A pastor friend who lived in an apartment complex in San Francisco tells about the time that he and his wife parked their brand new Honda Accord under cover in the secured parking area next to their apartment complex. The next day they decided to celebrate the purchase of that new car by going out to breakfast together. Not only would they enjoy eating out together, it would give them another opportunity to drive their new automobile. Leaving the apartment building, they greeted the guard on duty at the gate of the parking garage. They walked along a row of parked cars and, he reports, as they walked up to their new Honda they knew right away that something was not right because the passenger side front door was not closed completely. As they drew closer they discovered that the dashboard had been broken, the radio was stolen as well as, believe it or not, the burglar alarm! They called the police and the person who took their report said, "Let me guess, you were parked at that nice apartment complex on Burlington Avenue and your car is a Honda Accord. Am I right?" "Yes," he responded, "do you already know about this?" "No," replied the person on the other end of the telephone, "but you are the eleventh person who has called us this morning from that apartment complex and all of you were parked in that same undercover parking lot and you all own Honda Accords and all of your dashboards are torn up and your radios and burglar alarms stolen."
Can we imagine how violated that couple felt? When they spoke again to the guard at the gate he told of how a guard had been on duty all through the night but the thieves did not enter by the gate. Instead they scaled a fence on the far side of the parking lot and did their work under cover of darkness. Thieves violate the common trust of the neighborhoods and communities they rob. They steal not only car radios or whatever else they choose to take, they also create emotional turmoil for the people in those neighborhoods and communities. Jesus says, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit" (v. 1).
Come with me to one of the most moving and inviting chapters in the entire Bible. John chapter 10 is also one of the most beloved passages in all the scriptures. The teaching in this chapter reminds us of some of the parables that Matthew, Mark, and Luke record in their gospels. However, there is one glaring difference and we find it in verse 6 where John calls these words from the Lord's lips a "figure of speech." It is an allegory not a parable. Jesus is not talking about violated cars here but about something far more important and vital. He speaks about sheep and ultimately we realize that he is speaking about people as his sheep. In doing this the way that he does, Jesus shows us the heart of a true shepherd, his heart, and here he sets out anew the mission for all his people. The people who heard this teaching would have understood it well for the image of the shepherd was one with which they were familiar. "The sheep follow him because they know his voice" (v. 4). In the Middle East, unlike the United States and many other parts of the world, the shepherd walks ahead of his sheep and not behind them. As he walks, he talks to the sheep, giving them commands. The sheep may not immediately understand the shepherd's words but they know his voice. It is the voice of tender authority and caring. They have come to learn that he will take them to good pasture and will lead them into safe places. And when the people hear Jesus say, "I am the gate for the sheep" (v. 7), they understand what that means. Now, the imagery shifts.
Our Gate Is a Person
Jesus starts by saying that the shepherd enters by the gate. "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice" (v. 3). Now in verse 7, the whole tenor of this figure changes dramatically. Jesus calls himself the gate. This is an image that is as meaningful today as it was when Jesus spoke these words. The Greek word for "I am" is the equivalent to the Hebrew name that God gave himself when he spoke to Moses, who, of course, was also a shepherd. Perhaps you recall that conversation when God commissions Moses to go down to Egypt and call for the release of the children of Israel from the pharaoh's bondage. The scene is the burning bush after God tells Moses to take off his shoes because he is standing on holy ground. Then God introduces himself to Moses from the fire with a name that God uses of himself only one time in scripture; a name that is firmly established in both Judaism and Christianity. That name is "I am." God said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). Moses, afraid to look at God, hides his face, scripture tells us. After God commissions him, Moses has a question for God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:13-14).
Often we stop reading that passage there but what comes next is, if anything, even more important, especially for Christians: "God also said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you": This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations' " (Exodus 3:15). Now here is Jesus using that very name for himself, just as he does in each of his "I am" statements. Our gate is a person called Jesus. He is God revealed in human flesh and living among his people.
A pastor was leading a group of people on a Holy Land tour. On an afternoon of free time he went walking through some fields near Bethlehem. As he walked, he met an Arab shepherd, a man -- he was to learn -- who was not a Christian and who had not read the Bible. Imagining that this man could very well be a direct descendant of those shepherds we have all sung about and who are in all the reenactments of the Christmas story -- the ones who heard the heavenly angels sing of the birth of the Christ Child and who rushed to the Bethlehem manger -- the pastor felt a compelling urge to engage the shepherd in conversation. What he learned in the conversation that ensued was that this man was the living embodiment of the lesson we read here. The Arab shepherd was showing off his sheep herd to the pastor and in the course of the conversation pointed out the area where the sheep were penned up each evening. "After I lead my flock in there," he said, pointing to a circular rock fence, "they know they can lie down and sleep in complete safety." The pastor immediately recognized that there was no gate on that sheep pen and asked the shepherd, "Where is your gate?" He was thinking that all he could see was the opening to the sheep pen but he saw nothing that secured the sheep inside the pen. At that point the Arab shepherd turned his thumb toward himself and said, "I am the gate. After my sheep are safely in the pen and they lie down, I lay my body across the opening. The legs of the sheep are too short to be able to step over me and no wolf can get to them without first getting past me."
When Jesus is our gate, we can rest in peace for he assures us that we will be kept safe against anything this world can bring against us. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah put this idea in these words: "No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:17).
"I am the gate," says Jesus, "whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture" (v. 9). When he says that, Jesus is reaffirming that promise God gives through Isaiah and every other promise of God's provision and protecting care. Let me tell you more about that gate.
