John 10:7-10

Well, amen and good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

Well served. Before I do, let me pray for God's blessing on our time.

Father God, we thank you this morning for your inspired, infallible, authoritative, sufficient Word.

We pray, Father, this day you will help us by your Spirit to trust it,

that you will empower the preaching of your Word and the hearing of your Word,

our understanding and application of it.

Certainly our very best of attempts are feeble, apart from your intervention.

So we ask that you would help us as we take up your Word together this day.

And I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

All right, John chapter 10, beginning in verse 1.

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

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.

But he 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.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

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.

I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who has a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep,

sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees,

and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he has a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd.

I know my own and my own know me.

Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father,

and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

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.

Oh, in the case that you were just joining us in our study of John's Gospel,

or that you, like me, easily forget details,

I will remind you where we find ourselves in this narrative of Jesus' life.

In chapter 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind.

This causes confusion and commotion.

So the man is brought before the Pharisees

and put through a series of examinations.

At the conclusion of his interrogation,

the man says, and this is chapter 9, verse 33 and following,

the man says,

Jesus said,

I believe,

I believe,

and he worshipped him.

Jesus said,

For judgment I came into this world,

that those who do not see may see,

and those who see may become blind.

Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things

and said to him,

Are we also blind?

Jesus said to them,

If you were blind,

you would have no guilt.

But now that you say we see,

your guilt remains.

So Jesus,

having healed a blind man of his physical disability

and then,

and more importantly,

of his spiritual disability,

uses the sight language

to expose the prideful Pharisees.

He speaks here with great irony.

It is the men who think they see

who are truly the blind ones.

And it is into this context

that Jesus goes on in chapter 10.

He is speaking to the Pharisees,

blind men who have thrown out of the synagogue

a seeing man,

and he switches from sight language

to hearing language

and a rich shepherding metaphor.

This all is meant to be an indictment

of these men.

Our text last week concluded with verse 6.

I'll just read that again.

This figure of speech Jesus used with them,

but they did not understand

what he was saying to them.

Verse 7 begins,

So Jesus again said to them.

And this transition demands

just a bit of our attention this morning.

Some have suggested that verses 1 through 5

are a parable,

and that the remainder of the chapter

is the explanation of those verses.

Jesus certainly goes on

as a response to their confusion,

but if we try to read all of chapter 10

back into verses 1 through 5,

we will have to force a lot of connections

that I don't believe Jesus or John

meant to communicate.

So we're going to be careful

as we proceed through,

and you may see me not do some things

you'd like for me to do,

because I don't think that's what

they intended for us to do.

Rather, we should read the chapter

as an unfolding metaphor.

The very best, in my opinion,

Greek scholarship on this chapter

suggests that this is the most faithful way

for us to proceed.

So Jesus presses on.

Jesus again said to them

by using a different metaphor

related to what he has just said.

It's not a total departure

to what he's just been speaking about,

but now he's communicating

something additional.

First, he has the shepherd

leading his sheep out

from amongst the other sheep

in the sheepfold.

Now, he is the door

to the sheepfold.

Now, whatever you may think

of Jesus this morning,

whether you understand him

to be the Christ or not,

when he makes such statements

as this,

he demands your attention.

He's saying something

incredibly stark.

Do what you will

with these declarations,

but don't just tune out.

Behold Jesus.

Deal with him honestly,

and I earnestly hope,

accept him on his terms.

Now, to help us do that this morning,

I have a simple outline.

It's three points.

I've tried to make it four.

I hate always being

a three-point preacher.

It seems like I most often am,

but it just didn't work.

So, three points this morning.

Number one,

Jesus, the only door of salvation.

Number two,

Jesus, the exposer of false saviors.

Number three,

Jesus, the way of eternal security

and abundant life.

Number one,

Jesus, the only door of salvation.

We see this in verse seven.

pick up a little bit of verse nine.

So,

Jesus again said to them,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

I am the door of the sheep.

And then verse nine,

he says,

I am the door.

If anyone enters by me,

he will be saved.

