Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
From Psalm 23 to John 10, the Lord Jesus is our shepherd. Here are the basic facts about a shepherd and his sheep according to John 10:1-6:
- Sheep are kept in a sheepfold where there is only one entrance/one gate.
- The true shepherd enters by the gate. He has the key and the authority to enter.
- The thief and robber climbs over the wall. His intent for the sheep is to do them harm.
- The shepherd knows his sheep by name. They are not all the same in his eye. He knows them each individually.
- The sheep know the voice of their shepherd and only follow him. The voice of a stranger frightens them and scatters them.
- The shepherd leads his sheep. He walks ahead of them. He does not drive them.
Jesus is the only true spiritual shepherd of our souls. He created us. He knows us. He formed our hearts. All other “saviors” and “messiahs” have selfish or harmful intent. They have to snatch the sheep by coercion, manipulation, deception, or force. Only Jesus has the ability to save us, the authority to lead us, and the intimacy to care for us.
It is interesting that before Jesus compares Himself to a good shepherd, He first compares Himself to the “gate for the sheep.” In other words, we have enter the fold before we can be led by the shepherd. Jesus needs to be our Savior before He can be our Shepherd. We have to yield to Him before we can be led by Him.
Yielding is hard for us. As sheep, we like to go our own way. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way… (Isaiah 53:6). But Jesus makes a promise to us. “I am the gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
Jesus promises salvation. “Come to me. Embrace me. And I will heal Your heart.” He also promises freedom. “Submit to me. Yield to me. And I will give you peace.”
We fear to yield because we fear to lose our “freedom.” But, paradoxically, going our own way brings bondage while submitting to Jesus brings freedom. Only in Jesus’ sheepfold do we find the freedom to “come in and go out and find pasture.” We find the freedom to be who we are, to rest in God’s hands, to give up our pride and need for accolades, to enjoy the blessings of God.
Lord, may I listen for Your voice today. May I trust Your leadership. May I enjoy Your rest.
Read and meditate on Romans 8:24-30 today.
24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
How do we live in this life? How do we deal with the struggles, disappointments, pains, and groans? The apostle Paul gives us three answers.
1. Hope. We are saved by God’s grace through faith and with hope. We don’t have our glorified body yet but we know it is coming. Thus we learn to wait patiently (which is not always easy to learn…just ask my kids). I compare it to being on a cramped plane for an extremely long flight on your way to a great destination. The plane is uncomfortable. The ride is bumpy. Rest is hard to come by. But something keeps you excited and makes the inconveniences bearable…thinking about where you are headed.
2. The Spirit. While we groan in our difficulties and trials, the Spirit groans with us. In fact, He intercedes for us with His groans. This is sort of hard to imagine. Perhaps it is something like this… ”Father, this trial seems to be more than he can bear.” “I know, Spirit. But do you see the things in his heart that are being purified in the process?” “Yes, I see, Father, but remember his frame is weak.” “Yes, I remember. I created him. Comfort him during this time, Spirit. Strengthen him. If he continues to walk through this valley with faith, he will emerge more like my Son.”
3. The Promise. We know that all things work together for good in our lives. God has a purpose. God is good. Whatever passes through His hands and into our lives can be used for our good. While we groan in our bodies, we also change in our hearts. More and more we come to find our dependence and hope in God. More and more we become the person God designed us to be. More and more we grow in likeness to Jesus Christ. And God’s plan will not be thwarted. Indeed, in some way, it is already complete. We are already glorified before Him in eternity. Now we are living it in time.
Lord, help me to trust You as I walk through the valleys, difficulties, fears, and groanings of this life.
Romans 8 is such an awesome chapter in the Bible. Here are the verses for today…Romans 8:18-23. Read and meditate upon them this morning.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Groan. It is hard to miss that word in this passage. Creation groans. We groan. The word can also mean “to sigh.” It has the root idea of being caught in a tight place, of being stuck. You struggle to free yourself but nothing seems to work…so you groan in pain and sigh in frustration. That’s our situation in this present world, in our present bodies. Things just don’t work right. And we are stuck. Stuck in the continuing flux of time. Stuck in our mortal bodies which keep breaking down. Stuck in a world which so often seems to be working against us.
All of us feel this at times. Sometimes we ignore it. Sometimes we despair. Sometimes we numb the pain with the world’s many anesthetics. But for those with the Spirit of God, we are to “wait eagerly for our adoption as sons.” We look forward to the day when our mortal bodies will be transformed into a new resurrection body. When Christ will remove the curse of sin and death, reunite us with loved ones who have passed on, and bring us new life in a new heaven and earth. This is our hope. And it is a sure hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The funny thing is that the creation itself is waiting for this day as well. Just like our bodies are falling apart, so is the world. The scientists are right after all. Our world is teetering precariously on destruction. Unfortunately they are looking in the wrong direction for a solution. Of course, we should be good stewards of the earth and its resources. But we are not to think that ultimately the redemption and restoration of this world rests in our hands. And we are not to fear….instead we are to keep living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age and keep looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12-13).