September 4, 2016 Pastor Ken Hepner John s Gospel, Jesus Is the Son of God: 36. "Jesus is the Gate for the Sheep" John 10:1 10 Introduction: We are studying the Gospel of John together. It's important for us to understand the goal of this study: It is to have us take a Good and Honest Look at Jesus the Son of God. Engaging our hearts and minds in studying the life, teachings and work of Jesus enables us to make solid decisions about how to respond to His claims. Jesus said He is the One and Only Son of God. Only He can introduce us to a relationship with God as our Father. Intimacy with God as Father, being adopted as sons and daughters of God is one of the key issues about which John writes in this Gospel and in his three letters. One of John s favorite expressions to describe us as followers of Jesus is Children of God. John writes of Jesus: John 1:12, 13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband s will but born of God. John tells us why he wrote his Gospel message. It is in the text so we can t misunderstand what John is trying to do with this Gospel testimony of Jesus life and ministry. Let's read together aloud John's reason for writing down this Gospel message. It is found in John 20:30, 31: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." That word in the text, believing in Jesus name is vital truth throughout the writings of John: that by believing you may have life in his name." You will find the word believe, believers, 96 times in this Gospel. It is vital that we understand the truth that believing isn t merely giving mental assent to a list of facts. Believing is absolutely Entrusting one s entire being to become the Possession, the Dwelling Place of Jesus, that what He came to do was for me personally! John tells the reader again and again Jesus is the Son of God who came into this world to do the will of His Abba Father God who sent Him. It was the Father s will that His Son Jesus live an absolutely sinless life so He could address once and for all the issue of sin and self-interest in the human heart and soul. Only a sinless sacrifice could be the once and for all sacrifice that deals a deathblow to sin, guilt, and shame in our lives! Jesus models for us all what a life that honors the Father God looks like lived out in the human arena. It is a life of Self-Sacrificing Love, that puts to death the incessant desire to please one s self and that seeks rather to please God no matter what the cost. Jesus shows us what a human life that loves God looks like in everyday life. It is a life that focuses on God s heart of love, compassion and mercy for people! 1
The context of this incredible miracle is the ongoing feud between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees. They have been looking for something they could use to bring charges against Him because the truth is that their minds were already made up about Him. They wanted Him dead. The religious leaders judged Jesus as being a mere man, and so they completely rejected the notion that Jesus was of God at all, let alone the Son of God doing the will of His Abba Father or having authority to speak for God to anyone at the temple. They believed they were the keepers of God s truth and that they alone had the authority to speak for God in the temple. They judged Jesus according to their fleshly and earthly perspectives. Jesus said if they had known the Father God whom they claimed to represent then they would have known Jesus too. John reveals Jesus in a number of I am statements, which are words that reveal the divine nature of Jesus to us all. In the Synagogue or Temple when a teacher spoke of I am it left no doubt who the speaker was talking about: He was talking about God! Those are the words God Almighty spoke to His man Moses on the mountain, when He called Him in Exodus 3! Jesus is quoted by John as making the following statements that reveal who He was and what He came to make available to us all: John 6:35 I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world. John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. In the story we are going to study today it is always good to remember to set Jesus teachings in their context, so the message He is delivering to His listeners can be more clearly understood. The context here is the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders who claim to be true shepherds of the people of Israel, but are actually completely missing the heart of God the Father whom they claim to represent! This story is aimed at proud and stubborn hearts of the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who thought they were true shepherds but were not. Jesus is calling His listeners to see and understand the truth that He alone Knows God the Father s Heart and Will for His people! Let s listen in on the story as it is told by Gene Peterson in the message. John 10:1-10 The Message: Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he s up to no good a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won t follow a 2
