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The Shepherd as the gate
(Author Unknown)
I am the Gate, I am the Good Shepherd
John 10:1-21
Acts 6:1-9, 7:20, 51-60 is the account of the dispute between Grecian Jews
and Hebraic Jews, which lead to the commissioning of deacons to look after
widows, orphans, the sick, etc. The next section was the witness of
Stephen, one of the deacons, to those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen.
The latter become so enraged with what they perceive as Stephen's
blaspheme that the take him out and stone him, leaving their cloths "at
the feet of a young man named Saul, who hears Stephen's final prayer:
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
1 Peter 2:19-25 (NIV): For it is commendable if a man bears up under the
pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to
your cried if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if
you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before
God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you
an example that you should follow in his steps.
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they
hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered he
made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness, by his wounds you have been healed. For
you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The Gospel was John 10: 1-10, in which Jesus refers to himself as the gate
to the sheepfold: "whoever enters through me will be saved."
On the one hand, we were comforted by Jesus the Good Shepherd who leads us
in green pastures and through the valley of the shadow of Death. On the
other hand, we were told he guards the sheepfold, and only those who
repent can come in through him.
The readings from Acts and 1 Peter confronted us with what it means, once
we do repent and accept Jesus as our Lord, while trusting him to be our
Good Shepherd. We’re looking through the Jesus said about himself –
his ‘I am’ sayings. Mark talks about Jesus being the light of the world.
Let's look at his statements in John 10 – I am the good shepherd, and I am
the gate for the sheep. It might seem a little confusing that Jesus talks
about both these things in one breath, but he is using parables,
illustrations, metaphors, a series of related images and pictures to make
a series of related points, and there is a sense of it being a fast moving
dialogue, punchy, dramatic and immediate, rather than a planned and
thought through logical treatise. In fact many of his listeners went off
in disgust, describing him as a madman. They just didn’t get it, at all.
Others though, did get it, and it revolutionized their lives. Let’s pray
that will be the case for us too.
Now there’s a lot about shepherds and sheep in this passage, and unlike
Jesus’ listeners, most of us don’t know much about shepherds and sheep –
especially you townies! I know a bit about sheep as my dad is a bit of a
hobby farmer, and has kept up a flock of about 25 sheep for the last
twenty years or so. So I’ve been a bit involved in lambing, and shearing
and all those sorts of things in my time. My dad’s way of farming is
probably slightly more akin to that in Biblical times than that of ‘proper
farmers’. He’s never had a sheep dog, and his sheep do tend to know his
voice, and react to it, in a way that huge flocks tended by dogs wouldn’t.
The sort of field based shepherding that he does is still of course vastly
different from the model which Jesus was using.
Shepherds in Jesus’ time
would have small flocks which they would lead across arid mountain terrain
to find fresh pasture, taking long, long journeys, stopping at night to
use a protective fold, before setting off again early the next morning.
When the sheep were in the fold, which was a walled off area with a gap
for going in and out, the shepherd would lie across the gap to keep away
predators. So, imagery which we are not especially familiar with, but that
aside, I am sure we can get the picture enough to begin to understand what
Jesus is saying.
I want to look at what Jesus says about four groups in this passage:
Good shepherds, and specifically himself as the Good Shepherd
Sheep – that’s us!
Thieves and robbers
Bad shepherds and hired hands
Let’s consider these in reverse order.
Bad shepherds and hired hands
Jesus was not the first to be scathing about bad shepherds and hired
hands. His Jewish hearers would be familiar with the concept of their
religious leaders being described in shepherd terms – the shepherd was a
common metaphor for those who were leaders and carers. They would be
familiar too with the words of the prophet Ezekiel, who says,
“The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, prophecy against the
shepherds of Israel; prophecy and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of
themselves! Should not the shepherds take care of the flock? ….”’”
