The Door and The Shepherd

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A

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Always look at Jesus being the shepherd, the good shepherd. This is where we recite Psalm 23, sometimes Ezekiel 34, and then we come to John chapter 10. And every year of the lectionary A, B, and C, we break open what Jesus is revealing about Himself and being a shepherd in John chapter 10. John chapter 10 begins with the words that we are familiar with. Truly, truly, I say to you, which means that it's connected to the previous passage before it. Several weeks ago, we looked at that passage about the man born blind, who Jesus healed, and then because of the fact that he was able to now see, they presented him into the synagogue among all the rulers who did not believe the blind man, that this was some kind of conspiracy that this man was trying to make in order to highlight Jesus. So because they didn't believe him, they brought his parents in. And his parents, for fear of the being put out of the synagogue, being kicked out of the gathering of God's people. They said, Our son's old enough. Ask him what has happened. So then they asked the man born blind to come back again. And he testifies again that this man, Jesus, he doesn't know if he's a prophet or not, but all he knows is that he was blind and now he sees because of Jesus. But this didn't satisfy the leaders. And they put this blind man born blind who can now see out of the synagogue. And when he leaves the synagogue, Jesus now comes and finds him. And he asks him one question Do you believe in the Son of Man? And he says, Who is he that I might believe? And pay attention to this. Jesus says, The one who is now speaking to you is he. Then the man who was once blind but now sees, we are told, listens and follows after Jesus. It is this story that then Jesus turns to the leaders of the synagogue to address them. And he addresses them with a parable about a shepherd. What is the big to-do about shepherd? Well, even though we're not shepherds or have any sheep, or maybe you do, or there's some farm that has a bunch of goats over here. But we all are familiar with the imagery of what it means to be a shepherd. We're all very familiar with Psalm 23 that we were called into worship this morning with. We all are familiar with that. We're familiar even with the story of King David, who was that shepherd boy, that when Samuel comes to look for this one he is to anoint as king, he looks at all the sons, and not one of them has the character that God is looking for, besides one, David, who is where? Out tending sheep. There's this long history that the righteous one that is to come, the Messiah, is going to be not just a shepherd, but the shepherd. And all the people were waiting once again for a shepherd, one who is better than David, but like David in that regard, to come and lead. So for the people of Israel, a shepherd was also meant to be the king, because the king would shepherd the people of God. So that's what's in the mind. That's what's going on. And Jesus begins and addresses that those who do not come, those who seek to come in by any other way into this fold, the shepherd's fold, think about a space that's connected to your house, a fenced-in area, a fold where you put your most prized animals so you can tend to them and care for them and manage their daily life. That's the mind of a shepherd's fold. That's what we are supposed to understand. And he says, if you don't come through the door, you come in by any other way, you are a thief and a robber. A thief and a robber might sound like similar things, but a thief steals being stealthy. A robber steals with violence. Think about Judas, who was stealing from the money purse of the 12 disciples. He was doing it without anybody's notice. But then think of Barabbas, the one who was known to be a violent man. He was a robber. And it is these that Jesus describes as those who were ruling over the synagogue. Think about just what happened. Jesus saved the man born blind. A lot of translations said he healed them, but that word is saved. Jesus saves the man born blind so he can now see. And you would think that this obviously, the one that Jesus saves, should be welcomed into the place where people gather, the synagogue. But he was kicked out, robbing God of his very own sheep that belong inside his fold. This is how Jesus addresses these religious leaders, kicking people out because those people did not jive with the way they thought. These leaders don't listen to the word of God. They devise their own plans, their own words. And Jesus defines them as robbers and thieves, not shepherds. But then he identifies himself as the shepherd, the shepherd who comes to the door, and the gatekeepers open up to him, because he is the shepherd. He is the only one that has access, particularly to the sheep in this fold. And when he comes into this fold, the sheep know his voice. And he summons his sheep. He comes in, and it just John 10 in these verses, he comes into this fold as the doors open to him, and he summons his sheep by name. And they come running to him. And he instructs them with his voice. They're familiar with his voice. And then what does he do? As he puts them out of the fold, he doesn't go behind them, kind of kicking them in the rear end with his staff and rod. No, he leads them and they follow after him. This is the image of the fact that if Jesus is the shepherd, then we are his sheep. Let me be more pointed. We being those who believe in the shepherd, those who know his voice and have heard his voice and follow after him. We are the sheep. The church is the sheep. And when we gather together, this is his fold. And so what is it? How is it that Jesus shepherds us then? Well, John 10 breaks it all apart. Jesus describes himself as the door. Meaning you can't get in through any other way. There's not a bunch of ways to be saved. There is only one way to be saved and enter into God's people, his sheep. And that is through only Jesus Christ. He is the door. He will grant you access if you come to him. And this access grants you into a place that is unlike anywhere else in the world. He's the gatekeeper. He's the door. And you can only come through him. But he knows every sheep by name. It's not by accident that you've stumbled in this morning to the fold. You have been given access through Jesus Christ to come in. And he is very well aware of what you need. He knows your name. If you know somebody's name, you know something about them. I'm not just talking about a name like Bruce, but when he calls Bruce, he knows and can identify that individual. So just because we're gathered as his people, that his sheep and his fold, yet he knows and is so detailed that he knows every single