What HE Says He Is

During his all to brief but sufficient life on earth, Jesus made several statements as to who or what He is. He referred to himself as the good shepherd, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the way, the truth, the life and many others. In every reference is an amazing cohesion of purpose and a fulfillment of prophecy. There is something else in these references and that is a common understanding of the 'customs of the country.' Jesus spoke in terms that were easily understandable by the common man and did not resort to high-minded or complicated explanations as to who he is.

In my study passage today, Jesus refers to himself as an inanimate object, or so it seems. The passage is

John 10:9 (NIV)

⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^a He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

^a Or kept safe

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

Yes, he is the gate. Though in function he is a gate he bears no resemblance to the gates with which you and I are familiar.

In this passage, Jesus is speaking of the church. In his example, that of sheep-herding, it was common practice to collect the various flocks of sheep into separate pens which were located around the perimeter of the house. In each pen would be one flock. All the flocks together constituted a fold. The shepherd would stand at the opening of the pens and either permit or deny entrance (or exit) depending upon the individual sheep.

This means that the shepherd had to know each sheep as an individual. In that manner, he could determine which flock a given sheep belonged to. Thus, the shepherd would keep the sheep properly organized for their own safety and health and would be able to easily keep out sheep that were not his or even other animals such as goats that might try to 'herd' with the sheep.

Nevertheless, in this case, the shepherd is the gate. Only his chosen are allowed to pass through, all others are turned away.

Further, it is helpful to know that the pen represented safe haven for the sheep. Anytime they were fearful they could return to their pen for safety. And we are all familiar with the idiom "there is safety in numbers." Thus when the sheep were herded together in their pen they were able to rest without anxiety or fear because they knew, from experience, that the shepherd was keeping watch over them.

Whenever it was time for the sheep to feed, they were allowed to leave the pen that they might be led to the pasture selected by the shepherd.

So in this similitude, we see ourselves with respect to Jesus. The ecumenical church represents the fold of God's people on earth. Each individual church of believers represents a flock. It is God's intent that within the pen of our church, we may find safety and rest. It is also his intent that we flow out of the pen as we follow him that he may lead us to green pastures through service and living evangelism. Though any may willingly walk through the door of a church, only those that enter through belief in Christ are saved.

Baaa,

Carl