202. "I Am the Gate"

John 10:1-10

Key Verse: "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."

John 10:9

Jesus is the gate, the door, the protection for what is His, from what is not His. He is the path to safety and salvation. There is no other door. Any other means used to come in is false and will be considered trespassing, as only a thief or robber would do.

During the day, shepherds, in the Middle East, wander about the countryside, leading their charges to what grass can be found and still pools of water where the sheep can drink and be refreshed. At night, however, a shepherd will seek a more enclosed area of rock, or a pen type structure with only one opening. When all of the sheep are inside, the shepherd will place his own body across the opening, like a gate so that the sheep can sleep in safety. Here is another point at which the modern retelling of the Christmas story may be misleading. We think that shepherds leave their sheep to sleep all over the hillside. Actually, this arrangement would make guarding the sheep very difficult. You can see that an enclosure would be much more secure for the sheep and much easier for the shepherd to protect.

It is also common for shepherds to share an enclosure. After all, there is safety in numbers. The shepherds may take turns keeping watch while all the sheep snuggle together for warmth and comfort.

Jesus says, "The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. 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." (John 10:2-4) This is true. Each sheep knows its own shepherd's voice and won't willingly follow another shepherd. Even when the flocks are all in a scramble in the fold at night, one by one, the shepherds call their own, at the opening and his sheep separate themselves from the mob and follow him out for another day of grazing. The sheep depend upon their shepherd to meet all of their needs.

Jesus says that, "His sheep know His voice as well." Jesus is confident that His sheep will recognize the stranger, the thief, and the false teachings and run away, back to Him for safety.

Jesus states that He is our gate, our protector. "Whoever enters through Him will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." (John 10:9) What freedom there is in Christ as our shepherd. In John 8:32, Jesus had said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Now He speaks again of the freedom we have in Him because we know His truth and His voice. We have confidence to go in and come out and find pasture because He is our shepherd. We know His voice. We know that He is leading us to food, safety and shelter. We have nothing to fear when we keep our eyes fixed on Him, focus on hearing His voice and trust that He is leading us in the way everlasting.

Hymn: "He Leadeth Me"