stranger s voice but will scatter because they aren t used to the sound of it. Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. I ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. I. False Shepherds Work for the Thief: John 10:1 I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. John 10:5 But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run from him because they do not recognize his voice. John 10:8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. The story uses a picture that would have been very commonly understood by all of those who heard Jesus speak it. The sheep were brought in from the grazing fields and were brought to a very large sheepfold, where the shepherds took turns watching over each other s sheep in the large pen. There was one gatekeeper in charge of all of the sheep of all of the shepherds in the town. While the many shepherds slept, they had one gatekeeper in charge of the safe-keeping of the sheep! The shepherds had trained their sheep to hear their voice, and to respond to their voice. They talked to their sheep. They had names for their sheep. Often they would sing over their sheep so the sheep would be able to recognize the tones and sounds of their own shepherd. Jesus uses this tender and beautiful Pastoral Imagery to talk to the people about what a True Spiritual Leader looks like and how they lead in the local body! But on the other side of the coin, Jesus said there were people who would climb over the wall and seek to steal and kill the sheep. He used this story to issue a stinging rebuke to those who claimed to care about the sheep of God in the sheepfold of God, but were actually full pride and self-indulgence, who cared more about How the People Viewed them than they cared about the Welfare of the People! 1. False shepherds are those who are only out for the Benefit of Self! Those who climb in some other way and do not access the sheepfold by the gatekeeper, are only interested in what they can get out of the sheep, the mutton and lamb chops to eat, and the wool to wear. They are there for one purpose, to divide the flock of God, to either sell off the healthy sheep or kill them for what value their meat and their wool will bring at market! A false shepherd is known by their constant reference to him or herself! 2. False shepherds are known by How they Access the Sheep Fold. The false shepherd is known by how they access the sheep, enter the fold. They do not give due honor to those who are actually responsible for the care of the sheep. They want the sheep to come with them for the reasons we have seen, so they play on the sheep s innocence once they have gained access to them! 3
3. False shepherds are known by their Intentions Toward the Sheep. The third thing to notice about false shepherds who climb into the sheepfold by some other way than through the gatekeeper is that their intentions are not for the good of the sheep. They intend to divide a few of the best sheep from the flock with intent to either kill them or sell them at market! There are many false shepherds who care nothing about the sheep they say they care for. The radio waves and TV signals are full of people who claim to be the real thing but are not! There are ways to tell whether or not a shepherd is true. When you listen carefully to their words, do they really point to the Lord Jesus as Good Shepherd, whose heart is selfsacrificing love? Or do they talk about Jesus just long enough to get the focus what we can do to access Jesus to feed our flesh and our self-interest? Is it about what we can give and how we can love or is it about what we can get out of following God? II. True Shepherds are Watchmen for the Good Shepherd: John 10:2 4 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 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. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Those of us who are Called to Shepherd People for our Lord Jesus, are like the Watchman in this story. Here at Cedar Grove there are many levels of shepherds, who work together to give loving pastoral care to this church body. There are Sunday School Teachers of children, youth, and adults. There are deacons who are given a number of families or persons to stay in touch with and care for needs as they arise. There are Home Group leaders who give care to a smaller group of people, insuring that needs are met in the body. Then there are Pastoral Staff persons, who oversee large groups of people through all of the previously mentioned shepherds. But there is something that each and every one of us, who are called to shepherd people in this body must understand and be prepared to give an account to Jesus for. We are analogous to the Watchman who stood watch over all of the flocks of the local shepherds. We must never forget that we are not the good shepherd who owns the sheep. The Church of Jesus we are responsible to lead is His work that He is building, not ours! This word watchman reminds me of the incredible words the Lord God spoke to His prophet and priest Ezekiel and Isaiah as God called them to speak about what it means to stand watch over the people of Israel just before and after they had been deported to Babylon. Listen to these incredible words about the role of the watchman, local church pastoral leaders! Ezekiel 3:17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning for me. Isaiah 62:6, 7 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he comes and establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. 4
