April 17, 2005 John 10:1-10
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus introduces this parable in the middle of a sort of tug of war. Jesus had just previously in chapter nine healed a man who had been blind from birth. He was rather well known, because people had seen him begging in a public area of Jerusalem for quite some time. This miracle had drawn the attention of many Jews - wondering how in the world such a miracle happened. However, when Jesus healed him, it was also a Sabbath Day. Therefore with this “major infraction” of the Sabbath, the Pharisees had a reason to debate as to whether this man was really healed - and if he was healed - whether the man who healed him was really from God. They didn’t want to believe that Jesus was from God. So, having already excommunicated the man who was healed, they were doing all they could to discredit him. In answer to their accusations and anger, Jesus gave this parable to the Jews who weren’t sure WHO Jesus was - whether they should follow Him as their Shepherd.
This parable was about some sheep in a sheep pen. It has three main characters - the sheep - the common person which needs to be led, the men trying to enter - those who try to pastor the sheep, and the gate - Jesus Christ. Sheep pens back then had walls that were tall enough so that a sheep and most regular animals could not get in, but humans could. He wanted the Jews who were trying to figure out who Jesus was to put themselves in the fur of a sheep and picture themselves as the ones in the sheep pen. He wanted to draw a common picture to them to help them figure out who to follow and who not to. Why don’t you try and do the same this morning? In this parable, we will see how -
The Gate Has a Pathway for the Sheep to Follow
I. Watch which way your shepherds are entering
Jesus started out, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.” As you sit in your sheep pen, Jesus says to you, “which way has the man come in?” Has your teacher entered through the gate - by the gate - or have I climbed over the wall? What does that mean? It’s really quite simple. Jesus very plainly said to his disciples in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” After Jesus rose from the dead he had one simple commission that He gave to His disciples. “He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47) It is the sole purpose of a true shepherd of Jesus Christ to do one thing - and that is to preach Christ, Christ, and more Christ as the way to salvation. Paul said to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 2:2 I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Therefore, when some false teachers had come into the region of Galatia and leading people astray, Paul wrote to them in Galatians in 1:8, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
When it comes down to it - this is the most important message in all of the Bible. Sometimes people complain because we don’t teach enough about how to live a good Christian life in our Synod. All we ever teach about is sin and Savior. Notice however, that whenever the man goes out to pasture - he goes through the gate every time. His feeding comes in and out of the gate. It is the pendulum through which the sheep are fed. If I were to come into this congregation and teach all of you how to be great parents, but teach nothing of sin and grace, it would profit you NOTHING. You might compare it to a shepherd who built up a huge shelter within the sheep pen but never took his sheep through the gate. If we were able to grow by leaps and bounds through wonderful programs, but we didn’t hear of Christ - it would be NO GOOD. You might compare this to a shepherd who went out and found lots of sheep, but never led them into the pen. If we were able to feed the poor and build a building three times this size - but all the while leaving the people without the Gateway to heaven - what good would it do?
Many people in the past weeks have praised the Pope for all to good he did throughout the world - how he helped to end communism, feed the poor, stop AIDS, and all of the many other benefits to society as a whole. I’m sure that he did much more for physically for humanity than I ever will in my lifetime. Yet in the midst of these seemingly good things, the Pope also wanted to make Mary a co-redeemer. The Pope continued to stand by and promote the doctrine of the Catholic Church that your works - the things the Holy Spirit does through you as a Christian - aid in your salvation. He continued to accept the praise and adoration of millions of people - who regarded him as the one who stands in the very place of Christ! What good is such a man in the end - if he does not point people solely to Christ - by faith alone? As sheep, you need to be very careful as to which way your shepherd is entering into the pen. Even the Evangelicals with their call to morality and their urging to pass law after law to stop abortion and keep marriage between one man and one woman - what good will this do for America in the end? We will end up with a country that is “morally straight” according to the law, but without a foundation of knowing they are sinners who need the grace of Jesus Christ. Without continuing to focus on sin and the need for Christ - without continuing to go through the gate as the only way to salvation - what good are they ultimately doing? With Paul, Jesus condemns such a man and all men who climb the walls of the sheep pen - no matter how moral they may seem. Without Christ, they do NO GOOD but to rob and kill and steal - when they enter into His pen and try to grab possession of His sheep.
