John 10:7

I say to you I am the door of the sheep. All who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

Verse nine.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

So one a warning There's no other way to eternal life but through Jesus the door. And our text today, it actually flows out of chapter nine, where Jesus is going along and he sees a blind man sitting there. And he's asked some questions about the blind man. Did he sin to receive his blindness? But Jesus ultimately decides, I am here now to do the work of God. And he bends down and he spits in the mud and he rubs this mud on the man's eyes. And now we have to stop right there, because there's already a problem here, because there's actually writings from the Sanhedrin that forbid you from using people's spit to heal other people's eyes. And not only that, this is the Sabbath day, and there's also writings that forbid you from mixing anything together to heal people's eyes, okay? So already Jesus has offended the norm here with this story with this guy, and he goes and he washes his eyes off, and he can see. And the people are like, wasn't this the man who was blind? And they're taking him around, they take him to the Pharisees, and the Pharisees say, this man was not born blind. There's no way. And the neighbor's saying, yeah, I think he was blind before. Yeah, that's the man. And the man is even saying, yes, I was blind from birth. And the Pharisees say, go get his parents. And so his parents come, and they say, this is definitely our son. And we know for sure that he was definitely born blind. But they said, but you're going to have to ask him how he was healed. But there's some indication in chapter 9 that maybe they had already gotten wind that this man Jesus had had healed him of his blindness. But they keep insisting, he's of age, we can't answer that question for you, you've got to ask him. And the text even tells us it's because the Pharisees had already determined. Anyone who is found to be a follower of Jesus They're going to be cast out of the temple. And so you can tell that those parents, oh, I don't want to say that I might endorse Jesus here. You're going to have to ask my son. So in a way, it seems like it's almost like they throw their son under the bus there and make him say it instead. And so he says he's a prophet. But then he changes and he says, well, Jesus has to be from God. And at that, the Pharisees cast the blind man, or formerly blind man, out of the temple. And upon hearing about this, Jesus tracks him down and essentially calls the blind man to himself. And the man in that moment, he worships Jesus. And this is in the sight of a lot of other Jewish people, including the Pharisees, and he worships them. And then those people who witnessed this worship, this man, he has come to Jesus, and really what he has done is he has entered through the door. He has received that eternal life. And they began to ask Jesus more questions. And then we get to chapter 10, where Jesus says everything. that we just read. And the great irony of this story is that the man who is cast out of the temple because he believes in Jesus will be the man who receives the eternal life. And for those people who are insistent upon the law and everything it takes to stay in the temple, those are the people who are the thieves and the robbers, who say that they're in, but in reality, they're out. And so there's just this great irony to our text. And I kind of wonder if that includes this man's parents as well. So in chapter 10, there's really two concurrent metaphors here going back and forth, that of the door and the other one of the shepherd, and I think Hun might be doing the shepherd next week, so I'll try to leave as much of that out as possible. But Jesus says,

if anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, or we might even say the gate, but enters by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

He is not welcome. He might be dangerous. And certainly he is to be tossed out from amongst us. And we have to take that implication into account here. And in the same way, friends, there are people who will try to enter into eternal life. by way other than the door. They'll try to climb into the pasture over the fence. They'll try to pretend to themselves perhaps and certainly to others that they are part of the sheep. Some people just want the benefits of the pasture, right? The green grass, the good friends, the nice people, the uplifting environment. But then still, genuinely, there are wolves who want to get into the pasture and to devour the sheep who have entered through the door. So many of the Jewish listeners here and the Pharisees, they've tried to enter the pastures of eternal life through adherence to the law and through their own self-righteousness. And that will only get them cast out. And I, as I read this, I thought certainly there was a time when I was like this. And I know that many of you can identify with that as well, that there was a time before Christ rubbed mud in your eyes and then told you to wash them out so that you could then see once again. Still others there might be people here still like the Pharisees who must follow those little laws in their own mind to stay within the house of the Lord or to stay within his pastures. But there is no other way into an eternal life but through Jesus Christ. This is why before we have membership testimonies, Those same people have talked to your pastors and they have vetted as under shepherds who they would put before the church to be permitted into this pasture. Now, I don't really think what Jesus says here in chapter 10 is difficult to understand. There's a way into the sheepfold, and that way is through the door. I think that's what Jesus is saying clearly. Go in through the door and you'll be gladly welcomed into the pasture. You can come and go as you please, as you go in through the door. But, you know, what is really difficult, I think, for the hearers in our story to understand is not that they must go through a door to get into the pastures, but that they must go through the door of Jesus. I think that's what's really difficult for these guys. You know, this is a reminder to us that when you're doing a Bible study with your friend and they tell you that they don't want to hear about Jesus anymore, what's difficult to them is that Jesus is the door. What's difficult to a Muslim is that Jesus is the door. What's difficult to a Mormon is that Jesus is the door, not their own self-righteousness. What's difficult to a mom whose whole identity is wrapped up in her motherhood is that Jesus is the door. Or a father whose whole identity is wrapped up in the pride of the work he does, what's difficult is that Jesus is the door. And you must go through that Jesus into eternal life. And Philip Henry, who was Matthew Henry's father, he used to say that

