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Reading text – John 10: 7 – 14
Then Jesus said to the crowds, I AM the Door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I AM the Door, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 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. I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf (thief) coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I AM the good shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own.
In this passage, Jesus says He is the door of the sheep and the good shepherd. We read in Matthew 9:36 that when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. They could relate to what Jesus said. There were many sheep flock in that day and time. Sheep are followers and without someone to lead them, they will follow the sheep in front of them to who knows where.
Why is a shepherd important to us today? Why is the door important to us today?
Why is a shepherd important to us today? Why is the door important to us today? When Jesus says, I AM the door – that means he is the only way in or out. Historians reported in Bible History that the shepherd would sit at the opening of a sheep pen, literally laying across the opening where the sheep would spend the night. The shepherd would stop each sheep as they entered one by one to check for wounds or injury, which he would attend to before the sheep goes into the pen. The sheep pen was a place of protection from the perils of the night. But the door of the sheep is there keeping watch over the flock.
The Good Shepherd protects the sheep from the thief who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. But Jesus gives life and abundant life.
What is the thief stealing from you today? Your time, your passion, your relationships, your money? What is dying at the hands of the thief? Have your dreams and hopes died? Has your will to keep trying died? What is being destroyed by the thief in your life today? Has he destroyed the fulfillment of God’s purpose for you? There is nothing that Jesus won’t do to save you from the thief.
Jesus tells the story in Matthew 18:12-13, about a man who has one hundred sheep, and one has gone away. The man leaves the 99 to go and search for the one who is straying. Upon finding the one, he rejoices over it more than the 99 who have not gone astray. He loves you and wants to save you from straying away from Him. He is the good shepherd and provides the door to safety and protection. Look to Him. If you’ve strayed in one area or another, turn back to the Good Shepherd today and use the Door to move into that place of protection.
He is good and has good in store for you.
