Sunday Service | "I am the Gate" | May 29, 2021
John 10. We are continuing to study the I AM statements of Jesus.
Jesus’ I AM statements are ways in which he interrupts our lives and reveals the real motive of our hearts.
John 10.1-10
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Most of us have only seen sheep in petting zoos, but in Jesus’ day, shepherds and sheep were extremely common. Jesus’ audience also would’ve called to mind the multiple mention of sheep metaphors, like Psalm 23. Jesus creates a metaphor with himself here, connecting himself to God as Shepherd, like the psalmist wrote of.
In the first century, the enclosure for the sheep didn’t really have a door, but the shepherd would lay down in front of the opening to keep the sheep inside. He literally becomes the gate.
Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees directly. He uses this language because God has used this language. The Pharisees want to know who Jesus is, because their expectation was very different from the one Jesus was living out. They had a much smaller idea in mind: God sending someone to redeem Israel. Instead, God sends himself to redeem the entire creation.
We fall into this same trap.
God’s redemption looks like “follow me.” Jesus is reminding them what this means for them. It looks like sheep and their shepherd, not a king and subjects. The Pharisees are freaked out by this. Jesus is about protecting and cultivating and leading his sheep, those who are following him. He has interrupted the Pharisees and how they have misunderstood the kingdom of God. They don’t recognize Jesus because he is calling them away from their power and instead follow him. They couldn’t wrap their minds around this.
So he explains it again in verses 7-10:
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 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 is not just an agent of God, but God as Shepherd, personal and interacting with us. “I lead, I protect, and I cultivate my people.” All that come to influence, direct, or comfort God’s people that do not come through Jesus are thieves, coming to steal and kill and destroy.
This is where our faith in Jesus creates conflict with the world and its truth. Jesus wants us to look to him in this conflict: He is the gate. Not the church. Not any other religion, government, or authority. Jesus. Anyone other than Jesus has different motives than Jesus; they ultimately will take life, not give it. He calls us to life, even in the midst of desiring unity in our culture.
Observations that give us courage:
Jesus is fully engaged. The gate is not a thing; it’s a person. He is this person. He is not lording this over us, but is an invitation to freedom and leadership.
Jesus says his flock will hear his voice & follow him. Every movement in human history has fallen away, except Jesus’ voice and movement. He is calling out to all of us, all of us, and leading us--no matter where we are or who we are. Jesus is more inclusive than we are willing to be. He is expanding his kingdom, not closing it down. He is about saving, not destroying. He is calling all of his people to himself. The church has used these scriptures to exclude people; that’s not how Jesus tells the story.
Jesus trusts his flock. Sheep are not the smartest animals; they need to be lead or they will stumble. So do we. Yet Jesus trusts that we will hear his voice and will follow him. Jesus trusts us. Through it all, we will hear his voice and follow him; Jesus trusts this truth.
Jesus uses the illustration of the sheep pen. It’s not a home or a bubble. The point is not to stay in the pen, but to return to it to rest and be restored, ready to go out and live. The pen isn’t about being more religious, but about being tended to, with our shepherd, and becoming more whole. So that we can go out, ready to love God with all we’ve got and our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus' resurrection shows us this: he goes out and goes into people’s homes. We do the same in the pen. We don’t stay in a bubble, we come in and out to find rest and to find life again. So that we can bring life to others, instead of taking it away.
Jesus’ call is to examine our expectations and what we’re looking for. What do we want? What voice are we following? What are we trying to establish? Are we willing to be interrupted by Jesus to allow him to reveal a bigger scope of life than the one we tend to live in?
Jesus says he is the gate that leads to the full life in him.
What do we do? We pray & we seek. Jesus is real, alive, and with us. He wants to tend us and nurture us. He wants to lead us in & out. He wants to protect us from those that want to take from us. Jesus promises all of these things, in every step and season of life.
Let us pray, confess, repent, practice forgiveness, and remember that we are a part of his flock. He loves us.