I Am The Door
John 10:1-10
In John 10:1-10 Jesus spoke using an illustration based on first century sheep ranching. (sheep, shepherds, sheepfolds, the door, doorkeeper, thieves & robbers)
Talking to Jews about sheep & shepherds would be similar to talking to West Virginians about coal & coal miners, to Texans about cows & cowboys, to Californians about surf & surfers, or to Oregonians about trees & loggers. It was an illustration to which the Jews could easily relate.
Jesus is a masterful teacher…He commonly starts with physical things …as a backdrop for spiritual things.
Sheep
- Sheep are utterly helpless animals.
- Sheep aren’t the most intelligent animals.(They are definitely at the lower end of the intelligence scale.)
- Sheep are prone to wandering.
- Sheep are timid and can be very stubborn.
- Sheep,are frightened easily.
- Sheep are absolutely defenseless apart from a shepherd.
- Sheep represent us perfectly
Psalm 100:3 We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray
Shepherd (in Jesus’ day)
- Wore a white cotton tunic with a leather belt around his waist. Hanging from his belt…
- A leather pouch… to carry small stones for the sling.
- A horn of oil… Oil was used to anoint the heads of the sheep in the flock, not only as an insect repellent but also to reduce the friction that occurred when sheep butted each other.
- A rod… a small club-like instrument was used to fight predators in close “hand-to-hand combat” situations.
The rod… was also used as an instrument o correction, for if a lamb continually, persistently wandered away from the flock, the shepherd would use the rod to break its legs. Then he would put the lamb on his shoulders and carry it until its legs healed. When at last the lamb was again able to walk on its own, because of the bonding that took place during the time the shepherd carried the lamb on his shoulders, it never again wandered.
- Staff… a large stick seven or eight feet long with a crook at one end with which the shepherd would hook lambs or sheep headed in the wrong direction.
Sheepfolds
- Communal sheepfolds- had higher rock walls, a door & a hired doorkeeper.
- Wilderness sheepfolds- stacked rocks, brush, sticks and sometimes caves. The shepherd was the door.
Thieves & Robbers
In contrast to the Shepherd are thieves and robbers.
- Shepherds- care, protect, guard, guide, feed and lead the sheep.
- Thieves & Robbers- come to steal, kill & destroy.
1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (Puppies- Jack, Jacky,Russle, Zoe & Lucky)
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Even if they dress the same… and imitate the shepherd ( voice/song)
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Having given the illustration (vv. 1-5), in verse 11 Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd.
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
We will look at the is 4th “I Am” statement next week.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
This is the 3rd of 7 “I Am” statements of Jesus.
John 6:35 I AM the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, & he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
John 8:12 I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.
John 10:7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I AM the door of the sheep.
In verses 1-5, Jesus is the good shepherd that leads His sheep out of the sheepfold. In verse 7 Jesus is claiming to be the door to the sheepfold. (Wilderness sheepfold)
In contrast to the False shepherds of Israel (ch.9)… Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects and guards the flock of God & even lays down his life for the sheep
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
Anybody else who has ever claimed to be the way of salvation… came to rip you off!
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jesus says here… “I am the door” NOT “a door”
It’s only through Jesus that you can be saved!
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:4 God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time..
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The thief
A reference to the arch enemy of the flock of God.
A reference to the devil.
Steal–
The life that God has for us!Marriages, children, sexual purity. (Shell game! Deceiver!)
Kill–
Satan is a murderer. He is the father of… (source behind) infanticide, suicide, homicide, genocide.
His sites are on our marriages & ultimately are children.
Destroy–
He temps us, to practice things that are destructive…
Sin is pleasurable for a season! Destructive!
1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.