obedient to God as a list of rules and “can-nots” that stifle our freedom.

We tend to look at freedom as being able to do anything we want whenever we want. We forget the part that there are consequences for that freedom.

Our true freedom available through “the Gate” is not that we are free to do anything we want.

True freedom is a life connected and submitted to God. A life that is free from the bondage of sin and it’s consequences.

Freedom SUBMITTED to God?!

Galatians 5:1 NIVUK84

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Jesus alone is our provider of freedom. It is through Jesus that we find the good and perfect pastures of God.

Psalm 95:7 (NIVUK84)

7 for he is our God

and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care.

Ezekiel 34:14–16 NIVUK84

14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

We are free to do what we want and live how we want. The consequence of that is that we live outside God’s care and provision.

The Gate Provides Protection

Jesus’ words here are stark contrasts of comparisons and we see that here in verse 10

John 10:10 NIVUK84

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

When the watchman would sit or sleep in the opening, as the door or gate of the sheepfold, he would protect his flock from any predators.

In the world, we face a thief and an Enemy (the devil) who is out to destroy and devour us;

1 Peter 5:8 NIVUK84

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

As God’s sheep, we are under the protection of Jesus.

Jesus puts himself between us (his sheep) and everything that would come against us.

Our security in life is not by surrounding ourselves in walls but in closeness to Jesus.

I want also go back to the last part of verse 10 and ask you this;

What is “life to the full”?

Remember what the circumstances of this conversation is...

The blind man had just been healed.

That is life...

His life is now forever changed. The way of life he once knew has now changed…for the good!

The difficulties he faced in the day to day are now better. In fact, many times, someone with an issue of blindness or other disability were outcasts and burdens. They depended on the benevolence of others to survive. In the beginning of chapter 9, there was the belief that it was sin that had caused this condition and he would have been seen by everyone as guilty and condemned.

So Jesus’ healing in many ways gave him life.

But wait…there is more!

The blind man then believes in “the Son of Man”

That is life to the full!

He now is experiencing a new relationship with God and a new community.

He is experiencing this new full life in part now and will experience it to the fullness in the future as well.

This healed man is now experiencing all of these things because of “the gate”.

The Gate provides access to salvation, healing, freedom and protection