JESUS MEETS OUR NEED FOR SECURITY
“I am the Door . . . I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:9 . . . 10:14)
Throughout the Bible, the image most often used to dramatize God’s love and care is that of a shepherd; wherever you see a shepherd, there are sheep; if the sheep are not grazing in a field, they are in a “sheepfold” – a place where sheep are kept for safety and security. The person responsible for their well-being is the shepherd.
In the Bible, God is often pictured as the Great Shepherd and God’s people are said to be His flock: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This picture of the Lord as the shepherd of His people is also used by
Jesus to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd. He is the One who risks His life to seek and to save that which is lost. He is the One has pity on all people because they are “as sheep without a shepherd”.
Jesus spoke of the shepherd and his sheep to make the point that sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd and do not follow strangers nor anyone who did not come into the sheepfold through the door . . . gate . . . entrance.
Jesus obviously considered it important for people to understand that, of the many voices clamoring for their attention and seeking their devotion, only one voice speaks for God – the voice of the Son of God.
Just as a shepherd spoke to his sheep in a language they recognized – whether it be the tone of the shepherd’s voice or a certain sound made by the shepherd – inasmuch as the Good Shepherd “spoke as no man ever spake”.
Everyone who listens to Jesus either accepts Him or rejects Him, and they decide to accept or reject Him on the basis of whether they truly “hear” his voice and believe that He is the Son of God, speaking the Word of God.
Those who do accept Jesus as the Son of God follow Him. They live 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. We the sheep listen to what Jesus says . . . follow Him . . . do what He says.
One of our Shepherd’s great declarations - one that we must listen to carefully - is this: “I am the door . . . the gate . . . the entrance into.”
To understand His meaning, visualize the “sheepfold” – a place set up in the hill country of Palestine – a place where the sheep could stay securely; as a general rule, 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 real gate. Since there was no physical gate, how could the sheep be secure?
The shepherd literally placed himself across the narrow opening so that he himself became the door . . . gate . . . entrance into. There was no way the sheep could get in, or out, except by way of the shepherd.
Literally, the shepherd was the door, the gate, the entrance. There was no access to the sheepfold except via the entrance guarded by the shepherd – undoubtedly what Jesus was thinking about when He declared Himself to be the door, gate, entrance. Through Him, and Him alone, we gain access to God.
Paul echoed this reality: “Through Him we have access to the Father.” So did the writer of Hebrews: “He is the new and living way.” Clearly, Jesus is the way to God. He is the gateway. He is the doorway. Jesus is the only Way!
Until Jesus came folks could only think of God as a stranger. Some even thought of God as an enemy. Then Jesus came.
When there was no way, God sent Jesus to make a way. Thus: “I am the doorway to the sheepfold of God.” Christ our Lord is the way through which anyone can gain entrance 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.”
To be able to go in and come out without fear was the Jewish way of expressing their belief that, if your shepherd is the Lord, you are absolutely safe and secure.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could physically go in and out without fear! The only way this could happen would be if all people belonged to the Good Shepherd and abided by His rules.
In the absence of absolute security in our human situation, due to the fact that so many people in our world love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil, we do the best we can to guard against evils that may lurk “around the corner”. That said . . .
There IS for the child of God . . . for all who repent of their sins and turn away from their sinfulness . . . for all who believe in and receive Christ as personal Lord and Savior . . . for all whose Shepherd is the Lord, security that surpasses all human understanding.
Yes, there IS - for we know that we are in the hands of the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us . . . that His life is in the hands of God the Great Shepherd who loved us so much that He sent His Son to lay down His life for we the sheep . . . that we can rely on that divine “double indemnity” guarantee (the Good Shepherd + the Great Shepherd):10:28-30…
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (plug nickel in Jesus’ hand in the Father’s hand)
God the Great Shepherd sent His Son the Good Shepherd to bless all who hear His voice and follow Him: abundant life in the here and now plus eternal life, which is to say, “In His Presence forever”!
Security in the Savior our Shepherd!
Yes! Our deep need for eternal security was met by the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for we the sheep. Rejoice and be glad! Amen.
On this Palm Sunday, we rejoice and give thanks as we participate in a ceremony of communion, doing so in remembrance of the Good Shepherd who lay down His life for His sheep . . .
Our Lord who humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death by crucifixion on a cross where His body was broken and His blood was shed for the remission of our sins . . .
Our Lord who instructed us that as oft as we the sheep partake of this bread, and drink of this cup, we the sheep remember that old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame, where the dear Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd of we the sheep, for a world of lost sinners, was slain.
And as you take and eat a piece of broken bread, say,
“His body was broken for me.”
As you drink a little juice from this cup, say,
“His blood was shed for me.”
As you bow in a few moments of meditation, pray,
“Thank you, Jesus, for dying to set me free.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
