The Door

They just can't stop talking about it. And that's how I feel as we come to John chapter 10, is there is so much that comes before this chapter, that is tied into this chapter, that from Genesis all the way through Revelation, this picture of a shepherd and sheep and lambs and sacrifice and the goodness of God and the leadership of His people, it's just there is so much happening. There's so much I want to tell you all at once, but I'm going to try to limit myself to John chapter 7, 8, and well, 7, 8, 9, and 10 this morning, but mainly the first 10 verses or so of John, the 10th chapter. One of the things we need to understand to sort of help us understand what's happening in John chapter 10 is that your Bibles and my Bible did not originally contain chapters and verses.

Right? So it's a collection. The Bible is a collection of books, and in the New Testament, a collection of letters and of books all put together. And so for about the first 1,200 to 1,500 years of Christianity, if you wanted to get something from the Gospel of John, you kind of had to quote it and say, well, maybe kind of in the first half of the Gospel of John or the first third. And so chapters and verses were added to the Bible as a tool to help us be able to navigate through the Bible, sort of as a house address to specific parts of the Bible, making it much easier to find. And they are a wonderful blessing, because if this morning I had to tell you, first of all, open your Bible, find the Gospel of John, and find the place where Jesus talks about being the door to the sheep,

a lot of us would be sort of sitting there flipping for quite some time. It's so much easier to say go to John 10, and we're going to take a look at the first 10 verses of that chapter. And while chapter and verses are wonderfully helpful, sometimes we see them as sort of a hard stop in the narrative of the Bible, meaning that as we start John 10, it's so easy to see us as starting something that just begins in John chapter 10 and verse 1. And the reality is what Jesus says in John 10 finds its foundation in John chapter 7 and in John chapter 8, specifically and very clearly in John chapter 9, and then ultimately we find ourselves in John the 10th chapter. And so in John 7 and 8, Jesus is in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.

Remembering God's provision in the wilderness, God's good blessings throughout the harvest. He has said at the end of John chapter 8, or at the beginning of John chapter 8, "I am the light of the world." Right? The light of creation comes into existence through me. I am the light that led you through the wilderness. I am the light that dwelt among you and was near to you in the wilderness. I am the light that fills the temple. I am the light that is a promise of hope. I am the light that restores and revives all of these things happening as they're lighting these 75-foot-tall lamps in the courtyard in Jerusalem. And his remarks lead to some controversy with the religious leaders, and most of John 8 is taken up with that controversy. And John chapter 8 ends like this. The people are so mad.

It says they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. So Jesus sort of heads out of the temple, ahead of an angry mom, and John chapter 9 verse 1 begins like this. "As he passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth." And you say, "Well, how does that matter, or why does that matter?" Jesus is a statement that he is the light of the world, followed immediately by this healing of a blind man. He's literally bringing light into the life of this blind man. And then these are immediately followed by a whole bunch of meetings in John chapter 9, followed by Jesus saying, "I am the door, and I am the good shepherd." And so John 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all connected,

which means if we need to understand or we want to understand Jesus' words in John 10, we really need to understand Jesus' words in John chapter 9, where we find this miracle of healing in three meetings. And so John chapter 9 begins with Jesus restoring sight to a blind man, a man who has been blind since birth. And what's remarkable is Jesus heals this guy in such a weird way. He puts mud on his eyes and says, "Go wash in the pool of Siloam." And when this guy does this, he's able to see. And this is important for what's happening in John chapter 10. This man who has been healed of blindness has never seen Jesus. He's heard Jesus, but he's never seen him. Now, Jesus does all of this on the Sabbath. The religious leaders become very, very upset with it.

And as a result, they begin to, like good religious people, have a whole bunch of meetings. And so there's a meeting with the blind man. They're trying to pin down Jesus' guilt. But unfortunately, the blind guy hadn't seen anything before he returned his sign. So they call his parents, right, which is such like a middle school thing to do. It's like, "Oh, you don't want to cooperate? Well, don't make me call your mom." They literally call this guy's mom and dad, drag them into the office. And mom and dad are terrified. Because in John 9:22, it says, we learn this, that if anyone confesses Jesus is the Christ, they will be removed from the synagogue. This guy's mom and dad say, "Hey, you're going to have to talk to him." So there's a third meeting in John 9, beginning in verse 24.

