"WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?" BLOG 2 – “I AM THE GATE AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD” (John 10:9-14)

THIS BLOG CONTAINS:

• Community group/family study
• Daily bible studies 
• You can listen to all the messages at:  Click this link to audio content
• For more information visit www.communitychurchputney.com

COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY 2

“I AM THE GATE AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD”  

John 10:9-10 “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.”

John 10:11-14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me

Previously we have seen that Jesus uses the metaphors of bread and light to teach us about Himself; He now uses the illustration of shepherding sheep – our relationship with Jesus is to be like that between a good shepherd and His sheep. The following account from the travels of Sir George Adam Smith helps to illustrate what is means for Jesus to be ‘the gate’ and ‘the good shepherd, 

“He was one day travelling with a guide, and came across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into conversation with him. The man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in.  Sir George said to him, ’That is where they go at night?’ ‘Yes,’ said the shepherd, ‘and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe.’ ‘But there is no door,‘ said Sir George. ‘I am the door,’ said the shepherd. He was not a Christian man, he was not speaking in the language of the New Testament. He was speaking from the Arab shepherd’s standpoint. Sir George looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean by the door?’ Said the shepherd, ‘when the light has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.’

·      What do these two metaphors (gate and shepherd) tell us about our salvation, how we are attacked, and our protection? 

·      How does one enter the ‘gate of the sheep’ through whom we are saved? (See 10:9 and 3:16-17)

·      What other things can we, and are we, tempted to trust in as our ‘gate’ of salvation and ‘good shepherd’ of protection? 

·      The aim of our enemy (the devil) is to ‘steal, kill and destroy; and to ‘scatter the flock’. The key to our protection and flourishing is to stay close to Jesus. How does one stay close to Jesus personally, and why is community so vital for this? 

·      Jesus promises ‘life to the full’ or ‘abundantly’ (10:10) for those who will come to Him. What are the range of things that this means? In what ways are you, and are you not experiencing this? What could you do to enter more fully into the abundant life that Jesus wants for you? 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

MONDAY – WHAT IS YOUR GATE OF SALVATION?

John 10:9-10 “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.”

Here we have a picture of Jesus, as a shepherd, sat, guarding the doorway to the sheepfold; no danger can enter and no sheep can wander out into darkness and danger. 

Jesus, declaring Himself to be the ‘gate of the sheep’ (10:7) is something that we are to choose to believe and live in the good of. 

We can make other things our ‘gate of salvation’, such as:

·     False teachers and leaders other than Christ – In Jesus’ context it was the religious leaders. For us it might be self-help gurus, liberal ungodly teachers etc. Do you you make solid Christian teaching your main interest? If not, why not? 

·     Entertainment – We can make entertainment of any kind our ‘salvation’. We seek peace through escapism. 

·     A False Jesus – A Jesus who is not derived from the bible. In particular, we make Jesus into a ‘shepherd’ who accepts anybody into His sheepfold (universalism). Jesus – the true gate – is shut against anyone who has not received Him as Lord and Saviour. 

·     Myself as the gate – We are all tempted toward religion that is about climbing the wall – being good – in order to earn God’s approval. 

Jesus also promises that we ‘will come in and go out, and find pasture.’ Those who will ‘enter the gate’ (trust in Christ) will find true spiritual peace and freedom. Psalm 23 says it well,

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

RESPONSE

What is your gate of salvation? Is Jesus your only door? Have you entered Salvation, rest in God’s love,  through Jesus’ work and death for you? 

TUESDAY – BEWARE OF THIEVES

John 10:9-10 “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 warns us of ‘the thief’ (See 10:8 also; this is anyone or anything that distracts or detracts from Jesus.)

How can we detect thieves?

Jesus tells us how we can detect those who want to harm us,

John 10:1Very 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. 

Any teacher, philosophy, lifestyle, relationship… that does not teach and encourage us to enter through ‘the gate’ – through Jesus – will rob from us. 

The thief’s mission

The thief’s mission is in contrast to that of Jesus: Jesus gives life to the full, the thief gives destruction. 

·     The thief steals – false teachers want a following, money, power, sex… to steal focus and confidence in Christ and put our confidence in them, or something other than Jesus. 

·     The thief kills – This is not a warning about losing our salvation. The thief kills in that His message keeps people from Jesus. 

·     The thief destroys– The thief harms our life in every way. And, ultimately, those who follow the ‘thief’ will be destroyed in hell. 

