The Whole Jesus

Jensen Near

Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

John 10:1–21

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Jesus is the only way to heaven, but he isn't only the way to heaven.

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Have you ever had a person in your life who you felt like just didn’t get you? I don’t mean someone you didn’t like and couldn’t get along with. Someone you wanted to have meaningful relationship with, and it just never clicked?

Maybe it was someone you had a crush on, and you tried to get into their friend group or to get them into yours, but no matter what you did, it never worked out? They always took your overtures in a different way than you meant them? You ask them on a date and they figure it’s a group thing and bring a couple of friends along? Or you’re just inviting someone to a group thing, and they get all excited, thinking you’re asking them on a date?

Any kind of relationship with other people can be tricky. It requires vulnerability—usually more vulnerability than we want to offer! People do all kinds of funny and crazy things to try to navigate relationships.

We laughed awkwardly and asked her what a friend-crush was. She explained “you know, it’s when you spend time in the same circles as people you haven’t met yet, but they seem really cool, and you know you want to be friends with them!”

And sometimes, it seems like no matter what you do, people won’t relate to you the way you want them to.

We thought that was so funny, but I think there was some genius to her directness. Relationships are complicated, and Selina had figured out that if she had a “friend-crush” on somebody, the best way to get that was to tell them “I want to be your friend!”

So this year is my 9th year of working with College Students. Before getting this job, I worked as a Resident Director at two different Christian Colleges. If you don’t know what that is, I always like to tell people that the RD role is part life-coach, part traffic cop.

The job exists at pretty much every college that have students who live on campus, because the college needs somebody who can be there 24 hours a day to make sure the students are safe, and don’t do anything too crazy.

The parts I loved about my job are the parts of love about this job! I get to build relationships with young adults, and have awesome conversations about how to figure this life out, what’s important, who to marry, and what the Bible has to say about all of that.

As much as I could I tried to get along with all the students, to have good relationships with them, to build trust with them so we’d have a platform to have the important life conversations they needed to have to navigate college well.

But there were some students, no matter how I tried, I couldn’t ever have relationship with them. It wasn’t because they didn’t like my personality or anything like that, it was because enforcing the college’s community standards, was a part of my job.

And no matter how I tried to reach out to them, I couldn’t change the fact that whenever I’d enter the room they were in, their reaction was always, “Oh, the rule-guy is here. Stop having fun.”

Don’t get me wrong, helping the students learn to keep the school’s community standards was a part of my job—but do you really think that’s why I took that job? To them, all I was was the traffic-cop. That was the thing that defined me. But that’s not who I was!

We’ve all experienced the complications of trying to relate to people, and had those moments where we just feel like people are completely missing us, and tonight we’re going to studying , where Jesus gives us significant insight into who He is, and how He wants to relate to us, to a crowd of people who just keep missing it.

Keep in mind, the whole book of John was written for this very reason: Jesus has come, healed people, done miracles, died on the cross, and risen from the dead, but there are still people who are on the fence. They might have even seen Jesus perform a miracle, but still hadn’t decided to give their lives to him! So John writes the gospel to say “look, this Jesus guy isn’t just another bible teacher or inspirational speaker—he’s the Messiah! The Savior!”

Let’s read , starting in verse 1.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

“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.

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English Standard Version Chapter 10

So just in these five verses, Jesus uses this figure of speech about sheep and Shepherd’s to teach a group of Jews some important truths about him, but as verse 6 tells us, they didn’t understand what he meant.

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Here’s the stuff they would have understood about this story: In 1st Century Israel, raising sheep was a common way of life. In the small country towns, people would build a courtyard outside of their house, with 5 or 6 ft. walls, and only one way out. During they day, they would lead the sheep out of town into the countryside to graze, and then during the evening , they would bring the sheep back into the pen to keep them safe from predators and thieves.

Jesus makes a pretty common sense point here: If you see someone climbing over the fence into your courtyard, instead of using the gate, it’s safe to assume they don’t belong there. If you’re someone who belongs there—the shepherd, You enter by the gate.

Pretty obvious stuff for the Jews.

Jesus then goes on to talk about how the sheep relate to their shepherd. Now in our day, if you’ve seen how shepherds work, they usually use dogs, and when you’re moving sheep from place to place, we call it “driving the herd.” the Shepherd stands behind the sheep and uses a stick and the dogs to push the sheep to or from pasture.

But in the first century, the shepherd would actually walk in front of his sheep, calling for them to follow him—and the sheep would quickly learn the voice of their shepherd, and follow willingly. Since there was no running water in that day, the places they would water the sheep would often be used by multiple shepherds at the same time. Can you imagine the madness? Trying to keep all of your sheep straight, and not losing sheep or taking home extra? But here’s what’s amazing: the sheep knew their shepherd’s voice, and would only respond when their shepherd would call for them to follow.