As sheep, this has to be your main concern. Where is your shepherd - the man who has entered into your pen - leading you? Is he leading you through the Gate - to green pastures of God’s Word and sacrament - or not? The question is not - is he picking the melodies of songs that you like? The question is not - does he have a personality that you like? It doesn’t matter if you like the robes he wears or not. It doesn’t matter if he picks modern songs or old German songs. It doesn’t matter if he’s eccentric or old or young. God does not care whether he uses an overhead projector or not. The litmus test is not even HOW MUCH Bible he uses. Jehovah’s Witnesses use plenty of Bible passages - and so do the Mormons and many other false teachers. The crux of the matter is - is he leading you to Christ? Is he showing you your sins and your only way of salvation? Is he feeding you with the green pastures of God’s Word and sacrament. Is he using Law and Gospel? This is the key. Do not - for God’s sake - demand more of him than God does. Do not be upset with him if more sheep do not follow through the gate. Do not expect him to change God’s Word in order to get a better following. Do not demand that he follow your methods and comfort zone as long as Christ is still being preached and the Word and sacrament is still being proclaimed. Do not be angry if he keeps on going back to the cross time and again.
Do expect your shepherd to know you. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Expect the man that you have called to know you by name. Expect him to seek you out and want to be a part of your life. Expect him to come calling if he hasn’t seen you for a while. I always cringe when I hear how the “pastors” of these three to four thousand member congregations are praised for their great leading ability - because I know in my heart that these pastors don’t know the names of their sheep. There’s no way they can. Sure, they can preach and be heard. They can lead in that way. But the personal relationship - it isn’t there.
The job of the pastor does not end with the leading through the Gate. What does Jesus say continues to happen? He will come in and go out, and find pasture. . . . I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. It is the job of a pastor to use the Gate to a more full life. When you enjoy the forgiveness of Christ - the resurrection from the dead - the pastures of God’s Word - it is God’s will for you to also enjoy your marriage - your job - your vocation in life. A full life means being able to enjoy all periods in life - even the difficult ones - as a gift from God. This comes from a full and complete training in the Word of God. This comes from first of all understanding the cross - and THEN going on from there. The pastor’s job is never complete until his sheep - God’s sheep - are completely full of His Word - completely unified in a Bible based faith in Christ - and happy with their status as God’s saints. It is never complete until that sheep is dead and buried with Christ.
II. Listen and React accordingly - your life depends on it
You, as the sheep, have a responsibility. The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” When Jesus had healed this man of blindness, instead of being received with praise and thanks - his motives were questioned and he was accused of being a devil because he healed on the Sabbath. Jesus was saying to the people that day, “look beyond this blind man standing here - and just listen to my voice. Do the words I speak to you - do they sound good? Do they sound comforting? Do they fill you with forgiveness and hope? Then follow me! That’s what sheep are supposed to do.” You see, the Pharisees were continually using threats and laws and regulations to try and get the people to do what they wanted them to do. When the blind man told them Jesus was a prophet, they didn’t want to hear it so they excommunicated him. Jesus said, “that’s not the way I lead. I don’t lead with threats. I just lead with my voice, and so do my shepherds. They simply speak God’s Word - and God’s sheep follow.” That is the responsibility of a sheep. That is the way that sheep are supposed to follow.
