The Sheep Gate

In John chapter 10, Jesus says, I am the door. Jesus is speaking of heaven, of the kingdom, of the presence of God, and He uses a statement that the Pharisees choked on. But I have to say to you, beloved, there's probably no time and no culture in the history of the Christian church more offended by this kind of teaching by Jesus than the culture in which we live today.

What is it that the culture finds so offensive? Hello, I'm Lee Webb, and welcome to Renewing Your Mind. Every other year we conduct a survey called The State of Theology to find out what people believe about God and the Bible. We discovered that 63 percent believe that God accepts the worship of all religions.

Many people reason that since God is love, there are many ways to enter His kingdom. That's simply not true. But that's not me saying that. It's not our teacher, Dr. R.C.

Sproul, saying that. It's Jesus Himself. Once again, we're going to be looking at the so-called I Am's of Jesus, those pronouncements that He made during His earthly ministry that are extremely important in terms of His own self-consciousness and His own definition of His person and His work. And we've already seen that when Jesus uses the I Am formula, He uses the formula of the statement that equates with the Old Testament language for God. And so, we've seen already two of the I Am's, and today we're going to look at the statement that Jesus makes in John chapter 10, I Am the Door. Now before we look at that, I have to say that in this same passage, Jesus expresses another important I Am when He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. And so, in the same context, in the same discussion, Christ calls Himself the Door and the Good Shepherd. Now those two expressions have to be distinguished one from another because they don't mean precisely the same thing.

But even though we distinguish between them, we must never separate them because they are so closely related one to the other. And so, the first of the two that Jesus expresses is the statement, I Am the Door. And let's look at the context for this in John chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, where Jesus said, 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. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep, and to him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

And Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. And then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly. So here in the beginning of the Good Shepherd discourse, Jesus likens Himself to the door of the sheepfold. Now let's take a couple of moments to look at the historic and cultural background of the scenario that Jesus is painting for His ears at this point. We know that the shepherding vocation was very important in the ancient Jewish community, and we know that the Old Testament is replete with references to this whole business of shepherding, where we see David emerge as the shepherd king of Israel, and we are most familiar with the 23rd Psalm that likens the Lord as the shepherd of His people. And again, throughout the Old Testament, we see this imagery. But in the ancient world, sheep would be outside during the day, and they would graze, and the shepherd would lead them beside the still waters and into the green pastures where they could be nourished by their feeding in the pasture lands. And if you've ever seen flocks of sheep, you know that they move helter-skelter with no seeming rhyme or reason to their activity.

And without a shepherd, they are sometimes behaving in such a way that we think that they're dumb and that they would actually do harm to themselves. And so in the ancient Near East, the sheep always had a shepherd who went with them during the day. But at night, the sheep were brought in from the pasture and were kept in a place that was protected that was called the sheepfold. And there were different kinds of sheepfolds.

Some of them were made out of wood with wooden fencing around them to protect the interior. But more often, the sheepfold was constructed out of stones. And so you had an impregnable fortress, as it were, to shelter and protect the sheep from thieves or from wild animals that would come and harm them. And the walls around the sheepfold didn't have barbed wire at the top because they didn't have barbed wire in those days, but they would have briars attached, sharp needly thorns around the top of the walls to discourage the intruder from trying to climb in over the wall.

And that's why Jesus said that only those who were out for destruction, for thievery, or for murder, climb up over the walls. But the door is the proper entranceway for the sheep and then, of course, most importantly, for the shepherd. And they would have within the sheepfold one person who would be in charge of being the gatekeeper, as it were, who would guard the door.

He was not the shepherd. He was the guardian of the door. And often the sheepfolds would be big enough to contain several different flocks of sheep. And various shepherds would come in with their sheep, and the sheep would not get lost and intermixed with other sheep from other flocks because the sheep recognized their shepherd, and the shepherd recognized his sheep.

And we'll talk a little bit more about that later. But again, remember that the entrance to the sheepfold, which is the place of safety, which is the place of protection, is the door. And so the first image that Jesus uses here in this context is He says, I am the door. And obviously the shepherd was not the door, but He said that the one who enters by the door is the shepherd, and so we see a distinction here between the shepherd and the door. And to the shepherd the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Now there are records of sheep farmers, not only in this country but in other nations, who can recognize their sheep by the distinctive markings and characterizations, and many of these shepherds actually gave and today still give particular names to the sheep, just like we do for our household pets, for our cats, and for our dogs, and so on. And also the shepherd, if he spends any time with the sheep and gets to know the sheep, and the sheep get to know him, that sometimes the shepherd would stand inside the sheepfold and call the sheep, and they would come running because the sheep, who were supposedly dumb animals, recognized the voice of their shepherd, and they wanted to be where the shepherd was. And so when the shepherd would call them by name, they would come running into the sheepfold.

