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John 10:1-10

INTRODUCTION: One of the most beautiful expressions Jesus used to describe himself was that of the Good Shepherd of the sheep. We are going to take a couple weeks to look at Jesus’ teaching on this as found here in John 10. Today we will look at Jesus as the gate for the sheep, and next week we will look at Jesus as the Good Shepherd of the sheep. (Read John 10:1-10 and pray.)

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How’s your life? How would you describe your life today? Pop quiz – describe your life in twenty words or less – what would you say? How would you describe it? Great? Lousy? Exciting? Dull? Everything in order? A total mess? Empty? Fulfilling? Moving forward? Going nowhere? I like the way one person described their life: “If my life were a movie, this is where I would go out and buy popcorn!” Not much happening there.

Some people would say their life is not all that bad, but if you pressed them they would probably admit it’s not that great either. Too many frustrations and failures and disappointments along the way. Others would describe their life as dull, boring, or routine. We all face frustration and failure and disappointment in life. And we all face periods of life that seem dreary and dull. That’s a given. Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have trouble.” But he also said, “Take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus spoke about rising above the disappointments and failures of life, rising above the dullness and dreariness that so many experience. Jesus spoke about finding a life of true satisfaction and fulfillment. He spoke about living life to the fullest, abundant and free. We’re only given one life to live here on planet earth. And it might seem a long time to you, but in the light of eternity life is really quite brief. It would be a shame not to live the short life we are given to the fullest.

So how do you do that? Where do you find true satisfaction in life? Certainly not from material things or riches or wealth. We all know people who have plenty of material things but still lead miserable lives. So where is this full, abundant life found?

Jesus sought to answer that question in the passage we have just read. And he used the illustration of sheep in a sheep pen to provide the answer. Most of us have probably never taken care of sheep, and so we need to explore this illustration more closely in order to understand Jesus’ answer more fully. So let’s begin by looking at Jesus’ illustration of the sheep pen.

I. The Illustration of the Sheep Pen (1-6)

Look at verse one: “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1) Notice Jesus begins this series of teachings by saying, “I tell you the truth.” Jesus often used this phrase to alert his listeners to the importance of what he was about to say. I find it interesting that the Old Testament prophets always said, “Thus saith the Lord.” But Jesus says, “I tell you the truth.”

So what is a sheep pen? A sheep pen is a very simple structure with a very simple purpose – to keep the sheep safe at night. A sheep pen has no roof, only four walls and a gate, similar to a corral used for horses. You could make the walls from a variety of materials – stone, brick, mud or wood. Stone walls were probably the most common in Israel, and the shepherds would often spread thorns or briers along the tops of the walls in order to discourage thieves or wild animals from trying to get in. Sometimes the sheep pen was attached to the owner’s house; sometimes it was constructed out in the open field. But no matter where it was located or how it was constructed, it was basically the same type of structure – four walls, no roof, and one door or gate. In other words there was only one way in or out of the sheep pen. This was to keep the sheep from escaping at night and also to control who goes in or out.

Now obviously it would be a lot easier to enter the sheep pen by the gate than by climbing over the wall. Anyone with the right to enter would use the door. If someone was trying to climb in by some other way, then that was a sure sign they were not supposed to be there. Think about your own neighborhood. If you saw someone trying to get into a house through the window rather than the door, what would you think? You would say something’s wrong here, and you would check it out in case someone was breaking into your neighbor’s house. In the same way Jesus identifies this one climbing over the wall as a thief and a robber. The very fact that he doesn’t use the gate betrays the fact that he is up to no good.

In contrast, look at verse 2: “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.” (John 10:2) The shepherd is not about to be climbing the walls to enter his own sheep pen. He is naturally going to use the gate.

Verse 3 says that: “The watchman opens the gate for him.” (John 10:3) The word here is literally, “watcher of the door.” That was his function. The shepherd watched the sheep. The watchman only had to watch the door – to make sure that no sheep went out, and that only the shepherd came in. Shepherds needed to sleep at night too. So often several shepherds would place their flocks in the enclosure together and hire a nightshift watchman to guard the flocks until morning. The watchman would only open the gate for one of these shepherds.

