“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'.” John 8:12
There are various amounts of time represented by each chapter in John’s account of the life of Jesus. From the start of John chapter 7 to the final verse of today’s reading, John 10:21, there is the record of things that took place during a period of a few days only. Then, between John 10:21 and the following verse, there is an interlude of approximately two months. We know this because of the reference that John makes to the Jewish festivals that were taking place. In recent weeks, we have considered the claim that Jesus made, recorded in John 8, that he was inseparable from the great ‘I am’, God of Israel, revealed to that nation of people, as described in the Old Testament.
Jesus pointed to his own God-ness, and his own eternal existence, when he said, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ (John 8:58). We then looked at another claim of Jesus, from that same chapter. He told people, ‘I am the light of the world’ (John 8:12). He repeats this claim in John 9, when he heals a blind man and enables him to see for the very first time. Today, we move into John 10, so still within this same short period of time, that John records in these 3½ chapters. In John 10, we find another two, ‘I am’ statements of Jesus. Jesus tells us, ‘I am the gate for the sheep’, and, ‘I am the good shepherd’. These two statements are evidently linked. They form part of the same visual picture that Jesus is painting, to help people with their understanding of spiritual truths.
Verse 6 says, ‘Jesus used this figure of speech...’ With words, Jesus was creating a figure, or image, for people to visualize an important concept. Actually, in this chapter Jesus paints three pictures for us. It is important that we realise this. The three pictures are of very similar things but they aren’t identical, and it is good if we can, not only consider them together, but also view them individually.
Two weeks ago, I painted a picture, under a disused railway bridge alongside the River Calder. I was quite pleased with it. In the background was a cow. When I showed the picture to my sister-in-law, she looked at the cow and asked, ‘Is that a dog?’! Did she lose out by confusing my cow with a dog? No, not really. The picture that I painted didn’t have any deep meaning. If you misunderstand the details of my ‘art’, it really won’t cost you anything. But the verbal images that Jesus draws are different. We should really strive to understand the details, and appreciate what is there on the Bible’s canvas.
So, we have three pictures. The first is in verses 1 to 6, where there is a sheepfold pictured. This sheepfold differs to the one that is illustrated by verses 7-10, which I am treating as picture number 2. In verses 11-21, we have the third sketch. The sheepfold in picture three is the same as in picture two, but there is nuance. There is a difference in the perspective and the subtle shading involved. I will leave picture three until next time.
First, let’s look at picture one. It seems like a good place to start! A sheepfold is a place where sheep are kept, particularly at night, after a day’s grazing. It is evident that the ‘sheep’ in the first six verses do not belong to a single shepherd. The sheepfold is a communal one. Apparently, this would have been common in Israel and the surrounding lands during this time period. This sheepfold would have probably been closer to towns and villages. The various shepherds in that locality would bring their sheep down from the hillsides at the end of the day, and lead them into this shared fold. A gatekeeper would then close the gate and guard the sheep overnight, allowing the shepherds to disperse, perhaps to their own homes, or a nearby inn, to get some rest and relaxation. Then, in the morning, the shepherds would return. But all the sheep were mixed together in this large pen. How could they be separated? Well, as Jesus explains in his illustration, it was done by voice.
Sheep are very good at distinguishing between human voices. The Shepherd would call out their sheep. Their sheep would hear the call and follow their own shepherd out to find that day’s pasture. That is picture one. What does it represent? Well, in this first picture, the sheepfold is the world. It is the whole world. The sheep represent the people of the world. Jesus is painting his picture, at a point in time when he has arrived on the scene. Jesus is in the foreground. Actually, in the background is some detail of before Jesus arrived. He mentions, in verse 1, ‘a thief and a robber.’ These haven’t entered ‘the sheepfold by the gate’, but climbed, ‘in by some other way’. He puts these characters into picture two, as well. I just want to briefly mention them this time. I hope to deal with them a bit more next time I do the message.
Here they represent false prophets, or false Messiah’s, or people with claims that contained gross errors. The effect of these untruths was to ‘rob’ people, to lead them astray spiritually, to steal from them. This has always been a danger. The threat remains present. Christians need to be watchful. As 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (AV) says, ‘let us watch and be sober.’ Jesus feels the need to distinguish himself, and his message, from the misleading message of others. Jesus had not come to this world to take. Jesus came to give (see Mark 10:45).
Why is it that some respond to the message of the gospel, while others reject it? I think picture one is really helpful. Some hear the voice of Jesus calling, and do not ever recognise it for what it is. They don’t see, ‘the way and the truth and the life’, that is being presented. Others hear the voice of Jesus, and they do recognise it. At the call of Jesus, they come out of the world’s sheep-pen. How does this happen? Verse three says, ‘The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.’ I think this points to the Holy Spirit of God. We dealt with this subject a few weeks ago. God’s Spirit opens hearts. God’s Spirit opens our understanding and unblocks our previously deaf ears.
When this happens, so, when people come to faith in Christ Jesus, does it happen identically in every person? Is the journey from unbelief to belief the same for all? Would the sheep, in this picture, all have left the fold at the same speed? I think not. Some people hear the gospel message once and respond almost instantly. Others take time to hear, and understand, and believe. It is rather like when my three children are called to dinner. One of them replies instantly and appears within seconds. Another doesn’t seem to respond at all, but eventually turns up. The last one calls out, ‘I’ll be two seconds’, but then seems to drift to an alternative space/time dimension, where two seconds and twenty minutes are indistinguishable! People are like that in conversion. They come at different speeds, and progress at varying rates. But the same is true of all of them.
