I AM the Door
The Seven I AM statements of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
We have started a series of sermons based on the seven I AM statements by Jesus recorded in John’s gospel.
When I started the series a couple of weeks ago I explained the origin of the I AM statement back when Moses was confronted by God at the burning bush and he asked God to give him his name so that when the people asked Moses would be able to tell them the name of the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. God told Moses that His name is I AM. Tell them I AM sent you.
The I AM sayings of Jesus are a profound series of statements all beginning with the words I AM. The first was
“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
“I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5)
People have all sorts of opinions about Jesus. Often without ever really knowing what He was all about, so the purpose of these messages is to have a close look at seven things that Jesus said about himself and the context in which these events happened. In these messages we find out about what Jesus thought His mission was and more particularly today we see Him critique the religious leaders in the center of Jewish religious culture, Jerusalem during the festival of Hanukkah. There was a huge controversy raging about Jesus healing a blind man and the Pharisees just would not let it go. Jesus started talking about shepherds and sheep and doors to the sheep pen. This then is where we might take a track a little different to where you thought we might go with this passage. When we think of shepherds and sheep, we think of lush green paddocks beside a beautiful freshwater stream with some nice shade trees for hot days, and Jesus hugging little fluffy lambs. Jesus was not living in our paradigm. This passage has nothing to do with hugging lambs in green pastures. This is a leadership critique. This is Jesus tearing into the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the other religious rulers of the day. The language of the sheep and the shepherds comes right out of Israel’s historical understanding of leadership. Think back to Ezekiel 34
Ezekiel 34:1–4 (NKJV)
Irresponsible Shepherds
34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
Ezekiel 34:9–10 (NKJV)
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! 10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
Ezekiel 34:11–16 (NKJV)
God, the True Shepherd
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
Ezekiel 34:30–31 (NKJV)
30 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.’ ”
31 “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
This is the back story to Jesus’ mission. This is why He looked after the common people and went after the fat shepherds. Who are the shepherds? the pharisees, who are the sheep? the people of Israel.
So, what is Jesus actually doing in our passage. Firstly, he rails on the pharisees. The anointing of spiritual leadership in Israel was always the shepherd and flock metaphor.
Numbers 27:15–17 (NKJV)
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”
When god asked Solomon what He could do for him. Solomon answered
1 Kings 3:7 (NKJV)
7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
Solomon knew that as shepherd of Israel he had to know how to lead his flock, into the sheep pen and then out into the pasture.
In exile the pharisees had assumed the role of shepherds. But instead of leading the people out and leading the people in they made it impossible for the people to follow them. They added the whole obligations of the priesthood onto the everyday men and women and this meant that only the wealthy or the privileged to afford to follow them. Instead of being the door to the sheep pen they had barred the door and made it impossible for the sheep to be properly cared for. Instead of spreading the message of the God of Israel to the Gentile nations they became totally inward focused. So, the people of Jesus’ day had no shepherds. They wandered around in the wilderness, a very dangerous place then and still today. The pharisees believed that they were the leaders of their people the shepherds of Israel, but Jesus calls them thieves and robbers.
If you have spent any time with herds of goats or sheep. Not the industrial scale herds of sheep that we have in Australia but family sized flocks where the animals are all hand raised and have their own names. You will understand what Jesus says next.
John 10:2–4 (NIV84)
2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman 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.
We could send a child out to bring in the goats for milking because they knew everyone in the family. A child could go down to the paddock and call them, and they would follow him or her up to the dairy to be milked. I have seen visitors to the farm try the same thing, but the goats just stand in a group around the person looking at them as if to say ‘who are you then? What makes you think we will follow you mate?’
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
What is the purpose of the sheep pen? The sheep pen provides safety for the sheep at night or when danger threatens the flock. So the walls of the sheep pen represent real boundaries. Inside is safety, outside is danger and Jesus tells us that anyone who wants to get into the sheep pen has to go through Him. He is the door. So what does that say about those who don’t acknowledge these boundaries and try to get into the pen by jumping over the walls or tearing down the walls. Jesus says that they are the thieves and the robbers. The sheep won’t listen to them so they try anything that they can to try to establish contact with the herd by deceit or control. Jesus is saying that we can know His voice. Once we have heard the voice of the master we will never follow the voice of the thief and the robber. So we have these established and legitimate boundaries in our lives and the thief comes in to bypass these boundaries to steal and to rob us of what? Our trust in the leadership. Our emotional barriers that we put up around our mind to protect us from hurt. They attack even our property. I mean did anyone here leave their front door open when they came to church this morning? Did anyone leave their car unlocked in the car park? No. Why not? Because of the thief. The thief is always looking for an illegitimate access point to get in and do what?