In verse seven,

Jesus makes the third

of his seven

I am statements

that John records.

First,

he says,

I am the bread of life

in chapter six.

Then,

I am the light of the world

in chapters eight and nine.

And now,

I am the door

of the sheep

or gate of the sheep.

Your translation may prefer.

These statements

are extraordinarily significant

because the I am phrase

declares Jesus' deity

in relation to God's name

as revealed to Moses

in Exodus chapter three.

Don't miss it.

His hearers totally understood

what he was doing.

We might read right past it.

But that is exactly

what he is doing.

He is declaring

that he is God.

And then,

he's adding some quality

of his deity

to the statement.

He tells us,

I am the door

of the sheep.

The sheep hold up

a place

where a group of families

would bring their flocks

in at night

for protection.

This is most regularly

the case.

A wealthy man

would not have needed

to partner together

to accomplish this.

But most regularly,

little flocks

were brought together

into a safe place,

a common courtyard

or a fenced-in area,

pen, etc.

Last week,

we thought together

about the man

who would be hired

to watch over them

throughout the night,

the gatekeeper

that the shepherd

comes to

to gain admittance

to the sheep.

The gatekeeper

only lets the shepherd

in to take his sheep out.

The sheep hold

would have had

one way in

and that same way

would have served

as the way out.

The common construction

of these structures.

Everybody hearing

Jesus speak

knows exactly

what he means.

As Jesus,

metaphorically,

now presents himself

as that way

in

and that way

out.

Notice that he does not say,

I know where the door is,

nor does he say,

I can show you the door.

He says,

I am the door.

In our previous metaphor,

I spoke about

the sheep being led out

to good pasture

and brought back

into safety

at night

by the shepherd.

This imagery

would have been vivid

for Jesus' listeners,

both because

of their daily experience

in an agrarian economy

and because

their familiarity

with their Bibles.

More importantly,

this is what Jesus

is doing.

doing.

Remember,

these are religious leaders

that Jesus is directly

confronting

and they would have been

familiar with

a text like

Psalm 23.

So last week,

that's what we read

in our scripture reading.

We did it again

this morning.

We're going to do it again

next week.

I intend to do it

all the way through

chapter 10

unless our elders

tell me no.

So you'll be made aware

if that's what happens,

if they tell me no,

which they do

from time to time.

First three verses,

Psalm 23,

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.

That's what He's laying

before them

in the opening verses

of chapter 10,

but they don't understand Him,

we saw in verse 6.

So now He presents Himself

as the only way

to good pasture

and safe rest

with another metaphor

drawn from the Old Testament.

Jesus is just preaching

the Word to these men.

Psalm 118,

I think you'll appreciate

going there with me

and I'll give you

just a quick second

if you'd like to join me

in verse 19.

Psalm 118,

Psalms 118:19

verse 19

and following,

we read,

Open to me

the gates

of righteousness

that I may enter

through them

and give thanks

to the Lord.

This is the gate

of the Lord.

The righteous

shall enter through it.

I thank you

that you have answered me

and have become

my salvation.

Now,

if we stop right there,

you might go,

how in the world

does that connect

to anything

that Jesus

is saying here?

So let me show you

by continuing

to read.

I hope this

causes connections

to fire off

in your brain.

Verse 22 says,

The stone

that the builders

rejected

has become

the cornerstone.

This is the Lord's

doing.

It is marvelous

in our eyes.

This is the day

that the Lord

has made.

Let us rejoice

and be glad in it.

I think those verses

are likely

very familiar to you.

Verses 22 through 24,

they're applied

to Jesus.

Matthew 21,

Matthew 21:42

verse 42,

2 Peter 2,

and verse 7.

So Psalm 118

is presenting

this rejected stone

by these builders

as the gate

or door

to enter into

the presence

of God.

these men

should have

gotten

this.

Jesus is the gate

of Psalm 118.

There is no

alternative entrance,

no side gate,

no secret passage.

You can't come

tumbling over the wall

and be considered

part of

the flock.

