I am the Door / Good Shepherd
John 10:1-14
May 24, 2020
I am standing in a doorway . . . because that’s part of what we’re talking about today. I want you to think about a time . . . maybe 15 - 20 years ago, and if you’ve got kids around you who won’t remember that time, tell them how you never locked your doors.
When I grew up in the suburbs we always locked the door, but in the first church I pastored, we were in rural Illinois - and we never locked our doors. If we went to the store, 20 miles away, we simply closed the door and left. When I drove to church, I usually left my keys in the ignition. I never feared anyone would steal my car.
I know a lot of kids in college never lock their dorm rooms.
It’s crazy that now we have multiple locks on doors and even cameras on our doorbells to give us an extra sense of security.
You might wonder why am I talking about doors and locks. Well, there’s a biblical reason. We’ve been looking at the I AM statements of Jesus in the gospel of John. And this week we’re going to combine two I AM statements into 1 message. Mostly because I believe they are very much related.
We’re going to look at Jesus’ statements - I am the door and I am the Good Shepherd. Both occur in the same discussion in John 10.
I want to read the first 9 verses of John 10, then we’ll talk about Jesus being the door, then we will continue reading what Jesus said about being the Good Shepherd.
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
So, what is Jesus telling us? There’s a lot to unpack, but it’s not really complicated, other than the fact that we are the one’s who complicate the message Jesus is trying to convey to us.
Jesus is using a lot of imagery about sheep. Understand we are the sheep, He is the Shepherd, or as we will later see, He is the Good Shepherd.
Why are we considered sheep? Well, that’s not a great sign to start with. I would prefer to be called a lion or a bear, not a sheep.
Sheep are considered one of the most helpless animals. They will spend the entire day grazing, wandering from place to place, never looking up. As a result, they easily become lost. Sheep have no “homing instinct.” They are totally incapable of finding their way to their sheepfold even when it is in front of them. Sheep are followers. If the lead sheep steps off a cliff, the others will follow.
They are also easily susceptible to injuries and are helpless against predators. If a wolf enters the pen, they won’t defend themselves. They won’t try to run away or spread out. Instead they huddle together and are easily slaughtered.
Sheep are totally dependent upon the shepherd who cares for them. Shepherds were the providers, guides, protectors and constant companions of sheep. There was a close bond between the shepherds and sheep, so that they sheep knew the voice of the shepherd and would follow him.
The shepherd was the protector. He would fight off the wolves, lions, robbers and other predators. Ultimately at night the shepherd would become the door to the sheep pen. He would literally be the door, so that the only way in was through him.
So, in many ways, the Bible is telling us we are not the smartest of all creatures either. WHY? Because we listen to other voices, we become easily lost in our own devices. We struggle to listen to the words of God.
Yet, Jesus tells something really vital for us in verses 3 and 4 -
3 The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name . . . 4 and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.
That’s so important for us to grasp. Think about it . . . when we proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become part of His flock. We are the one’s whom He was willing to die for. He is the One who protects us and cares for us. The point is for us to be so connected to Jesus that when He calls our name, we not only hear His voice, but we respond because we know His voice and we trust His voice.
The second point is that when we know Jesus’ voice, we will not follow the voice of a stranger who is going to lead us down the wrong path. That’s a reference to the false teachers and to what we could call the ways of the world that lead us to do what is wrong.
This is leading Jesus to the point where He says in verse 7 -
7 Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Jesus is the only way by which one can become part of the people of God. He is referencing the Pharisees and false teachers, as He said in the next verse -
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
We all need to know and believe . . . in our heart, soul, and mind; and wrap our strength around the truth that we are part of a protected people, protected by the strongest door. In fact, Jesus just isn’t the door, He’s the lock who keeps the predators out, if we’re willing.
The door we enter cannot be destroyed by anyone or anything. If you think a bank vault is strong and secure, if you think Fort Knox is secure, then friends, I want you to know the DOOR we have makes those doors look weak.
We need to admit our need for Jesus Christ as the doorway to abundant living. Jesus is making us an offer that we shouldn’t refuse. But sadly, so many people refuse the offer of Jesus.
Jesus wasn’t just talking about satan, but also about the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, who sought to live only by the rules that suited their purposes. And that holds true today. There are Christian Pharisees who seek to do the same thing. They desire to thwart any progress the Holy Spirit can make on Christ’s church. Or they make the church all about them and their glory. I think we’ve seen that during the times churches have been closed.
The reason for the anger by the Pharisees was that Jesus was directly referring to them as the thieves and robbers. They understood the illustrations, and they knew Jesus was talking about the way they led the people.
Please notice in verse 9 Jesus is talking about the fact that when we enter through Jesus’ door, we will find salvation and He will lead us to find pasture. In other words, Jesus will provide for us.
Jesus continues in what is really a transitional verse, and He states one of my favorite Bible verses, in John 10:10, He said -
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Jesus is referencing the Pharisees and those who teach a false doctrine. The thief, then becomes satan, who wants to steal and kill and destroy us. He wants us to be a people who have no hope. Yet, Jesus tells us He came to give us life and give it to us in abundance. That’s the life offered to us if we say yes to Jesus. We can have an abundant life even in the midst of suffering. Because Jesus is always the door to abundant living. He will lead us to pasture, caring and loving us, empowering us with the strength needed.
He then tells us the next I AM -
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep,
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
You see, Jesus came for us. He is our Shepherd. He is personalizing it, and also telling us that He is not just some random shepherd or random door. Notice that Jesus said He is THE door! He is THE Good Shepherd. He is not one of many ... He is THE only one. And that’s great news for us as well.
Jesus is contrasting Himself and the religious leaders. He compares them to a “hired hand” who doesn’t really care about the sheep. In John 10:9, Jesus speaks of thieves and robbers who tried to sneak and enter the sheepfold without being found.
The Jewish leaders (Pharisees) are contrasted with Christ, who is the Door. And, in John 10:12, the hired hand is contrasted with the true or faithful shepherd who willingly gives up his life for the sheep.
His concern is not for the sheep but for himself. There were lots of shepherds who were hired hands. They really didn’t care about the sheep. If the sheep died, so what! This was just a job. If there was a thief or robber, if a lion or wolf came, they were more interested in self-preservation than in sheep preservation.
But that is not who Jesus is. Jesus is contrasting that attitude and behavior with His. He came as a sacrifice. Willing to lay down His life for His sheep. By being the door - in a sense Jesus becomes the Good Shepherd. That’s the beauty and power of what Jesus did for us.
Jesus gave His life on the cross as the Good Shepherd for you and I. He chose not to save Himself, like the hired hand would. Through His sacrifice, salvation became possible for all who come to Jesus in faith. So, as the Good Shepherd, Jesus lays down” His life for His sheep, you and I.
It is only through Jesus that we receive salvation - and we will talk about that next week. Finally, Jesus made it clear that it wasn’t just for the Jews that He laid down His life, but He tells us in verse 16 -
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.” - John 10:16
The “other sheep” refers to the Gentiles. As a result, Jesus is the Good Shepherd over all, both Jew and Gentile, and the door is open for all people to come to Him, for all who confess faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Enter through the door and proclaim your faith in the Good Shepherd.