And listen to the powerful words about what a true shepherd is and does as is found in three verses in the New Testament: Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. I Peter 5:2, 3 Be shepherds of God s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. True gatekeepers or watchmen are those who work for the Good Shepherd and do it well. They access the flock by the door, and have nothing in their hearts but the Best Interest of the Sheep, because they know the sheep are given to their care for only a brief time. Their only thought is how to keep the predators and the false shepherds away from those they care for on that night! We are only given Protective Custody of Jesus sheep who are His people who are precious to Him. The sheep ultimately belong in the arms and in the heart of the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for His sheep! We are responsible to do whatever we can to insure the sheep are Kept Safe, Fed on the Word of God that proceeds from the heart of God, and Prepared for when the Shepherd Comes for them either by death of when Jesus comes to take His church out of this world! III. Jesus is the Shepherd Who is the Gateway to Real Abundant Life! John 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. John 10:9, 10 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full. Now Jesus becomes very specific, shedding light on the true meaning of the story of the shepherd, the watchman, the gate, and the sheepfold. Jesus made it very clear that there is singleness; there is exclusivity, in true spiritual matters. Jesus says I am the gate for the sheep. Some translations say; I am the door for the sheep. Jesus Christ the Son of God is the one entrance into the kingdom of God the sheep may enter and join the fold of God. He says the thief and the robber engage the sheep only to steal them and kill them. It is an obvious reference to the men who are standing in front of Him at the time, the religious leaders who are filled with pride and ego, and who have a seething hatred for Jesus. Jesus says they are representing an agenda that looks nothing like the God they say they are serving. As a matter of fact His reference here is to the agenda of God s enemy Satan and his malignant will for the people of God! Jesus says the shepherd calls each sheep by name and leads them out of the sheepfold into the pasture land he has prepared for them. This analogy draws a number of conclusions for us as the people of God: 5
1. Jesus and only Jesus Saves the Sheep. Only the Son of God hanging on a Cross outside Jerusalem in a few months, bearing the sins of all of the people of the world, can and will deliver the human heart and soul from bondage to Satan. Only Jesus Saves! His work on our behalf sets us free from bondage to sin and self-interest. His resurrection life and victory is the path of victory for the sheep of God s flock, the people of God to be saved from an eternal separation from God in Hell! Paul writes to the Ephesians in 2:8, 9: It is by grace that you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no man can boast. John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 2. Jesus speaks His Word and His Will into each Sheep. In that large corporate sheepfold, each of those individual sheep knew the voice of their own shepherd because they heard it so often. Even so, the child of God knows the voice of their Good Shepherd Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus makes His Word spring to life when we read it, makes in alive with meaning, shows us our need of repentance, brings us to the Cross. The voice of Jesus is also deeply personal to us, as He speaks to us as individuals, whispering His will and plans to us, how He wants us to engage with Him in the work that He has for us to do in His kingdom of the heart. John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 3. Jesus Knows each sheep by Name. In the community sheepfold, when the shepherds came for their own sheep, they called their names and the sheep recognized their name in the voice of their shepherd. Jesus is saying that He knows each one of us by name. He is saying that we are precious to Him, that He knows everything about us, cares for us, and desires to fellowship with us His own. John 1:47, 48 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him, Here is an Israelite in whom there is nothing false. How do you know me, Nathaniel asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. I Corinthians 8:3 But the man who loves God is known by God. II Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. 4. Jesus Gives the Sheep Life, Abundant and Full Life. This is one of the most often quoted truths about what it means to know and follow Jesus in life. Jesus has come into the world that we might have life, and that we might know His resurrection life and victory in abundance. Jesus wants us to understand that His presence in our lives is freedom and deliverance from the things that have kept us in bondage in the past. His presence and power to live are freely bestowed on all who believe in Him and receive His presence in our lives each day! Jesus doesn t want us to merely have fire insurance from Hell. He wants us to know His presence in us like streams of living water flowing from within us. 6