Jesus waits for his flock. And, ‘when he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.’ Perhaps we have someone today who has heard the voice of Jesus calling from the Bible’s message recently. They have asked the Lord to forgive their sins through Jesus. But now what happens? Well, we find it here. ‘Follow him’. Listen to the voice of God, contained in his word – read the bible. Go along with God’s ‘flock’ – attend the gatherings of his church, and ask questions of his people.
This idea of God opening gates, or doors (depending on your Bible translation), is carried on into the language of the early New Testament church. In Acts 14:27, we read of the success of the missionary work of Paul and Barnabas. It is described in this way, ‘God... had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles’. The apostle Paul achieved an enormous amount in bringing people to the truth in Jesus. But he knew the truth. The truth was this. If the Lord didn’t open the door, then Paul couldn’t open it for people. If the Lord did open the door, then opportunity to abound was then present. This is found in his letter to the believers at Colossae, where he again reminds the people of their need to watch, and also to pray. Paul says, ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ...’ (Colossians 4:3).
And, in his first letter to the Corinthian believers, he highlights something else. Paul tells them that he intends to stay in the city of Ephesus for a period of time, ‘because a great door for effective work has opened to me’. But Paul adds this, ‘and there are many who oppose me’ (1 Corinthians 16:9). This is the reality. Those sheep that now belong to Jesus, used to belong to the devil. Satan isn’t happy. He wants them back. And, he doesn’t want to lose any more sheep to Jesus, the good shepherd. Wherever there is true gospel intent, there will always be opposition. What comfort we should draw from those words of our Saviour, ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).
In the second picture in John 10, so verses 7-10, we have another sheepfold and another gate. This sheepfold doesn’t represent the whole world, like in the first picture. This sheepfold represents the church. The description is of another type of sheepfold, also found in this location, during this time period. These types of pens weren’t communal. They didn’t contain sheep belonging to more than one shepherd. These were a type that were found in more remote locations. They had a circular, stone wall around them, with just a single gap for the sheep to enter. This was a safe place for a wandering shepherd to gather the sheep together at night. It meant that the sheep were kept together. They were safe from the attacks of wild animals. The sheep couldn’t get out and harm couldn’t get in. And this was made so because of ‘the gate’.
But what was the gate made of? We might guess that the gate was wooden. But it wasn’t. Gates are subject to wear and tear. In these remote locations there wouldn’t have always been the materials to hand, or the tools available, to repair a broken gate. So, instead of an actual gate, the shepherd would block the entrance/exit with his/her body. The shepherd would sleep in the hole that was the gateway. They would be the gate. They would be the very thing stopping the sheep from leaving, and from harm entering. In this picture, Jesus draws himself as that gate. In verse 7, he says, ‘I am the gate for the sheep.’ In verse 9, he says, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.’
This should answer another question that we may have about the possibility of relationship with God. How can I join the company of the Lord’s people? How do we get into relationship with God? The Old Testament Law detailed a way of rightness through obedience to God’s commands. It was perfect. It was Jehovah God’s perfect standard. But therein lay the problem. Mankind isn’t perfect. Romans 3:23 (NLT) says this, ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’
If this sheepfold, in picture two, represents the church, then the walls around it must surely be the glorious standard of God’s rightness. But where does that leave me as a sheep – as a sinner? It leaves me outside. I cannot get in. In fact, no-one can get in. But God, in his mercy and grace, has made a way in. To join God’s ‘flock’, you must enter through the gate. It is the only way. My personal history, and the ongoing failure of my life, makes the wall that surrounds the church seemingly impenetrable. But, if I enter through Jesus, then I can just walk straight in, no questions asked.
What kind of place is the church of Jesus Christ? What kind of place should it be? Well, it’s right here again, in picture two. Verses 9-10 contain these words of Jesus, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture... I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ In the AV, that last part of verse 10 is, ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ Abundant life, life had to the full. Many people have a view of Christianity that is wide of this mark. They see the church as a place governed by rules and regulations. They see it as offering a life that is restricted, a life that is curtailed. That is not the message of Jesus. Jesus is offering more. He is talking about a life under his shepherding and leading, that is fuller than it was previously, or would otherwise be. Is this our experience? It should be. If it isn’t then the church is failing. We need to reset and re-calibrate our lives.
There will be times when we need to do this. Tim spoke recently about the letter to the Hebrew believers. They were struggling with present difficulty and even considering throwing the towel in. That letter encouraged them to re-think and re-align with what they had previously held dear. Look at Psalm 23 (1-3). Has the Lord made you ‘lie down in green pastures’ before? Will he not do so again? His word is at stake. The honour of his name is on the line. Follow him completely, and you will be able to say, ‘he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.’
The opinion of the majority of mankind is that this simply isn’t true. Are the majority correct? Turn back to Genesis 6 & 7. A man called Noah was building an ark. He warned people that the wrath of God against sin was coming. The majority view was that Noah was mad. Including Noah, only eight people entered the ark. Everyone else perished in a flood. There was a single entrance door to that ark. Which side would you want to be on? Siding with the minority that believed God’s message through his servant Noah. Or comfortable with the majority.
The apostle Peter says that this great flood was a symbol. It is another of the Bible’s many pictures that are there to illustrate God’s truth. Just as in Noah’s time, there was a single door through which to escape the judgement of God, so there is now only one door, or gate, through which to escape and be saved. You must come through Jesus. He said, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.’
Peter has this to say, ‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits – to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him' (1 Peter 3 18-22).
I’ll finish with the benediction found in the closing words of the letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 13:20-21). ‘Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen’
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