The Shepherd's door and the sheep's salvation

On his first day of sight he gets tossed out of the temple and goes rolling down the steps. What a great day! And it’s gonna get a heck of a lot better because Jesus hears about him being bounced.

 

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 

The Lord sought him out just like He’s done to every one of us when we went positive.

 

And the Lord doesn’t come right out with the Gospel. Sometimes He did, but here he challenges the man on the mechanics of the Gospel - faith.

 

/There is no one way to witness. The sensitive ambassador knows which way to witness in any given circumstance.\

 

Jesus also sees that the blind man had completely rejected religion and religion had completely rejected him. Now he’s ripe for the gospel.

 

John 9:36 He answered and said, "And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"

 

John 9:37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." 

 

/When the blind man got his sight he said he could see - blepo - hello brand new world. And he was described as seeing everything - anablepo meaning to keep looking at everything.\

 

But when the Lord said:

 

/ “You have both seen Him,” He uses horao, which refers to the perceptive ability of the soul - the eyes of the soul.\

 

That’s where we see Christ for the first time. If people had to see Him face to face to see Him then only those living during the first advent could have been saved.

 

John 9:38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him.

 

/ “worshipped” - proskuneo (pros = face to face; kuneo = to kiss) He didn’t kiss Him physically but he kissed Him with his soul.\

 

His self-consciousness is aware of Christ. In his mentality he has just believed in Jesus Christ. His emotion appreciates Jesus Christ.

 

/It is possible for a new believer without any Bible doctrine to worship the Lord. It is a soul response to grace and a love response to who and what the Lord is.\

 

We conclude with the Lord’s condemnation of religion.

 

John 9:39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind." 

 

John 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?"

 

John 9:41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

 

We are now ready for chapter 10. This is the shepherd discourse which occurs the day after Christ heals the blind man.

 

There are two doors on this chapter. One is the door of ingress [the way in] and one is the door of egress [way out]. At the time that this was written there were a lot of customs concerning sheepfolds and these have to be understood to understand the passage.

 

Outline: two messages given by Jesus Christ.

1.       Verses 1-21, a message given in Jerusalem at the sheepfold by the Sheep Gate.

 

2.       Verse 22-42, a message given at the feast of the dedication.

 

/The occasion for the first message: It was given at the sheep gate and every morning sheep went out of it, and every night sheep came back into it.\

 

The sheep gate is always a sort of back door to a city and it has to be near the pens.

 

Every night before sundown a shepherd would lead a flock in the sheep gate. Each sheepfold to which they were led had walls 12 feet high and one gate/door.

 

Early the next morning the shepherd came down to the sheepfold where there are, say, five different flocks.

 

How is he going to get his sheep separated from all the others? He has a call which he has used for years, and all the sheep in his flock hear that call and get right in behind him.

 

He goes through the gate still making the call and his sheep follow him to some pasture located outside of the walls of the city.

 

/The point is that all the shepherds in Palestine led their sheep by being out in front and having a call. The sheep followed that call.\

 

/On the way out in the morning there are always thieves hanging out in the dark alleys trying to get some of the sheep.\

           

The next day after the blind man expressed faith in Christ Jesus he went down to the sheepfold.

 

He has to explain to this once-blind man and other people like him.

/He has to explain why this man could put down religion and why religion rejected him and what is wrong with religion in the first place.\

 

The only possible way to explain this to them is to get some sheep into the act, and that is what happened.

 

Jesus is now standing at the sheepfold and a great crowd came with Him. The crowd includes the once-blind man whose conversion will be explained by, “I am the door, I am the shepherd.” There will also be religious people their and there will be disciples there.

 

Jesus is going to stand there and explain it all. In verse 1-6 He sets up this parable/allegory on the door of egress, the door of ingress, and the two shepherds. So we call this passage the shepherd discourses.

 

John 10:1 "Truly, truly [point of doctrine], I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

 

The only one that was allowed to enter into the fold was a true shepherd and he entered by the door.

 

Those who sought to steal sheep tried to climb up by some other way. These are false shepherds that represent the religious people who yesterday tossed the once blind man out of the temple and tumbling down the steps.

 

The sheep have to be led out by the real shepherd so they can eat and survive. If they don’t leave the fold and remain in the pen they will starve.

 

/Christ is the true Shepherd that calls us and leads us out to green pastures so that we can eat and survive and get fat on doctrine.\

 

/Ps 23:1-2

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.\

 

/Ps 23:3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.\

 

/False shepherds only want to steal sheep in order to slaughter them for profit. You can tell who they are because they do not have the right call nor do they enter by the door.\

 

In this case the sheep are the children of Israel and Christ has come as their Messiah.

 

/Jesus is the shepherd who walks through the door, i.e. He has those whom He can call. There will be people all over Israel who will respond and when He walks out the door they will walk with Him.\

 

Messiah is the true shepherd throughout this passage.

 

/Christ came into the world through the first door, which is the virgin birth.\

 

Many in Israel are going to believe in Him, but not enough that He may bring in the kingdom or the millennial reign. Those who believe in Him will end up entering the Church age.  

 

John 10:12

"And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd.

 

/EPH 2:14

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,\

 

The virgin birth is the basis of the incarnation and the cross is the basis of salvation.

 

/Because Jesus Christ is the bona fide son of David, in His humanity, He has the right to go in the door and present Himself to Israel.\

 

He has the right to call the sheep; He has the right to walk out and to lead His sheep into green pastures.

 

Those who are the false shepherds do not have that right. The false shepherds are the scribes, the Pharisees, the religious crowd.

 

They are not the son of David who would be the promised Messiah, nor are any of them qualified to go to the cross as the impeccable Messiah.

 

So, anyone who calls the sheep who is not Christ is a false shepherd and is to be rejected like the once blind man did in the temple.

 

Jesus Christ is the true shepherd.

 

How did the false shepherds treat the once-blind man? They abused him - the sheep. How does Jesus treat him? He leads him to Himself; He saves him.

 

John 10:1 "Truly, truly [point of doctrine], I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

 

/The word for “climb up” is anabaino [baino = to climb; ana = up]. Present active participle - they keep trying to climb again and again and again.\

 

And when do the false shepherds stop trying to climb over the wall? When the Romans came to the city (66-70 AD) they all ran like rabbits!

 

John 10:12-13

"He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. 13 "He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.

 

/‘thief’ is kleptes and it refers to a thief who robs by strategy. He doesn’t use violence; he uses his brains to rob. They discredited Christ and the blind man.\

 

This describes one facet of the religious hierarchy at the time that Jesus was on the earth. It is the way of life of the Pharisees seeking to discredit the miracle of the previous chapter.

 

/“robber” is lestes which means a person who robs by violence. When strategy didn’t work they resorted to violence by throwing the man out.\

 

Thieves and robbers are outside the law. Religion is outside of doctrine, outside of the plan of God. Religion is never sent by God.

 

 

 

The father of religion is the devil, and religion is his ace trump. Religion is how he organises the world. Cosmos diabolicus is any type of human good, and there are many, but religion is on the top bracket.

 

There is no place in the plan of God for religion. The thief climbs up some other way; this is false doctrine—the doctrine of demons, the doctrine of religion. The “robber” is religion using violence.