(Ezekiel 34:1-2)
Ezekiel laid into Israel’s leaders, particularly about their lack of care
for the sheep, which Jesus picks up on when he compares a good shepherd
with a hired hand. From Ezekiel’s prophecy, and Jesus’ words, which would
be pointing those in the know back to that prophecy, we can see that bad
shepherds, or those only in it for the money;
abandon the sheep;
run away when danger comes;
care nothing for the sheep;
care only for themselves;
take advantage of the sheep;
don’t strengthen the weak or heal the sick or bind up the injured;
don’t bring back the strays or search for the lost;
allow the sheep to scatter and fall prey to wild animals.
Many of us of course are leaders! Not just those of us who are paid –
perhaps we’re the hired hands, but those of you who lead ministries, small
groups and so on. These words are a chilling reminder of our
responsibility as leaders. God condemned those who had responsibility for
others and abused it, or simply didn’t do what they were called to do. He
has now given us a model of shepherding to follow which he promised in
Ezekiel’s prophecy. He said,
“I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd
looks for his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after
my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered
on a day of clouds and darkness.”
Jesus’ claim to be the good shepherd is the fulfillment of this prophecy,
and we’ll go on to look at what good shepherding is in a moment.
Considering both how we are shepherded by Jesus, and the implications of
that for our own shepherding of others, as individuals, and as a church.
But first I want to look briefly at another character in Jesus’ analogy.
Thieves and robbers
Jesus contrasts the shepherd with someone who enters the sheep pen through
a way other than the gate, calling such a person a thief or a robber. I
believe here is talking here about the devil and his agents, and about
spiritual attack.
Think about the things Jesus says about the thieves and robbers, and how
these tie in with what the Bible teaches about how the devil attacks
Christians. Thieves and robbers
attempt forced entry
come in unexpected ways, not the obvious way
are strangers, with an unfamiliar voices
come to steal
come to kill
come to destroy.
The devil has to force his way in to the lives of Christians, because when
we turn from him, and renounce evil we close the door to him. He is not
welcome. Yet he finds other ways in to our lives, through unwatched weak
places, places where our defenses are down – perhaps times when we are
particularly vulnerable, when we are tired, or have given into temptation
and feel ourselves to be out of control. That’s why we need to keep on
guard, keep watch, check our defenses regularly.
The devil is a stranger to us, his voice is unfamiliar, but we often kid
ourselves that we do recognize him, because what he’s saying is
attractive. Let’s get this clear. If God is speaking to us, his voice will
be familiar. If we hear an unfamiliar call, calling us in a way that
contradicts what we’ve known God saying to us previously, we need to check
it out before following.
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy – to rob from us our security
and confidence as God’s children, to destroy us by whatever means he can –
mainly through lies and deceit, trying to convince us that the truths and
promises God has given us are false. He tries to undermine and undo what
God has done in our lives.
The devil is real. Spiritual attack is part of the deal when we are in the
kingdom of God. I’m not saying this to scare you, because we are on the
winning side, but we ignore the devil at our peril. We need to stand
against him and his attacks, and to support one another, especially when
we see those around us who are vulnerable at any particular time, bringing
them back in to the safe place of God’s protection.
Sheep
Because sheep, which is what we are in this parable, become harassed and
helpless when they don’t have a shepherd, and are not much good at
surviving on their own. Let’s look at what Jesus says about sheep. Sheep
need a shepherd,
listen to the shepherd’s voice,
know the shepherd’s voice,
follow the shepherd,
run away from a stranger,
don’t recognize a stranger’s voice,
are one flock.
Look through that list. I’m sure there are things on it which each of us
is aware come easier than others.
