PASTOR'S MESSAGE

 

The Gate for the Sheep

John 10:1-10 

            Years ago there was a rather clever bumper sticker that read:  “Don’t follow me; I’m lost too!”  In a cute way that sums up the nature of our human existence.  In Catechism class we learn that when we come into this world, we are spiritually blind, dead and enemies of God.  Simply put, we are lost in our sin and guilt, separated from God by our transgressions, and wandering about aimlessly, trying to find some purpose and meaning to life.  We can see it everywhere in the world around us – people clamoring for more pleasure, more activity, more work or recreation, more stuff.  In short, they’re looking for more of something to fill their life with satisfaction, because they feel so lost.

            No wonder, then, that Scripture describes us as sheep – errant, wayward sheep, who have gone astray from God’s Word, drifting here and there without a home.  Even in Jesus’ day, when He saw the crowds of people, His heart went out to them with compassion, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  And yet, that’s precisely why He came to dwell among us – to be our Good Shepherd, to seek and save us while we were lost, and to bring us back Home to God. 

That’s what Jesus was talking about in our Gospel lesson for today, when He said:  “THE MAN WHO ENTERS BY THE GATE IS THE SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP.  HE CALLS HIS OWN SHEEP BY NAME AND LEADS THEM OUT.  WHEN HE HAS BROUGHT OUT ALL HIS OWN, HE GOES ON AHEAD OF THEM, AND HIS SHEEP FOLLOW HIM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE!”  To those who are lost in sin and guilt, wandering aimlessly through life without meaning or purpose, Jesus is the answer.  He is the Shepherd of the sheep, who calls us by name, so that we can come into His kingdom and be saved.

Kenneth Bailey, who lived in the Middle East for 40 years, goes into detail in his lectures concerning the Semitic background of texts such as this one.  He speaks, for example, of the village shepherd who goes from fold to fold outside village homes, playing his lutes with a different call for each sub-flock or sheep.  And the little lambs all fall into line as their respective gates are opened, and the village shepherd leads them out to pasture.  Well dear friends, in our case Jesus is not only the village shepherd, He’s the shepherd of the whole world.  And the voice He uses to call us, the tune He plays is the Good News of the Gospel.  By the power of His Holy Word, He brings us out into the pastures of His loving kingdom, where we are protected and sustained.

Naturally, the only way we can hear that call is if we are daily reading and studying the Scriptures.  Only through constant use of God’s Word can we keep in touch with our shepherd.  That’s what Jesus meant, when He said:  “THE SHEEP FOLLOW HIM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE.  BUT THEY WILL NEVER FOLLOW A STRANGER; IN FACT, THEY WILL RUN AWAY FROM HIM, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT RECOGNIZE A STRANGER’S VOICE.”  The question is, whose voice are we listening to?  Are we listening exclusively to Jesus’ voice?  Or are we listening to the voice of strangers, the devil, the world and our sinful flesh?

Rev. Dean Nadasdy puts it in perspective.  He writes:  “When I was a young pastor, our youth group in Minnesota sponsored a living nativity scene.  It was our first year, and we made the fence around the stable too short.  Soon, one sheep jumped the fence, and the other two were sure to follow.  The three adults each picked one sheep and headed through the snowdrifts to chase the runaways.  We knew their names, but they didn’t know our voices.  We called and they ran.  My, did they run!  About a half-mile later, I tackled my sheep in a deep drift, one of the strangest sensations I’ve ever experienced, having no acquaintance with sheep whatsoever.  I got a lesson, though, in what shepherds must do if they really care for their sheep.”

Unfortunately, all too often that’s what happens to us.  We listen to the wrong voice.  It might be something we see on television or read in a book or magazine.  It might be some phrase in a song or something we’ve heard from a worldly friend – something that goes directly against the Word of God.  Those voices have only one source – they come from our archenemy, the devil.  As Jesus said, he is the thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy us.  His voice tells us such lies as:  “God’s Word isn’t really true.  You don’t have to obey Him; you can do whatever you want.  You can’t trust Him to take care of you.  After all, you’re no good;  You’re worthless.  God couldn’t possibly love or forgive you.”  Those are all lies straight from the devil, designed to steal our victory and kill our faith and destroy our soul.  And when we listen to those lies, that’s exactly what happens.

It’s rather like Larry, who was walking home late one night when, all of a sudden, a thief jumped on him.  Larry and the thief began to wrestle.  They rolled about on the ground and Larry put up a tremendous fight.  However, the thief managed to get the better of him and pinned him to the ground.  The thief then went through Larry’s pockets, but all he could find was 25 cents.  The thief was so surprised at this that he asked Larry why he had bothered to fight so hard for a quarter.  “Was that all you wanted?” Larry replied, “I thought you were after the five hundred dollars I’ve got in my shoe!”

Sadly, Larry wound up losing it all, because the thief defeated him.  Thankfully, my friends, that’s not the way it is with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Instead, Jesus defeated the thief, Satan, and stole us away from him, so that we can have forgiveness and eternal life.  Truly that does show us how much Jesus our Good Shepherd loves us, especially when we see what He went through to save us.  He not only sought us out and rescued us, He actually laid down His life for us wayward sheep.  He Himself became one of the sheep.  He became the Lamb of God, who has taken away the sin of the world.  For like a lamb, He was led to the slaughter, so that by His cleansing blood He could wash away all our guilt and shame and make us as white as snow.  And in so doing, He has opened up to us the gate to everlasting life in heaven!

That’s why in our text, Jesus said that He was not only the shepherd, but also the Gate for the sheep.  In other words, He is the only door that leads into the safety of His heavenly sheepfold.  Leon Morris in his Commentary on John, puts it this way:  “One day Sir George Adam Smith was travelling with a guide, when he came across a shepherd and his sheep.  He fell into conversation with him and 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.  Sir George looked at him and asked, ‘What do you mean, you are the door?’  The shepherd replied, ‘When the light has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie dow in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he cross my body.  I am the door!’”

Dear friends, that’s what Jesus meant, when He said that He was the gate for the sheep.  He is the only One who can lead us to everlasting life, the only One who can protect us from Satan the thief and keep us from losing our faith, the only Way that leads to heaven.  And that Gospel message is the only thing that can give true meaning and purpose to our lives.  May the Good News of Jesus’ saving love for us, so strengthen and nurture our faith, that we would daily follow our Good Shepherd by listening closely to the voice of His Holy Word, for our good and His glory.  Amen.   

                   

                              

Archived Sermon