And in this meeting, the man who's no longer blind has had enough accusations about Jesus. And in John 9:25, he says this, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind, but now I see." And he's there going, "How did he make you see? Is he a sinner?" And he goes, "I don't know. All I know is I couldn't see. Now I can." And just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's untrue. This guy has had it. He says, "It's happened. I was a man born blind. Now I can see. All of these things are happening." And he's just fed up, right? He's healed of blindness that he's been since birth. Like, he's not expecting, like, a pharisaical inquisition. And it just sort of happens out of nowhere as he regains his sight and just immediately begin to drag him through the mud.

And then it ends in probably the most heartbreaking way. In John 9:34, it says this, "You were born in utter sin. Why would you teach us?" And they cast him down. And it ends in such a heartbreaking way. A man who has been born blind since birth is given sight by Jesus. And as a result, they throw him out. And they're not just throwing him out of the meeting. This is a removal from the synagogue. This is essentially excommunicating him from the Jewish way of life. Which means those who attend synagogue with him cannot speak to him, including his parents. They can't acknowledge him. And this guy goes from being blind and having a support system to being able to see. And he has nothing. He is alone. He's cast out. He's unwanted. And those who are called the shepherds of Israel, the religious leaders, have thrown this poor lamb out of the flock.

I want you to see how Jesus responds to the heartbroken. The very next verse, "They cast him out." Jesus heard that they cast him out. Jesus knows that this man is hurt, that this man is suffering, and he goes and finds him. And he says, having found him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus, hearing about this man's brokenness and his situation, goes and finds him, stands in front of him and goes, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And listen to what this guy says. He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" This guy's never seen Jesus. And Jesus looks at him and goes, "You've seen him now." And it is he who is speaking to you. And this man said, "Lord, I believe and worship to him."

I love how Jesus comes to the outcast, to the one who has been thrown to the side, and he comes to the man who is blind. He goes, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And the guy goes, "I don't know who he is. I've never seen him." And Jesus goes, "He's speaking to you." And this man immediately moves to worship. That brings us to John, the tenth chapter. Immediately, there is conflict. Immediately, Jesus begins to teach. And we're going to see two signs of Jesus teaching. It's black and white, right? There's either thieves and robbers or Jesus. And the idea of thieves and robbers, in fact, the word "thieve" in Greek, it's where we get our word like "kleptomaniac." It's just stealing. Robbers are highwaymen, and so there's the idea in these thieves and robbers that some are coming and causing this damage by stealth, right?

They're stealing. They're taking what's out there, and there are some who are coming, and they are taking through violence and bringing all of this pain and brokenness. And to go into this, what we find is that Jesus begins with these words. "True does not enter by the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in another way. That man is a thief and a robber." Now, we all understand verbal cues that something's important. When somebody says, "All right, everybody, listen up," or if you're in school and they say, "All right, this is going to be on the test," or "Pay attention, this is important." When Jesus says, "Truly, truly," I say to you, that word "truly" is the word that comes into English from the Greek word is the word "amen." And when we say "amen," what we're saying is, "I agree." Yes, with certainty. And so when somebody prays and the rest of the church responds at the end of the prayer by saying "amen," we're saying, "I agree with this prayer. I'm praying this as well." And when Jesus says it in this context,

He's emphasizing what He's about to say. He's confirming that it's true. And He's helping us to see that what comes next is vitally important. And not only does He say it, but He doubles it. Jesus is adding seriousness and emphasis by saying, "Truly, truly," I say to you, Jesus is serious about what He's going to say. And the first thing He says, is that I'm different. The shepherds who have just thrown this lamb out into the wilderness, I am different than they are. And there's one side, and we have a choice. Thieves and robbers, or Jesus. Listen to this text. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. And when he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, they will flee from, for they do not know the voice of strangers." And so for us, this picture of sheep and shepherds is one that may not be as familiar

as in Jesus's day. In his day, sheep, shepherds, sheep folds, these were all common everyday occurrences. The sheep fold that Jesus is talking about is this enclosure that sheep would have been put into at night. Sometimes made of rocks, sometimes the courtyard of a house, and in this case, it seems like it's sort of a communal sheep fold. That several families have built together a fold of sheep lightly made out of native rock. They've picked out of the field, stacked it around in order to make a safe place for the field. The sheep, and every night, the different flocks come in, are brought into the sheep fold. The man is hired to guard the door of the sheep, and these sheep mingle together in this sheep fold until the next morning when each shepherd comes. You can still see this in practice in this region of the world today, that each shepherd sort of has his own unique call. And he goes out and begins to sort of speak