But again, the only way of entrance into the sheepfold was through the door. And so to the shepherd the doorkeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, that is when he leaves the sheepfold, he goes first, and he leads the sheep through the door to go back out into grazing.

And again, the sheep follow him. So there's an emphasis here, even before the metaphor of the good shepherd, of the behavior of the sheep with respect to the shepherd. Now, notice the immediate context for this illustration that Jesus is giving.

I mean, so often when we read the New Testament and we pick up something that begins with a particular chapter, we almost think that it's an isolated incident from what went before it. But chapter 10 follows exactly on the heels of chapter 9, and in the original gospel there were no chapter divisions or verse divisions, and so we have to look what immediately precedes this discussion to see what motivates Jesus to give this illustration. And if you recall, when we looked at the statement, I am the light of the world, one of the contexts in which Jesus made that statement was with respect to His healing of the man born blind, who by the touch of Jesus was able to see light for the first time in His life.

And not only does Jesus say, I am the one who gave this man light, but I am the light of the entire world. And you remember when we looked at that in chapter 9, that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were furious at Jesus for the claims that He was making, and also at the man. They virtually excommunicated this poor man who, in fact, had been born blind, who had been healed miraculously by Christ, and instead of rejoicing, the Pharisees were angry. And so immediately after this confrontation that Jesus has with the leaders, He goes into this discussion about His being the door to the sheepfold, and also then preparing for the statement of the Good Shepherd, because obviously, the Pharisees who were called to be the shepherds of God's people were like thieves and robbers, who had no real concern for the well-being of the sheep. Here was a man who was born blind and was under their pastoral care.

He was a member of their flock, as it were. And when this poor sheep, who had been wounded from birth, was made whole, they become jealous and enraged against the man and against Jesus. And Jesus is saying, what kind of shepherds are you? That that's all the concern you have for your sheep.

You're more concerned about your own status, you're more concerned about your own reputation than the welfare of this man who I've just healed. And so that's the context in which Jesus makes this statement about the door. Now obviously, when He talks about the sheepfold and the door to the sheepfold, Jesus is using this common earthly, real live situation that they were all familiar with to call attention to a higher truth. Remember, at the heart of Jesus' parables and of His illustrations is His communication about the kingdom of God. And what Jesus is saying is that God has a sheepfold, that God has a place of sanctuary, God has a place of safety, God has a place of everlasting peace and protection, where God is the mighty fortress for His people. And that fortress, like the sheepfold, has a door.

And so Jesus is speaking of heaven, of the kingdom, of the presence of God. And He uses a statement that the Pharisees choked on, but I have to say that the Pharisees choked on, but I have to say to you, beloved, there's probably no time and no culture in the history of the Christian church more offended by this kind of teaching by Jesus than the culture in which we live today. If Jesus ever made a statement that was politically incorrect, it was this one, because what Jesus is saying about Himself is that the kingdom is exclusive, not inclusive, and the sheepfold doesn't have 15 different doors, 15 ways to get in.

There's only one door. As the New Testament repeats, there's only one mediator between God and man, that the flock of God has one shepherd, one door, and the only way into that door is through the one who is the door. And that's what I say when Christians say, you know, one way.

That's so offensive to the inclusive, pluralistic culture in which we live. Christians are frowned upon when they talk like this, but again, it's Jesus who makes that statement. And the apostles, Peter says, there's no other name under heaven through which men must be saved. In another of the I am's that we'll look on, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father but by Me. And so again, if there's ever a time when Jesus makes a statement that provokes conflict among His contemporaries, it's here when He makes this statement about Himself. Let's look at it again when He says, He who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep, and to him the doorkeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and so on.

And then in verse 7, Jesus said to them, Again, truly, truly, or most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers. Now, to whom is He referring? I don't think He's referring to the prophets of the Old Testament. He's not calling Moses a thief or a robber.

He's not calling Isaiah a thief or a robber. But He's referring to those who were false messiahs, those who claim to be the one who made the way to God. Now again, if you're going to interact with the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and then interact with the pluralistic culture in which you live, which tells you from the time you're little children, there are many ways to God. It doesn't matter what you believe, whether you're a Buddhist or a Hindu or Confucian or a Daoist or whatever else. All these different roads go up to God. God has had many sons, many avatars, many manifestations or incarnations in this world, and we want to have this all-inclusive concept.