One door,

one means of access.

Jesus says

that He

is

the access.

Every blessing

of God

comes

through Him.

Every promise

of God

comes

through

Him.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 20,

Paul says,

for all the promises

of God

find their

yes

in Jesus

Christ.

We take up

the word

in any measure

and read

any of God's

promises

and discard

Jesus as the Christ.

None of them

are sure.

If we believe

that Jesus

is the Christ,

then all of them

are sure.

They find

their

yes

in Him.

Every hope

of eternal life

comes through

Jesus.

Every sinner

who enters

God's kingdom

enters

through

Him.

No

other

way.

God

this is

a

God

God

takes

a bit

of time

to think

about.

Our

culture

hates

exclusivity,

hates

absolute

truth claims.

The world

wants us to

think that

all roads

lead to God,

that every

religion is

equally valid.

the world

says that

sincerity

is

enough.

And so

people

make for

themselves

all sorts

of paths

to God

and all

sorts

of

gods.

Everyone

worships

something

or

someone

and the

tide of our

day

mostly rises

to the

worship

of

self,

a bend

toward

self-identity

and self-authority.

my friends,

this

is not

the door.

It's a

wide path

that leads

to destruction.

The way

is narrow

that leads

to eternal

life,

meaning it's

defined.

There's a

way

to God.

Jesus

says

there's

one door

and it's

him.

He is

the entrance

to God.

The

modern

mind

calls

that

narrow.

Jesus

called it

truth.

He just

makes the

claim.

So you

have to

deal with

him and

you have

to deal

with him

on

his

terms.

He's

going to

say later

in

John's

gospel,

chapter 14

and verse

6,

I am

the way

and the

truth

and the

life.

No one

comes to

the Father

except

through

me.

Peter

will

preach

in Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse

12,

there is

salvation

in no

one

else.

Paul

will

write

in

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

and verse

5,

there is

one

mediator

between

God

and

men,

the

man

Christ

Jesus.

The

testimony

of

scripture

is

unmistakable.

There's

one

savior,

one

mediator,

one

redeemer,

one

door,

and that

door

is

Christ.

And

perhaps

someone will

say,

why must

there be

only

one

way?

The

answer is

because

there's

only one

savior,

only one

who fulfilled

God's

law,

only one

sinless

substitute,

only one

who bore

divine

wrath,

only one

who conquered

death,

only one

who rose

from the

grave.

the

New

City

Catechism

question

this

week,

it's

found

in

your

bulletin,

meant

for the

children

really,

but

adults,

we

would

do

well

to

know

these

questions

and

answers.

Question

and answer

21,

why must

the

redeemer

be

truly

human?

And

the

answer

is

that

in

human

nature

he

might

on

our

behalf

perfectly

obey

the

whole

law

and

suffer

the

punishment

for

human

sin.

If

there

were

another

door,

there

would

need

to

be

another

savior,

another

cross,

another

resurrection.

Our

problem

with

God,

our

failure

to

keep

his

commands

and

the

death

that

is

due

our

failure

is

only

solved

by

faith

in

the

person

and

work

of

Jesus

Christ.

We

need

double

imputation.

We

need

Jesus'

righteousness,

his

perfect

law

giving,

given

to

us,

that

we

would

fulfill

God's

commands

in

him

and

we

need

the

penalty

due

our

sin

taken

away

by

Christ,

our

sinfulness

given

to

him,

he

suffered

and

died

for.

This

is

the

only

way

to

be

brought

back

into

the

presence

of

God.

If

this

presents

to

you

as

an

unfair,

just

consider

that

what

would

be

truly

fair

would

be

the

destruction

of

all

mankind,

immediate

and

final.

There

is only

one way,

but there

is a

way,

praise

be

to

God.

This

should

motivate

faith

in

Jesus

and

it

should

motivate

evangelism

to

the

very

ends

of

the

earth.

Our

God

is

not

unfair,

our

God

is

merciful.

He

has

given

a

message

in

the

personal

work

of

Jesus

Christ

that

we

might

believe

it

and

we

might

share

it

with

others

that

they

might

believe

it

as

well.

