We are a people who worship Jesus Christ. Think about that for a second. There are places all around this world where that simple fact would get you beaten, arrested, or even killed. We don’t just admire or respect Jesus, but we long for him. We worship him with everything that we have, or at least we ought to. It’s with this notion in mind that we come to the words of Jesus here in John 10. In the previous chapter of John’s gospel, we saw Jesus give sight to a man who had been born blind. As time passed, the man’s sight became clearer and clearer. Meanwhile, the blindness of the Pharisees became darker and darker. During the course of chapter 9, we saw the man who was healed come to worship Jesus Christ. After hearing that he was the Son of Man, that he was God, his response was immediate and instant worship of Jesus. The Pharisees, however, fell on the other side of the aisle. They called Jesus a sinner and said that there was no way that he could be from God at all. There were, and still are, only two choices: belief or unbelief, worship or blasphemy. It’s as simple as that. There is no such thing as riding the fence when it comes to God. You are either in or you’re out, and you’re never just a little in or out, it’s complete and total commitment to one side or the other.
It’s important to note that these verses here in the first half of chapter 10 of John’s gospel flow seamlessly from chapter 9. Chapter 10 is just a continuation of the conversation that Jesus began with the Pharisees in 9:40 & 41. This chapter contains Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in response to their questions as the end of chapter 9. If you recall, the ending of chapter 9 saw the Pharisees asking, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” Jesus then goes on to paint a picture for them, very similar to the parables that he often used to teach. In verse 6, John calls this a “figure of speech.” Why did Jesus tell this analogy to the Pharisees? He was testing them, giving them another chance to show if they were really blind or not. Chapter 9 ended with Jesus saying to the Pharisees, “You say, ‘We see.’” In essence saying, “Well, do you? Here, I'll draw you a picture with words. Tell me what you see.” Do they see? Are they blind? “This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” They did not know what he was saying. This picture carried no meaning for them, because they were blind and guilty.
Jesus talks about the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. He talks about how sheep know who their master is merely by the sound of his voice. I have never spent too much time around sheep, but I know many people who have. Every conversation that I have had about sheep ends with one emphatic statement, “Sheep are the dumbest animals that you can possibly imagine.” They wonder off from where they should be and have no idea how to get back. In essence, the shepherd’s job is to save the sheep from themselves. Sounds kind of familiar doesn’t it. However, despite the lack of intelligence on the part of sheep, they know their master. They know exactly who their master and protector is merely by the sound of his voice.
Think about this in terms of the Christian. When something happens in our lives and we are being led in a particular direction, do we hear the call of our master. I’ve often been asked if Christians believe in things like destiny, fate, coincidence, luck, happenstance, or other things along this same line. You know, was it luck or was it God causing good fortune to fall upon you? Well, the simplest answer I can to this question is that I think the answer is both yes and no. I think that times when we experience good fortune, that it can be either God granting extended blessings upon us or it could just be how things happen to fall, but do remember that God did create the natural order of things. I know that in many conversations with some of you, that you have had events and circumstances in your life that have happened and you have looked back upon them years later and seen them in a whole new light. Things that you might have thought were just the natural progression of things have turned out to be things that you simply call “God things” at this point in life. So you see, I think the Christian, like the sheep, know without a doubt when it is their master calling to them and speaking to them. Sometimes, however, it just takes longer for us to recognize his voice than other times.
Jesus then chooses to tell a different story, to paint a different picture for all of the Pharisees to see. It’s as if he sensed that they were still clouded and confused, so he says, “Here! If that analogy didn’t work, let me see if this one makes any better sense.” He talks about being the door or the gate and that those who came before him were thieves and robbers. When we seek to find the meaning behind these statements we have to remember the previous conversations about Jesus being sent from the Father. We have to think about it in terms of the only way to the Father being through the Son. Jesus then goes on to give himself the title of Good Shepherd. He talks about how a good shepherd would lay his life down for the sake of his sheep. A good shepherd would place himself between his sheep and any threat or danger that may appear. A hired hand, someone paid to simply keep watch over the sheep, for example, would most likely allow a wolf to take one of the sheep instead of risking his own life. You see, the hired hand would be responsible for the sheep, but he would not consider them his own. The hired hand has nowhere close to the level of devotion to the sheep as the shepherd does.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Jesus laid down his life for all of mankind. He laid his life down for you and for me. Not only do we know God and know when He is at work in our lives, but He knows us as well. He knows us so personally and intimately that His knowledge of us far surpasses even our knowledge of ourselves. There is a love and an endearment that exists between Jesus and his sheep that there is nothing that he would not do for us, nothing that he has not done for us already. He even lays out what would have been considered the ultimate thing that could be given to and for another, his life. He says that he has authority over his life and that he would lay down his own life for the sake of his sheep. Some may read these words and think, “big deal.” After all, there have been numerous people throughout history who have given their lives as a sacrifice for something that they believed to be much greater than themselves. The members of our secret service are so devoted to our country and to the honor and respect of our nation’s highest office that they willingly lay down their lives for the sake of others. Our military members risk their lives because of the love that they have for our country and their desire to maintain our freedom. Those given the title of “suicide bombers” believed so deeply in their cause that they gave up their lives for it. In honesty, anyone has the authority to give up their own life for something or someone. The difference is that Christ has the authority to not only lay down his life, but to take it up again. Jesus has the power to conquer death. No one took Christ’s life from him; he laid it down so that the price could be paid for the sins of all mankind. Jesus Christ stood in our place upon that cross and paid the debt that was so great that we could not pay it. Jesus Christ did so because that was what the Father had sent him into the world to do.
After Jesus’ two analogies or stories, we see a mixed reaction on the part of the Pharisees. “There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, ‘He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?’ Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” So we come back to where we began: belief or unbelief, worship of blasphemy. As we said to begin this text, there is no such thing as riding the fence when it comes to Christianity, you’re either completely in or you’re completely out.
Now, I’m fairly certain that as I stand in the pulpit of a very biblically rooted church that I’m not speaking to anyone who is entirely out. However, I understand how difficult it can be to be completely in. Sometimes it isn’t as simple as just saying that you are completely in and actually carrying through with it. I understand how easy it is to let the priorities and virtues of this world be what dictates our actions instead of those virtues of the Christian faith. I know that it is difficult live a completely Christian life in a world that often asks us to go against our faith. I know and understand all these things, but that’s part of it. It’s supposed to be difficult. It’s supposed to be filled with hardships and trials and struggles. These hardships and struggles are to test our faith and to help us grow and strengthen our faith.
I want to challenge all of us to remember the words of Jesus this day. I want us to remember that he is the Good Shepherd, he is the gate, he is the door of the sheep, he is that master. There is no other way other than Jesus Christ. In fact, before the name Christian came to be in Antioch, those who believed Jesus to be the Messiah were known as people of the way. We have only one Master, and it is our heavenly shepherd. When he calls our name, we hear his voice and should come running to him. No matter where we are in life, no matter what we may be going through, Jesus is the shepherd who has laid down his life for his sheep, for us. He has paid the ultimate price in order to gain our salvation. There is no place other than Jesus Christ that we should look to for strength, help, and encouragement during or times of struggle. For it is only in Jesus Christ that we find our greatest hope and joy. It’s only in Jesus Christ that we find the only way to our Father in Heaven. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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