I Am The Door

I want you to follow with me in your Bible beginning in John 10:7. Jesus is speaking, and it should be all in red letters from verses 7-10. “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily,” or truly, truly, “I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so Jesus is painting us pictures in John 10. The first picture that He painted was that of being the true Shepherd. Now, we looked at it last week, but I want to back up now to verses 1-6 where Jesus said again, “Verily, verily,” truly, truly, “I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.”

The word “parable” in verse 6, I brought it out last Wednesday night, is not the normal Greek word translated parable in the New Testament, the Greek word parabole, which means to lay alongside; but it’s the word that indicates a metaphor, an analogy, an allegory, or a picture. It’s a different word. It’s not a classic parable in the true sense, but it’s a picture. The first picture is in verses 1-6, that of the true shepherd, and Jesus is contrasting Himself with the false shepherds. In verse 1 it says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” the “you” there goes back to John 9:40 where He was speaking to the Pharisees who had kicked the blind man out of the synagogue. He had been kicked out of the Judaistic picture or of temple worship, and he’d been accepted by Jesus as His sheep and brought into His fold. He was kicked out of Judaism but brought into Christ, which is really the fulfillment of all the messianic prophecies. The context is Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews. He describes them actually as thieves and robbers in verse 1.

The word “thief” there means someone who steals with stealth. It kind of comes in when you’re not there, secretly, and takes something. The word “robbers” means to take stuff violently, just actually comes in and murders people and violently steals from them. There are two kinds of concepts: they come in with stealth, and they come in with violence. Verse 2, “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” Jesus came the proper way, verses 1-2; Jesus received by the porter, verse 3, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” He calls His sheep, He calls them by name, and then He leads them out and goes before them. I don’t want to rehearse my whole message from last week, which I’m being tempted right now to do, but I want to set the context that Jesus is talking to the religious leaders of the Jews, calls them thieves and robbers, and in our text tonight He says, “All that ever came before me,” He’s not talking about Moses, David, Elijah, and Isaiah. He’s talking about the false teachers of the Jewish system. He’s talking about these Pharisees and scribes that were hypocrites who put a weight around people’s necks and did not lead them into the Kingdom of God.

The last verse, verse 6, “This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.” Jesus shifts gears in verse 7 and paints another picture. They’re not getting it. It reminds me of when I was in school, especially my math class. It was always going over my head. I would just kind of nod at the teacher, but I had no idea what was going on. They just weren’t comprehending. They were blind leaders of the blind. Jesus painted this picture, but they did not understand; that is, the Pharisees in John 9:40.

Jesus paints another picture, and here we have it in verses 7 and 9. “…I am the door of the sheep.” First, He’s the Shepherd of the sheep, bringing them into the fold, which is the morning picture. Now, He is the door of the sheepfold, and He’s letting them out to go to the green pastures, which is the noontime picture. The three pictures—Jesus the true Shepherd, Jesus the door, and then Jesus the good Shepherd—actually are a day in the life of the sheep. It’s morning, noon, and afternoon or evening.

I want you to notice in verse 7, “…I am the door of the sheep,” and then the classic in verse 9, “I am the door.” This is the third of seven “I Am’s” in the gospel of John. There are seven times Jesus used that phrase, ego eimi, I Am. This is the third of those statements. The fourth is going to be, as we get down into verses 11-12, “I am the good shepherd.”

What does He mean when He says, “I Am?” You remember the story when Moses would encounter God at the burning bush, right? He was instructed by God from the burning bush to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh, “Let My people go,” that classic statement. Moses told the Lord, “Well, when I go to Pharaoh, who am I going to tell him I’m sent by?” The Lord told Moses, “You tell him, I Am has sent you.” You think, “What a name for God, I Am. I Am what?” It’s interesting because it was actually the statement of God that is used for the concept of Jehovah or Yahweh or the Eternal God, the Eternal One. It has the idea of, “I Am whatever you need.” If you need peace, “I Am your peace.” If you need salvation, we’re going to see that tonight, “I Am your salvation.” If you need righteousness, “I Am your righteousness.” It’s kind of like, whatever it is you need, God becomes. It’s basically the name of God that was something they could not utter—the Eternal God, transcendent God, the covenant God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob—the only true and living God, the God of the Bible.