One

door

standing

open

come

and

enter

all

who

may.

Jesus

is the

only

door

of

salvation.

Secondly,

Jesus

is the

exposer

of

false

saviors.

We see

this in

verse 8

and I'll

take up

a little

bit of

verse

10.

Verse

8

says

all

who

came

before

me

are

thieves

and

robbers

but

the

sheep

did

not

listen

to

them.

Why

did

they

not

listen

to

them?

Because

the

sheep

belong

to

the

shepherd.

They

know

his

voice

and

they

follow

him.

And

then

verse

10

says

the

thief

comes

only

to

steal

and

kill

and

destroy.

The

language

in

these

verses

certainly

carries

forward

from

Jesus'

previous

metaphor.

To

whom

is

Jesus

referring

to?

We

should

immediately

exclude

some

who

came

before

him.

He

says

all

who

came

before

me

but

some

who

came

before

him.

Like

Moses

or

Isaiah

or

Jeremiah

or

John

the

Baptist

comes

to

my

mind.

Elsewhere

are

commended

by

them

for

their

faithfulness.

So

not

them.

So

who?

Who is

it that

he's

talking

about?

Those

all

who

came

before

him?

Last

week I

suggested

that he

is drawing

on

imagery

employed

in

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 34 · chapter mention

chapter

34

to

speak

of

leaders

who

should

have

been

caring

for

the

sheep

but

instead

cared

for

their

own

gain.

Like

spiritual

leaders

who

were

exploiting

God's

people

and not

serving

them.

So

those men

to be

sure.

Perhaps

he is

suggesting

those who

had made

messianic

claims

before

him.

If you

know your

history,

others had

come and

said they

were the

Christ

and led

insurrections

and were

put down

by the

Romans

who

showed

themselves

not

to

be

the

Christ.

So

perhaps

them,

they,

of course,

were seeking

their own

advantage.

But all

of this

language

is aimed

at the

Pharisees

he is

presently

addressing.

Those

he is

speaking

to

here

most

certainly

are

included

in

this

number.

In

Matthew

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

chapter

23,

the

list

of

woes

to

the

Pharisees,

there

are

seven

of

them.

And the

first

one

says

this

beginning

in

verse

13,

but

woe

to

you

scribes

and

Pharisees

hypocrites

for you

shut the

kingdom of

heaven

in people's

faces

for you

neither

enter

yourselves

nor

allow

those

who

would

enter

to

go

in.