Are you someone who listens? Do you listen for God’s voice, and expect him
to speak to you? Is there space and time in your life to listen, or is
your life crammed full with too many other things? I know I have to set
aside time specifically to listen to God if I want to hear him properly,
to hear what he’s saying to us as a church, to hear what he’s saying to me
as an individual. How do I hear him – in a variety of ways. The obvious
one is through the Bible, God’s living word, through which he promises to
speak to us. But I also hear him speak in other ways – through talks and
sermons, or other people’s testimonies; through pictures; through
situations; a word of knowledge, or a still small voice. I ear him because
I actively listen. I’d hear him more if I listened more. When I was about
10 I had to write a hundred lines as a punishment at school – they
probably don’t make you do that sort of thing these days – but I had to
write out a hundred times, “I must learn to listen a bit more.” I think
that was about listening to my teacher instead of chatting to my friends,
but it’s a lesson I still need to learn about God – If I learn to listen a
bit more, I will hear a bit more!
As we listen, actively, setting aside time to do so, we learn to recognize
the voice of God, we come to know his voice. This means we will be
attentive if he then talks to us when we’re not expecting it, which he
will. Thankfully God doesn’t restrict his speaking to us just to the times
we’re listening – he’s often have too long a wait. God intervenes in our
lives, saying things we need to hear, when we need to hear them – the
secret is knowing his voice so that we react accordingly.
Sheep follow the shepherd, because they know he’s leading them to a good
place, where they will get fed. Are you a follower? Even if you are a
leader, you will still be a follower – in fact to be a good leader you
have to be a good follower. Some of us rebel, and find it hard to follow,
but Jesus called his disciples to follow, he calls us to follow, and not
to look back. Following is about obedience, submitting to someone else’s
guidance, someone who knows the way. The sheep that get distracted from
following get lost, fall of cliffs, and don’t get fed – big risks, yet
there are always silly sheep who take them.. Don’t be a silly sheep –
follow the shepherd – trust him to take you to a place of good pasture.
And keep your ears in tune. Don’t let strangers voices become familiar and
drown out the shepherd’s voice. We need to learn to run away from those
strangers who are the thieves and robbers in our lives, not get involved
with them, as they will quickly deceive us, masquerading as angels of
light, convincing us to turn away from the path the shepherd is leading us
down.
The other thing about sheep is that they are flock animals. I don’t think
it’s a mistake that Jesus likened us to sheep. Christians exist as part of
a flock, a community, a body, not as separate individuals. It’s not an
exclusive flock, it’s one flock which is continually being added to, and
it’s a universal flock – there is only one flock and one shepherd, even
though in outworking it’s physically separated into lots of mini flocks.
This about us being part of the world wide church, the body of Christ
which is Christians everywhere – it’s why one of our values is about
building up the wider church, because we are all part of one flock, a
flock following Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Good shepherds and the Good Shepherd
What does Jesus say about good shepherds, and about himself as the Good
Shepherd? We’ve looked at what bad shepherds do, and at what thieves and
robbers do, and at what the sheep who are being shepherded do, but what
does a good shepherd do? A good shepherd:
enters through the gate;
calls his sheep by name;
leads them out;
goes on ahead;
comes that they may have life to the full;
lays down his life for the sheep;
has other sheep to bring in too.
A good shepherd, the Good Shepherd, enters through the gate. He has a
legitimate right and the authority to go through the gate – it’s his gate,
he is the shepherd. He doesn’t have to sidle in through a break in the
wall, a weak spot, he comes obviously and openly to the gate. Just think
about this in terms of how Jesus approaches each of us – he doesn’t gate
crash our lives – he stands at the door and knocks – Mark referred to this
last week when he talked about the famous Light of the World painting by
Holman Hunt. Jesus waits to be invited into our lives – maybe some of you
haven’t ever asked him fully in – you could do that this morning. Jesus
also says he is the gate. He is the gateway to a relationship with God the
Father – no-one can get to the Father without coming through him – there
is only one entrance into the Christian sheep pen, and that’s through
Jesus the gate. Once we’ve come through that gate, Jesus lies across it to
protect us, becoming again the Good Shepherd, hemming us in, that we might
be safe from predators, thieves and robbers.
