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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen
by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one
who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the
gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never
follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand
what He was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the
sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have
not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They
will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:1-10
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The first half of John,
Chapter 10, is one of my favorite passages in the Gospels and will be the focus
of a series of devotions spanning the next several days. As He often does in
His teaching, Jesus uses analogies to describe who He is. Today we will look at
Jesus referring Himself to a gate of a sheep pen. Look again at these verses here:
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep
pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The
one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens
the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by
name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead
of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will
never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do
not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand
what He was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for
the sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep
have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be
saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to
steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to
the full.” John 10:1-10
In order to ensure the
fullest understanding of His teachings, Jesus intentionally used examples of
real life instances that the majority of people would be familiar with. In this
case, we find Him using the common practice of shepherding sheep. As a primer,
Jesus reminds the people of what common shepherding looks like.
First, anyone who truly
cares for the sheep will enter by way of the gate of the sheep pen. There, they
are provided access by a gatekeeper who watches over the sheep pen where
several flocks are kept. The gatekeeper ensures no one frivolous can get to the
sheep and serves as a layer of security when the shepherds are not there.
Unfortunately, there
were criminal elements active in Jesus’ time, just as there is today. The sheep
pen was formed by a wall but did not have a roof so it was possible for thieves
and robbers to enter the sheep pen and steal. They would enter somewhere
distant from the gate so not to be detected by the gatekeeper.
Second, any thief or
robber would not be able to give verbal commands and expect the sheep to
listen. This is because the sheep only respond to their shepherd’s voice and
his voice alone.
This is also why they
could place multiple flocks inside the sheep pen. When a shepherd entered the
pen by way of the gate, only his sheep would come to him when he called. The
rest of the sheep would remain, waiting for their own shepherd to come. When
the sheep cleared the pen, they would continue to follow their shepherd who
would go on ahead of them, continuing to call so they could hear his voice.
I’ll cover this in a
separate devotion so let’s go back to the matter of the gate and now apply it
to Jesus who said this:
“Very truly I tell you, I am the Gate for the sheep. All who have come
before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I
am the Gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go
out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Later in the Gospel, we
will find Jesus also saying this:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
And in the Gospel of
Matthew, here’s what Jesus taught during His Sermon on the Mount:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the
gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew
7:13-14
These verses only serve
to underscore Jesus’ point. He is the Gateway through which a person finds
salvation. In the sheep pen of God’s creation are scores of sheep but not all
of them know the voice of the true Shepherd, the shepherd who will lead His
sheep through the narrow gate to the fullest life possible, eternity with their
Shepherd and the God who sent Him from heaven to earth to save His sheep.
The way to everlasting
life is only through Jesus and to get there, we have to commit to being a part
of His flock, placing our hope and trust in Him, just as the sheep do to their
shepherd. When we do this, when we choose Jesus as our Shepherd, then and only
then, will be free from the thief (Satan) who has come to steal, kill, and
destroy us. We won’t respond to his voice anymore because we only respond to
the voice of our Savior Jesus.
As Jesus said these things, the scriptures tell us the “Pharisees did not
understand what He was telling them”. They were still in the sheep pen, stuck
with the other sheep who chose to not follow the one true Shepherd, the Good
Shepherd who was ready to save them and bring them life to the full.
Are you counted in that number today? Have you stubbornly remained in the
sheep pen when the gate to salvation and eternal life is right before you?
If so, I encourage you to join the flock of Jesus today and enter by way
of the narrow gate that leads to life. For it is only through the gate of Jesus
that you can find your way to God.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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