So Jesus is teaching them using another picture we already know: “we get it Jesus. If the shepherd calls for his sheep, they follow him. If a strangers calls to them, it scares them. They don’t follow him. Duh. What’s the point?”

They get the sheep stuff, they just don’t see how it connects to Jesus. Fortunately for us and them, Jesus explains what he means, starting in verse 7:

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English Standard Version Chapter 10

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. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

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As we’ve been studying through John, we’ve been continually asking “who is Jesus?” Here in verses 7 and 9, Jesus directly gives a word picture to help us understand who He is. Twice he tells this crowd of Jews, “I am the door.”

We don’t have to wonder what this means: he tells us in verse 9:

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“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

When Jesus tells us that he’s the door, He’s making an exclusive claim: He’s the only way to salvation.

In this picture, the sheep represent people. These Jews are very familiar with the Old Testament, and they know that the “Day of the Lord” is coming, when God is finally going to right all the wrongs and bring His perfect justice to bear on this world. And they also know that God has promised salvation for his people—for His flock.

So who stays safe in the pen? Who receives salvation? His flock. How do you become part of his flock? You gotta enter through the door, through Jesus. This is the first thing Jesus wanted us to know about Him.

At this point Jesus introduces another picture of himself: the Good Shepherd. Look at verse 11:

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English Standard Version Chapter 10

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

But Jesus isn’t just telling us a sweet story about Him and His sheep. When the shepherd comes to the gate in the morning, there are other people in there already. And the gatekeeper didn’t let them in. What did Jesus already tell us about these people who are trying to work the sheep, but didn’t enter through the gate?

It’s a comforting picture, and it may be one that you’re familiar with, but Jesus isn’t just telling us a sweet story about Him and His sheep. When the shepherd comes to the gate in the morning, there are other people in there already. And the gatekeeper didn’t let them in. What did Jesus already tell us about these people who are trying to work the sheep, but didn’t enter through the gate?

This is a nice sweet story

Verse 8 and Verse 10:

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“All who came before me are thieves and robbers....”

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy....”

See when Jesus came as the Messiah, to reveal himself as the promised salvation, there were already people in the pen with the sheep. The Pharisees had a good thing going before Jesus showed up. They knew the scriptures, they knew the traditions that past rabbi’s (Jewish teachers) had built up around God’s word, adding thousands of new rules to follow.

They were trying to fill the role as the Shepherd’s of God’s people. But then the Good Shepherd shows up and says “they’re not with me. They didn’t come through the door—they came from over the wall. And what they end up doing to the sheep? Taking advantage of them. Hurting them. Doing what thieves do.

These aren’t made up charges. We don’t even have to move a chapter away from this story to know this is true: John included this story directly after the story of the blindman that Jesus healed. This man receives his eyesight, and because He simply states the facts: Jesus miraculously healed me by the power of God, the very people who should have rejoiced at God working in their midst excommunicated this recently healed man because he sided with Jesus instead of them.

And it wasn’t just the Pharisees of Jesus’s day:

In verse 8 Christ said “all who came before me are thieves and robbers....”

See the leaders of Israel didn’t have a good track record of shepherding the flock well. Look what God says to them in Ezekiel 34:

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English Standard Version Chapter 34

Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, 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 fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

Can you imagine? If I read verses 3-4, without telling you it’s addressed to the “shepherds of Israel”, would you think I’m talking about Shepherds? It basically reads as the opposite of a Shepherd’s job description, and yet this is how the people God gave responsibility for leading his people were acting.

But Ezekiel doesn’t just preach God’s condemnation on the wicked leaders, God follows up this condemnation with a promise, verses 15-16

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English Standard Version Chapter 34

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares 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, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Here in we see the beginning of that promise being fulfilled: Jesus has come as the good shepherd. These other false shepherds have abused them and taken advantage of them, but Jesus is here to seek the lost, bind up the injured, strengthen the weak.

Let’s keep reading in

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English Standard Version Chapter 10

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

We’re not in the sheep pen anymore. Cause that’s not where the sheep stay. Every day the shepherd leads them out into the countryside to find food and water. And out here, there be wolves.

and here we have another way to tell the difference between the good shepherd, and those who claim to be.

Maybe they want to lead the flock. Maybe they want the kudos. But as soon as the real danger comes—they’re out.

They don’t care—their flock isn’t their flock. They’re just the hired guy. They run away.

but the good shepherd lays his life down for the flock.

See the good shepherd led them out here into the country side. He’s making sure that they get fed and watered, he’s making sure the sick or injured ones make it out ok. And then the enemy comes, the wolf, to feed on the Sheep. And the shepherd lays down his life for them.

this part isn’t a metaphor guys. Jesus isn’t trying to think of some action that would portray that Jesus likes his sheep alot. See all along, Jesus has been following the plan that God the Father entrusted him with: and he knows where it ends. The cross. His own sacrificial death, to bring life to his sheep.