It's on a collision course with what the Scriptures teach about salvation, that Christ is called the monogenes, the only begotten of the Father. Now, I've told the story before of what happened to me when I was a college student and our professor in English, who was quite hostile, openly hostile, to Christianity asked me in front of the whole class, Mr. Sproul, do you think that Jesus is the only way to God? And I felt the stares of everybody in the class on me, you know, and I knew I was in deep, deep trouble because if I say yes, then I'm a bigot, and if I say no, I'm a traitor. So, I mumbled my answer. She said, what did you say?

I said, I said, yes, I think He's the only way. Oh, she came down on me. She said, that's the most arrogant, narrow-minded, bigoted statement I've ever heard, and she humiliated me before the class.

And after class, I was leaving. I stopped at the door, and I said to her, I said, I know that you don't believe in Christianity, but do you think it's possible that a person could ever be truly persuaded that Jesus was at least one way to God? She said, well, yes, of course. And I said, well, if you're persuaded that Jesus is one way to God, and then you find out He tells you He's the only way to God, then what do you do? I said, if I thought He was the only way to God because He happens to be my way, and I'm saying that you have to believe my way or the highway, and only R.C.

Sproul has the truth, then of course that would be the most arrogant, bigoted, narrow-minded thing you've ever heard. But if I'm really persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, and He teaches that He's the only way, that He's the only way, don't you see that I would be betraying Him if I said to make you happy or the culture happy that there are many, many ways? Well, to her credit, she said, yes, I do see that. She said, but I have to say, how can you believe in a God that only gives one way? I said, well, that's the thing that amazes me. She said, what? That He gives away.

Why? Why should He give one way? And what He has done, the extent to which He has gone to redeem a fallen world through the ministry of Christ, whose life and person isn't worthy to be compared with Buddha or Mohammed or Confucius or anyone else. They're all dead. None of them gave an atonement. None of them bore the sins of the world on their back before the judgment seat of God. And I said, if God sends His only Son into the world to bear every sin that you've ever committed, and He kills Him in your place, and then says, if you put your trust in Him, He's going to forgive every sin that you've ever committed, and He's going to give you everlasting life so that you'll never die, that you will live forever with no more pain, with no more disease, with no more darkness, with no more trouble.

And I said, and are you going to look at Him and say, you haven't done enough? We are so arrogant that we demand that God gives us five doors into the sheepfold. And we reject Jesus' own teaching when He says, yes, there is a broad way. If you don't want to be narrow, there's a broad way. Broad is the way, and wide is the door that leads to the sheepfold?

No, that leads to destruction. And many there are who go in at that point. But Jesus said narrow is the way and straight is the gate that leads to life, and few there be who find it. And so Jesus says, if you want to enter in, if you want to go to that place of safety, you have to come through Me. And He says, again later on, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and he will go in and he will go out. He'll go into the place of safety. He'll go out to the green pastures.

The thief does not come except he tries to scale over the walls. He comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But I have come as the door that they may have life and have it more abundantly. So Jesus, when He says He's the door to the sheepfold, is also saying He is the door to life itself, zoe, the transcendent kind of life that He came to give. This is why I'm here, He says, to bring life, abundant life, the kind of life that only occurs on the other side of the door. And if you want to stay outside that door or try to find another way in except through that door, you will miss that life. You will miss that kingdom.

You will miss the Father's house. But He said, He said, I am the door. Come through Me, and that life is yours.

That's an incredible image, isn't it? Those who were in Christ are safe and secure because there's only one door. We only come to God through Christ, and we're protected by the One who is the door. What great encouragement that is for us today.

This week on Renewing Your Mind, we are featuring Dr. R.C. Sproul's series, Knowing Christ, The I Am Sayings of Jesus. Each of these sayings reveals who Jesus is, and we'd like to send you the complete series. There are eight messages in all on a single DVD, and when you contact us today with a donation of any amount, we'll be glad to send it to you.

You can make your request online at renewingyourmind.org, or you can call us at 800-435-4343. Our desire here at Ligonier Ministries is to proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible. We do that through this broadcast, through the many books we publish, hundreds of teaching series, and conferences. We also produce a variety of podcasts to help you grow, and one of those is Simply Put, a short podcast about long words. Every week, my colleague Barry Cooper sheds light on a different biblical or theological term, and he makes it easy to understand.

Here's a brief portion of a recent episode. If you had to name the biggest difference between Christianity and all other religions, what would it be? I think the biggest difference is this. It's only the Christian faith that says, God became a man, that God took on our humanity. It's a radical and startling claim, and theologians call it the incarnation.

You'll find Simply Put in your favorite app store, or you can go to simplyputpodcast.com and scroll through each of the episodes. You'll expand your understanding and deepen your faith one word at a time. Well, tomorrow Dr. Sproul will take a look at one of Jesus' statements that's familiar to most Christians. He says, I am the Good Shepherd. I hope you'll make plans to join us again Thursday for Renewing Your Mind.