Whenever Jesus used that statement, “I Am,” He is actually claiming to be God. He’s claiming to be Yahweh or Jehovah, and He couples it together with, “I Am the door.” He’s giving us a picture now that conveys what He becomes to us. Everybody understands what a door is. Everybody has doors in their houses, and we have doors in our church. We have doors on our cars. We have barn doors, and we have all kinds of doors. There are doors all over the place. We understand what doors are. But what exactly did Jesus mean when He was using this expression, “I am the door?” Well, He used the expression in verse 7 by saying, “I am the door of the sheep.” He’s conveying the idea of what we know as a sheepfold or sheep pen. I talked about it last Wednesday, that there were kind of two basic sheepfolds: one was in the city that was a co-op sheepfold where a lot of different shepherds would bring their sheep and would have what’s called a porter, mentioned in the text, that actually would work there. He knew the shepherds and would let the right shepherds come in. The shepherds would call out the names of their sheep, and the sheep knew the shepherd’s voice and would kind of funnel out through the door and follow their shepherd.

There was also a second kind of sheepfold. This is a sheepfold a little more rustic, a little smaller, but was out in the country. It was a rural sheepfold out in the country. Whenever the shepherd (just his own flock) was out in the hillside, he had to be able to protect his sheep against predators—against wolves, lions, bears, or jackals—that would come and attack the sheep. He would take these rocks and would build an enclosure. He would leave one opening that we would call the door. I forgot to check before church, but I have a photo I wanted to throw on the screen. That’s a pretty good picture. I wanted to find one that was middle eastern, kind of dry and arid and maybe had a shepherd that looked like somebody from Jesus’ day. This is probably Scotland. It actually kind of looks like Menifee, doesn’t it?, the rushing rivers and the green hills. The idea is they would pile up small rocks into an enclosure and would have—this is key to our study tonight—only one opening, only one entrance.

Remember Jesus said, “The thief comes before Me. They climb up some other way.” They would climb over the wall to steal the sheep, but there was a door that the shepherd would actually lie in. The shepherd would actually become the door—the open space that had no gate, no door, no lock. The shepherd would actually lie in the opening, his own body. Have you ever heard the expression, “Over my dead body?” “There’s no way that a wolf or a bear is going to get my sheep because my body actually has become the door, and you can’t enter and get my sheep unless you pass through me.” The sheep would actually lie there and would rest. They would have peace. They’d have security because they knew that the shepherd was lying there in the doorway. What a cool picture that is. When Jesus says, verse 7, “I am the door of the sheep,” that’s the imagery. That’s the picture. He has the sheepfold and would actually lie in the door. What does it mean for us today that Jesus is the door? Of course, He’s speaking allegorically or metaphorically. He’s not literally a door with hinge and a knob swinging there, but He’s speaking of something.

Let me give you three things. This was really a challenge for me. I shouldn’t apologize before I give my points, but I’m kind of doing that tonight because this list could be so long. I could preach three or four sermons on this one concept, hitting it from different angles. I tried to stay with the text, which is what I should try to do, and I tried to limit it to the essentials of what is more found in the context and in the text. Write them down.

First, He’s the door to salvation. Jesus Christ is the door to salvation. When you enter through Christ into the fold, it is through regeneration or through conversion or from being born again. Jesus is the door to our salvation. In this “I Am” statement, Jesus is teaching that there is—listen carefully—only one door, Jesus is that door, the only way to God. This is a wonderful picture image of there’s only one way to be saved. So many people dispute that, argue about that, and kind of put Christians down, “That’s too narrow. That’s not right. What about other religions? What about other faiths? What about other places where people have other ideas? You Christians are so narrow minded that you think that Jesus is the only way.” That is exactly what the Bible teaches. If you deny that, you are denying the Word of God, the Scriptures. If you fight against that, you’re fighting against the clear revelation of the Bible and the words of Jesus Himself.

Write down John 14:6. It’s a beautiful cross reference, and we’ll get it in a few weeks, where Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. Every Christian should have that memorized, I am the way,” not a way. “If you feel like it, you don’t want to follow some other religious teacher, then you can just try Me. If it doesn’t work for you, then try something else.” No. “I’m the way, and I’m the truth, and I’m the life.” Man is lost, Jesus is the way. Man is ignorant, Jesus is the truth. Man is dead in trespasses and sins, Jesus is the life. How powerful is that? Then, He goes on to say, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” That word in the Greek for “no man” means no one. I studied all week to figure that out. “…no man cometh unto the Father,” which is Father God, “but by me.” How much more clearer can you make it?

I want to share something that kind of blessed me this week. It’s not new. It’s not any great revelation, but it’s important on this point that there is only one way to salvation and this concept of Jesus being the one door, the only way to salvation to God the Father is actually critical for Christianity but not for other religions. Let me try my best to explain it. In other religions you can take the founder out of the religion and the teachings that you follow still are intact. You can take Buddha out of Buddhism and still be a Buddhist. You can take Confucius out of Confucianism and still be a Confucian, or whatever they’re called. You can take Muhammad out of Islam and still be a Muslim.

Listen carefully. You cannot take Jesus out of Christianity and still have Christianity. Amen? If you take Christ out of Christianity, you have no Christianity because Jesus didn’t come just to give us teachings. He didn’t come just to give us rules. He didn’t come to just give us regulations. He didn’t just come to tell us what to do. He actually came as the Redeemer. He came as the reconciler. He came as the bridge builder. He came as the God-man, to lay His hand on man and to lay His hand on God, and to become our Priest, our bridge builder. That’s why there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. You cannot take Christ out of Christianity and have it intact because you have no substitutionary death, no incarnation, no virgin birth, and no resurrection without Jesus Christ. You have no atoning sacrifice, ascension, and living Lord in heaven to intercede for us and Savior. You have no coming King. Christianity is Christ. This is why I always encourage people: Study Jesus Christ. Understand who He is. Understand that He is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life. He was God manifested in the flesh. He was the eternal Second Person of the Godhead, and on and on the list goes. “No one higher than Jesus,” as Paul said in Colossians, that He is to have preeminence. It’s not importance but preeminence. He’s to be number one.

Unlike other religions who have a system that would stay intact if the founder is taken out, or someone else could’ve started Buddhism and you could still have Buddhism; but no one else could’ve started Christianity because no one else came from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended back into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Amen? So Christianity is Christ. You can’t take Jesus out of Christianity. This is such a powerful statement, “I am the door,” of the sheepfold. Jesus is the only door to salvation.

Many people today don’t believe that man needs saving, but the Bible is clear that Adam and Eve, created by God in His image and likeness and innocence, given only one command, not to eat of the tree of the fruit in the midst of the garden, but that’s exactly what they did. Right? They ate of the tree in disobedience, and we have what’s called the fall of man. You want to know what’s going on in the world today? We’re seeing sin manifested in the fall of man. You wonder, What’s going on in our culture? What’s going on in our society? The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. That’s the problem. It’s not a skin problem, it’s a sin problem. It doesn’t matter what color you are, we all need a new heart. Amen? You must be born again. It’s an issue of the fall of man, and Jesus came to redeem mankind back to Himself. You say, “If we’re saved by Jesus from sin, what is sin?” Sin is basically the breaking of God’s law.

There is a God. He has given us His law, and we deliberately transgress (the word is) God’s commandments and God’s law. “Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Did you know that’s in the Bible? You wouldn’t think so, would you. “Thou shalt not covet. Honor your father and your mother. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” We’ve all transgressed and broken God’s commandments, but it also is an idea that I sometimes try to live a good life but will fall short. The idea there is that I miss the mark. In the New Testament, it’s the word hamartano. It’s the missing of the mark. I try to shoot my arrow and hit the target, but I fall short. There’s willful, deliberate transgression—breaking God’s commandments—and then there’s the weakness of my sinful flesh where I may try to do what’s right but I fall short. That’s why the Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death.” This is why every human being on planet earth needs salvation, and there’s only one door—Jesus Christ—and we must come through Him.

What does it mean to be saved? Notice it says in verse 9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,” that’s a biblical word, a great word. It’s the idea that I’m saved from sin’s penalty, and you’ve heard me say that many times. The penalty of sin, Jesus paid it for me on the cross when He cried, “It is finished,” paid in full. He paid the penalty for my sins. He took my death. Man is a sinner.