to his sheep and to make the noise that he makes every day, you know, just like we go to a dog, "Here, boy. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" And our dog comes running to us, kind of like that, but with sheep. And the flocks just separate out and begin to follow their shepherd. Jesus says there's two ways to get into this sheep fold. One is you can go over the gate, or you can go over the wall. One is normal, and one is evil. We don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out which is which. These sheep recognize the call of the shepherd. To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out, and when he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. We learn about this shepherd, first of all, is that he is good. He's not sneaking over the wall for some lamb chops and a new rug for his living room. He

coming to care and protect the sheep. And here's the other thing that I love about this, is that he knows his sheep by name. It's not just like, "Hey, you!" It's a joke. "You, sheep, take you a minute." He knows each one of them by name. Have you ever thought about that? That if you're following Jesus, you're not just part of a group. You're not given like a serial name. Jesus knows your name. He knows your personalities. One of the remarkable things as the girls have been working with horses is to see how different all the personalities of the horses. You can look at the field and it's not just colorations, but it's personalities. And Jesus does the same with us. He knows those of us who are energized by people and who are energized by silence, who like this and who like that. He knows our names and he knows our lives and he knows our stories. And then look what it says. He leads them out.

And he goes before them. You know what that means? Any danger that this flock encounters, the shepherd encounters first. Any difficulty that this flock encounters, the shepherd encounters first. Notice how we know Jesus. The sheep hear his voice. You want to know the connection to chapter nine here? Jesus is talking. He's standing right there with a man who has been born blind. How did that man ultimately know Jesus? Because he heard his voice. Go wash in the pool of Siloam. Jesus is saying, "I know my sheep, and they know me because of my voice." How precious would it have been to that man who has just lost everything for Jesus? You say that because I heard the voice of my Savior, he has led me. He is protecting me. The struggles that I encounter, he goes first, and he knows and loves me. And Jesus, the good shepherd, stands for me.

He understands and defends this man. So we look at the next section of this text. Jesus is not continuing this picture of leading the sheep out. He's in the same theme, but he's going to shift from looking at the one leading the sheep out to looking at the fold of the sheep himself. And he's doing this because sometimes we are a little dense. It says this, "The figure of speech Jesus used with them, they did not understand what he was saying to them." So Jesus says, "All right, I'm going to tell you a different way." And so that's what he does. And he says it like this, "I am the door." And Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers." The sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and he will go out, go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy, but I come that they might have

life abundantly." Once again, Jesus is serious. Truly, truly, I say to you, we find this, that in Jesus there is salvation. Ever had to look for a door? I went to urgent care back in February. I went to a new one that I hadn't been to. I thought it was a cold. Turned out to be a little bit more than that. And I'm at this new urgent care and I'm walking around the building and it's like, well, that's for drug tests over here. That's the back door where they bring in the janitorial supplies. If the ambulance comes, if you're really sick, and finally I find the right door and realize at the time the whole front of that's windows and everybody inside has been watching me try to struggle to find the door. Part of the purpose of the door, though, is to allow people to come in. And when Jesus says, "I am the door," what he is saying is that to find the access to the salvation that is offering God, you must go through Jesus. If anyone enters by me, he will be safe.

Not might be, not can be, but will be. And we see this good shepherd who's now picturing himself as the fold of the sheep saying, "I am the door. In me is your salvation." But there's also something else that doors do. They don't just allow people to come in. Jesus isn't just saying, "You come into the kingdom through me." What else do doors do? They keep people out, right? You see somebody coming, you lock your door, right? Sometimes we keep out the weather, our screen doors open, the wind's blowing, we shut the big door, and it keeps the wind out, it keeps the burglars out. Sometimes it keeps the kids out, right? We got privacy. We have doors, not just to let people into a structure, but to keep people out. And when Jesus says, "I am the door," you know what he's saying? In order to get to you, they have to go through me. Isn't that like a wonderful statement?

One of the reasons why we love big, grumpy dogs, right? Somebody shady comes out and is like, "Oh, you want to get to me? Well, you got to go through him first." And here is Jesus, the light of the world, the bread of life, eternally God, all-powerful, all-knowing, going, "If they want to touch you, they have to come through me." There is this massive amount of joy and encouragement, not only that we are let in through Jesus, but then Jesus stands in front of us and nothing can come through him. Third, in Jesus, there is all that we need. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and he will go in and out and find pasture. You know what sheep need? They need to be watched over. They need to be protected. They need food to eat and water to drink. Jesus goes, "You need the same thing. You need to be watched over. You need to be protected.

