The
Sheep Gate John Chapter 10
Standing in the temple of Jerusalem, preaching to worshipers and
religious leaders, these words of Jesus about sheep would have evoked a bold
awareness of sounds and activities all around them. At tables nearby, bleating
sheep were being sold and carried further into the temple, where they were led
through a door to the place of sacrifice. Far from the peaceful setting of a
pasture, Jesus spoke of sheep in the place where they were about to be
slaughtered. Unlike the shepherd among passive lambs in many of our pictures,
tending these sheep requires something more than a gentle hand and a watchful
eye. These sheep needed to be saved.
So it is quite telling that Jesus first identifies
himself, not as the Good Shepherd, but as the gate for the
sheep. In the ancient walls of Jerusalem, there was a gate on the north of the
city, by which animals were brought in from the countryside for sacrifice. It
was called the Sheep Gate. Once inside the city and within the temple courts,
there was only one door where the sheep went in, and no lamb ever came back out
after entering the temple. They traveled in only one direction, and there they
were sacrificed for the sins of men and women. For first-century hearers of
Jesus’s words about sheep, such knowledge added to the shock of Christ’s words:
“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep…. I am the gate; whoever
enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find
pasture.”(4)
In the temple filled with sheep on their way towards death,
Jesus declared there was a way out: “I have come that they may have life, and
have it to the full. I am the Good Shepherd.”(5)
Like the child in my Sunday school class, I readily imagine the
Good Shepherd delights in the task of caring for his flock. He goes willingly
to search for the one that has gone astray. He gently holds us in his arms and
guides us through valleys and beside still waters. He calls us by name and
smiles at our recognition of his voice.
But he also breaks into courtyards where there is no longer
hope. He refuses to cower through the course of our rescue, though he is
accosted by our sin and humiliated by our denials. He provides a way, though it
costs him everything. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his
friends, so that even one lamb can get away.
JOHN Chapter 10
I wonder how close you’ve ever come to a sheep? Is it only the
lamb chops that you ate at your favorite Restaurant? Or have you seen one in a
painting or on TV? Maybe you’ve touched one at a petting zoo, or a children’s
farm? What kind of picture do you have of sheep?
If you’ve been up close and personal with sheep you’ll know
their fleece isn’t ‘white as snow’, but more grey from all the dirt, burrs and
ticks. They’re often messy, smelly, and not particularly smart!
In today’s passage Jesus calls us sheep. It’s not quite a
compliment! But it’s a good illustration, because sheep are utterly dependent
on their shepherd.
Being an agricultural society, sheep and shepherds were common
figures in Jesus’ day. Everyone listening would’ve been familiar with the
images that Jesus describes in this chapter. What’s more they would’ve grasped
the deeper significance. Moses & David shepherds. The language of sheep and
shepherds runs deep in the Old Testament.
Jesus begins, not by describing the sheep or the shepherds, but
by warning of another figure. It’s the thief or the bandit. They have to sneak
in because the sheep, and the watchmen don’t know them.
In ancient Israel, shepherds would bring their flocks into a pen
at night. That way you only needed one person to guard them from predators or
thieves. If you weren’t the shepherd, the gatekeeper wouldn’t let you in! So
the only option you had would be to try and climb over the walls. Even if you
managed to do that, I’m not sure what the plan would be next!
The contrast is with the shepherd. The gatekeeper knows him and
opens the gate for him. And not just the gatekeeper, the sheep know the
shepherd too! I said before sheep aren’t the smartest of animals. But they’re
smart enough to know their master. Even if someone else dressed in the
shepherd’s clothes, the sheep wouldn’t come. And they certainly wouldn’t come
for a stranger! They only respond to the voice of the shepherd. It’s because
they know the shepherd. And he knows them.
In verse 3, the shepherd calls them out by name. It’s not that
he stands there saying, ‘Come on Sheep,’ or ‘Here sheepy, sheepy.’ No! He knows
all their names. So he calls out, ‘Here Fluffy, here Blacky, here Spotty.’ The
shepherd knows each sheep individually. And he knows them intimately. So when
he calls, they hear, they know and they respond. The sheep only follow their
shepherd.
So this morning I want to ask you, do you know the shepherd? Have you heard him call?
Have you heard Jesus speaking? This is more than just knowing
our Bibles. It’s more than just knowing Sunday school stories, or being able to
remember some of Jesus words. In the second half of chapter 10, the Jews, the
religious leaders, come to Jesus and ask, ‘How long will you keep jerking us
around? Tell us plainly are you the Messiah?’
What does Jesus say to them? He says, ‘I’ve already told you.’
