John 10:1-18

Sunday 20th June 2010

In this passage we Jesus referred to as both, the shepherd and the gate. Were going to
consider both of those descriptions, but in particular, I want us to think about the
implications of verse 9 where Jesus says I am the gate

Repeated throughout scripture

Throughout the whole bible, we see this analogy of a shepherd and his sheep used, to
illustrate the relationship, that God has with his people. The first place we encounter
it, is in Genesis 49, it is then used again and again, right through to Revelation 7:17.

It is an important and simple illustration, that anyone, even someone who has never
been to a farm can understand. The comparisons are as clear as they are beautiful.
• a shepherd knows each one of his sheep;
• he cares for all of his sheep;
• he protects them;
• guides them;
• provides for them;
• they depend on him for everything;
• and he is infinitely stronger and wiser than they are.

I am sure that 1000 such comparisons are easily attainable, it is a very rich analogy.

His passion

If we look at just the New Testament, there are 5 places, where the shepherd analogy
is used to illustrate the relationship that we have with Jesus, but I believe that it is
here, in John chapter 10, that we see it used the most passionately. Notice, how Jesus
almost seems to repeat himself, He explains the same thing in
different ways and re-emphasises various points, Jesus appears to
be talking in the way that you do, when emotion and passion have
overwhelmed you. This clearly matters to Him. He says for example,
that He will lay down his life for his sheep in verses 11, 15, 17 and
18, He talks about the thieves and robbers in verses 1 and 8. It is a
very human, and very loving Jesus who is speaking here.

The καλός
shepherd

The English bible is of course a translation of the original, which was written in
ancient Greek. The Greek word for good, is ἀγαθός (ag-a-thos) and I think it is
worth noting, that in verse 14, where Jesus says “I am the good shepherd”,
ἀγαθός is not the word that is used, strictly speaking, Jesus never
said, “I am the good shepherd”. Instead we have the word καλός (ka-los)
which is almost a slang term, technically it means ‘very beautiful’
but it is a word, that at the time was commonly miss-used in the
way that we use words like, brilliant, awesome, fantastic or
excellent. What Jesus actually said was something like, ‘I am the
awesome shepherd’, ‘the excellent shepherd’, ‘the fabulous
shepherd’, ‘I am the καλός shepherd’. Given the trouble that the
translators would have had picking which of those terms to use, I
think we can forgive them for sticking with the phrase ‘I am the
good shepherd’.

He Lays down
his life

One point Jesus makes here, is that despite it’s excellence, the
shepherd analogy is ultimately inadequate. It can’t contain him. His
love for us is far greater than that of a mere shepherd for his sheep.
This is perhaps most poignantly expressed in verse 11, “The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” Jesus says four times in this
passage, that He will lay down his life for us and I think we all know,
that normal Shepherds don’t do that, they wouldn’t even consider it.
But the good Shepard, the καλός shepherd, lays down his life for
the sheep.

Just an
analogy

You might notice that this passage, refers to Jesus as being both the
gate and the Shepard. Verse 9 for example says : I am the gate;
whoever enters through me will be saved. Sadly, people can
sometimes find this dual role confusing, but it really shouldn’t be. In
verse 6, it clearly states that Jesus was using a figure of speech,
other translations say He was using an analogy. And analogies are
like that, there not realistic, they’re analogies. When Shakespeare
said “the world is a stage” he didn’t mean it was flat with curtains,
and when we hear scientists debating the greenhouse effect, that
has got nothing to do actual greenhouses. It’s an analogy, so why
can’t someone be two things at the same time, what’s the
problem ? This might sound like an obvious thing to say, but if you
look for studies related to this verse on the internet, you will find
that most of them put considerable energy into attempting to
explain how someone can be simultaneously a door and a shepherd.
Perhaps there is a way that you can both or perhaps there isn’t, it
doesn’t matter, it’s an analogy.
 Jesus the only way

I wonder if we might turn our focus to those uncompromising words

that we find in 9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me
will be saved” There is nothing ambiguous about this verse, read
in the context of the rest of the passage its meaning is clear - we
can be reconciled with God and live as part of his flock, only through
Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. There is no other way. The
bibles states this, explicitly on a number of occasions, I am sure we
all know the verses that say it, for example :

• Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is

no other name under heaven given, to men by which
we must be saved."

