Now right at the beginning of the
parable Jesus emphasizes the special importance of the door or the gate.
He kind of draws our attention to this particular feature. For instance,
in John 10:1-3, this is what He says: “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter
the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [You see,
the focus is on the gate. Then He goes on:] The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of
his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out.” (NIV) Notice, the central feature of the opening
part of that parable is the gate. The only legitimate way into the sheepfold is by the
gate. The parable indicates it is possible to get in some other way but anyone who does
so is a thief and a robber. So it’s very, very important for all of us to know what is
the way, what is the significance of the gate. Because if we try to get into the sheepfold, that
is, the church of Jesus Christ, but we don’t come by the gate, on the evidence of Jesus Himself
we are thieves. We are trying to get blessings and provisions of God for which we haven’t
fulfilled the qualifications. We’re stealing. Now. A little further on, Jesus explained the
door. He says in John 10:7: “Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate
for the sheep [or the door].” And then again in verse 9: “I am the gate; whoever enters through
me will be saved.” You see, there’s no salvation except for those who enter through the gate.
You see how crucial the gate is to everything. Now I want to lead on to a paradox, something
very surprising, something we wouldn’t normally expect. And let me tell you this, that whenever
you find a paradox in the Bible it should stir you to seek God and to pray and to ask God to
show you what is the nature of the paradox. Some people say the Bible is inconsistent and
contradicts itself. I don’t believe that. But I do believe that the Bible contains paradoxes, some
things that are not the way we expect them to be. Some statements that sound very strange. When we
come across those statements or those paradoxes, they should alert us to the fact here is something
that God is attracting my attention to and if I seek Him, by the Holy Spirit, He’ll help me, He’ll
give me insight, and I’ll learn a very important lesson. You see, paradoxes, in a certain sense,
are to keep out people who are just inquisitive, they’re not really sincere seekers. In fact, they
really want to be critics of God. That’s their real purpose and function as they see it. And
so they stumble over the paradox. They don’t get passed it, they just say, “Well, God contradicts
Himself.” And they miss the real point. But the honest, humbler seeker, when confronted by the
paradox, bows his heart and his head and says, “Lord, I don’t really understand
it, but I believe You can show me.” Now here’s the paradox in this particular
parable. Jesus has already said more than once, “I am the gate.” Now, in verse 11, He
says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And
again, in verse 14, “I am the good shepherd: I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” So
you see, Jesus says about Himself two things: He says, “I am the gate”; and He says, “I am
the shepherd.” Now that’s the paradox. How can Jesus be both the gate and the shepherd. The
gate is one thing; the shepherd is another. Well, there’s an answer, I believe. And I
believe God has shown me the answer. I’ll let you be the judge of whether you feel that
what I’m saying is right. But I sought God for the answer and I believe He made it so very clear
to me. And I believe it’s very, very important. I’ve used the word crucial. I believe it is
crucial. I don’t know whether you’re aware, but the adjective crucial is derived
from the Latin word for a cross, so it means it’s something that’s a cross.
And that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. Jesus the door is Jesus Crucified; Jesus
the shepherd is Jesus Resurrected. So, if you want to get in and have Jesus Resurrected
as your shepherd, you have to come in by the door, which is Jesus Crucified. You can’t just
say, “Jesus is a wonderful teacher. I’m going to follow Him.” That’s not permitted.
That’s trying to get in without going through the door. Going through the door is saying,
“I’m a sinner. I owe a debt I cannot pay to God for all my sins. But I believe that Jesus
on the cross paid that debt. And so I come, not through my own cleverness or wisdom or
righteousness, but I come only on the basis of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross.” And so
Jesus Crucified is the door. And bear in mind what Jesus has emphasized so many times, if you try to
get in any other way, you are a thief or a robber. I’ve been saying that Jesus is both
the door and the shepherd of the sheep. Crucified He’s the door; Resurrected He’s
the shepherd. I believe you’ll agree that’s a tremendously important principle. And I
want you to see how vividly it’s brought out in the parable. What a brilliant
method of teaching that parable is, because it takes something so simple and so clear
and makes the things we could not understand just as simple and just as clear. And let me repeat
what I’ve said already. When you see a paradox, don’t stumble over it. Seek God about it.
And it will be a door to further truth. Now I’d like to just briefly illustrate from
Scripture the two principles: Jesus Crucified is the door; Jesus Resurrected is the shepherd.
We’ll look at just one verse that illustrates each of these principles. First of all Jesus
Crucified as the door. Romans 4:25: “He [that’s Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins
and was raised to life for our justification.” That’s a tremendously important fact. Why did
Jesus die? He did not die for His own sins, He had no sins. He did not die because the forces
of evil were too strong and overcame Him. He died because He was the appointed sacrifice for the
sins of all men. He, by His death on the cross, paid the full penalty for all our sins.
Then, when He was resurrected from the dead, He had power to forgive us and to give us eternal
life and to justify. Justify is an important kind of theological word. I’ve interpreted
it many times this way: I’m justified, I’m just-as-if-I’d never sinned. Because I now
have imputed to me by Almighty God the spotless, sinless righteousness of Jesus Christ. He was
made sin with my sinfulness that I, in turn, might be made righteous with His righteousness.
And so He’s the door. And when I’ve been made righteous with His righteousness, then
I have free access into that sheepfold. Now let’s look at the other side of that truth, Jesus Resurrected is the shepherd. There’s
a most beautiful prayer near the end of the epistle to the Hebrews. I’ll just read
the first part of it. Hebrews 13:20-21: “May the God of peace, who through the
blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good
for doing his will...” (NIV) So you see, when God the Father brought Jesus
back from the dead, resurrected Him from the dead, He was the great shepherd of the sheep. And it
says there that He did it through the blood of the everlasting covenant because the blood that Jesus
shed, in which He poured out His soul unto death, is the all-sufficient ransom for every sinful
soul of man. Because the ransom was fully paid by the death and the shed blood of Jesus
Christ, then God the Father resurrected Him the third day from the dead, no longer to
be crucified, no longer to be just the door, but now to become the living mighty resurrected
shepherd of those who’ve come in through the door. Let me close with this word of warning.
If you want Jesus to be your shepherd, you must first enter through the door of His
death. There is no other way into the sheepfold.
