“I AM” the Door
John 10:1-10
Idea: Jesus is the true door to the abundant life, and only Jesus can provide that abundant life.
Introduction
(SLIDE 10 le) Imagine you are a billionaire and you have three 10 LE bills in your wallet. You get out
of a taxi and you hand the driver one of the bills for the fare. A little later, you look in your wallet
and find only one 10 LE bill there and you say, “Either I gave the taxi driver two 10 LE bills or I
dropped a bill somewhere.” Audience Q: What are you going to do?
Get all upset? Go to the police and demand they search the city for the taxi driver? No, you are
going to say, “No big deal. I’m a billionaire. I only lost 10 LE!” You are too rich to be concerned
about that small of a loss.
Back to real life. This week, somebody criticized you. Or something you wanted to happen didn't
go the way you wanted it to. Will these events ruin your life? Will you toss and turn all night
worrying? Then you have lost touch with your identity. You don’t know how truly rich you are. As a
Christian, you are a spiritual billionaire and you are upset over only 10 LE!
(SLIDE) How do we live in that identity? How do we open the door to that kind of inner peace?
(SLIDE) John 10:7-8, 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. (ESV)
When a shepherd would take his sheep for summer pasture, he would build a protective enclosure
for the sheep where they could go for the night. (SLIDE pen) This sheep pen was usually a stonewall
maybe with some brambles at the top with only one way in and out that is controlled by the shepherd.
The sheep enter and leave the sheep pen only through the shepherd who remains across the entrance
of this summer shelter! A modern Arab shepherd gave this description to a tourist. “When the light
has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across
my body, and no predator comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.”
Only Messiah could legitimately claim, “I am the door.” (SLIDE) In John 10:1 Jesus had said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another
way, that man is a thief and a robber.
A thief steals by in secret such as when you are not around or are asleep. A robber confronts a
person with real or threatened physical violence.
So to whom is Jesus referring? There had been many false prophets, false leaders, and false
messiahs over the centuries in Israel whose did not build up and care for the flock, but exploited them
for their own selfish purposes. Satan’s purpose is never to build up, but to kill and destroy.
(SLIDE title) But Jesus was making a very direct application to His present day. The Pharisees
were “thieves and robbers” who had stolen the truth. They are just the latest example of a group who
claimed to be showing the way of salvation, this time through an outward following of the Law. The
Pharisees in their legalism elevated human tradition above the Law of God. Jesus called them dead
“white-washed tombs” and “hypocrites” who led people astray.
How do we recognize spiritual thieves and robbers today? They may know the Bible and teach it,
but their teaching and actions do not lead people into a deeper relationship with Jesus with greater
godliness lived out in their lives. They often build their teaching around one non-essential doctrine
and just keep hammering on that to gain a following (and sometimes fame and wealth).
(SLIDE) In John 10:2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Jesus contrasts Himself with all others who claim to be “mediators of salvation”. Jesus not only
is “the door”, but He came through the door of 300 Biblical prophecies listing Messiah’s credentials.
With each prophecy the door becomes more and more narrow until only one person can fit through.
His lineage: born of the tribe of Judah (Ge 49:10), a descendant of David (Is 9:7), born in
Bethlehem (Mi 5:2), to a virgin (Is 7:14).
His life: give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and make the lame to walk (Is 35:5-6); a light
to shine on all who are in darkness (Is 9:2; 42:6).
2
His death: sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zec 11:12-13), piercing His hands and His feet (Ps
22:16), cast lots for His clothing (Ps 22:18), not a bone will be broken (Ps 34:20), look on Him whom
they have pierced (Zec 12:10), assigned a grave with the wicked and the rich man (Is 53:9)
Jesus says His true sheep will not hear or follow a false shepherd; they will persevere by
following Jesus. include??
(SLIDE) 1. Only Jesus can be God’s door of salvation.
Where do you look for salvation in your life? Do you have assurance that when you die, you
know that you will be with God in heaven? Only Jesus provides this guarantee.
(SLIDE) John 10:9, I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out
and find pasture.
The image of a door is not only as a barrier for protection, but also of a door as a gateway to
blessing. Through the shepherd, the sheep go in and out and find pasture. (SLIDE pasture) The sheep
are in a threatening environment where they are vulnerable. It’s a desert where food and water are
hard to find. There are cliffs where the sheep can fall. Predators lurk about looking for a sheep
straying from the herd. So the sheep must go through the door of the shepherd to find a safe place to
eat and drink. They are well fed and well watered as long as they are with the true shepherd.
To go in and out and find pasture is a way to describe a life that is secure and safe. If the country
was under siege, people had to stay inside the city walls. But when they were at peace and the ruler
was upholding law and order, people were free to come and go as they wished. Jesus’ sheep have the
freedom to live their lives in His presence without fear from any spiritual enemy.
(SLIDE) Psalm 23:1-4, 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in
green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of
righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even 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.
Here is how Psalm 23 looks without the Shepherd there: (SLIDE) “1 my ... I shall want. 2 me ...
me 3 my soul ... me 4 I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear ... me ... me”
Paul Miller concludes: “We are left obsessing over our wants in the valley of the shadow of death,
paralyzed by fear in the presence of our enemies. Both the child and the cynic walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. The cynic focuses on the darkness; the child focuses on the Shepherd.”
(SLIDE) John 10:9, 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may
have life and have it abundantly.
The abundant life is not the biological life that we are all born with, but rather is our spiritual life.
This is more than just the promise to live in heaven some day after we die. (SLIDE abundant) It is
also a quality of life we can have right now. Abundantly means exceeding expectation. Jesus is the
door to a fulfilled life that flows in us and through us. Our soul is satisfied no matter what our
outward circumstances. Such a life is beyond our limited imagination.
Many follow the “prosperity gospel” which says if you follow Jesus, He will give you an
abundance of material blessings—health, wealth, and prestige in society. These are false promises
that will never satisfy our soul. Jesus did not live an easy life and never promised us an easy life as
we follow in His footsteps. Rather, Jesus promised to be with us in our struggles and bring us peace
in the midst of the challenges whether large or small.
(SLIDE) 2.
Only Jesus can provide an abundant life.
The abundant life is not just surviving—barely making it from day to day—but thriving.
Video: Casting Crowns - “Thrive” www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jNJ59o4QgE (0:25-4:15 min)
Conclusion
(SLIDE title) Are you just surviving in your life? Or are you thriving? Are you satisfied or do you
long for more? Tonight are you ready to open the door and start really living? You can begin by
asking Jesus into your life if you haven’t done that. Next make a list of all the things you are
struggling with, and ask God to help you with those things. Not to necessarily take them away, but
to help you find peace in the midst of storms. Ask God to show you what He is doing in your life.