John, in his Gospel, emphasizes the seven I AM statements of Jesus.
The second, "I am the light of the world."
Light or darkness depends on where you come out on the other side of this; "Do I need to be set free?" I personally don't want to ever get comfortable with darkness again. We crave the light of Jesus whether we know it or not. Coming from someone who lived much of her life in perpetual darkness without Him, the answer is worth seeking.
See my last post, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, on John 8:12-59
Before Jesus said this, He healed a man who was blind from birth. He opened the man's eyes physically, and because the Pharisees, who supposedly had sight, were threatened by this, they threw the man out of the temple and accused Jesus of being a fraud. However, Jesus, the true Shepherd, found the man, revealed to him his spiritual blindness, and unlike the Pharisees, the man believed (see John 9).
“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. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. John 10:1-2
I love the way Jesus used real life to drive a point. He knew they would understand shepherds and sheep and sheep pens (yet as you'll see shortly, they still didn't get it.) But as for us, in our culture, it's understandable that we would have a bit more difficulty with the analogy, so we'll have to dig a little deeper.
Who were these Pharisees, they keep popping up everywhere don't they? Like many leaders of the day, they were known as shepherds. They were educated, scholars really, with clout. Believing they were the only ones who fully knew God, they lorded over the people. Arrogance and self righteousness caused them not only to turn away from the Light, but also to reject the Messiah they claimed to know so much about. They were supposed to be leading the flock, but they, not Jesus, were actually the frauds. It just goes to show you that just because someone calls themselves a shepherd, doesn't make a shepherd; neither does simply stepping into the role (or the gate).
The Pharisee effect is real. It's legalism through and through. I think we should take a good look inside just in case. At the very least we should be aware of its influence on us; and weigh and test everything we hear against scripture, whether it comes from someone else or from within our own hearts. (1 John 4:1, Galatians 6:3)
[Jesus continued] The gatekeeper opens the gate for him [the shepherd], and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his 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 10:3-5 NIV .
At the end of the day, shepherds would put their flocks into a sheep pen for the night. In the morning when the shepherd would call his sheep, only those that were his came to him. That's so amazing to me. There could have been dozens of other sheep in the pen but only his recognized his voice. Imagine the trust they had to have in him; a trust he cultivated. As he walks, they follow knowing they would be cared for, protected, and led in the way they should go.
Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “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. John 10:6-8 NIV
Jesus is the Shepherd, and also the Gate for the sheep. What does that mean? Well, if we are His, then we are the sheep in the story. Why does Jesus call us sheep? I think it has as much to do with Him being our Shepherd as it does with us being His sheep. If you really think about it, we are kind of helpless and dumb when left to ourselves?
Like sheep, left to ourselves, we're lost. We're prone to wander just as they are. Ever feel like you would love nothing more than to have someone you can trust to lead you in the right direction? How about uncertainty? I definitely see the sheep in me in this one; I can go from uneasy to down right fearful in 2 seconds flat! Sheep are helpless, especially against evil; and so are we. The only difference between us and them is we're deceived into thinking we have the power to control it. And let's not forget about herd mentality. We've seen a lot of that lately, haven't we? Yep, I went there. It can be a poisonous game of follow the leader. When a sheep is bored or sees greener pastures in his peripheral, off he goes, even if it's off a cliff. And then bam, there go his friends.
A mistake many of us make is that we think we can conquer these things on our own. That is simply an illusion. So yes beloved, we need a Shepherd. But not just any shepherd; a Shepherd who knows us intimately and cares for us deeply. A Shepherd who was willing to leave heaven in order to gather His sheep; His sheep who He calls by name.
Now to the gate. Many sheep pens did not have a gate so a true shepherd would lay his body down across the opening to protect his flock from wandering off, while at the same time blocking anything dangerous from entering in.
[Jesus said again] 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. John 10:9-10 NIV
Jesus was clear, religion will not save anyone, not even a Pharisee. Knowledge does not give us a pass into His Kingdom, nor does good deeds, or even the Church. And emotion, definitely not emotion. Unfortunately, emotion seems to be the god of the day. People are blindly feeling their way through life, completely unaware that they are listening to the wrong voice(s).
Jesus heals the blind. He is the Gate; the Way, the Truth, and the One that leads to Life.
I don't know about you, but this particular sheep is grateful that the Father who knows everything, knew we'd be sheep, so He provided a Shepherd for those who would choose to follow Him through the Gate that sets them free and brings true liberty.
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. Psalm 23:1
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