The Shepherd, yeah we knew that, but the gate?

John 10

The Shepherd and His Flock

1"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. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

So here we see 2 scenarios (I love these comparisons...) One: Thief and robber climb over the fence and te sheep run away. Two: Shepherd comes in through the gate, leads them out and there's total trust between the sheep and the Shepherd cos they recognize his voice. Pretty simple eh? Well, we can already start to guess...Jesus is the Shepherd right? Well, read on...

7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus is the gate??? Wow...i didn't see that one coming. But it makes sense. He is the channel in which the Shepherd comes to us and also the channel in which the shepherd leads us out. Go out...for what? To go to the pastures; life-giving pastures. Jesus, the gate, is the means to get life. Any person (or being, i guess) who doesn't come through him is a thief and only wants to destroy. Question for reflection: Do we always see Jesus as the gate to life or do we constantly get deceived by the world as to what really gives life?

11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Hold up...so now he's the shepherd too? Not only is he the life-giving gate, he's the like-protecting shepherd. This shows his sheer love; who would lay their life down for an animal. The funny thing is that i can't see how this would make sense even in that day. We read that line about the shepherd laying his life down and it slides off our backs, but (and this is just speculation) did that really happen in that day? Cos I would think that since the sheep are there as a form of living, it would serve no purpose to end your life in order to preserve your form of living. It's as if I, being hungry, am willing to DIE for a sandwich, when there's other food around. Well, if you're dead, the sandwich serves no purpose. If i really wanted to die for the sandich, i must really really LOVE that sandwich. Sometimes we don't realize how much GOd loves each and every one of us. It's not like he ain't got no more sheep (verse 16). It's just mind blowing that he would sacrifice his life for just one sheep!! The life-protecting shepherd. In light of his great sacrificial love, the question is this: If he loves us that much, where should our security (when it comes to life in general and also to the depths of our souls) lie? Where does your security lie? Do we fully realize that he loves us THAT much...i know we can never imagine the magnitude of God's love (unless you're willing to give your life for a sandwich... you probably having serious issues, but then you probably know what intense sacrificial love is...just kidding), because that alone should make us feel secure in him. Do we fully, fully trust him?

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

ok...i'm not too sure about this last part... (invitation for comments). HOwever, I do see one thing: Jesus lays his life on his accord...WILLINGLY...kinda magnifies the magnitude of the love of Christ, doesn't it?

19At these words the Jews were again divided. 20Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"

21But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

And yeah... in pure Jesus style, he leaves a wake of questions and ugly looks...I wish I could have that effect...not just becasue of how ugly my face is...lol...ZING!!!!

But jokes aside, we've seen 2 things today: the life-giving gate and the life-protecting shepherd. If we truly believe in these 2 things, then what's stopping us from becoming totally dependent on him?