• Isaiah 45:21 "There is no God apart from me, a

righteous God and a Savoir; there is none but me."

• John 14 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me”

Much as it seems to be, rarely spoken about in the modern world,

we must also accept that the converse is true. Those who do not
enter through Jesus Christ, will not be saved, they will live a life
apart from God and will ultimately face his wrath.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be

saved.

This biblical message, that we need salvation, and that it can only
be found in Jesus, it is not a message that fits comfortably into the
politically correct culture that surrounds us, today it is somehow
considered wrong, for us to say that we know the truth, that the
scriptures are true or even that there is such a thing as truth. We
are under a continuous and sustained pressure, to insult the son of
God, by suggesting that He could somehow be compared to, various
human philosophies or wacky false religions.

The bible clearly teaches that we should be, to be all things to all
men, that we must love our neighbours and to be respectful of their
views, I am not saying that it doesn’t. But we should never do or say
anything that in anyway, allows our Gospel message to be
compromised. This proclamation of the Holy Spirit that we are saved
and reconciled with God through Jesus Christ alone, is a message
that is to valuable to be diluted or ignored in anyway.
 Historic
precedence

If you examine church history, or even just the book of acts. It’s
clear that over the centuries and around the world, the church has
taken quite a battering. In the book of Acts alone we see that the
apostles were routinely beaten, imprisoned, censored, excelled and
murdered. In Luke 10:3 when Jesus said I am sending you out like lambs
among wolves, He really did. The first hundred years of the church are
a complete blood bath. If we just take a look at the apostle Paul, he
seemed to get his head kicked in everywhere he went. One can only
assume that he must have appeared, very scarred and miss-shapen.

But let us also notice, that as we read the bible, we NEVER find the
apostles saying

“I think we ought to tone it down a bit, you know, I took quite

a thrashing last week, I think I we need to dilute the message
a bit and not say the things that upset people, for now we will
just give them the bits that they like, if people have a problem
with the bodily resurrection, then let’s not mention it, if the
crucifixion story seems to brutal, then we will simply say that
Jesus died and leave it at that, and let’s not say that Jesus in
the only way, lets say that He is our way, that He is one way
and whatever happens don’t mention hell, the second coming
or first six chapters of Genesis”.

It of course didn’t happen, I am sure that such a thought never

crossed their minds.

But my goodness, at that time, although it was hated by the world,

how the church grew. In church history we see this again and again,
at times of revival, the church is always found to be preaching a full
and uncompromised Christian message. Consider the words of Jesus
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free."

Here in the UK, at the moment, we are a church that realistically is

not persecuted, but only to often we find our Gospel message
compromised or diluted, just for the purpose of ingratiating our
selves with modern culture. Perhaps the UK church needs to
remember the words of the apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

“we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the

gospel. We are not trying to please men but God”
 Epilogu
e

When discussing church growth, Rick Warren once said “We cannot
do it without God, but he has decided not to do it without us”, and in
1 Corinthians 3:9, we are given the honoured title of God's fellow
workers. It is of course our duty to spread the word and to make
disciples of all men. But ultimately, we must remember that it is
Jesus who is building his church, it is the Holy Spirit who is changing
lives. We are simply privileged, to play a part. In the words of the
Apostle Paul “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God
made it grow.

As we continue to enjoy participating in this wonderful work of God,

it is my simple prayer this morning, that we in St Cuthbert’s will
never succumb to the temptation of withholding any, of the Gospel
message form our communities.

I would just like to finish with the words of the, much battered,
bruised and imprisoned Apostle Paul, which church history tells us
were written just a few years before he was eventually executed.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of

God for the salvation of everyone who believes