Who is Jesus? There are a lot of ways for us to try and answer that question. We can study the theology books for the great thinkers’ ideas of who He is. We can work out our own ideas within our own minds. Ore we can look to the One who knows Him like nobody else does… Himself. Throughout the Gospels Jesus gives us several insights into who He is. Sometimes He shows us in His reactions or in His practices. Sometimes He comes right out and says, “This is who I am.”
Last week we began a series on some of these insights, these self-descriptions made throughout the Gospel of John. The first one that we talked about was Jesus’ declaration that He is the Light of the world. He reveals our need. He scatters our fear. And He shows us the way. That’s what light does and I believe that’s what The Light does.
But that’s just one of the statements Jesus made. In John 11 Jesus tells us that He is the Resurrection and the Life. In chapter 14 He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In chapter 10 He creates the beautiful picture of Himself as Shepherd.
These three descriptions are not going to be objects of study for us during this series because, in the case of Jesus calling Himself the Resurrection or the Way, Truth, and Life, those overlap with some of the other things that we have or will study. And in the case of Jesus calling Himself the Good Shepherd, I have recently preached a message on that topic. But I do want us to go to that passage which is found in John 10. Why don’t we go ahead and read the first 10 verses of that chapter. John 10:1-10…
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus said, “I am the Door.” What does He mean when He calls Himself the Door? I think we can understand this by first understanding the culture from which this image was drawn. This concept of Jesus being the Door is directly linked to His position as the Good Shepherd. You see, in Mid-eastern culture the shepherd leads his sheep all throughout the day, from pasture to pasture. Except in the rainy season, most of the time good feeding areas are sparse. So throughout the day the shepherd leads his sheep, finding the best possible grass for his herd to feed upon. Then, in the evening, he leads them to a watering hole and then to a sheepfold, where they safely bed down for the night.
These folds are generally made out of rock, which is not at all hard to find there in Palestine. But to this stone pen there is only one opening. And at night the shepherd will stand in that opening and examine his sheep for any illness or physical damage as they make their way into safety. He investigates each sheep, one by one, for any burrs or scratches or bruises. If there is something that needs attention the shepherd does what he can to fix the problem. Then he moves out of the way and lets the sheep enter the fold.
Once all the sheep are safely in the fold the shepherd will build a fire outside of that lone entrance in order to scare away any wild beasts that would think about coming near. Then he eats his dinner and finally lies down to sleep for the night. And his bedding spot is none other than that opening to his sheepfold, essentially making himself the door. If his sheep were to escape they would have to pass over him. If any wild animals were to try and steal his sheep they would have to first come through him. The shepherd was the door.
Drawing from the picture that Jesus paints for us and seeing what it meant in the culture He was speaking to I think we can make at least three points about who He is. Let me share those with you now.
I. The Door Is The Only Way
First of all, I believe that we can see that Jesus, the Door, is the only way. There was only one way to get in or out of that sheepfold. Those walls were built high enough to keep any attacking animals out and to keep the dumb sheep in. Many times the shepherds placed briars and thorns on top of the walls for even more security. The only way for those sheep or for anything else to get in or out of those folds was to go through that lone doorway.
You know, it seems as though in our world today there are many who downright hate Christianity. While society screams for tolerance a large portion of society cannot tolerate us. And we’ve discussed possible reasons for that before. Many times we, those who call themselves Christians, are to blame. Many times it is because of hypocrites and judgmental people. But I think one of the major reasons as well is this very thing I’m talking to you about tonight. The world does not like the idea that there is only one way to heaven. They can’t tolerate those who say that this is the only way, there is no other. If we believe that way we’re immediately labeled as judgmental and extremists. We’re just a bunch of Jesus freaks. We’re considered to be bigots.
Now, I don’t know about you, but in most cases I don’t like being considered a bigot. There seems to be some very negative connotations with that word. But at the same time, when we look very honestly at Christianity, our faith is very dogmatic. We do believe this is the only way. We do believe that the only way into the kingdom of heaven is through Jesus Christ. It’s not through Buddha or Krishna or Mohammed. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus is the only way.