Jesus assures us in these words that no one or nothing can get to us without passing by him. The best example of this in scripture is the story of Job. In Job 1:10, Satan recognizes that God has planted a hedge around Job. Satan may attack things around Job but he cannot lay a finger on God's protected servant. The same is true for us. Scripture teaches us that God's eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV); yet, it also teaches us, "Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love" (Psalm 33:18). God keeps his eye on the whole world all the time. However, at the same time, he keeps a closer, constant microscopic look on his own chosen ones. We are protected and we shall not be stolen. Jesus says,
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. (John 10:27-29)
We live under the all-seeing protective hand of the one who loved us all the way to calvary and who loves us still. Our gate is the person of Jesus Christ, God's Son.
There is more here: Jesus is the gate and the gate works two ways. Not only does Jesus, our gate, protect us, he is our gate of admission who opens up the way for us to come to the Father. In fact, we must note that the Bible says he is the only gate to the Father: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). So we see that no one can get at God's flock without going through Jesus and no one gets into God's flock without coming through Jesus. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Think about this: Salvation comes only through Jesus. Baptism cannot make it happen. Religion and ritual cannot do it. Church membership cannot make it happen. Good works cannot make it happen. Following the Ten Commandments cannot make it happen. Only Jesus can make it happen. It can happen only through God's grace in Jesus Christ. Have you been through the gate called Jesus?
Our Gate Is a Proposition
Not only is our gate a person, our gate is a proposal. In John 10, Jesus offers a proposition to all who are not yet living for him. Here it is: "Whoever enters by me will be saved" (v. 9). If you have been walking away from Jesus, this is the most amazing offer that you will ever receive. The key is in that word, "Whoever." This is an offer of God's receiving grace to everyone. The church of Jesus Christ is not a society for beautiful, well-connected people. In fact, the only connection we need to receive Christ and join his church is that we acknowledge we are connected to sin; that is, we are sinners. Other societies require prospective members to provide references as to how good they are. Only the church requires an admission that we are not good and that we need a Savior. When we admit that, Jesus makes another commitment. He says, "Anyone who comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37).
Remember the gate has a dual purpose. One purpose is to keep danger outside. The other purpose is to let people inside. Jesus makes a proposition that says we can enter. "Whoever enters by me." That is different from saying, "Those I allow to enter" in that it puts the responsibility on entering on "whoever." This is what it means: God offers his salvation but we must demonstrate a willingness to partake of it for it to be effective.
The certainty of this proposition is found in the words "will be saved." "Whoever enters by me will be saved," says Jesus. We note that Jesus does not say that those who enter may be saved, or are sometimes saved, or even, usually are saved. He says they "will be saved." This means that we can accept this proposition and enter this gate called Jesus with confidence.
From what are we saved? We are saved from sin's punishment. That is, no longer will our old sins be held against us. Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Does the memory of something awful that you did haunt you? Do you fear facing God who knows everything about you, even that thing you wish you had never done? In Jesus, our gateway to God, we have a free gift from God that cannot be bought or earned. In Jesus, you are freely forgiven forever.
From what are we saved? We are saved from sin's power. "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:14). Do you come from a dysfunctional background? Of course, you do. We all do because there is dysfunctionality in every human life since Adam's fall. Hear now this good news: In Jesus Christ we find the gate of deliverance from that old bondage. In him we get a new start. Paul assures us,
No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
From what are we saved? In Jesus, our gateway to God, we are assured that one day we shall live free from the presence of sin. When we go to heaven there will be no sin. Speaking of heaven, God's word tells us, "Nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood" (Revelation 21:27). John writes,
Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)
All these things are part of that marvelous proposition God makes to us in Jesus our gate.
Our Gate Is a Pasture
"I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture" (v. 9). Now allow your mind to go back to the great Shepherd Psalm, Psalm 23, where we read, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul" (Psalm 23:1-3). Do you see it? There are two great promises in the opening words of this favorite psalm.
The first promise is that of a plentiful supply of all our needs: "I shall not want." Why shall I not want? Because the pastures where he leads are "green pastures." That is, the grass there is full and nutritious. Moreover, God's word also assures us, "My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Abraham finds out how full that promise is long before Paul writes those words. On Mount Moriah, he sees God provide the necessary ram for sacrifice and we read, "So Abraham called that place 'The Lord will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided' " (Genesis 22:14). In Jesus we no longer are searching for our needs because our needs are promised by our heavenly Father.
On the other hand, the false shepherd, says Jesus, "is a thief and a bandit" (v. 1). That is, someone who is out for what he can get for himself. He lives to get for himself. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy," says Jesus. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (v. 10). The true shepherd is always focused on taking care of his sheep. He lives to give and that is why the sheep learn to trust him. Our true shepherd gave up his life for us and became our gate to the eternal pasture.
The second promise is that the sheep will find freedom in the pasture. No longer are the sheep hemmed in by their pen. Amazingly, there are people -- even church people -- whose image of coming to Jesus could be likened to spiritual incarceration. They sense that being a disciple of Jesus is akin to being locked up, insulated from reality as everyone else knows it, and from many experiences that would be fun and exciting. That kind of thinking is a myth with no basis in fact. Here Jesus depicts his sheep as enjoying true freedom. "Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and out and find pasture" (v. 9). What is pasture but the lushest of living? How do the sheep find the lushest of pasture? By following the true shepherd who is always ahead of them preparing the way. Sheep who have no shepherd, on the other hand, are left to struggle through by their own devices. Wouldn't you rather be a sheep of the flock of a shepherd who gave up his own life for you that you "may have life, and have it abundantly"?
All this we find in Jesus. Have you found him looking for you? Where do you find yourself in relation to this wonderful passage? If you are still meandering around without a shepherd, if you are not saved, then I invite you right now to pause and acknowledge that you are a lost sheep and invite the great shepherd, Jesus, to come into your heart and take control of your life for today and every day until you go into that wonderful pasture he has prepared for you forevermore in his heaven.