John 10:7-10
7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
INTRODUCTION
In Jesus’ time, shepherds keep their flocks in a shared fold, which is an area bounded by a stone wall. The gate of the sheepfold was a mere gap in the wall, no wider than a sheep, which the shepherd filled by standing or lying down in it himself. A sheep might leave the fold, or a wolf or thief enter it, only over the body of the shepherd. He was himself the door. In this passage, Jesus talks about being the gate. We are going to learn about what he meant by being the gate.
THE GATE TO ETERNAL LIFE
7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. (John 10:7-8)
Christ is the gate. There is no other way to enter the kingdom of God but through faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot come to God the Father except through Christ. Nor can we take part in Christ’s covenantal blessings, in His church, in eternal life except through Christ. All who claimed to be Christ before Jesus himself were thieves and robbers.
The Greek word for gate, thura, means the door of the kingdom of heaven, it denotes the conditions which must be complied with in order to be received into the kingdom of God. In John 14: 6, Jesus states that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the father except through him. This is the condition for eternal life [or the kingdom of heaven], that we believe in Jesus Christ and acknowledge his work on the cross for us.
When we go out to share the gospel, keep in mind that it only by faith in Jesus that people can receive eternal life.
THE GATE TO SECURITY
9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The 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)
Jesus said all who come in through me will be saved. This means when someone believes in Jesus they are saved and their needs are met.
The Greek word for Save is sozo meaning to keep safe and sound, rescue from destruction and danger. This means that through Christ we can be rescued from danger and destruction including eternal destruction.
As God’s sheep we are under his protection, we have pasture and access to the kingdom. There are still plenty of people in danger of destruction, lacking the safety of a sheep pen (church) or a good shepherd. Some don’t even know that they are in danger. However it is not our job to save them but we can point them to the gate, Jesus Christ, So that through him they too will be saved.
CONCLUSION:
Jesus is the gate to the kingdom of heaven and He is the Savior of the world. Let us grasp this truth and so we can share it with conviction to our friends and the people we meet in evangelism.
Who do you think were the thieves and robbers Jesus was referring to?
What do you think Jesus mean by the word 'pasture' in this passage?
