Sunday Morning Bible Study

May 30, 2010

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision

Memorial Day – Play “Thank You Marines” clip. If you know someone in the service, who has served in the military, or family of someone who gave their life for our country, please don’t forget to say “thank you”. Pray.

Jesus had been teaching in the temple early in the morning. There was the incident with the woman who had been caught in adultery, and Jesus telling the Pharisees,

(Jn 8:7 NKJV) …“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

As Jesus went on to explain to the people about who He was, things got a little crazy. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus was sounding like He thought He was God.

When Jesus left the temple, He found and healed a man who had been born blind.

Again Jesus got into a bit of trouble for having healed the man on the Sabbath.

The last chapter ended with Jesus confronting the Pharisees over their spiritual blindness.

I believe we are still on that same day…

John 10:1-10  The Door

Jesus has these same Pharisees before Him, and He’s going to tell a story with a deeper meaning. We might call it an allegory or even a parable.

The story is about sheep. There will be some symbolism in the story, and it might get a little confusing because Jesus will be describing Himself in several ways, both as a “door” and as a “shepherd”.

What Jesus will talk about will be things that were common knowledge for people in Jesus’ day – things that we don’t particularly know much about in modern suburban Orange County.

Sheep and Shepherds

It is the fall of the year, the weather is getting colder.

In the summer, the flocks stayed out in the field all night.

In the winter, the flocks were gathered into pens, or sheepfolds.

Shepherding in the ancient East worked differently than it does in our western culture.

In the west, sheep are driven by the shepherd on a horse.

In the east, the shepherd leads the flock on foot, and they follow him.

In the east, sheep were given names, as we do to dogs and pets.

The shepherd was familiar with his sheep, knowing them all by name, and they would know the sound of his voice.

When the sheep came in for the night, several flocks from various shepherds would all share the same sheepfold for the night.

A sheepfold was typically a large stone wall enclosure without a roof, with a single entrance into it.

Sometimes the entrance was just an opening in the wall, and a shepherd might spend the night sleeping in the opening, keeping his sheep in and the predators out.

In the morning, all a shepherd had to do was call to his flock, and even if they were mingled with another shepherd’s flock, his flock would respond to his voice and follow him out of the sheepfold.

Read vss. 1-6

:1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

:1 Most assuredly – amen, amen – faithful; verily; truthful.

The word “amen” comes directly from the Hebrew word (amen) which means “believe” or “faithful”. It comes directly into Greek, Latin, and English as the same word “amen”.

At the beginning of a sentence (like here), it means that what Jesus is about to say if very important. It means you need to pay attention.

:1 sheepfold – aule – an open air area enclosed by a wall.

The word is used to describe the courtyard of a house.

Here the Greek could be translated “courtyard of the sheep”

It makes me think of the various courtyards in the Temple.

:1 thief – kleptes – an embezzler, pilferer; one who steals by stealth; one who breaks into your house in the middle of the night.

:1 robber – lestes – a robber, plunderer; someone who beats you up on the road and steals your stuff.

:2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

:2 shepherd – poimen – a herdsman, a shepherd

The tasks of a Near Eastern shepherd were: -to watch for enemies trying to attack the sheep -to defend the sheep from attackers -to heal the wounded and sick sheep -to find and save lost or trapped sheep -to love them, sharing their lives and so earning their trust.

The word “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd”. It’s not uncommon for people to call the church a “flock”.

If Jesus tells us that He is the “door” (vs. 7), then a legitimate shepherd is one who comes to the sheep through Jesus.

Illustration

Once upon a time there was a shepherd tending his sheep at the edge of a country road. A brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee screeches to a halt next to him. The driver, a young man dressed in a fancy suit, tie, shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a Swiss wrist watch gets out and asks the shepherd, “If I can guess how many sheep you have, will you give me one of them?” The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the sprawling field of sheep and says, “Okay.”

The young man parks the SUV, connects his notebook and wireless modem, enters a NASA site, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel spreadsheets filled with algorithms, then prints a 150 page report on his high tech mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep here.” The shepherd answers, “That’s correct! You can have your sheep.” The young man takes one of the animals and puts it in the back of his vehicle. The shepherd looks at him and asks, “Now, if I guess your profession, will you pay me back in kind?” The young man answers, “Sure.” The shepherd says, “You are a consultant.” “Exactly! How did you know?” asks the young man.

