Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 15, 2011

Grace, mercy and peace to your from your Good Shepherd; your risen and ascended Savior. Amen.

John 10:7-10 - Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Dear members of our Good Shepherd’s flock,

I think you would agree that there are some parts of God’s Word that are just more difficult to understand than others. The book of Revelation comes to mind and perhaps a Biblical teaching like the doctrine of election. Paul was right on the nose when he wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33)

But no such difficult-to-understand-situation presents itself in the words of our text this morning. Even though Jesus speaks here in picture language, the meaning is simple: Jesus is the only door to salvation.

To help us get a mental picture of what Jesus is talking about in our verses, let us go back to the first verse of this chapter where Jesus said, “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.” The words of this illustration would have been very familiar to Jesus’ listeners. The picture of shepherd, sheep and sheep pen was commonplace. But that isn’t always the case today. We might understand the picture of shepherd and sheep, but a sheep pen might not be so clear.

The sheep pen was an enclosure out in the pasture that was usually made up of rocks stacked upon each other, with just one opening for the door. As evening approached, any number of shepherds would lead their sheep into this pen for safety during the night. A shepherd or doorkeeper would then guard the flock at night by lying across the opening. Come morning, the shepherd would come, call his sheep, and assemble his own flock – with each sheep recognizing its master’s voice.

Now, with that picture in mind listen again to the words of our text: “Jesus said…‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep… ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.’” The picture is pretty simple, isn’t it? When it comes to being saved, there is only one way – through Jesus. When it comes to receiving the forgiveness of sins, there is only one way – through Jesus. When it comes to knowing the Father and standing before him without fear of punishment, there is only one way – through Jesus. When it comes to having the truly abundant life on this earth (peace, joy, freedom from fear of death), there is only one way – through Jesus. It is only through Jesus and his atoning work as our Good Shepherd that a person can be saved.

When it comes to answering the problem of sin; when it comes to protection from death and damnation, there is only one way. Of course, such a statement runs counter to today’s view that one religious belief is just as good as the next. Our world would like to think that there are many different paths to the same heaven. “Whatever works for you,” is today’s motto. “There is no such thing as absolute truth,” is a favorite slogan. But Jesus states just the opposite. He says that the only door to salvation is through faith in him alone. Without true saving faith in Christ, people are lost in sin and doomed to hell. And this truth also ran counter to what many thought in Jesus’ day.

You see, the occasion for the illustration of our text was brought about on account of what the people were believing and teaching in Jesus’ day. Prior to our text, Jesus had healed a blind man. However, he did this on the Sabbath Day so the Pharisee’s got all bent out of shape because Jesus dared to “work” on the Sabbath. They called in the guy who Jesus healed, and after some discussion, ended up yelling at him and throwing him out of the synagogue. They did this because the healed man dared to suggest that Jesus was from God, and maybe they should listen to him. This was unacceptable to the Pharisees. They made up their own rules and taught that people had to follow these rules to be acceptable to God. They taught salvation through work righteousness, not through Christ. They were false shepherds – the thieves and robbers that Jesus was speaking of.

So Jesus taught them that work-righteousness would get them no-where. The only way to God the Father was through him: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” Since this is true, the opposite is true too: whoever does not enter through Jesus will not be saved. And we need to hear and be reminded of this.

But maybe you’re thinking, “I already know this pastor, tell me something new! Why, do I need to hear it again?” The reason is very simple – because work-righteousness is an idea that creeps into our mind almost daily. It is the default religion of our sinful nature. And to show you how true this is, consider some of the things we have been guilty of.

We make up little man made rules, stipulations, and exceptions. We consider our relationship with God to be ok based on the fact that no one was hurt when we sinned. We convince ourselves God is still pleased with us because what we are doing isn’t as bad as what others are doing. We believe we are worthy or deserving of this, or we don’t deserve to have that happen. But all this is work-righteousness. It is a confidence, a trust in ourselves. It is thinking that our sins are not so serious, that we aren’t so bad after all, and we haven’t earned eternal punishment. It is thinking that the door to salvation isn’t Jesus alone, but somehow Jesus plus me. But the Bible tells us that to believe our works can bring us closer to God actually sends us further away from him.

And this work-righteousness doesn’t only come from within; it also attacks us from outside. It has affected us too. Members speak glowingly about TV and radio evangelists who have captivated them with the claim that all you really need in life are the “10 Principles of Positive Thinking.” False teachings about second chances on Judgment Day are being swallowed hook, line and sinker. Men and women who claim to be Christian’s switch religions like people switching allegiance to sporting teams, or try out a hodge-podge of religions like they are going through some buffet line. All in an effort to find the one that makes them feel warm and fuzzy and comfortable. And how often haven’t you heard someone say about a family member or close friend, “Well, at least they’re going to church?” But these attitudes are work-righteous too. They imply that there are many paths to heaven – just as long as you are religious, do the best you can, and are happy in this life.

But that’s not the truth. Jesus alone is the door to salvation. And if a preacher or evangelists isn’t teaching that; if a religious denomination doesn’t focus on Christ; if we’re led to believe that we play a part in our salvation – then we are dealing with robbers and thieves. They may claim to be selling you a bag of gold, but all it is is air. That’s what the Pharisee’s were doing. They were leading people astray. And what was the result? The people ended up following thieves and robbers rather than the Good Shepherd. And the thief and robber bring death and destruction, not life. For us today, the stakes are just as high.

So we need someone who can answer the problem of sin – paying the penalty for them all, not just sweeping them under the rug. We need someone who can protect us from death and damnation – so we don’t have to spend an eternity in hell. Now notice what Jesus, our Good Shepherd, brings us. Jesus says that he came so that we may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus dealt with the problem of sin. He lived for us and then he died for us. That’s what the very next verse after our lesson tells us, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus came down from heaven and humbled himself so that he could obey God’s law perfectly in our place. Then, he took what we deserved and died the death we owed. On the cross he offered himself as the sinless sacrifice to take away the sins that blocked the way to heaven. There he was treated as the world’s worst sinner and suffered the God-forsakenness of hell so that God could regard us as his sinless saints. And God declared to the world that he accepted this payment for our sin by raising Jesus from the dead. We are forgiven.

Jesus also dealt with the problem of death and damnation. With his death and resurrection the guilt of our sin has been removed. We are no longer shut out of heaven, because we are declared holy and innocent in God’s sight because of Jesus. Death cannot hold us in the grave and hell cannot claim us.

A Chinese convert to Christianity once told a story that fits with our lesson, it went something like this. One day a man fell into a deep pit, muddy and slippery. As he lay injured at the bottom, a man wise in the philosophy of the world looked in and said, “My friend, I am sorry for you; if you ever get out of that place, take care that you never fall in again.” Then a preacher who taught that mankind was responsible for their salvation came along. “I grieve to see your situation. If you can manage to climb up two-thirds of the way, or even half, I might help you up the rest.” Unable to rise, such advice was mockery. Then Christ came by. Descending into the pit, he lifted the man to safety.”

That is the difference between Christ and all others. He came to this earth to do battle against sin, death and the devil. With his perfect life, innocent death and his victorious resurrection, he won the victory. He has done it all for us. That is why he is the only door to salvation. Amen.