Therefore, you, as sheep have a responsibility. Either you will listen to the voice of your shepherd, or you will run away from him. When Paul led his sheep in Galatia to faith in Christ through the Word of God he spoke, he was overjoyed. He expected them to follow. But what happened? In the sixth and seventh verses of his first chapter he wrote to them, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” A similar thing happened to the Corinthians. Some men who thought of themselves as “super-apostles” had come in and ridiculed Paul’s ministry among them. Paul wrote them, “You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.” (2 Corinthians 11:19-20) These sheep had a tendency to stray to the law minded - to those who arrogantly shoved them around and treated them in an abusive manner. They like the confidence and the orderliness that these men had - and they started following their voices instead. When that happened, Paul was upset. Why? Not because they weren’t following HIM, but because these men were leading his sheep away from Christ!
This congregation has also had sheep that have gone astray - that have not chosen to listen to their shepherd’s voice. Even after they have been sought, they refuse to come and listen. This is a sin against the Third Commandment and the Fourth and the First - to ignore and close your ears to the pastor that God has given you and to refuse to come to worship. Some sheep have also gone astray to other Christian congregations. What is worse, is that some of those congregations do not have the sacraments as Christ instituted them. The Gate is not visited as often. This is a sad thing - for God expects His sheep to run from the stranger’s voice - not to it. Then there are some sheep who have come to graze, but not as often as they could or they should. They haven’t come to Bible class, and they’ve only come to worship occasionally. These things too are disheartening. Yet a shepherd cannot force the sheep to follow. It is your responsibility to listen. You will have to give an accounting to God for YOUR faithfulness on Judgment Day.
Yet amidst all the coming and going - all of the devil’s temptations - all of the sin in this world - here I still stand and here you still sit. God be praised. There are still sheep in the pen - miraculously enough. I thank God that you have come to listen. I have been here for five years and many of you have stuck through the thick and the thin. I believe a track record has been built. There is a relationship between the two of us. I know you and you know me. You know my weaknesses and I know yours. You know my style. I’m sure you could have plenty to complain about. You may not like liturgies. You may not completely follow the illustrations. You may not get the attempted humor. But in the end, wouldn’t you have to confess that I have brought you to the Gate time and again? Wouldn’t you have to confess that Christ crucified is preached here every Sunday - and that the truth of God’s Word is not being compromised? Don’t you know that when we all stand before God - that we will be accepted because we are all covered in the same blood of Christ? Haven’t you been taught the same truth time and again, “he who believes and is baptized shall be saved?” (Mark 16:16)
If that is true, it is up to you then, to keep on listening - to keep on following - not me - but the voice of the Shepherd who I quote and who I point you to. There comes a time that you need to put some trust in the pastor that God has given you. I cannot lead if you will not follow. I cannot lead if you treat me with suspicion and tend to ridicule every decision that is made - looking for faults in anything that doesn’t follow your flavor. It will be difficult to bring others into this pasture if you have an attitude that the pasture here is moldy and stinky - that there is grass on the other side of the fence that is much greener. For better or for worse, I have been called to lead you to Christ and as long as you are a member here God expects you to willingly follow. I will not force you to come. You must like what you hear. As long as I am feeding you Christ - why wouldn’t you? Doesn’t it taste good - to graze in the pastures of God’s grace and mercy - to hear that “Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am the worst”?
When Jesus - the master Teacher had finished explaining His parable of the Good Shepherd, the people responded in two ways. John 10:19-21 says, At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Jesus didn’t force them to follow Him. His words either led people to follow him or call Him demon possessed. Those who followed were led to streams of living waters - to eternal life.
Life would be much easier if Jesus chose to Shepherd in the flesh yet today. Instead, He chose to call shepherds like Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and many other sinful and weak men. Like with Paul, there is always something that you can find wrong with your shepherd. Yet Jesus tells you to look past his flesh, and watch what he enters through and what he leads you to. Does he come through the Gate - and lead you through the Gate? Does he preach Christ crucified? Does he feed you with the pastures of God’s Word and sacrament? If he does, then God expects you - the sheep - to follow. No matter how long the journey, how hot the day, how dangerous the path, how slow the pack is moving, keep on going through the Gate of Christ to the Pastures of God’s grace. In doing this you will have life - and have it to the FULL. Amen.
