Jesus Is The Door And The Good Shepherd Series

Jesus is the Door and the Good Shepherd

John 10:1-18

Series: The Great I Am

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - Feb. 9, 2014

*Did Jesus ever claim to be God? -- The answer is: Yes He did, very often and very clearly. In fact, this was the main charge against the Lord from the religious leaders of the Jews.

*One way Jesus claimed to be God can slip past us in a way that it never would have escaped the Jews of His day: I'm talking about the Lord's "I AM" statements in the Gospel of John. For us the "I AM's" highlight great truths about our Savior. But through these statements, Jesus also rightly claimed to be the God of the Old Testament.

*Through these statements, Jesus claimed to be the Lord God who revealed Himself to Moses as the great "I AM." In Exodus 3, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and the Lord said to Moses:

10. "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.''

11. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?''

12. So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.''

13. Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?''

14. And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.'' And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' ''

*In Hebrew this name "I AM" was Jehovah or Yahweh, and God used this name almost 7,000 times in the Old Testament. In our Bibles it is usually written as LORD with all caps.

*Today in John 10:7, Jesus said, "I am the door of the sheep." Then in vs. 11, He said, "I am the good shepherd." Jesus is the Door and the Good Shepherd, but what does this mean for us?

1. First it means that Jesus wants to guide us.

*Listen for the Lord's guiding voice in vs. 1-5. There Jesus said:

1. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.''

*It may be kind of hard to look at ourselves as sheep. But God say we are. That's because in many ways we act like sheep. And one thing about sheep is that they tend to wander off. They get so busy, grazing with their heads down, that by the time they look up, they are lost. So, Isaiah 53:6 says: "All we like sheep have gone astray."

*We need a guide in life, and Jesus Christ is the only one who can give us the guidance we need! How does He do it?

[1] With a personal relationship.

*The Lord guides His people through a close, personal relationship. This is such a crucial thing for us to see in vs. 3-5. Again, Jesus said:

3. . . "the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.''

*Jesus Christ guides His followers with through a close personal relationship. The Lord spoke of this relationship again in vs. 14-16. There Jesus said:

14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

15. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

16. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.