“Very simple,” answers the shepherd. “First, you came here without being called. Second, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew. Third, you don’t understand anything about my business - and I’d really like to have my dog back.”

:3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

:3 doorkeeper – thuroros (“door” + “watcher”) – a doorkeeper, porter

:3 by name

It was not unusual for shepherds to give names to their sheep, just like we name our pets. Every sheep recognizes his own name and responds when he is called.

I often think about what Mary must have felt when she went to the tomb on that Sunday morning, and found that the tomb was empty. She was upset. She wondered who had taken the body of Jesus. When she told Peter and John, they didn’t seem too sure what had happened either. And then this Fellow appeared and called her by name.

Play “Mary called by name” clip.

When I read this passage, it seems to me that it’s when Jesus speaks her name that something changed in her.  It’s when He spoke her name that she recognized Him.

He knows you. He knows you by name. Something wonderful happens when you realize that He actually knows YOU.

Illustration

A few years ago I was in my office. At the time I was struggling with some of the difficult things that were going on in the church. My secretary, Laurie, told me I had a phone message, and it was some guy named Chris from Boynton Beach in Florida. A guy I’ve never met. He said he had been praying and that my name came to his mind, and that God wanted him to be praying for me. He didn’t ask me for anything. He didn’t ask me to vote for anything. He didn’t try to sell me something. He just told me that God wanted him to be praying for me. I can’t tell you how much that hit me to think that God cared enough about me to put my name on some stranger’s heart. What blew me away was the thought that God knew my name.

God knows you.  He knows who YOU are.

:4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

:4 brings out his own sheep – sometimes more than one flock will spend the night in the sheepfold.  Because the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd, they follow Him out of the fold.

:4 he goes before them – Play “Sheep Near Bethlehem” clip. This is one of the differences between western shepherds and eastern shepherds. Our western or “cowboy” shepherds ride horses and drive the sheep. Shepherds in the ancient east would walk before their flocks and their flocks would follow them.

Lesson

Setting an example

A shepherd sets an example.  He doesn’t “push” the sheep, he “leads” them.

Jesus set an example for us.  When Peter talks about how to handle suffering, he pointed out whose example to follow.

(1 Pe 2:21 NKJV) For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

Years ago there was a line of jewelry with the initials, “WWJD”, or, “What would Jesus do”.  Not a bad question to ask.

When we are in a leadership position, we set the example for others.

(1 Pe 5:1–4 NKJV) —1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

I love the story about the mom who kept tripping over her young son.  She writes,

Len, who was three at the time, was on my heels no matter where I went. Whenever I stopped to do something and turned back around, I would trip over him. Several times, I patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied. “Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” I asked again. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind me. After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, I began to lose my patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When I asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at me with sweet green eves and said, “Well, Mommy, in preschool my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I’m walking in yours.”

Your kids are wearing buttons on their heart with the letters “WWMD” or “WWDD” (What Would Mom Do, or, What Would Dad Do?).

:4 they know his voice –

This makes me wonder if sheep aren’t just a little smarter than we are.

I wonder sometimes just how well I know His voice.

Jesus is partly talking about the fact that there are some who have been listening to Him who recognize that He is telling the truth. They are His sheep.

:5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

:5 stranger – allotrios – belonging to another; foreign, strange, not of one’s own family, alien, an enemy

:5 by no means – the Greek is, “they will not, NOT follow…”. There is a sense of intensity here. We could say it with some emphasis, “they WILL NOT follow a stranger”

:5 will flee – pheugo – to flee away, seek safety by flight

:5 strangers – in the context, the strangers would be the Pharisees, who had been leading the people astray.

:6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

;6 illustration – paroimia – speech or discourse in which a thing is illustrated by the use of similes and comparisons; an allegory; proverb, parable

John doesn’t record the same kinds of parables that the other gospels do, but he does give some of them, including this.

:6 understand – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of

:6 they did not understand

What did Jesus mean?

Jesus has been ministering in the temple to the people since dawn.

And some of those people have started to believe in Him and follow Him, showing that they were part of the flock of God.

Even most recently, a blind Jewish man, sitting at the gate of the temple, has been healed, and has come to believe in Jesus.

During the night, several flocks might share the same sheepfold, but in the morning the flock belonging to the Shepherd will hear His voice and follow Him, just as some of the Jews started to follow Jesus, and especially this blind man as he followed Jesus.

