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?
The shepherd literally laid himself across the narrow opening so that he himself became the gate – the door. There was no way the sheep could get in or out except by way of the shepherd. So, in the most literal sense, the shepherd was the door; there was no access to the sheepfold except through the entrance guarded by the shepherd.
Now - that is no doubt what Jesus was thinking about when He said, “I am the door.” Through Him, and Him alone, we gain access to God.
Listen to the way the apostle Paul expressed it: “Through Him (Jesus) we have access unto the Father.” The writer of Hebrews said it this way: “He (Jesus) is the new and living way.” What they both say is that Jesus opens the way to God. He is the gateway. He is the doorway.
Until Jesus came folks could only think of God as a stranger, and some even thought of God as their enemy. But Jesus came to tell us and to show us what God is like; He came to open the way to God. As Jesus put it, “I am the doorway to the sheepfold of God.” Jesus, the Son of God, is the door through whom those who trust Him gain entrance into the sheepfold – into the kingdom of God.
“If any person enters in through me, that person will be saved, AND he or she will go in and out, and they will find pasture.”
Our Shepherd says that through Him we can go in and come out. Now, to be able to go in and come out without fear was the Jewish way of expressing the belief that, if your shepherd is the Lord, you are absolutely safe and secure.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go in and out in our day with no fear of harm!? The only way this could happen would be if every person, without exception, belonged to the Good Shepherd . . . became one of the sheep of His pasture by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, it is said of the man who is obedient to God that he is blessed when he comes in and blessed when he goes out. In one of the psalms, David voices his certainty that God our Great Shepherd will keep those who belong to Him as they go in and as they go out.
Once you and I discover what God the Father is really like, a new sense of safety and security takes hold within us; for, you see, if we know that our lives are in the hands of a God, who loves and cares about us, there is no need to be afraid of what tomorrow might bring.
The way we discover the reality of the greatness and grace of God is through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus described Himself as the entrance into the sheepfold that belongs to God; those who have entrusted their lives to Christ, by faith, have come into a personal relationship with Him who IS the Good Shepherd that laid down His life for His sheep.
Jesus points out that there will be imposters who come and try to get the sheep to follow them instead of the Good Shepherd; and through the centuries Satan has used false prophets who appeared on the scene and sought to persuade folks that they (the imposters) were equal to or greater than Jesus – but these “phonies” inevitably lead unsuspecting followers in the wrong direction – away from God - down the path toward spiritual death and personal destruction.
The Good Shepherd came that His followers might have spiritual life, and that they might have it more abundantly – meaning that God blesses those who trust Him, not only in the here and now but also in the hereafter.
You can be sure that to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and to follow Him is the way of happiness and joy in this life, and it leads to never-ending life in the hereafter in the realm of God’s glory.
A favorite little chorus of mine – one that my wife and I used to sing as a duet - tells of the discovery we made as teenagers; and we would like for each one to make this discovery:
“I’ve discovered the way of gladness,
I’ve discovered the way of joy,
I’ve discovered relief from sadness,
It is happiness without alloy (nothing fake about it),
I’ve discovered the fount of blessing,
I’ve discovered the living Word,
But the greatest of all discoveries:
When I found Jesus, my Lord.”
There are many “doors” of discovery in life, but only ONE leads to eternal life. “I am the door,” declared Jesus our Good Shepherd, “by me, if anyone enters into the kingdom of God, he or she shall be saved.”
I’ve discovered the way, the truth, and the life. His name is Jesus. My prayer and my hope for you is that you have discovered (will discover) Him too. Amen.