The Good Shepherd knows each of his sheep by name, and calls them by name
to follow him. This is where we are both part of a flock, but also a
unique and precious individual, known intimately and loved by the
shepherd. The shepherd leads each of us, going on ahead, forging the way,
showing us the path. He leads us to the place where we can live life to
the full. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to
the full.” A full, purposeful life is on offer to each of us if we follow
him – don’t be deceived by those who try to tell you that the Christian
life is narrow and restricted – it’s the best, the absolute best! We’re
following a shepherd who is prepared to lay down his life for his sheep,
and has done so, for each of us, in order that we might have life.
This is a shepherd who goes out of his way to seek and save the lost – who
as well as feeding and caring for the sheep already in his fold, goes out
looking for those who are in the dangerous territory outside, bringing
them in and making them part of the flock too. This is a shepherd who is
desperately concerned for all the sheep, those inside and outside the
fold.
I am happy to be a sheep if the Good Shepherd is like that. I know he’s
worth following, that I’ll be provided for, fed, and kept safe. For all of
us here today there is a call to follow the good shepherd, to listen to
his voice, to get to know him better, to admit our need of him, renouncing
our willful disobedience and choosing to go where he leads us. Coming to
him as one who will comfort us, sustain us, bind our wounds, care for us.
There’s a challenge here for us too though. All of us, to a greater or
lesser degree are sort of ‘under-shepherds’ too, and we have before us
today a model of a good shepherd, the best in fact, to follow. Think about
those who follow you, your friends, children, growth group, work
colleagues. You might be in relationships where you take it in turns to
lead, but at some point in our lives we are all influencing others, and
we, as Christians, are part of a body which is leading and influencing
others too.
How do we match up? Most of us will probably be better at some aspects of
the good shepherd model than others. Some are great at caring for the
sheep in the fold, the place where they come for rest and to have their
wounds bound up; some are good at feeding; leading the sheep out to the
place of nourishment; some are good at seeking the lost sheep, going over
the cliff edge to rescue one that’s fallen; still others are good at going
on ahead to spy out new territory, finding fresh green pasture to feed the
sheep more, finding many more lost sheep who have strayed a long, long way
from the fold.
As under-shepherds we need to be aware of the importance of all these
things. Jesus modeled all of them, and he says he is the Good Shepherd –
good shepherds do these things. We won’t all be good at doing all of them,
as we’re not Jesus, but we can work at getting better at the bits of
shepherding which come naturally to us, and work at understanding those
which don’t. We can support those around us who are different and play a
different role. As a church community seeking to model itself on Jesus, we
want to make sure all aspects of sheep care happen, to as many sheep as we
find.
My challenge to each of us is to be good sheep, being shepherded by the
good shepherd, and to be good shepherds too, following his example. I
think it’s a great paradox of the Christian life that we can be both at
the same time – let’s ask God to help us!
I’m particularly focused on Gospel, John 10: 1-10. I got chills
up my spine as I realized that those ten verses describe exactly what’s
happening in ECUSA and other Christian denominations today. The poster
boys for the secular humanists who do, “…not enter the sheep pen through
the gate but climb in another way … (They are) thieves and robbers are
Griswold, Bennison, Robinson and Smith.
A priest told a personal story from a friend of his about present day
Israel. The friend spent time in Israel and noted that all the shepherds
in the region he was visiting put all their sheep into a large common pen
at night. In the morning they would go to the gate of the sheep pen one by
one and call their sheep. The entire flock was milling about but each
shepherd’s flock would immediately come to the gate to go with their
shepherd while the others kept milling about until all the shepherds had
retrieved all the individual flocks.
His point was that we are free to hear many voices and, unlike the sheep,
we are also free to follow the voice of our own choosing. Therefore, it is
incumbent on us to choose carefully the voice that we follow. Holy
Scripture gives us the blueprint that permits us to make wise choices, IF
we will.
I still have chills as I reflect on how this writing of John from almost
2,000 years ago lays the ECUSA problem out so succinctly. |