The satanic spirit behind all false teachers loves to distract and detract from entering the gate – through Jesus. Jesus says to the false teachers of His day,  

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies

RESPONSE

Be on your guard! Our spiritual health is under attack. In order to protect yourself, put on the ‘full armour of God’ as we read,

Ephesians 6:11, 14-18Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions…

All of the pieces of this armour could be summed up as, ‘Put your faith, and keep your faith in Christ no matter what!’ 

In the context of today’s devotional, we could say, keep your confidence in the true gate of salvation, no matter what!’

WEDNESDAY – SEEK LIFE TO THE FULL?

John 10:9-10 “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.”

Some regular responses to why people don’t follow Jesus: 

·     It would be boring – following Him will rob one of joy in some way.

·     It is evil– The bible teaches things that I disagree with in regard to sex, marriage, gender, salvation only through Jesus…

·     It is naïve–Surely educated people know that the bible is wrong and we know better than people did all that time ago…

These are all conclusions that are not based on serious exploration. They are hypothetical, but, ultimately, satanic in origin, and designed to keep us from entering through ‘the gate’ and having ‘life, and having it to the full’. 

RESPONSE

How does one seek life to the full?

1.   Properly define ‘life to the full’

This is not about having an overflowing bank account, good health, being admired… Jesus is not a means to the ‘good life’ as defined by those who don’t know any better! Fullness of life is:

·      Having eternal life – In Jesus, we are forgiven (justified) and will never face death.

·      Having Jesus – Fullness of life is knowing Jesus. Knowing Him for Himself and not as a means to an end of satisfying our greed etc. 

2.   Enter life through the gate

We seek fullness of life by putting our trust in Jesus. Make Him the centre and ultimate pursuit. 

3.   Live in sight of the gate

Once we enter the gate (trust in Christ) for salvation, one needs to keep in sight of the gate; keep celebrating and remembering the gospel; keep our confidence here! 

4.   Refuse the lie

To live in the fullness that Jesus has for us, one must also refuse error, or that which is unbeneficial for keeping our eyes on Jesus. 

THURSDAY – ARE YOU ONE OF JESUS’ SHEEP?

John 10:11-14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. 

Not only does Jesus say “I am the gate”, He also defines Himself, “I am the good shepherd. 

Jesus likens Christians to His sheep. One of the attributes of Jesus’ sheep is that they listen and follow Him, 

“The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…his sheep follow him because they know his voice…I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd… My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me…”

From God’s perspective, before we were Christians, we were lost sheep. He had chosen us, we were His, but we were away from the fold. The proof that we are His sheep is that we listen to His voice and follow the good shepherd. As we read,

John 10:26-30But you (The Pharisees) do not believe because you are not my sheep.  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

RESPONSE 

Have you heard Jesus’ voice and have you followed Him? Did you hear Him saying “come follow me”? Do you realise that, when you were lost, Jesus spoke to you specifically? A shepherd doesn’t lead and protect all sheep; He leads and protects those who are owned by Him. You belong to Christ if you love His voice. If you are one of His, you can never be lost, will never be rejected. Read the following parable and rejoice that this is about you, and the whole church,

Matthew 18:12-14“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

FRIDAY – THE GOODNESS OF JESUS

John 10:11-14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me

‘Good’ can be translated as ‘beautiful’. Jesus is not just the ‘moral shepherd’ – a strict, unpleasant ruler. He is attractive to us. A shepherd is an autocrat, but Jesus is a good Lord. 

Here we come to the greatest revelation of the love of the good shepherd as Jesus lays down His life to save His sheep. Jesus is not setting Himself up as a great example of how you and I are to live; rather, he is the unique good shepherd whose death will save the sheep. 

Any ‘shepherding’ that you and I may do, is principally about bringing people to Jesus – the good shepherd. 

RESPONSE

Our natural inclination is to think that we have to lay our lives down, perform feats of hardship, in order to please or appease God. We set ourselves up as ‘the good shepherd’ feeling that we must ‘lay our lives down for the sheep’. Now, of course, there is a place for selfless-love, but loving others is not, principally, what Jesus wants us to learn when He says “I am the good shepherd”. Firstly, He wants you to see that He is good, He has died for you, you are loved, you are saved, you are safe. 

The incident of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice His son is a good place to end this week’s meditation. You and I are not called upon to offer the sacrifice for our or others’ salvation; This is provided for, as God gave His Son for us, ‘on the mountain’. 

Genesis 22:13-14Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”