March 16, 2005 John 10:1-18

 March 16, 2005                                  John 10:1-18

 

John 10:2-4; 7-10 “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice… So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

Have you ever considered the function of a gatekeeper?  It’s not a job we find in common practice today.  However, we are all familiar with the term.  Common meaning has come to suggest that the job of the gatekeeper is to keep undesirable elements out.  But gatekeepers have another function as well, protection of those within the pen and that involves more than determining who is, or is not, fit to enter.

Recently, the United Church of Christ aired some television ads which illustrate the negative aspects of gate keeping very well.  In the ad a large bouncer type is standing outside of the church with a velvet rope.  He inspects each person who desires to come in and rejects one couple for race, another for age, still a third for their sexual orientation. Now is Christ claiming to be that type of gatekeeper?  Or are we missing something?

We know Christ said he is the way, the truth and the life and in this passage identified himself as the gatekeeper.  Elsewhere, Jesus referred to himself as the “narrow gate.”  But nowhere does Jesus say anyone who enters via the gate (Christ) will be turned away as undesirable.  In fact the message of Christ is just the opposite.

Christ taught us that we are all the same in God’s eyes - sinners in need of grace.  He also showed us that God sent him, not to condemn but to save.  We are granted passage through the gate (Christ) purely based on our faith.  And entry through the gate (Jesus) is the only sure way we know to salvation.  We also know that it is not what shows on the outside which gains us entrance, rather a faith that seeks a life with Christ.  Regardless of who or what we are, an encounter with God will change us.

Jesus the Good Shepherd invites us to join the flock and trust Him for the protection of our soul.  We come in faith and are changed by the encounter from what we were (sinners) into what God would have us be (heirs to salvation).  Talk about shearing some sheep!

 

Gracious God, we are lost sheep without your Son.  Guide us, Lord.  Lead us to the gate of Christ that we might find eternal salvation with you.  This we ask in the name of the Good Shepherd, Christ the Lord.  Amen.

 

Contributed by the Branches Class