You need to be nourished, and I will do that. I will be the one who leads you out. It's through me you come in, it's through me you are protected, and it is through me that your needs are met." D.A. Carson says this, "This is a proverbial way of insisting that there is only one means of receiving eternal life. Only one source of knowledge of God, only one fount of spiritual nourishment, and only one basis for spiritual security: Jesus alone." You see, we live in a world where we are always kind of seeking a savior. We do it in a million different ways, right? We do it in accomplishments and work, we do it in relationships and legacy, being good parents or grandparents. We do it through politics, entertainment, adventure, seeking knowledge. We live in a world that is constantly saying, "If you come here, you will find the peace and the happiness that you desire." And Jesus says, "It's only me. I am the door to what you need. I am your protection, and I am your nourishment."

In our lives, we stand in front of a whole lot of doors. Most of us have experienced that choice of standing in front of a door in life. I remember when I was little. I don't fully remember. I remember my mom continually talking about it when I was little. When I was little, and I was being babysat, I loved space. Still love space. Loved space all through childhood. But evidently, at one point, I was being babysat by some teenage girl, and I was like, "Hey, I'm going to marry you on the moon." My door that stood in front of me as a three- or four-year-old was like, "I'm going to go to the moon, and I'm bringing this lady with me." Great location, not a lot of atmosphere. See, everyone got it. There's one person against my joke.

But right there's a door, and as a kid, I'm like, "I want to go through that door." And then, I discovered Louis L'Amour books, and The Frontier, and Being a Cowboy. And it's like, "Man, what I want is a bunch of acres, then a good horse, some guns, right, some cows. Like, this is what I want. This is the door that I want to go through. I want to live off the land." And you realize that living off the land is a whole lot easier in a book than trying to do it in the woods behind your house as like an 11-year-old, right? As a kid, that's the door I wanted to go through. I wanted to go through the door to space. I wanted to go to the door there being a cowboy. We've all done this in our life. We say, "What door do I want to go to?" And then we choose the direction for our life, and we choose a career, we choose relationships, we choose responsibility, we choose how we're going to spend our leisure time, we choose...

Our life is just filled with doors. There's only one door that matters. All those other doors that can be fun and adventurous and bring joy to others, there's only one door that matters. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He will go in and out and find pasture. The thief only comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I come that you may have life and have it abundantly. All the doors you've walked through in life, all the doors I've walked through in life, there is one door that matters. The door that is Jesus. And as Christians, we look at this, and it should bring such encouragement and joy and hope to our life. That in Jesus, he knows us in all of our brokenness, and he knows us by name and by personality.

And he has called us. And he is the one that stands between us and danger. He is the one that nourishes us. That in Jesus, there is hope. A hope that doesn't disappoint and doesn't disappear. And as Christians, part of our calling is to share that with the world. And say, "Here is a door where there is hope." In fact, it's the only door where there is hope. If you are outside of Christ this morning, a lot of doors you can walk through, but there's only one door that saves you. It's the door of Jesus. There's only one door that brings security. There's only one door that brings nourishment, and that door is Jesus. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for Jesus and grace and hope. It's easy for us to run after so many things, Father.

Chase after so many different visions and missions and ideas and joys. Help us to see that Jesus is the only one worth chasing. Help us as a church to see that he's the only one worth being. That he's the door we walk through. That he's the door we invite others into. Help us to be firm and to be encouraged by our Good Shepherd. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and we're going to sing "I Set My Hope on Jesus."

When the questions come and doubts remain, I set on Jesus. For the deepest wounds the time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus.

Though I falter in this war with sin. I set my hope on Jesus. When I fail the fight and sink within. I set my hope on Jesus. Though the shame would drown me in its sea. And I drain the wave of justice. I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My God, my only trust. You set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. The world called me to leave my Lord. I set my hope on Jesus. Though it offered all its vain rewards, I set my hope on Jesus. Though this heart of mine is prone to stray, give me grace enough to finish, till I worship on that final day. I set my hope on Jesus.

Though it offered all its vain rewards, I set my hope on Jesus. Though this heart of mine is prone to stray, give me grace enough to finish, till I worship on that final day. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My love, my only trust. You set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My love, my only trust. You set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus.