I Am The Door
Scripture References
Acts 2:42-47
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[4] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
1 Peter 2:19-25
Submission to Authority
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
John 10:1-10
I Am the Good Shepherd
1 “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. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and redeemer. Amen.
I Am The Door
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. It is clear from the readings of Psalms 23 and the Gospel of John 10 that our Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd… But have you ever stopped to think about what a Good Shepherd is? What the magnitude is of a Shepherd being the door? And, why you and I are complared to sheep?
I never really thought about the influence of these questions concerning a shepherd until one morning a couple years ago… On this morning, all the sheep escaped from their pen next to the barn where they belonged. The gate or door of the pen come unlatched somehow. Anyway, they were having a grand ol time frolicking around the yard. About this time our hired hands were arriving to work. They all parked their vehicles and commenced on foot in hot pursuit after the sheep. Admittedly, I was quite entertained as I witnessed three men chasing these critters every direction but the correct one. About then, during all this commotion, Janice walks out of the house. She calls the sheep, and everything stops…. And I mean everything; the sheep, the hired hands, and me thinking all this was funny.
As she walked across the yard, the sheep formed a line behind her. Calmly marching all the way back to the barn and through the door to their pen.
So, when you hear in Scripture how sheep will respond to their shepherd… these verses taken from John 10 verse 5 in the Gospel lesson today is spot on when Jesus says, “A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The Good Shepherd
To fully understand who Jesus is talking to, we must gather context from the previous chapter, John 9. Here Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, and they are having a conniption fit over His healing a blind man on the Sabbath. For one thing, in the Pharisees eyes it was against Old Testament covenant law to work on the Sabbath and healing a blind man broke that law. Secondly, they knew this blind man could only be healed by the works of God and it just blew their mind that Jesus did this. Therefore, a standoff develops, so to speak, as we see in chapter 10 verse 6, “but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” So, these are the circumstances why Jesus refers to the Pharisees as thieves and robbers. Stealing the truth and teaching lies to those who worship in the synagogue.
But we know better as we embrace the truth through scripture. Jesus is the Messiah like He tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
And another one of Jesus many “I Am” statements we see in chapter 10 verse 7, “Truly, Truly, I say to you. I am the door of the sheep.”
In Biblical times, sheep were as imperative to a family’s livelihood as is someone’s occupation is today. The job of a shepherd was not an easy one. Long days in the elements while the flock required protection from predators and poachers. In the evening the shepherd would lead his flock back home and through a gate or door for night-time security. Usually, this door would just be an opening in the fence and the shepherd would lie down in this opening to protect the flock with his life if necessary. Safeguarding the sheep by keeping danger away, including the thief. As Jesus addresses to the Pharisees in Verse 10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
We Are The Flock
You and I are likened to sheep because we need protected from danger and those false teachers. You see, sheep have no survival skills when released on their own. They are totally dependent upon the shepherd, just like we are. The sheep come to know that when the shepherd speaks, they should follow his plan. For his plan for them is better than a plan for themselves. Sheep need the security found within the flock and especially the security found behind the Good Shepherds door. We find these same characteristics in our walk with Christ… our Good Shepherd.
What attracts us sheep to follow this Good Shepherd? Let me answer that by paraphrasing Psalm 23… “We can be assured that He still cares for you and I (His sheep) and protects us.… He gives us all that we need! He leads us to places where we can find blessings and peace.
He restores and refreshes us when we are physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained! He leads us down the path we ought to go so that our life will be pleasing to Him.
Even when we face challenges and circumstances in our daily walk with Him that seem as dark as death itself… we don’t have to be afraid! Because we know that You are with us Lord! You are there doing what a shepherd does… guiding and guarding day and night.
Even when enemies surround us you have a wonderful way of providing a table filled with bountiful blessings! When we get hurt you have just the salve needed to bring healing! Our cup of blessings overflow! One thing we can be sure… Your goodness and mercy endure forever. With this faith, we have the assurance of dwelling with you eternally in Heaven!”
That my friends are why us sheep line up behind the Good Shepherd and follow His voice.
