John
10:1-10 NIV
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone 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 one who enters by the
gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper 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 recognize a
stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of
speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I
am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before
me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever
enters through me will be saved. They 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.
The Sheep of The Manger
Lord, you have
tended us and cared for us. May we always continue to come together to feed off
of You and to hear Your Voice spoken in Word and Sacrament.
When you lead me
outside, into the dangers of this world, you have a way of calling. You have a
way of making Your voice known and obvious. When I listen to You; You provide
safety. But it’s when I begin to listen to my own voice, or the voices of this
world that I get lost. Call me back to hear Your voice. In that, is safety and
comfort and joy, even in the dangers of this world.
Remember this?
“Return to the Lord your God, for He is patient and merciful, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love.” I remember singing this in church. Well, it
comes from Joel 2:13
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
When I’m lost in
this world, to the evil it holds, or lost in myself; may I hear the voice of
Jesus calling, knowing that He loves me enough to carry me through any and all
of my sin, back into His arms, and into His care. That phrase “Rend your
heart,” reminds me of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Sometimes I feel my
heart torn wide open in the presence of Jesus, as He faithfully pours His Word
and Grace and Salvation right into the center, or the bowels of my very being.
So, yea, sure, my heart burns within me as Jesus opens His Word to me, day
after day after day.
Jesus starts out
this passage with Truth. In this case it is repeated twice, giving a surety to
what He says is truthful. Some may think of this saying as Amen… Amen… In this
it also brings a declaration of “Yes! It shall be so!”
So, what’s a
sheepfold. In the day and time of Jesus a sheepfold would possibly be like a stone
wall which encloses a pasture or area that the sheep would be gathered
together. To get into this sheepfold, you would enter by the gate. Anyone who
would climb the wall or sneak in another way, would most probably be up to
something nefarious.
The person entering
by the gate would most likely be the shepherd of the sheep. This would be the
caretaker. It all seems so obvious, on the surface of it all, but beneath the
obvious, Jesus is bringing us a deep truth.
When God the Father
sent Jesus into this world in our flesh, He opened the gate for all human-kind
to be brought into union with His Son. How great is that? And as we walk forth,
even now, in this wicked world, we can listen to the voice of Jesus. Jesus
knows us and calls us by name to be with Him. May we all hear His voice, and
follow in His way, to do His will, as we love God and all those God gives to us
as we follow Jesus.
What’s so nice about
following Jesus, is that He knows us and calls us and leads us and guides us
through the dangers of life. Yes, Jesus goes before us and takes care of us,
especially when we are outside of the sheepfold and in danger of the evils of
this world.
Can you recognize
the voice of Jesus? Or how about, recognize the voice of an imposter?
Sometimes, if I hear someone declaring that they are the voice of God, or that
they know way too much about God, or Jesus, or whatever… I get suspicious. It’s
like, that didn’t sound honest, or truthful, or maybe even legitimate. There’s
something to listening to another person like this that seems to get in the way
a bit. And, yea, I get suspicious.
But, when I hear the
Word or the Voice of Jesus, it’s easy to hear, it’s easy to take in. I may not
understand what I’m hearing, but it rings in Truth and Honesty. The Word of
Jesus doesn’t seem to be a manipulation of some emotion, or way of thinking
that is attempting to persuade me into a concept of untruth. When I hear the
Voice of Jesus, compared to some cry of evil, it’s easy to pick out. I think,
maybe, that’s what Jesus is telling us, sheep, in this passage. When we hear
His voice, compared to the voice of a thief attempting to draw us away from
God; we are led to follow the voice and call of Jesus.
So, how do you
figure this out if you still question the truth of it all? That’s where God has
left to us Scripture, one another, and prayer to turn to. Seek it out and most
of the time, I’ve found out that what I was seeking, was always there with me
in Jesus, or the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And like the
Pharisees in this passage, if I still don’t get it, if I still can’t hear God’s
voice; I’m probably the one that is in the way of hearing. I need to pause and
open my heart, yea, rend my heart wide open, SO THAT, God can pour into the
center of my being, His Voice and His Word. Not that I will get it all, I know
I won’t, but that I will hear and follow His call and walk beside and behind
Him in my daily living.