See as this crowd is listening to him, maybe they thought it was a metaphor: “Sure Jesus, a good shepherd would put himself in harm’s way. Good point.”

but in less than a year, these people will have the chance to see him do this very thing. And at the end of this passage, John shows us that Jesus knew all along that this was going to happen, and that He chose to let it happen. Nobody involved had the authority to capture him, beat him, and put him to death. See Jesus wasn’t an itinerant preacher who’s promising ministry career was cut short when his enemies caught him slipping. We’ve already seen multiple times in John where they try to kill him or capture him, and they can’t—because He doesn’t let them. Because it’s not his time. But that time is coming—and when it comes, the good shepherd is going to lay his life down for his flock.

Jesus says all this, and everybody in the crowd has a reactions—But they have two very different reactions: look at verse 19

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English Standard Version Chapter 10

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Some people listened Jesus say all these things, and the conclusion they came to was “this guy’s taking crazy pills! He’s being oppressed by a Demon!”

One of the most amazing things about the life of Jesus is how many people were eye witnesses to the miracles he did and the incredible things he taught, and they still missed who he was.

Some of the People John wrote this book to would have known people who were eye-witnesses of Jesus’s life, and yet remained on the fence about him. And here he is, telling them clearly who he is. He uses word-pictures of things they were very familiar with—he draws a straight line from the prophecies they would have known from the old testament to himself. He is the door. He’s the way in to God’s flock, to God’s family. He’s the good shepherd. He leads the flock. He cares for the sick, binds up the broken, and he lays his life down to bring life to his flock.

He tells them who he is, and some just shrug it off: He’s a crazy person.

And this is where we come into the story, because we struggle with some of the same things this Jewish audience struggles with. We miss who Jesus truly is sometimes. Or we only interact with him based on one element of who He is, and miss out on true relationship with him.

See, Jesus is the door. He’s the ONLY way to heaven. He’s the only one who can save us from paying the just penalty for our sin. We deserve judgment and death for what we’ve done, but he came and died for us.

And it’s tough, because there are a lot of voices out there. There are a lot of people telling you how to live, telling you what issues are the most important. Telling you what life is really all about. There are lots of other religions claiming they know the way, or claiming that there are lots of ways to God. They say “Hey, we’re cool with Jesus, you just gotta stop telling other people their way is wrong.” but here in , Jesus couldn’t be clearer: Jesus is the door. He’s the only way in.

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1. He’s not ONE way in. He’s the only way in.

Jesus is the only way into God’s family. But He isn’t ONLY the way into God’s family. But that’s how we treat him sometimes. We reduce him to being the guy who hands out the Golden Tickets into heaven, and that’s it. He says “come and follow me,” but we just wave the ticket in his face: Nope, I already got my ticket to heaven. I’m good right here.

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2. Jesus isn’t ONLY the only way in. He’s the Good Shepherd

Jesus is the only way, but he isn’t only the way. He’s the good shepherd. This is what he does:

English Standard Version Chapter 34

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He shepherds us. He leads us to rest

English Standard Version Chapter 34

See we have different pictures of who God is, that we carry around with us.

Sometimes, we hear all the sermons at church and we read all the commandments in the Bible, and we think of God as the strict, old-school schoolmaster, waiting for people to mess up, so he could hand out punishment, smacking them around with a ruler.

That’s not what the shepherd does. He cares for His sheep. He comforts his sheep. Does He keep them from going where they shouldn’t? Yeah. If a sheep is charging towards the edge of a steep cliff, or wandering into the wolves den, does he turn it around, protect it from the dangers He sees? Absolutely. But that doesn’t come close to capturing the Shepherd’s relationship with his sheep.

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God’s word tells us a lot about how we should live our lives, but that’s because He’s guiding and caring for us. They’re guard-rails to keep us from driving off the cliff—not to keep us from the fun stuff!

Look what Jesus said in

“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and life abundantly.”

Jesus is the good shepherd. He’s not here to keep us from fulling living: He’s here to lead us to food and water and rest, and to lead us to living the life He created us to live!

What is the picture that you carry around of who Jesus is? Is it accurate? Is he just the golden ticket into heaven? Do you focus on the shepherd’s cane? The discipline side? That’s not the whole picture. He came here to care for the weak and broken—that’s us!

We don’t want to be the people who never get it. Jesus has presented himself to us, showing us who He is. He’s offering us relationship with him. He’s offering us “abundant life.” But we can’t just reduce him to this part of him or that part of him. We want all of Him. We want to know the Whole Jesus.

Let’s pray.