Day Fifteen: I Am The Door
Up to this point in the Gospel of John, we have been focused on the following questions: Is Jesus from God or not? Is he a prophet or not? Is he the Messiah or not? So chapter 10 might seem a bit strange to us as we shift into a parable about doors, shepherds, and sheep. We would be mistaken if we began to whistle the tune of Sesame Street’s One of These Things (Is Not Like the Other).
For us, it seems strange to move from God, prophet, and messiah to shepherd, but it is likely because we don’t have an accurate view of how the Bible paints shepherds. Despite the claims of some, there is no evidence during the time of Jesus’ life and ministry that shepherds were social outcasts or considered to be unclean. Rather, the Bible seems to paint a quite positive picture of shepherds.
King David was once a shepherd, and there is even a song in Israel’s hymnbook beginning with the phrase, “The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23).” Shepherding was even used as a metaphor by the prophets Ezekiel (34) and Jeremiah (23) to describe the role of national leaders.
When we think of leaders today, we tend not to think of blue-collar workers like shepherds. We think of CEOs and presidents, people behind desks or leading board meetings, removed from the day-to-day work and entry-level employees. In the Bible, however, the ideal king is a shepherd who intimately knows his sheep.
As Jesus discusses “thieves and robbers” he’s likely thinking of these CEO types, revolutionary leaders, and warlords, of which there were many. The question Jesus is setting up is, how will you know when God’s true King has arrived? The answer is that you will know the true king in the same way that you will know a true shepherd, by how he cares for his sheep. The first way we see this is that Jesus is the door.
During this time, shepherds would often lie down at night in the gateway to stop the sheep from getting out and to stop predators from getting in. Just like God in Psalm 121:8 watches over our “going out and coming in,” Jesus serves as the door to the sheep. He is the safety of the sheep; they are his priority, and if they trust him, they will find life, free from predators.
Where are you looking for your safety today? What serves as the door to your life? For some, it is our bank accounts, our positions of authority, or simply our youth and charm. For all of these things, there is a limit to how much we can control. But Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), is a door worth trusting in. He will watch over his people to keep them safe. Do you trust him today?
For us, it seems strange to move from God, prophet, and messiah to shepherd, but it is likely because we don’t have an accurate view of how the Bible paints shepherds. Despite the claims of some, there is no evidence during the time of Jesus’ life and ministry that shepherds were social outcasts or considered to be unclean. Rather, the Bible seems to paint a quite positive picture of shepherds.
King David was once a shepherd, and there is even a song in Israel’s hymnbook beginning with the phrase, “The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23).” Shepherding was even used as a metaphor by the prophets Ezekiel (34) and Jeremiah (23) to describe the role of national leaders.
When we think of leaders today, we tend not to think of blue-collar workers like shepherds. We think of CEOs and presidents, people behind desks or leading board meetings, removed from the day-to-day work and entry-level employees. In the Bible, however, the ideal king is a shepherd who intimately knows his sheep.
As Jesus discusses “thieves and robbers” he’s likely thinking of these CEO types, revolutionary leaders, and warlords, of which there were many. The question Jesus is setting up is, how will you know when God’s true King has arrived? The answer is that you will know the true king in the same way that you will know a true shepherd, by how he cares for his sheep. The first way we see this is that Jesus is the door.
During this time, shepherds would often lie down at night in the gateway to stop the sheep from getting out and to stop predators from getting in. Just like God in Psalm 121:8 watches over our “going out and coming in,” Jesus serves as the door to the sheep. He is the safety of the sheep; they are his priority, and if they trust him, they will find life, free from predators.
Where are you looking for your safety today? What serves as the door to your life? For some, it is our bank accounts, our positions of authority, or simply our youth and charm. For all of these things, there is a limit to how much we can control. But Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), is a door worth trusting in. He will watch over his people to keep them safe. Do you trust him today?
Posted in Lent
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