The Door Leads To The Good Shepherd Series

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.