Woe

to

you

scribes

and

Pharisees

hypocrites

for you

travel

across

sea

and

land

to

make

a

single

proselyte

and

when

he

becomes

a

proselyte

you

make

him

twice

as

much

a

child

of

hell

as

yourselves

false

shepherding

not

leading

people

to

God

leading

them

rather

astray

so

Jesus

is

making

a

stark

contrast

here

between

himself

and

the

false

shepherd

false

shepherds

take

Christ

gives

false

shepherds

consume

Christ

saves

false

shepherds

destroy

Christ

restores

what an

indictment

Jesus

is making

against

these

Pharisees

now

the

danger

for

us

is

no

longer

first

century

Judaism

but

false

shepherds

do

still

exist

any

religious

leader

who

diminishes

Christ

is a

thief

and a

robber

any

system

that

adds

human

merit

to

grace

is a

thief

and a

robber

any

church

that

substitutes

moralism

for the

gospel

is leading

people

astray

the

prosperity

preacher

promising

earthly

riches

as the

essence

of God's

blessing

is a

thief

and a

robber

in most

cases

quite

literally

the

liberal

theologian

denying

Christ's

deity

is a

thief

and a

robber

the

secular

voice

insisting

that

fulfillment

is found

apart from

God

is also

a thief

and a

robber

they come

to steal

and kill

and destroy

they do

this under

the command

of their

father

the father

of lies

the devil

who prowls

around looking

for someone

to devour

every

false

savior

makes promises

it cannot

keep

our age

seems obsessed

with looking

for doors

that do

not exist

people seek

salvation

through politics

through wealth

through education

or personal

success

through family

pleasure

self

discovery

yet

every

substitute

ultimately

collapses

you hold

up Christ

to any

of these

things

and he

exposes

them

as

false

our

hearts

were made

for the

worship

of God

you will

worship

you were

designed

to be

a worshiper

you can

worship

self

you can

worship

others

you can

worship

stuff

we were

made

to worship

God

and only

Jesus

grants us

access

to that

worship

Augustine

famously

said

quote

our hearts

are restless

until they

find their

rest

in thee

you're

missing

satisfaction

for your

heart

it's found

in God

through Christ

so Jesus

is the only

door of

salvation

Jesus

is the

exposer

of false

saviors

and thirdly

Jesus

is the

way

of

eternal

security

and

abundant

life

this of

course

plays off

of the

fact

that he's

the only

door

of

salvation

we see

in verse

nine

and then

the last

part

of verse

ten

he says

I am

the door

if anyone

enters

by me

he will

be saved

and will

go in

and out

and find

pasture

verse ten

the thief

comes only

to steal

and kill

and destroy

and then in

juxtaposition

he says

I came

that they

may have

life

and have

it

abundantly

if we

place our

faith

in Jesus

the door

if we

enter

by him

note

note what

it says

we

the text

says he

will

be

saved

we come

through

Jesus

there's a

promise

here

we

will

be

saved

Paul

states

it

similarly

in Romans

chapter

ten

verse

nine

if you

confess

with your

mouth

that Jesus

is Lord

and believe

in your

heart

that God

raised him

from the

dead

you

will

be

saved

and having

been saved

you will

go in

and out

and find

pasture

there are

phrases

in this

chapter

that just

deserve a

lifetime

of

meditation

you will

go in

and out

and find

pasture

to borrow

from the

previous

metaphor

the security

of the

sheep

rests

not in

the sheep

fold

but in

the shepherd

this is

what makes

them safe

the phrase

go in

and out

communicates

safety

and it

communicates

freedom

in the

ancient

world

security

was

precious

I know

the men

in our

church

we think

about

securing

our

homes

we put

in

measures

for that

we have

lights

and

doorbell

cameras

and

munitions

nearby

nothing like

they had to

think about

though

wild animals

are not

breaking

into our

homes

we don't

have

bands

of

marauders

coming

on their

camels

to

raid our

camp

security

was

precious

this

idea

of

safety

in the

sheep

fold

because

the

shepherd

is

caring

for

them

was

a

big

big

deal

it would

do well

to

stop

and

meditate

and

think

about

what it

means

to

truly

be

safe

and not

just

temporally

I mean

spiritually

to move

freely

without

fear

was a

great

sign

of

peace

good

pasture

and

secure

rest

is what

is offered

by faith

in Jesus

the door

of the

sheep

the sheep

will go

in and

out

and they

will

find

pasture

sustenance

for their

souls

Jesus

promises

that as

people are

safe

under

his

care

not

safe

from

hardship

loss

suffering

persecution

but

safe

from

ultimate

final

destruction

safe

from

condemnation

secure

he calls

the sheep

out

the sheep

know his

voice

they go

through the

door

they belong

to him

eternally

secure

but not

only are

we safe

we are

also

given

abundant

life

the language

here suggests

life that

is overflowing

it's beyond

measure

with goodness

but I've just

said that we are not

safe from hardship

or loss

or suffering

or persecution

so

by what

standard

by what

standard

is our

life

abundant

to answer

that question

I think

we will be

helped

by first

hearing

Jesus'

definition

of eternal

life

John records

this in

chapter 17

verse 3

this is

eternal

life

significant

all of our

minds go to

time

we go to

span

when we

think about

eternal

life

but this

is what

Jesus

says

this is

eternal

life

that they

know you

the only

true God

and Jesus

Christ

whom you

have sent

life now

and forever

more

knowing

and being

known

by the

God

that

is

eternal

life

life

now