The watchman opens the gate for him, and verse 3 goes on to say: “The sheep listen to his voice.” (John 10:3) The sheep know the voice of their own shepherd. Why? Because they hear it everyday. They spend all day long listening to their shepherd as he speaks to them and guides them and cares for their needs. The shepherd “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3) Remember, the shepherds often mixed their flocks together. Once all the sheep from the various flocks are mixed together, how is the shepherd supposed to find his own sheep? He calls to them, and they follow because they recognize his voice. Even today shepherds in the Middle East are able to separate their flocks out simply with the sound of their voice.

Notice also that he calls them by name. Personal care and attention is given to each sheep. The shepherds often named the individual sheep in their flock, often after some trait or recognizable characteristic of the animal. So the sheep with the slight limp might be “hop-along” or the one with the goofy grin, “dimples” and so on.

When we had dogs we used to take them walking down at the doggie park here in Plantation. (Don’t take your cat there). It’s a great park, all fenced in where the dogs can run free and unleashed. All the dogs run around and get mixed up together, but when it’s time to go, we just call our dogs and they come running. Why? They know the sound of our voice, and we call them by name.

Verse 4 says: “When the shepherd has brought out all his own sheep, he goes on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him.” (John 10:4) Notice the shepherd does not move on until he has brought them all out. He knows them by name, and he knows their number. He does not leave any behind. He waits until he has all of the sheep out, and then he goes on ahead of them. In other words, he leads them. This is the Eastern method of shepherding. Here in the West, the shepherds tend to drive the sheep. They chase them along with a sheep dog nipping at their heels, but in the Eastern world shepherds lead their sheep. And so this creates a beautiful picture of discipleship. The shepherd goes on ahead. Wherever the sheep go, the shepherd has stepped first. He goes ahead, not simply to point the way, but also to make sure that the way is steady and safe.

Now apparently this works great with sheep, but not so well with preschoolers. I remember when Rosi and I were first married, and we volunteered to do children’s church. We led the children out to children’s church and when we turned around to talk to them they were scattering every which way. We soon learned with preschool kids you need to go before and after them.

But sheep are different. The sheep follow the shepherd. Why? “Because they know his voice.” (John 10:4) It all comes back to knowing, recognizing and trusting the shepherd’s voice. “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” (John 10:5) There is no worry about a stranger leading them away. The sheep will not follow a stranger. In fact, not only will they not follow, they will run the other way. Why? Because they do not know the stranger’s voice.

And so Jesus shares this illustration about sheep and shepherds, thieves, robbers and strangers. Verse six tells us that “Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.” (John 10:6) Now that doesn’t mean that they did not understand the illustration itself. They were very familiar with sheep and shepherds and sheep pens. Everything Jesus said made perfect sense to them. They just didn’t know what he meant by it all. Clearly Jesus was not just telling them about sheep. He was trying to teach them something. But what? So Jesus goes on to explain his meaning.

II. What Prompted the Illustration

But before we look at Jesus’ explanation, it would be helpful to know what prompted Jesus to share this illustration in the first place. What happened that caused Jesus to share this illustration about the sheep, the shepherd, and the sheep pen, and about thieves and robbers climbing over the walls? When you look back at John chapter 9 you find that Jesus had just healed a man who had been born blind. This is an amazing miracle, one that should have confirmed to everyone that Jesus was indeed the Christ who has been sent by God. But the Pharisees didn’t want anything to do with it. They were unable to deny the miracle, but they still refused to acknowledge that Jesus had come from God. And so instead of rejoicing with the blind man who could now see, they actually threw the man out of the synagogue.

As the religious leaders of their day, they were supposed to be shepherds for the people of Israel – caring for them, feeding them, and pointing them to true spiritual life in God. Instead we find them threatening, intimidating, and harassing the people. And they refused to recognize Jesus as the one who had come from God to bring light and life to all. And so these are the circumstances that prompted the illustration of the sheep pen. Jesus healed the man who was born blind. And the religious leaders continued to reject Jesus. Now we can go ahead and look at the meaning of the illustration in verses 7-10.