each and every one of our burdens, our problems. And the good news is this shepherd not only knows our name, but he calls and summons us to himself. Because he knows that not only is he the access, but he is the very one to lead in paths of righteousness. So he calls you by name. And is that isn't this not what we have already done this Sunday morning? He has summoned us into worshiping him. We have heard and are hearing his voice being spoken to us to instruct us. And then, here in just a few minutes, he will lead us out. And as we are gathered here, then he will scatter us throughout our lives in the world. But not to do it alone. But what does he promise? This shepherd leads us in our lives. He goes before us, even though he puts us out. So his presence is forever with us. And how are we to respond to this shepherd? There's a few things that John highlights that these sheep do, and they do naturally because of Jesus. These sheep are granted access into the shepherd's fold, and what they do is they recognize the shepherd's voice. They distinguish Jesus from all other voices. Jesus' voice has the sole authority over the sheep. John even makes it a point, or actually Jesus does, by saying that the sheep won't follow any other voice. That's how you know whose sheep it belongs to. If you belong to Jesus, you will only follow Jesus' voice. You will not have other voices that will seek to have your influence or influence over you. There is one voice that you can identify as Jesus. So a sheep knows the shepherd's voice. The sheep are familiar, not just knowing his voice, they are very familiar with it. How is it that you become familiar with Jesus' voice? It's by knowing this and hiding this in your heart. Jesus will never contradict himself. Jesus has spoken plainly in his word to instruct and govern your life. So as you begin to experience things in real life that might cause confusion, that might lead you a certain way, you can always say, well, this is God's word. And I've heard this said, that some people believe that when, oh, I hear God, I was praying about this, and I feel like the Lord steered me this way. But as I begin to hear the way that this that the Lord is steering them, it contradicts everything in the scriptures. It's as if the sheep is not very familiar with the voice of Christ. Seems like another voice might be leading them. But as sheep, we are expected to be not only hearing the voice of Jesus, but be familiar with it. Then it also teaches that these sheep are so familiar with his voice, it distinguishes from all other voices, and they refuse to follow the other voices. This must mean that us as his sheep, we must create boundaries and prevent ourselves from following any other influence and voices in our lives. We only follow Christ. And isn't that what the man born blind did? Hearing Jesus say, I am he, the Son of Man, what did the blind man do? He followed Jesus. He's the sheep. Jesus was the shepherd. And not only that, but when we are put out, when the shepherd leads us out, we follow the shepherd when we're out of the pasture of his fold. In our lives, in our personal lives, we don't just gather here to worship and listen to the shepherd's voice and become more familiar with it, but when he sends us out into the world, we continue to follow him. That's how we are disciples, that's how we continue to be his sheep, is we both gather together to the shepherd, and then we all scatter when the shepherd leads us out. But lastly, there's something of great hope about this imagery about the shepherd and this fold and being his sheep. I mentioned this yesterday and I heard it this morning during Jerome's Sunday school class, of just how significant Psalm 23 is. I can't tell you how many times I've been invited to somebody to a bedside and asked to pray or to recite Psalm 23. Psalm 23, almost everybody's familiar with. It is very comforting. It offers and inspires us to hope. There's something that just listening to it makes us feel at peace, makes us feel comforted. And why is that? Well, it's because for John chapter 10, why Jesus wants everybody to know that He is the shepherd. He is the shepherd that grants us access into the very thing that Psalm 23 paints the picture of. So I'm going to read for you once again Psalm 23, because it is your hope. And it's not a hope that lies in the future. It is a hope that through faith in Jesus Christ you are given access to immediately. Psalm 23 paints what happens when a sheep enters into the fold of Christ, what they can come to experience immediately and for all eternity. The Lord is my shepherd. Christ is my shepherd. I shall not want. Plenty, a bounty of provision for you in this fold. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It's very easy to listen to that and think of yourself in your own personal life and find hope and comfort. But there's a last phrase in here that points to a reality maybe oftentimes we overlook. That the place the place where this comfort, this loving kindness, this instruction, this quiet waters, these greener pastures, the table that's set before all of our enemies, can be found in the house of the Lord. This is why David, who writes this, the shepherd boy, ends by saying, listing all these things that he gets to experience because of what the shepherd gives him, and where does he find it? But he finds it in the house of the Lord, where his heart wants to dwell forever. David would go on to say in another Psalm, better is one day in his courts, in his fold, in his house, than thousands elsewhere. Why? Why would David write this and that about the house of the Lord? Because the house of the Lord is supposed to be the fold where the sheep can come and experience these things. Where they can come and hear the shepherds speak to them and instruct them in paths of righteousness, where they can come out of the turmoil of the world and find peace and quiet waters. Where they can partake with a meal with Jesus in the presence of their enemies. Where loving kindness and goodness can be experienced and embraced. Jesus not only lives in your personal life, but he's also the shepherd when all his sheep are together. And this is what we do when we gather on Sundays, is we are the embodiment of Psalm 23 together. That Jesus, the shepherd, offers peace to his people who speak it to each other to calm into quiet waters. This is our hope. Not a hope that lies years from now, centuries from now, an eternity from now, but a hope that is offered by the shepherd presently. Now. Because Jesus is alive. This is the season of Easter tide. He's alive. He's living, and if he's living, then he is giving these things presently. And he's giving them in his fold, in his church, and in your life. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us pray.