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
This is always the goal of the thief. How do they accomplish this goal. One way is through religion and the other is through rebellion. So just to recap on the pharisees for a moment, they had added to the burden of the people by imposing impossible burdens of law keeping on them and then judging them if they fell short. These were the sinners that the gospels talk about. They were denied access to the synagogue and the worship of the God of Israel. Instead of being the door to God the pharisees had locked and barred the door to prevent people from a relationship with God. This is why Jesus had such overwhelming compassion on them. Sheep without true shepherds. This is why Jesus is so hard on the pharisees calling them thieves, robbers, and killers.
Towards the end of Matthew’s gospel in chapter 23, Jesus uses very strong language, over and over and over again He calls them hypocrites ending up with “you serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you escape the judgement of Hell?” As the gatekeepers they were supposed to bring heaven on earth, and yet Jesus says you bring hell on earth wherever you go. Beware of the pharisees today, even in the church, they sneak over the boundary and say no matter how hard you try, you have got to do more. No matter how hard you try it will never be good enough to please God.
Then we look at the other group, the rebellion. Exactly the opposite to the others, one spirit is trying to get you to obey the laws the other spirit says laws are oppressive I want nothing to do with them. Both of these spirits try to destroy the character of God. So, we have to settle in our own hearts the question, what is God like? Is He good or is He bad? God is holding out on you friend, trust me, trust me, trust me. Rules will oppress you boundaries will restrict you get out into the wilderness where you can be free and live however you want. He starts with small things, Did God say??? That is just so unjust, so unfair how can you be expected to believe that?
James 1:13–15 (NKJV)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
When we follow these rebellious ideas there is a progression, first doubt, then desire, then sin, then death. Don’t listen to this voice, shut it down because there is no joy in the fruits of rebellion against God, only misery, and eventually death.
What voice then should we listen to friends? How about,
Isaiah 30:21 (NKJV)
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
Listen to the shepherds voice,
John 10:9–10 (NKJV)
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 does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus promises that if we listen to him his voice will drown out all the other voices going around and around in your heads. Read the word. Meditate on the word. Learn to hear His voice so that when a different voice tries to jump over your fences and tempt you with something different, you can say safely and confidently no! Jesus did not say that. Get out of my head and back where you came from. It is safe inside Jesus’ sheep pen. Jesus did not come to kill, steal and destroy, that is the voice of the enemy Jesus came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
Holy Communion
It is so good to have our church family with us today as we celebrate communion. Let us reflect on the words of the Shepherd this morning. Listen to his voice as we prepare our hearts.
Hear what our Saviour Jesus Christ said to all who truly turn to him,
“Come unto me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life,” John 3:16.
“This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” I Timothy 1:15
“If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” I John 2:1-2.
So, this morning let us just reflect on those words and promises of Jesus.
He who eats His flesh as we see represented by this bread and drinks His blood as we see here represented by this cup of juice, the master promises that we abide in Him and He in us. Jesus promises that those who feed on Him will have eternal life and that He will raise us up at the last day. Amen to that.
This morning, we are remembering, and honoring Jesus’ wishes that we do this: -
Let us remember that the Lord Jesus Christ on the same night that He was betrayed took the bread and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to his disciples saying "Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given
for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
Likewise, after supper, he took the cup; and when he had
given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of this;
for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for
you, and for many, for the remission of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Would you now take the bread
Let us eat together: -
The Body of Christ, the bread of life Himself. [Amen.]
Let us now take the cup
Let us drink together: -
The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. [Amen.]
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Heavenly Father, you have opened to us the Scriptures today
and you have made yourself known to us
in the breaking of the bread and in the sharing of the cup.
Abide with us and in us, we pray,
that, blessed by your holy presence,
we may walk with you, that we may be empowered by your Spirit to witness and to serve you as disciples all the days of our life,
Blessing and honor and glory and power
be yours for ever and ever.
Amen.
Or This
Father of all,
we give you thanks and praise,
that when we were still far off
you met us in your Son and brought us home.
Living, Dying, and now alive for evermore, He declared your love,
gave us grace and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,
so we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Benediction
"The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you, and remain with you always." Amen.