Here’s some satire by Ryan Dobson that you’ll enjoy. What if Scripture read something like this? “And Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Go into al the world, teaching all men to live any way they want, and urging each to find his or her own path to God. Let not any one of you make someone feel inferior or victimized because of their beliefs. Above all, be tolerant. Verily, verily, I say unto you that what you believe and how you live do not matter, so long as you are sincere.’ Leaving that place, Jesus led His disciples to Jerusalem where they broke bread at the Club Upper Room. There He addressed them again, saying, ‘I am one of the ways, one of the truths, and just one possible life. If you are basically a good person, you’re okay in my book. And if you choose to come to the Father (or Mother, if you prefer) through me, that’s cool. Now go forth to live according to whatever feels good to you.’”
Is that how Scripture reads? Absolutely not. But that’s the way the world wants to read it. Many people say that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere. It doesn’t matter what religion you hold on to as long as you believe in that religion with all your heart. It doesn’t matter what faith you espouse as long as you are earnest about it. And I am in no way trying to downgrade sincerity. I’d rather be considered a sincere person than the opposite, an artificial person. But I think that history has taught us that as important as sincerity is, as wonderful a trait as it is, a person can be sincerely wrong. You can believe in something with all of your heart and at the same time be dead wrong.
For instance, did you know that up until the 1820’s tomatoes were considered in many areas to be poisonous? Yeah, people would not touch it because it was considered lethal. In fact, when a man by the name of Colonel Robert Johnson announced that he was going to eat an entire bushel of tomatoes in Boston on Sept. 26 of 1820, thousands of people gathered to watch him die. Imagine their surprise when he lived.
We laugh at those back centuries ago who thought that the earth was flat. To read about men who were afraid that if you sailed too far you would fall off the edge of the planet is silly to us. But did you know that people still today claim that the earth is a flat square? Yeah, there are. There are even groups called the flat earth society. They basically tell us that all the scientists who claim that the earth is a sphere are pathological liars. For the earth to be round would mean that the people directly on the other side of the globe from us are standing upside down while we are standing right side up, or vice versa when the earth rotates. While we stand upright right now, Don and Cheri are upside down in PNG. People are actually very sincere and dogmatic about that belief. But does it make them as right as those of us who believe that the earth is a sphere? No way. Need I offer proof for a round earth? I don’t think so. As sincere as those “free-thinkers” are, they are sincerely wrong.
See, you can be sincere about something and still be wrong. Sincerity, to have any value, must be grounded in the truth. The truth is, there is only one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus Christ, the Door. He is the only way.
II. The Door Is The Narrow Way
Not only, though, is He the only way, but secondly, Jesus, the Door, is the narrow way. Jesus said in Matt. 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
You know, when I go on a trip I generally will sit down and look at an atlas to see if I can find the quickest and easiest route to get to where I’m going. A lot of people have AAA. That gives you a great advantage in traveling.
I remember one year that my family traveled from South Florida all the way out to Seattle, Washington and back in an RV. Before the trip my parents laid out all the places that we were going to go and then gave that list to AAA, who was able to then give us an atlas with the best routes to take outlined for us. That map took us around construction that would hold us up. It showed us all the best places for us to stop for the night with our RV. It pretty much showed us the easy way to get where we wanted to go.
But the truth about Christianity is that it isn’t necessarily the easy way. In fact, if God were to hand us a road map to heaven, which He has, the highlighted roads would probably be the ones we’d rather avoid. For instance, Jesus said in Matt. 16, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Does that sound like a very easy road to travel? No way. Deny myself? Take up my cross?
You know, we have glamorized the cross in our time. Everyone wears a nice silver cross on a chain around their neck. We wear t-shirts with crosses. The symbol of the cross has become pretty. But there really is nothing pretty about a cross. It represents the worst imaginable punishment the Romans had to offer. It represents a long and terrible way to day. It represents death. Jesus wants me to take up my cross? What kind of road is that to travel? It’s not an easy way. It’s a narrow way.
There are two different ways that we have to choose from. Jesus said, “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” We can enter a wide gate or we can enter a narrow gate.
The wide gate is inviting. It’s easy, like I’ve already said. We can take things along with us through the wide doors. We don’t have to drop anything. We don’t have to lose anything. We don’t have to deny ourselves. We can tell that it’s inviting because of all the people that choose to go that way. Most people would rather walk through the wide door and live how they want to live. That’s pretty inviting.