5. Jesus Leads the Sheep to the Pastures He has Prepared for them. The last observation from the text is Jesus says the shepherd after he has called his sheep out of the community pen, walks before them and takes them to the pastureland he has prepared for them. The Lord Jesus has a place for you and for me to feed on what He has prepared for us, to know His truth that is alive and personal! 7
September 4, 2016 John s Gospel, Jesus Is the Son of God: 36. Jesus Is the Gate for the Sheep John 10:1 10 Introduction: Our goal is to take a G and H look at Jesus the Son of God. I with God as children of God is one of John s key subjects. John 1:12 13 John tells us why he wrote this Gospel, telling us why he included the seven miracles he did. John 20:30 31 Believing in Jesus is absolutely E one s life to be the D P of Jesus. Jesus models for us what a life that loves God deeply looks like: It is a life of S - S L. It puts to death the desire to please one s self and seeks rather to please God no matter the cost! The religious leaders in Jerusalem were in an ongoing feud with Jesus. They wanted Him dead because He didn t fit with their understanding of what it meant to please God. John gives us many I am statements of Jesus revealing His divinity to us. John 6:35, 51; 8:12; 14:6 Jesus calls His listeners to see the truth that He alone K the Father God s H and W for His people! The story from The Message, John 10:1 10. I. False Shepherds Work for the Thief: John 10:1, 5, 8 The story uses imagery commonly understood by the hearers. Jesus used this pastoral imagery to teach people what a T S L looks like and how they lead in the body. The story is aimed at the spiritual leaders who cared more about how the P V them than they cared for the good of the people! It is a picture of false shepherds: 8
They care about the B of S They are known by how they A the sheepfold and by their I toward the sheep. II. True Shepherds Are Watchmen for the Good Shepherd: John 10:2 4 People called of Jesus to S P are like the watchman in this story. The many levels of shepherding care at Cedar Grove are analogous to the W in the story. Listen to the Scriptures regarding what it means to be called to be a watchman: Ezekiel 3:17; Isaiah 62:6 7; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:2 3. We access the flock by the door or gate and have nothing in our hearts but the B I of the sheep! We are only given P C of Jesus sheep, His people who are precious to Him. We are responsible to see to it they are K S F on God s Word P for the Good Shepherd when He C for T! III. Jesus Is the Shepherd Who Is the Gate to Real, Abundant Life: John 10:7, 9 10 Jesus makes it clear there is exclusivity in spiritual matters! I am the Gate! 1. Jesus and only Jesus S the S. Ephesians 2:8 9; John 14:6 2. Jesus speaks His W and His W to each sheep. John 10:27; Matthew 10:27 3. Jesus K each sheep by N. John 1:47 48; 1 Corinthians 8:3; 2 Timothy 2:19 4. Jesus gives the sheep L, A and F life. John 7:37 39 5. Jesus leads His sheep to the P He has P for them. 9
Discussion Starter Questions for Home Groups 1. John wants us to know the truth that we are God s children. Do you think most Christians understand this important truth about our identity? 2. John writes about the intense conflict between the religious leaders and Jesus. What was it about Jesus that had them so upset and angry at Him? 3. There are many I am statements recorded by John as spoken by Jesus. What is behind those statements? What do they mean in terms of His nature? 4. The Lord has used the metaphor of sheep and a shepherd throughout Scripture. What do you think the Lord wants us to know about our relationship with Him? 5. How do we recognize a false shepherd when we see and hear one speak, given they often speak as devout Christian leaders? 6. What are the traits that make a true spiritual leader s life genuine? How do we know a true shepherd of Jesus when we meet one? 7. Jesus said He is the Gate for the Sheep. He is the only way people may be saved, enter into God s sheepfold. Why is this statement of Jesus such an important truth for us to know as His followers? 8. Read together aloud the story of Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3:1 18. Discuss insights you have about what it means to be born of God. 9. Read aloud Ephesians 2:1 10. Discuss insights you have about the gift of salvation we have received by faith in Jesus Christ s work for us. 10. What are some things you are going to want to remember about recognizing the false shepherd and the true shepherd? How do we apply to our spiritual journey the five truths we looked at near the end of the message about Jesus work in our lives? 10