They’d heard Jesus’ teaching, they’d heard him say he was the bread of life,
the water of life, the light of life. They’d heard this, but they hadn’t
believed. Not only had they heard Jesus words, they’d seen the signs that he’d
done. If actions speak louder than words, these signs were giant shout-outs to
God’s kingdom, to Jesus glory. Jesus performed these signs so that we might
hear, and know, that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. That is,
they’re so that we will know that Jesus is equal with the Father, that he’s
united with the Father in purpose and will. The signs are so that we’ll know
that Jesus is God’s Son. But if we’re to know Jesus the way the sheep know the
shepherd, we’ve got to go further than this. We get an idea of the depth of the
relationship we’re to have with him
in verse 14; ‘I know my own and my own know me, just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father.’ It’s more than an intellectual
knowledge, it’s a deep, intimate knowledge. It’s not just about hearing his
words. It’s receiving, accepting, and obeying his word. It’s about responding
to his voice. It would be no good if the sheep in the pen heard their master’s
voice but then just stood there and didn’t come running!
In a way they’re like the hired hands in verse 12. They don’t really care for the sheep. They’re more interested in their own skin, their own profit, their own wellbeing. The those who came before refers at least to the religious leaders of Jesus day. Those who we saw in chapter nine were quick to question, even quicker to condemn, the man who had been blind. But the warning and rebuke goes beyond this. It covers any, at any time, who’ve exploited God’s people.
There’s a strong echo of Ezekiel 34 in this passage. God chastises those who were meant to be shepherds of his people. Those who failed to care for the flock and instead stole their wool and feasted on their flesh. God judges those who abuse their power, who take advantage of the flock, who allow them to wander from God.
Ezek. 34:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.
But then in his compassion he makes a great promise. In Ezekiel 34:11 onwards, God promise that he will be our chief shepherd. He will gather his people. He will tend to our infirmities, binding up the injured and strengthening the weak. He will lead us to green pastures and provide for us.
Ezek. 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
But then just a few verses later God says he will appoint one shepherd, David over them.
Ezek. 34:23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
And now Jesus has come. He’s a descendant of David. David’s great, great, great, grandson. But he’s also God the Son. Here is the one who is both God and Man. Here is the great shepherd. The one who’s come to shepherd God’s sheep, to care for his people. He’s come so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. He’s come so that we might have eternal life and never perish. We’ve got to be careful here. Jesus isn’t promising that we’ll have a life of abundance and excess in this world. Our lives aren’t full through an accumulation of stuff, or wealth. True life is life connected with God. It’s life in right relationship with God and with each other. It’s the richness of life in relationship with God here and now, and eternally with him in heaven.
And notice the little reminder that Jesus is the only way we can have this full, eternal life. He’s the gate, the only entrance to it. This is incomprehensible to the world around us. To be lead, to be ruled is to lose freedom. The post-modern world we live in says I should be free to choose what I want. That I can only have the good life if I’m free. But Jesus says that’s completely wrong. It is only through him that we have true freedom.
9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
It’s only through Christ that we are saved. It’s only then that we have freedom to come and go, and to find pasture. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. No one can come to the Father except through him. Jesus is the good shepherd. He’s the one who not only knows his sheep, but cares for them without measure. He’s the shepherd who provides for our deepest needs.
Did you see the surprising way he does this? In verse 11, Jesus says he is the good shepherd, the one who’s come to lay his life down for the sheep.
It’s not the first qualification you’d look for in a shepherd. Maybe patience, gentleness, good understanding of animal husbandry! It’s true that shepherds in Israel needed to face down predators like lions and bears. But the aim was to fight them off, not for the shepherd to actually lay their life down. In fact if they did it would be a disaster for the sheep. There’d be no more shepherd to look after them! But Jesus says that he lays his life down for the sheep, that this is the only way the sheep can be brought into the fold. And notice how we’re brought into one fold, there’s only one flock.
As the good shepherd, Christ lays his life down for us. Christ died, and rose again to unite us with God and with each other. He does this out of his love and obedience to the Father, and out of his love for us. And having done that he secures our future too. Having laid his life down to save us, he’s not about to let us go easily. As Paul puts it in Romans: 8:38
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing is able to snatch us from Christ’s hand. Jesus says we
are greater than all else, and he’s not about to let us go. And neither is the
Father.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one
will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than
all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.
How great it is then to be a sheep of this shepherd! To be
known, and to know him, intimately. To have him provide for us. To have him
protect us. To have him secure our future. To know that he holds us firm in his
hand, and that nothing can separate us from him. How great it is to affirm with
the Psalmist:
1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
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