The narrow gate, on the other hand, is not so inviting. It takes some humility to walk that way. It takes a willingness to lose everything. It does take a willingness to die to myself. I have to be willing to give up my desires and my expectations and my plans. The song says, “Though the way seemed straight and narrow, all I claimed was swept away; my ambitions, plans, and wishes at my feet in ashes lay.” Walking through the narrow door isn’t easy.
But the truth that is so important to understand is that the destinations of these to ways are so different. While the wide door is easy to walk through and I can do what I want to do and hold on to everything I want to keep, it is a pathway that leads to destruction. It is an easy road that leads straight to the fiery pit of hell. On the other hand, this narrow door that demands self-denial and a death to myself leads to eternal life. It’s a hard road that takes some commitment and some humility and some surrender, but it leads straight to heaven. Which road will you tread? As for me, I choose the narrow door.
III. The Door Is The Satisfying Way
But lastly, this evening, while Jesus is the only way and the narrow way, our Door is also the satisfying way. Many people choose to walk that wide pathway. And while it may be easy in some ways, it will never satisfy.
Have you ever seen a greyhound race? I’ve never been to a track, I’m not much of a gambler; but I have seen some things about greyhound racing on TV and on the internet. They put those dogs in these little shoots and then the buzzer sounds and the gates are opened. Out rush the greyhounds. But they aren’t racing each other to a finish line like humans do. They are racing after a bunny rabbit. You see, out in front of them is a pole with a stuffed bunny on the end of it. And that pole is rigged so that it always stays in front of that pack of dogs. So those dogs aren’t trying to make it to a stripe first, they’re trying to be the first dog to get to that bunny. But they never quite make it there. They’re constantly chasing that bunny.
Satan is so good at doing the same thing with us, isn’t he? We get this idea in our minds of what it will take to make us happy and we go for it. Maybe it’s being a millionaire. Maybe it’s getting that promotion at work. Maybe it’s having people that are responsible to us. Maybe it’s just being able to do whatever we want to do. Maybe it’s even having a nice family. But we are chasing all these things think that they’re going to make us happy, that they’re going to satisfy us. But for some reason we can never quite attain that happiness. We may get some of those things that we think will make us happy, but when we get there we’re still empty. We never are really able to be satisfied. It’s constantly just out of our reach. We’re still unfulfilled and without purpose. Life has lost its meaning.
Just look at the suicide statistics and you’ll know that it’s true. Every year suicide claims the lives of 32,000 Americans. That’s one person every 18 minutes. It is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. Just to give you a comparison, homicide is the 14th leading cause. There are more people that kill themselves every year than there are people who kill someone else. If that isn’t astounding listen to these numbers. An estimated 730,000 people attempt suicide every year. Why are so many people giving up? Because they don’t feel like there is anything at all to live for. There is no reason to go on. Life is empty and meaningless.
You see, no matter how much we try to satisfy the longing of our hearts with everything this world has to offer it will not fill the void that’s there. There’s a song that says, “There’s a God-shaped hole in all of us.” Inside each of us is a hole that only God can fill. And people do their best to fill it with other things. They accumulate as much money as they can, but that doesn’t fill the hole. They chase after pleasure, but that doesn’t fill it either. They become workaholics and seek satisfaction in their work, but that still doesn’t quite fit the hole. No matter what we try nothing this world has to offer will fill the void inside of us. Because when God created us He created us to have fellowship with Him. Augustine wrote that the hearts of men are restless until they find their rest in God. He created us with a hunger inside of us that would not be satisfied until we are filled with Him.
The old Rolling Stones song says, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Oh, but how different is the song that says, “Hallelujah. I have found Him, whom my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies my longings; through His blood I now am saved.” The longing of our hearts can be satisfied when we are willing to walk through the Door that is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The Message says it this way, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” Jesus satisfies. He fills the longings of my very soul. He makes life worth living.
He gives me true love in a world of hatred. Inner peace in a world of turmoil. Joy in a world where happiness comes and goes. Purpose in a world that doesn’t make much sense. Wisdom in a world that is “ever learning, but never coming to truth.” He satisfies.
Tonight, I’m glad that I’ve found the Door. There was a time when I had decided to go another way; I wanted to go down the wide path. But I’m glad that the day came that the Holy Spirit was able to get a hold on my soul and show me that Jesus was the only Door to salvation. And while it may be a narrow Door, I’ve found time after time that this way is the only satisfying way.