Unfortunately, we are also compared to sheep because, like that eventful morning, sheep will stray occasionally and frolic through the yard. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way.” In our sinfulness, the evil one will lure us away from the flock that keeps us spiritually secure. We are reminded throughout Scripture that we are like sheep, prone to wander from the fold in search of false hope that can never fully satisfy. Desires that fill us with greed, lies, envy or pride. You and I, as the proverbial sheep, will ignore the Good Shepherds voice…. His Word…. Satan, the spiritual Mayhem Guy so to speak, works diligently towards wrecking our faith.
Choose The Right Door
That is what happened to Peter after Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are told in Matthew 26:58 that Peter “followed him at a distance.” In his sinfulness he was afraid of what might happen to him if he stayed too close. Peter even denied knowing Jesus three different times when the crowd was demanding to crucify Jesus.
There is a distance created between us and God as well when we try to dwell in self security, self-righteousness, self-pity, self-sufficiency…. and as I go down this “self” path, I could go on and on. When that happens, we find ourselves like Peter, choosing the wrong door.
Even though we know that Jesus says He is the door, we see other doors in our life that lead us to think something is better behind the next one. Among temptation, we start to question which door to choose.
Remember the game show “Let’s make a deal?” There were three doors you had to pick from. The game show host Monty Hall would have you pick a door to see what you might receive upon opening it. So, you might choose door number 2. Then the hard part was to come. Monty would then give you another choice of trading that prize in for what might be behind door number 1 or 3. Should I keep what I see or is there something better behind one of the other doors?
Monty Hall would thrive on getting people to make quick decisions and create doubt, which often affected the outcome, either good or bad… Making the “right decision” was the name of the game to go home with the grand prize of the day. Making a wrong decision possibly would award the contestant with a zonk, like broken furniture or a basket of dirty laundry.
What makes the game show intriguing is the contestants are always being tempted to give up what they know they have for something else. Even when they can see the cash or the prize, when given a choice… most of the contestants seem to go for what they can’t see behind the next door. Why? Because they are hoping to win something bigger and better.
What door will you choose when faced with temptation? Will you be better or worse off? Doors are metaphors for the choices we make every day. When you walk by a door, you choose to open it or close it. You learn early that some doors you should not walk through, some you should walk through, and some you can’t walk through. There are even some doors God will not let you walk through.
Jesus Is The Door
However, at the end of the day, in all this doubting and debating, we know we need to quit frolicking around in the yard and listen to the Good Shepherds voice. The Word of God is that voice. But you know as well as I do, that is easier said than done. Listening to His voice might not be at the end of that day. It might be the end of the week, month, or longer. Like me, I am hard of hearing… Luke understands… and that is why he addressed this in the First lesson for today. How do I maintain my walk with God?
In Acts 2:42-47, Luke tells us that we can do that through worship and Christian community. We learn in this reading that worship was important in the life of the early Christians. They went together to the temple daily… praying, worshiping, and…. the breaking of bread… all were central to their lives.
They were attentive to the teaching of the apostles, and they spent time in fellowship with each other. In all these ways they become stronger in their faith and strengthened in their commitment to listening to the Good Shepherd’s voice and seeking protection behind His door.
Their joyful attitude and the obvious mutual love and fellowship had the effect of drawing in ‘new disciples’, expanding the flock and increasing the wealth of God’s kingdom. People were drawn into the fellowship of Jesus’s flock by the sincerity of their worship, the strength of their fellowship and the witness of their service to the community. As we see in verse 47, “and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” That is the door the Good Shepherd wants us to open. The best choice of all other door options. No zonk.
Yes, Jesus is the door, the door on earth to remain righteous and the door to heaven when we leave this place.
On this 4th Sunday of Easter, we continue to celebrate the open tomb. Jesus, our Good Shepherd laid down his life on the cross and rose again not only for the forgiveness of our sins, but to give us life… My friends, He did this for his sheep. Because…. through His abounding grace…. He loves us… He cares for us… He is our guide, protector, and healer. He is the provider of spiritual food, care, and mercy. Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, finds joy in seeing the weak and suffering sheep find their way through the door into His presence.
Follow Him
As believers in the here and now, we recognize his voice, through scripture, and we follow Him….
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I know I want to follow the Good Shepherd and I know you do too. The one who finds us when we are lost and clueless. Who opens the door to see beyond our beginnings and our sufferings. The door through Jesus who promises, “Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
And may the peace of God who surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.