The Gate.

The enigma of our faith: the Lord of the universe, Creator of all – lying in a dirty stable as a helpless baby – on His knees washing His disciples feet – dragged, flogged, crucified – the worst form of death – blood running down His face from a crown of thorns – now a lamb, but a Lamb upon a throne crowned with many crowns – all for us – to purchase as back from the grip of eternal death – worthy, yes worthy is this Lamb, I fall on my knees and worship you Lord.

“As your eyes have been opened to see the real universe, the unseen reality of what is going on around you and in the heavenly realms you are slowly perceiving how precious I feel you are. Not only you but every bit of my creation, especially man, in all the complexity. I have created you, each one a masterpiece, treasured and loved. Recognise how much it hurts Me when people turn away from Me, disregard Me, mock Me – act as if I don’t exist. But I continue loving till the day when all will be separated and judgement comes. But you are part of My flock and will be welcomed into the new heavens and new earth.”

John, in his gospel has been revealing who Jesus is. He has been using various methods, one of which is by several metaphors to highlight different aspects of this Person, Jesus of Nazareth. So He is “the Word”, “the Light of men”,”the Lamb of God”, “the Living water”, “the Bread of Life”. Each one of these metaphors carries a meaning, a deep meaning, helping us to understand more about Him. Then in ch 9 the stark reminder that to perceive and understand all this and what has gone before we need our eyes opened, spiritually.

In ch 10 he picks up some more metaphors. He uses a Gate and a Shepherd. We will focus on just one today, “the Gate”. What it means in this context and to each one of us personally.

What is a gate or door? What does it represent? It is the (legal) way to enter an enclosure. The only legal way. So Jesus’s first point is there is an enclosure in which the legal owner keeps His sheep. The only one who has the right to enter is the Shepherd or owner. There are others however who are illegally trying to enter.

Jesus then describes the sheep. They are His sheep and know His voice. In turn He knows each one by name. He insists they will never follow someone else but rather run away.

He then in vs 7 He makes the astounding claim. He IS the gate. Anyone who enters then through Him will be saved vs 9. Much of this section is devoted to others whom He describes as thieves and robbers whose aim it is to steal and harm His sheep.

Lets apply this rich passage. Firstly Jesus’s claims exclusivity. We all know John 14:6 where Jesus says He is the Way and the only one. This passage backs that up. No one can be saved if they don’t enter the pen through Jesus the gate. Vs9
Then we see the description of His sheep who are already in the pen. They know Him and they listen to His voice. In turn He has named each one. He knows each one personally by name. This gives me a huge sense of security and belonging.
Then thirdly He says they will recognize that the voices of the thieves and robbers are false. This is aimed of course to all false teachers but immediately in context to the Pharisees who were hounding Him. This raised my eyebrows a little since many apparently sincere brothers and sisters have been led away by smooth talking false teachers over the years. Could it be that they didn’t really know His voice? Or maybe they had neglected to follow Him closely enough to be able to continuously identify it? Could there be a link to the previous chapter on spiritual blindness? Why not think this through and pray that He will give you clarity?

Next week we will look at His claim to be the Shepherd. Blessings till then.