the door of Jesus is a low door. And to go through it, you must humble yourself.

We must humble ourselves, confess that we're sinners, understand that we're not perfect in order to enter this door. I think of Psalm 118, and I think it might be in mind here when we think about Jesus as a door or a gate.

Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

And we all know this verse,

the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Many people have tried to enter the gates of righteousness through other ways, correct? They didn't want to enter through Jesus Christ. He was the stumbling block. He's the cornerstone of the faith. He is the way through the gates of righteousness. But I don't want that way. I don't want to follow that man. And so I think we see here in Psalm 118 that Jesus is a stumbling block for many people. But instead of him being a stumbling block for you, enter through the door. And that's our second point. A door does a lot of things, keeps things out, lets things in. But think about who you were at one time. You were one time a person who was actually inside something else. You were inside captivity, right? You were inside bondage. You were inside prison. You were inside a jail of your own sins. And when a convicted man exits a prison, the door he goes through is the door that leads to freedom. And the door that you go through when you go through Christ is one from captivity to freedom. What more do we need to plead with you for than to go through that door? Jesus is the door. He's not just a door into something better, which I think we do a great job emphasizing, but he's a door out of something so much worse. And you do not have to be a prisoner to your sin. And you have to remember that Christ's death is sufficient to cover your guilt and to lead you into freedom. And then second, he is indeed a door into abundant life. You know, when you go through that door, you are leaving behind the pains and throes of death and you're entering into an abundant life. And that's what he said here in chapter 10. He said,

I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.

And, you know, you're not always going to remember that or realize that fully on this side of eternity, but someday you will go through that door one last time and you will realize that his eternal presence is the abundant life. So what can we think here by way of two applications? One, it's our jobs as members in this church, and yes, as members of this church, we do have a job, and that is to make sure that those amongst this pasture are claiming Christ. And some things that we can do as people in this congregation is when people are coming to visit, invite them to coffee, you know, have them to dinner, find out if they are the kind of people who are professing Christ to see if they are truly one who is supposed to be in this pasture and you can help your elders do that, right? So one, get to know the people in this midst to see and be sure that they have entered the door. And if you have found that they have not, show others the door. And that's our second application. You must encourage others to enter the gate. The evangelist told Christian in Pilgrim's Progress to go enter by the gate, right? Josh told his coworker, Jasmine, Enter by the gate, right? Show others the door. The door, my friends, brings order and clarity to the way of salvation. Do we have to go in the side door? Do we go in these doors? No, we go through Christ, right? Where do I go in? There, that door, Jesus Christ. You don't have to tell your lost friend to bust down a wall, break a hole in the ceiling, anything like that. Just tell them to go through the door of Christ. I think of Robert Murray Machine, I'm reading his biography right now, and he wrote in his journal in December 31st, 1832,

God has in this past year introduced me to preparation for ministry. I bless him for that. He has helped give up much of my shame to name his name and to be on his side, especially before particular friends, and I bless him for that.

So friends, I go back to the blind man in chapter nine. May you be like the blind man and not be afraid to name his name and direct people to the door of Jesus Christ. Have you entered by the door? There is only one door. Let's pray. Lord, you have given us so many metaphors and understandings within scripture. Uh, there have been times that you've spoken in allegory, uh, in parable, but you have made your word clear that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ on the cross, crucified and secured life through his resurrection. And so, Father, as we as believers of Jefferson Park sit in here tonight, may we take seriously the understanding that the people around us, outside these walls, they must be directed to Christ. There is no other way. May we be bold, like Machine, to name Christ's name amongst our friends and co-workers so that we may glorify you and so that the full numbers of your people may be able to worship you in spirit and in truth. It's in your son's name that we pray, amen.