So, now Jesus
attempts to make His point in another fashion, declaring He is the gate. Jesus
is the gate that opens us to safety in spirit. He opens the gate and we enter
into His salvation. Only Jesus can open this gate. And how?
It’s through what
Jesus did for us. He came in flesh and blood to be like us, to know what it is
to be human, and He gave His life to save us from our own humanity of sin. Yea,
He became sin for us, He opened the gate for us, SO THAT, we may live with God
in His Kingdom.
As Paul so eloquently
states…
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
21 God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus is the gate.
Opening us up, through what He did, to become righteous with God.
So, listen to the
voice of Jesus. He is the Gate. Others will come and go and claim to be the
Savior… well… plain and simple… they are NOT! Hear the voice of Jesus and Jesus
alone, don’t listen to the imposters who claim to be saviors.
And ANYONE who
enters through the Gate, that is Jesus, will be saved. See that? Anyone!
It’s Jesus that
protects us, feeds us, leads us and guides us in life. And this is life to the
full.
So, what do we make
of all this talk of sheep, gates, sheepfolds and stuff? I can’t help but to
think of how often these visions of sheep unfold in Scripture. But here is one
that pops out, at least in my mind.
When Jesus
came into this world in flesh and blood, as a baby, remember the shepherds?
Well, these guys were in an area around Bethlehem, where it would not be so
uncommon for the sheep to be raised to become sacrificial lambs for the temple
of that day. These guys would be caretakers of sacrifices in a way.
And remember
how they were called away to go to Bethlehem to see Jesus?
As they
witnessed Jesus, were they perhaps witnessing God’s Sacrificial Lamb? Was the
small opening into the manger in which Jesus was born that morning, perhaps a
NEW kind of sheepgate? Perhaps these guys were looking into the eternity of
that Gate that would soon become the way of Salvation for all mankind.
And yet
still, in this mode of thinking, perhaps they were also seeing not only the Sheep,
but the Shepherd and the Gate, all in one place, at one point in this time in eternity.
I know this
is a stretch of the imagination, but let your mind wander a bit with me. I
think these shepherd guys have a much deeper story for us to witness, than just
a few guys who heard angels singing and announcing the birth of God in flesh.
Not that that alone is way beyond all we could ever imagine happening to any
one of us.
And as these
shepherds peek in on Jesus, the Messiah, possibly they also witness a future
Shepherd that will lead another flock of sheep believers towards a different
kind of death. Not only would this baby boy Messiah be the Sacrificial Sheep,
the Gate and the Messiah, but He would also be the One to care for and tend to
the sheep of all believers in what God has done.
For we
follow a Sheep and a Shepherd, through a Gate that in Him and in us, leads to
death. Death to sin that overcomes the eternal death of this world, and leading
His flock to the eternal life with Him in His Kingdom in eternity.
Down that
dangerous road, outside of the sheepfold, will be the Valley of Death. But on
the other side of that Valley of Death, our baby Sheep, our Gate, our Shepherd,
will lead ALL believers to a safe place, a safe pasture, a heaven of rest and
life in a perfect place.
Yet, the
journey will not be easy. Just look at the journey that this baby Boy, this
Sheep, this Shepherd, this Gate to eternal life, had to walk, FOR, you and me.
Having
thought about all of this, how could I NOT help but to fall down on my knees,
as those shepherds that heard the angels sing, did all those years ago and give
unending thanks and praise to MY, YOUR, OUR, Sheep, Shepherd, and Gate to
heaven… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God, Sheep, Shepherd and
Gate to eternity!
So, listen,
hear His voice. Point to Jesus. Trust His will and His way in your life, as He
leads, forgives, saves and offers His all to this world, and His sheep. You are
His. And that’s a bunch of joy for sure. Joy to the World… the Lord has come!
I can’t help
myself but to leave you with this YouTube Music Video…
“Joy to the
World”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQl-KzTtIZ0&list=RDvQl-KzTtIZ0&start_radio=1
No comments:
Post a Comment