John 10:1-10 Sermon

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

“I Am… the Gate”

John 10:1-10

“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. (NIV)

His plane had just landed, and he had a very tight window of time to catch his connecting flight.  He jumped out of his seat to grab his carryon from the overhead bin.  He hurriedly tried to squeeze by others to get off the plane as quickly as possible, apologizing to others that if he didn’t hurry, he’d miss his connecting flight.  The other passengers parted like the waters of the Red Sea and graciously allowed him to get to the front of the plane.  The door popped open and he took off through the jet way, spilling into the airport, where the mad dash was on to catch his flight.  He was the guy who scrambles by and everyone turning their heads to watch him knows he’s trying to catch his connecting flight.  As he neared his gate, he glanced down at his watch and felt a sense of relief, realizing he had just made it in time.

Or, he would have made it in time, except for one thing: arriving at what he thought was the gate of his connecting flight, he looked up at the board and saw that he was at the wrong gate.  Sure enough, just as soon as he realized it, he heard over the loudspeaker that there was a gate change, and that his flight was departing from another gate; in fact, a gate on the other end of the airport from where he had just come.  At that moment the reality had settled in that he wouldn’t make his connecting flight.  It wasn’t because he hadn’t tried.  It wasn’t because he didn’t rush as quickly as he could have to make it to his gate.  Rather, it was because he was at the wrong gate, and finally, the thing that matters most in catching a connecting flight is making sure you’re at the right gate.

And it just so happens that having the right gate is the thing that matters most for each of us for eternity as well.  The gate on which we’re focusing this morning though is much more than a matter of airplanes and airports, though I suppose this gate does determine one’s final destination – his “arrival” flight, so to speak.  There is only one gate that is the difference maker for eternity, and Jesus is it. “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (v.7-10).

When Jesus spoke these words, to say that he was ruffling Pharisaical feathers would be an understatement.  Jesus had just applied a concoction of his own spit-soaked eye salve – a.k.a. mud – to the eyes of a man blind from birth, and told him to go wash off in the Pool of Siloam.  When he did, miraculously, the man was able to see for the first time in his life.  The wonder of this jaw-dropping miracle, however, was quickly overshadowed by the relentless determination of the Pharisees to downplay its legitimacy and discredit Jesus for performing it.  Seeking to get to the bottom of things, the Pharisees repeatedly interrogated witnesses and even the man himself, yet no matter how many times they heard testimony of the miraculous healing, they either refused to believe it happened, or attempted to make a mockery of the miracle by disqualifying it because it was performed on the Sabbath. 

Having received word that the man’s tender soul was being harassed by the skeptical Pharisees, Jesus sought him out and wanted to reassure him.  What followed was a simple, yet beautiful dialogue between the Savior and the man: “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 worshipped him.” (John 9:35-39).  What a beautiful confession of faith!  By God’s grace, the man born blind was led to see – not just physically, but spiritually – that Jesus was the Savior.

But see what a different reaction the Pharisees had to all of this, as the exchange continued: “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.’” (John 9:40-41).  Hardened refusal to let the words and actions of Jesus serve as words and actions of the Messiah, the promised Savior, the Son of God, the Pharisees instead defiantly stood their ground.  They wouldn’t budge in their conviction that their own self-righteousness would sufficiently serve them before God, and that they had no need of a Sabbath-breaking Savior.

It is that conversation which led into the words of our text this morning, words which Jesus spoke to clear up for the Pharisees and others that salvation is found only in him.  We know that Jesus’ purpose was not, like the Pharisees’, merely a pathetic attempt at spiritual posturing, as if to go head-to-head with the religious leaders and prove himself.  No, Jesus’ purpose was, and always is, simply this: he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4); and yes, that included the Pharisees.  With that in mind, he attempted to help the Pharisees and everyone else see what the blind man had come to see – not just a miracle worker, but a Savior from sin. 

Jesus’ first attempt at illustrating his saving identity incorporated the comparison between the picture of a shepherd and a stranger.  This comparison didn’t click with his hearers at first, as John tells us: “Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them” (V.6).  We’ll spend more time on this picture of Jesus next Sunday.  This morning, however, we direct our attention to the other image Jesus painted, that of a gate.  And in order to help distinguish himself from all other religious leaders, listen first to how Jesus described everyone else – all those who are not the gate.  “All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (v.8, 10a).  Jesus doesn’t mince words.  He doesn’t say that other religious leaders are merely misguided or misunderstood; he doesn’t sympathize with them, reasoning that they mean well.  When the eternity of souls hangs in the balance, Jesus does not care about being politically correct and tolerant of those who hold different views on religion; he called them “thieves” and “robbers,” who came “to steal and kill and destroy.”  How could Jesus state it any more clearly?  Those who deny Jesus as the Savior and guide others to do the same are hell-bent on the destruction of souls.  They are not to be taken lightly!

Jesus though, had a different purpose in mind than those thieves and robbers.  Why is he so concerned that others recognize him as the only gate?  Because he longs for others to be fully aware of the gracious blessings that await all who enter through his gate.  “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (v.9, 10b).

“Whoever enters through me will be saved.” There you had it, plain and simple: Jesus was telling the Pharisees flat-out that salvation is something which one comes by only through the gate, only through him.  He wasn’t bragging, but inviting, as if to say to the Pharisees yet one more time, “your religious rites and regulations and requirements amount to nothing as far as salvation is concerned; that only comes through me.” 

Though we know it, we need that reassurance over and over, too, don’t we?  The world openly and without apology paints a target on the back of those who would have a connection to Jesus, but Jesus’ response is “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”  Others say faith in Jesus is for the simple and unscientific; Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”  Even our own doubts lead us to question if maybe there’s something left undone, some requirement unmet, to which Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

And to those who enter through that gate, Jesus promises, “They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (v.9b).  Jesus, the gate, provides protection and security, so that we can be at peace.  He does not bind us in with rigid requirements, but grants us the freedom to be served and to serve him in so many ways.  In him we are taken care of and fed.  We are guarded and guided.  There is nothing we need to fear.  The pasture of his Word and Sacraments sustain us.

And Jesus promises you something that many in the world promise, but which only Jesus can deliver.   He says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (v.10b).  What is “life to the full?”  Contrary to the lies society sells, life to the full is not instant gratification.  It isn’t getting what you want or having it your way.  It isn’t a lack of relationship problems, money problems, health problems, etc. – it isn’t any of those things.

Life to the full starts with Jesus’ promise that my eternity is safe because it is in his hands, and has already been bought and paid for with his blood.  Then, with the certainty of Jesus, the gate, guarding my heart, my eyes see my life in this world in a different light.  Fear and trepidation have been cast aside; they don’t need to follow me or haunt me, for all is well with the gate.  Guilt and regret don’t hang around my neck like a noose, for all is well with the gate.  Failure and folly don’t disqualify me, for all is well with the gate.  Loving and serving are not obligations, but opportunities, for all is well with the gate.  I have life to the full, for I have Jesus, the gate.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)