:7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

:7 Most assuredly – amen, amen – faithful; verily; truthful.

Again, like in verse 1, Jesus is about to say something very important. It means you need to pay attention.

Jesus is going to explain this parable.

:7 the door – What does this mean? Jesus will explain in a second…

:8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

:8 thieves and robbers –

Who is Jesus talking about?

He’s talking about those who did not enter the sheepfold by the door (vs. 1).

There had been false Messiahs and wicked leaders like Herod, but He’s aiming particularly at the scribes and Pharisees.  They were not trusting and did not even recognize the Messiah.

:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

:9 I am – ego eimi – may be a reference to God’s name “Yahweh”, which is translated “I AM” (Ex. 3:13-14)

(Ex 3:13–14 NKJV) —13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Look at the connection between Jesus being the “I AM” of Exodus 3 and true life and salvation. Notice how Jesus is getting increasingly clear as to who He is and how important it is that you understand just who He is:

He is the Bread of Life:

(Jn 6:35 NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Jesus will satisfy our spiritual hunger.

Three times (John 6:35,48,51) Jesus said “I AM” the bread of life in John 6.

He is the Light of the World:

(Jn 8:12 NKJV) Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus takes us out of the darkness of the world.

He is the payment for our sin.  He said,

(Jn 8:24 NKJV) Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Because Jesus was God in human flesh, when He died on the cross, He was able to pay the complete price for all of our sins.

If you don’t believe that Jesus is the “I AM” (that He is God), you will die in your sins.

(Jn 8:28 NKJV) —28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.

When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, they would know that He was the “I AM”.

(Jn 8:58 NKJV) —58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

The Jews understood Jesus with this statement, thought He was committing blasphemy by claiming to be God, and tried to stone Him.

:9 the door – the use of the definite article (“the”) points to a specific door. He is not just “by nature” a door (indefinite), but He is THE door.

He is the only way in and the only way out of the sheepfold.  He’s the Shepherd who is laying across the opening, keeping the sheep in and the predators out.

He will say much the same thing in chapter 14:

(Jn 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

There is no other way to God apart from Jesus. No other way.

:9 go in and out and find pasture

This is the life of God being your shepherd.

David taught us about being part of God’s flock:

(Ps 23 NKJV) — A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

It starts with God being your shepherd.  It ends with living forever.

Lesson

Trust in Jesus

You need to trust in Jesus.

When it comes to getting into heaven and finding eternal life, you can’t get there without putting your life in the hands of Jesus.

:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

:10 steal – klepto – to steal; take away by theft; take away by stealth

:10 kill – thuo – to sacrifice; to slay, kill; slaughter

Not the typical word for “murder”, but more the idea of “sacrifice”, like what you do to sheep.

:10 destroy – apollumi – to destroy; to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin

It’s a word often connected with eternal punishment, hell.

It’s the word used for “perish” in:

(Jn 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Lesson

Satan has plans for you

Even though we think of Jesus addressing the Pharisees, the ultimate thief that motivates all other thieves is Satan.

Satan hates you and has a horrible plan for your life.

His plan includes three things:

He wants to steal from you.

He will do it “by stealth”, in a sneaky way.

Sin is about deception.  We wouldn’t sin if it wasn’t so fun.  People don’t do drugs because they want to kill themselves, they do it because it feels good, or at least that’s how it starts.  The alcoholic doesn’t think to himself, “Gee, I’d like to become a homeless bum, I think I’ll drink”.

Before you know it, your life has been ripped off.

He wants to kill you.

He wants to slaughter you like a sheep.

He wants to destroy you.

He wants to take you to hell with him. Misery loves company.

:10 life – zoe – life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, eternal life

:10 abundantly – perissos – over and above, more than is necessary; extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon

Lesson

Jesus has plans for you

Jesus’ plans include life and abundance.

People have some funny ideas about what it’s like to be a Christian.

They think that the Christian life is like sucking on lemons and getting rid of all your fun.

I think that if you’ve truly walked with Jesus, you have found life to be much, much different.

He can take sheep places they’ve never been before.

Play “Surf Sheep” clip.

Think about that surfing sheep thing.  What does it mean to follow Jesus to you?  Is it all sucking lemons?  Or is there joy in following Jesus?

Who do you want to follow?

The one who wants to steal, kill, and destroy you? Or the one who offers you life and abundance?

If you don’t follow one, you will follow the other.

Choose Jesus.