III. The Meaning of the Illustration (7-10)

Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:7-9)

Remember the sheep pen? Four walls, no roof, one door. Here Jesus says: “I am that door. I am the gate for the sheep.” Not one gate among many, but the gate, the one and only. When Jesus proclaims himself the gate for the sheep he claims exclusive rights to that title. There is no other gate but Jesus. In the Bible sheep were a common reference to God’s people. And Jesus says that he is the gate for the sheep.

   A. True spiritual leadership comes through Jesus alone. (John 9:30-38)

Jesus draws three parallels between himself and the gate in these verses. The first parallel is this: “Anyone who tries to enter the sheep pen by any means other than the gate is a thief and a robber.” In the same way, anyone who tries to lead God’s people apart from Christ is a thief and a robber. True spiritual leadership comes through Jesus alone. The Pharisees refused to acknowledge that Jesus came from God. Therefore they had no legitimate spiritual leadership in the people’s lives. By using this illustration Jesus was saying to the Pharisees: “Yes, I do come from God. In fact I not only come from God, I am the one true gate for the sheep. So when you reject me who is the only way to God, you disqualify yourselves as proper shepherds of God’s people.”

Jesus’ words are strong: “All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers.” Jesus is not speaking about the Old Testament prophets or John the Baptist or anyone else who came legitimately pointing the way to God. But he is talking about the Pharisees here and anyone else who would try to offer people spiritual life apart from Christ. There is no true spirituality apart from Jesus. He is the gate for the sheep. And anyone who tries to go around Jesus shows that they belong to the category of thief and robber rather than shepherd. They are climbing over the wall; they are rejecting the true gateway to life.

Notice Jesus also said: “but the sheep did not listen to them.” Going back to chapter nine, the blind man did not listen to the religious leaders. When the Pharisees said they didn’t know where Jesus came from, the blind man responded: “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:30-38)

The blind man did not listen to the Pharisees; rather he listened to the voice of the shepherd. He listened to Jesus. The Pharisees had rejected Jesus. Therefore, anyone who listened to them showed that they did not belong to God’s flock. Remember, one of the characteristics of God’s people is that they listen to him. Those who truly know God and seek after him will not listen to anyone who directs them away from Jesus. He is the gate for the sheep. Those who follow after any teaching about God that does not center on Jesus show that they do not belong to God’s sheep. The sheep will not listen to the thief or robber; rather, they will run the other way.

   B. Salvation comes through Jesus alone. (Psalm 118:20; John 14:6)

The second parallel Jesus makes is this: Just as there is only one way into the sheep pen, so there is only one way into the kingdom of God. Look at verse 9 where Jesus says: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9) Jesus repeats the phrase: “I am the gate,” but this time with the sheep in mind rather than the Pharisees. In verse 8 the Pharisees had to come through the gate in order to be shepherds of the flock, that is, true spiritual leadership comes through Jesus alone. In verse 9 the sheep must come through the gate in order to be saved. In other words, salvation comes through Jesus alone.

There are many religions in the world. There are many supposed ways to God. But there is only one gate. Salvation is found in no one else except Jesus Christ. He is the gate for the sheep. Psalm 118:20 says: “This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter,” and that gate is Jesus. Jesus said the same thing when he said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) These are not popular words in a diverse culture such as our own. But they are the truth. Jesus is the one way to the Father. He is the gate. Only those who enter through Christ will be saved.

Why is Jesus the only way to salvation? Because we are all sinners and the wages of sin is death. Only Jesus offers the solution for sin. He died on the cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins, so that we could know forgiveness and salvation through him. There is no other way. As Paul writes in the book of Galatians, if there was any other way to be saved, then Christ died for nothing. But Christ did not die for nothing. He died for you, so that you may be saved. He is the gate for the sheep. Salvation comes though Jesus alone.

   C. Full, abundant life comes through Jesus alone. (John 10:10)

Now back to verse 9, Jesus goes on to say this about the person who comes to Jesus for salvation: “He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9) Some people get confused at this part of the illustration. If Jesus is the gateway to salvation, what does he mean by going in and out through the gate? Is he talking about gaining and losing your salvation, going in and out of the kingdom of God? And the answer is no, Jesus is drawing a third parallel here. 1) True spiritual leadership comes through Jesus alone. 2) Salvation comes through Jesus alone. 3) Full, abundant life comes through Jesus alone.

