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John 10:1-10
“I am the Gate”
Part of the “The Great I Am: Jesus in the Gospel of John” series.
Message delivered by Pastor Jonathan Balmer at Mount Hermon Baptist Church in Moseley, Virginia.
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The Great I Am: The Gate
John 10:1-10 (NIV, 2011)
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
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There is a popular meeting spot at a train station in Shibuya, Japan. It is the Hachiko statue. It was built in memory of a dog named Hachiko. His statue was put there because people saw his great loyalty to his master.
Hachiko’s master was a professor at the University of Tokyo. Each day Hachiko would meet Ueno at the train station, after he returned home from work. One day, suddenly and tragically, Ueno died while at work.
For the next decade Hachiko returned to the train station. Each day, he waited for his master. He became friends with many regulars at the station. He shared food with them. Hachiko came and waited and heard the same whistles of the train. The same bustle and rush of crowds. But he would never again hear his master’s voice. Ueno was gone.
The voice of a loved one can be a powerful thing. Last week, I became an uncle. Little Kinsey was born, the first daughter of my brother and his wife. And what’s amazing is to learn how infants, even in the womb, begin to learn the sound of their parents’ voices.
Today in our passage, Jesus explains his relationship to those who belong to him and love him, and whom he loves. The sheep listen to his voice. And we learn:
Jesus is the gate: through him we have life to the full.
1) Hearing the Shepherd’s Voice
Jesus contrasts himself form those who seek to hurt and destroy. Right before this passage, there was a controversy. Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath- the holy day of rest.
The Pharisees, teachers of the law, questioned the man who was healed multiple times. They accused Jesus of being a sinner for violating the holy day of rest.
They’re unable to trap the man in the words. He does not know everything. He offers a simple confession in John 9:25 “He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
Jesus shows in this saying that the man who was blind sees more clearly than the Pharisees. They are accusing Jesus of working against God. They fail to see Jesus is doing nothing but the will of God the Father, and that he and the Father are one. They fail to see Jesus is and brings life from God. He does not oppose the life God created.
The man who was blind has been driven out from the synagogue. He’s been driven out from the community. That is what thieves do. They do not see Jesus as the gate. They do not listen to Jesus’ voice. However well-intentioned, their rejection of the simplicity of Jesus’ ministry does not bring them closer to truth. It seeks only to separate the man from the light and life which has touched his life.
We live in a world full of voices we could listen to. Jesus’ message is to make sure his voice is one we love, and that other messages about our value and worth are not given the final say.
It’s amazing what affect false messages can have on our lives. On September 14th, the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook’s (which owns Instagram) own researchers found “one in three teenage girls’ body image issues got worse because of using the app.” And use of the application was correlated with eating disorders, body dysmorphia and overall poor mental health. The messages we take in about ourselves, and our world, have profound affects.
The people of God flee from the voices which would bring harm and death. Because they recognize Jesus is the life.
After these sayings, we learn that the people are divided.
In verse 20 we read: Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus shows us at once how little we understand, and how loved we are by him. He values the simple confession of “One thing I know: I was blind, but now I see,” over arrogant talk which writes people off, or presumes they have nothing to offer- like the blind man was written-off and discredited.
The people of God, the church, must be a place where people hear the words of life. It must be a place not where we listen to any number of messages about how worthless, or troubled, or alone we are in this world. It must be the place where we hear Jesus’ voice.
There are too many messages in the world seeking to divide us, to make us resent our neighbors, to make us build our self-worth on any number of shaky foundations.
And this is especially where the church must be a place of encouragement in the good news of the Gospel: for all generations.
Not just a select few—and not just for those whom I would be friends with otherwise. The church is the pasture, the gate – the very reason we’re here today—is Jesus. And the one who protects and sustains our life together is Jesus as well.
The church must be the pasture where we listen to the Master’s voice, above all other voices. There is no other way to enjoy his abundant life.
Jesus is the gate: through him we have life to the full.
2) Living his full life.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
There have been many who claimed to offer peace. Many messiahs. Many saviors who promised a Kingdom without end through their might and power. And Jesus is different than all of them. He lays down his life. He is the gate to the pastures of abundant life. We wait for him. We live in his life now.
We have hope then, in the last day when Jesus returns, and hope now. If we only have hope for now, then our hope ends. If we only have hope for then, what do we do with today? The promise here is Jesus is the gate, and through him we have life to the full.
The life spoken of here isn’t just life as we know it that goes on forever. It’s not life we just wait for in a time to come. It is a different kind of life. It is life which is communion, relationship, with the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit.
Having life “to the full” is being part of the life that is, and comes from, and is sustained by God.
This why Jesus is the gate. He is the way we enter the community that lives in his life. That is why, as we will discuss next week, he is the Shepherd. He is the one that leads us in the life of God. He is the one who protects and sustains life. That’s why Jesus can be so many things in one story: the gate, the shepherd, and the life. He’s all of those at the same time.
Hachiko is a tear-jerker of a story. A dog who waits and waits for a Master who is never coming. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, after he died on the cross, that would be us. We would be, like the Apostle Paul said, above all people the ones people should feel sorry for and pity. But Jesus has risen. He is risen.
And so we don’t just wait for the Masters voice. We may hear it today. He is calling. He is the gate. His people listen and follow his voice. Today, yesterday, and forever.
Jesus is the gate: through him we have life to the full.
Application:
Hearing the Shepherd’s voice.
Living in his full life together.
Entering the beloved community through Jesus, who is the gate.
This is why it is so important we prioritize hearing the word of Jesus. In Bible study, in fellowship, in encouragement and building one another up. It’s one of the reasons we’re having Connection Sunday today. It is to engage in the important task of listening to the Shepherd’s voice together. It is to enjoy the abundant life Jesus gives together.
So I invite you all to join in on Connection Sunday. We have three Adult Sunday School classes: Adult (men and women’s), Women’s, and Men’s. And then we’ll have another group in here, in the Worship Center, to discuss where God might be leading us to start something new for those not-yet-connected of all ages.
Families are welcome. Children and youth are welcome. Single people are welcome.
We want to listen to the voice of the Lord together.
Will you listen to his voice?
Can we enjoy the full life in his pastures together?
The one who called us here, will sustain us. We won’t be left waiting to hear a voice that never comes. He is calling us even today.
Jesus is the gate: through him we have life to the full.