"i Am" Declarations Of Jesus - Sermon V - "the Door" Series

GREAT “I AM” DECLARATIONS OF JESUS

Who was Jesus? You will recall that He himself asked that question of His closest followers. First, He asked them, “Who do folks say I am?” Then He asked them a pointed question, “Who do YOU say I am?”

As we look back upon that encounter with His disciples, we soon realize that, just as it was wise for them to answer that very important personal question, it is wise for us to do likewise. It’s one thing to say that we are followers of Christ; it is quite another to know who He is.

As you know, it was the Apostle Peter who seized upon the question and blurted out the answer that all Christians ought to be able to give, “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.”

In this series of devotional messages, our focus is not on the question of who Jesus was based on public opinion; nor do we focus on Peter’s declaration of who Jesus was. Rather, we shall focus on who Jesus himself said He was – and hopefully still is in the hearts and lives of each one of His followers.

"I AM" DECLARATIONS OF JESUS - SERMON V - “THE DOOR”

JOHN 10:9 . . .

Throughout the Bible, the image that is most often used to dramatize God’s love and care is that of a shepherd; and, of course, wherever you see a shepherd, there are sheep; if the sheep are not grazing in a field, they are in a “sheepfold” – the place where sheep are kept at night for their safety and security. The person responsible for their well-being is the shepherd.

In the Old Testament, God is often pictured as the Great Shepherd; and God’s people are said to be His flock. For example, the first verse of the 23rd Psalm says “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

This picture of the Lord as the shepherd of His people is also used in the New Testament. Jesus is described as the Good Shepherd. He is the shepherd who will risk His life to seek and to save just one straying sheep. He has pity on people because they are “as sheep without a shepherd”.

In the New Testament, the analogy is carried even further by referring to Church leaders as shepherds, and their parishioners as their flock. Thus, it is the duty of church leader to feed the flock of God, accept oversight of the “sheep” willingly, and use the position of shepherd - not to wield power - but to set an example for the sheep to follow.

When Jesus spoke of the shepherd and his sheep, He made the point, emphatically, that sheep recognize the VOICE of their shepherd and would not follow a stranger; nor would they follow anyone who did not come into the sheepfold through the GATE.

Jesus felt that it was important for his listeners to understand that, among the many voices clamoring for their attention and seeking their devotion, there was only ONE VOICE that spoke for God; and that was the voice of the Son of God.

Just as the shepherd of a herd of sheep spoke to his sheep in a language they recognized – whether it was the tone of the shepherd’s voice or a certain kind of sound made by the shepherd – Jesus the Son of God “spoke as no man ever spoke” about the things of God.

Everyone who listened to Jesus either accepted Him or rejected Him, and they decided to accept or reject Him based on whether they believed that He was the Son of God speaking the Word of God.

Those who accepted Jesus as the Son of God followed Him, and lived according to His teachings, just as sheep followed their shepherd wherever he led them and did whatever he directed them to do. The sheep recognized their shepherd’s voice and they responded by following him. You and I need to listen to what Jesus our Shepherd says and be willing to follow Him.

One of our Shepherd’s great declarations - one that we need to listen to very carefully - is this: “I am the door.” This declaration is also translated -“I am the gate.” Whether “gate” or “door” – what did Jesus mean?

To understand His meaning, we must visualize the sheepfold as it was set up in the hill country of Palestine. The sheepfold was a place for the sheep to stay at night; usually, when the sun set, the shepherd and his sheep were far away from their village; so the shepherd herded his sheep into an area enclosed by a stone wall that had only one opening in it, but no gate. Since there was no gate, how could the sheep be safe and secure?