“Coming in and going out” does not refer to eternal life but rather to the quality of life you experience through Christ. It’s not a picture of gaining and losing your salvation but rather of freedom of movement. “Coming in” refers to the safety that the sheep experience as they enter the sheep pen for the night. “Going out” refers to the nourishment that the sheep experience as they go out to the pasture during the day. Those who come to salvation through Christ find both safety and blessing in life. You cannot know the safety of the sheep pen unless you come in through the gate. And you cannot know the goodness of the pasture unless you go out through the gate. Jesus is the gate for the sheep. When you come through him, your life is secure, and he will lead you to good pasture. Christ is the door to both safety and blessing in life.

In verse 10 Jesus sets up one final contrast between himself and the thief: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Who is the thief? Some would say Satan, and he is certainly included. Satan indeed comes only to steal and kill and destroy. In fact those are some of his names. He is the great deceiver who seeks to steal everything good from your life. He is the destroyer who wants only to take life or destroy life. So Satan is included here. But the thief also represents anyone or anything that seeks to pull you away from Jesus as the gateway to salvation and life. Remember, the thief is the one who does not enter through the gate but by some other means. The thief refuses to come through Jesus and wants to pull you away also.

The thief steals, kills and destroys. The words are progressive in nature. First he steals. Your life belongs to God. God created you, he sustains you, he loves you, he sent his son to die for you. He longs to give you abundant life – life to the full. The thief comes to take that away. Your life belongs to God, and you will only know fullness of life when you give your life fully to Him. Secondly, the thief kills. The word translated “kill” here carries the meaning of “killing for food.” In other words there is a selfish motive applied to the thief. He kills for his own benefit. He takes from your life in order to feed his own. Thirdly, the thief destroys. All that is beautiful, all that is good, all that is in harmony with God’s righteousness and peace – the thief takes and kills and destroys. If left unchecked the thief will leave nothing good remaining in your life.

Notice the word “only” in verse 10: the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. The thief never comes for your benefit. He has only evil intentions. Now God in his sovereignty may overrule the thief’s intentions and take those things which he intended for evil and work them for good in your life, but that is never the thief’s objective when he comes. He never has your welfare in mind. He comes only to bring harm and destruction into your life.

Who or what is the thief in your life? Who or what has been pulling you away from Jesus? For some of you the thief has been working overtime in your life, climbing over every wall imaginable, stealing, pillaging and destroying until you feel there’s not much left. I have good news for you this morning. Jesus is the gateway to life. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly, to the full.”

Do you see the difference? The thief comes to take, but Jesus comes to give. The thief comes to kill, but Jesus comes to give eternal life. The thief comes to destroy, but Jesus comes to heal and restore. Jesus has come that you may have life abundant and free, life to the full. The word translated “full” here is a word which means “beyond measure, over and above, more than is necessary, superior, extraordinary, having a surplus.” Jesus came that you may have life and not just mere existence. But you have to come through the gate. You have to come through Jesus. Then you may come in and go out and find pasture. For those who come through the gate, Jesus offers life to the full, abundant life, full and rich and free, safe and secure, showered with the blessing and favor of God.

CONCLUSION: Do you know this life beyond measure, over and above, abundant? Or are you just marking time on earth? Just squeaking by? Jesus offers you extraordinary life, life beyond that which is merely necessary for survival. Jesus offers you life with meaning and purpose. He offers you surplus of life. That doesn’t mean it will always be easy or trouble free. But Jesus will be with you every step of the way, and that makes all the difference.

Bottom line. Jesus is the gate for the sheep. Don’t let anyone point you elsewhere. True spiritual leadership comes through Jesus alone. Salvation comes through Jesus alone. Full, abundant life comes through Jesus alone. So I invite you this morning. Come to Jesus and know true life through him. Come to know love, peace, joy, forgiveness. Bring your burdens to Jesus and let him give you his life – life everlasting, life that is full and abundant and free.

© Ray Fowler

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