Secondly, Jesus saves us from the power of sin. We’re a slave to sin, so we’re actually slaves to sin. You want to talk about slavery? We’re all born slaves to sin, and Jesus comes and sets us free. Jesus died for our sins and its penalty, but He rose again to break sin’s power. You can’t live the Christian life on your own power. I’ve talked to people many times that say, “Well, I’ve tried being a Christian. I can’t do it.” I laugh because, “Welcome to the club, neither can I.” I heard a minister that was riding on a train in Scotland years ago. He was sitting next to a young man, and sharing Christ with the young man said, “Well, I tried Christianity, and I’m too weak. I can’t do it. I’ve tried my best and can’t live the Christian life.” The minister took out a pocketknife from his pocket and opened the blade. He asked the young man, “Do you think I can make this pocketknife stand on the blade on my Bible?” He answered, “No. You can’t do that. No knife can stand alone on its blade.” The pastor put it on the Bible and held his finger on the blade to hold it up. He said, “There. I’ve stood it on my Bible.” He answered, “Well, yeah, you’re holding it up.” He replied, “Exactly! That’s exactly what God does for you and God does for me.” He holds us, doesn’t He, by His power? He holds us up.

I’ll never forget as a young Christian feeling so defeated, ready to give up on my walk with God, so broken and said, “Lord, I can’t live the Christian life. If You don’t do it, it won’t happen,” and that was the turning point, when I fully surrendered and let God hold me up and let Him give me His strength. He saves us from the power of sin. You don’t have to be a slave to sin any longer.

Thirdly, Jesus saves us from sin’s presence. When we go to heaven, we will be free from sin altogether. When we die and go to heaven or when we are raptured, then we are with the Lord. Doors are to let people in. Doors are opened to let people in. Doors are also opened to keep people out. Right? I have a door on my house to let my wife and I go out, but I also have a door to keep bad things and bad people from coming in. Jesus is the only One that we can enter in through and be saved.

Here’s the second point I want to make from this passage; that is, Jesus is the door to safety and security. I want you to look at verse 9. Jesus says, “…and shall go in and out,” now you would pass over that statement by just reading it, “…shall go in and out,” but it is actually a Hebrew idiom or figure of speech for the concept of safety and security. Other places in the Bible where you read, “And they went in and they came out,” and “they went in and they came out,” means you’re living your life, and you’re living your life in safety and security (which isn’t really happening in America today), but it’s the concept of living in security and safety.

In the picture of the sheepfold and the shepherd, that he was the door when the sheep were in the fold and the shepherd was lying across the entrance, they would have peace and safety. With Jesus, the door, I am safe and secure. Nothing can come into my life or your life without first passing through Him. Isn’t that great? He brings us into the fold. He lies in the door. We actually open the door, we go through the doorway. We don’t go through the door, we go through the doorway. He’s the doorway, He’s the door, and He filters everything that would come through. Nothing can come into your life but what has to be filtered through God’s providence and care. You might be saying, “Well, I don’t know how that could be because I lost my job, I got sick, and my husband died; and this happened and that happened. How could He be a Good Shepherd and let bad things happen to me?” Because He loves you and wants to make you into His image, and He knows that He can use those things in your life to shape and mold you and to fashion you into the person He wants you to be. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Sometimes we look around and don’t see how they’re working, but God is working—even when we don’t see. One of the most important things for us to grasp is that when I am in the sheepfold and the Good Shepherd is lying in the doorway, I’m safe. I’m secure. Nothing can come into my life but what God allows. Temptation would be in that list. Write down 1 Corinthians 10:13 where Paul says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer,” allow, “you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Temptations will come even though Jesus said that when we pray say, “Lord, lead me not into temptation.” When we’re going through temptation and it turns into a testing or trial, “Help me not to falter. Help me not to fall. God, I know You’re in control, and You’re controlling all that comes into my life,” but also the trials as well as the temptations. Many times in a trial satan will come to tempt us and then that time of trial becomes a testing.

In James 1:2-3, James says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into,” and that doesn’t mean accidentally, God’s in control, He’s orchestrating it. When God allows this in your life, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience, experience, hope. God’s in control. I know we don’t like that, “count it all joy.” We count it all a bummer, is what we do. Count your bummers, name them one by one; count your many bummers, see what God hasn’t done. But we know that God is in control, He’s the Good Shepherd, He’s the door, and He’s protecting us.

Do you know there’s not a lot of security apart from Jesus in this world? You can lose your job, and some of you have lost your jobs. You can lose your home, and some of you have lost your homes. You can lose your health. It’s amazing, you’re going along fine, the next thing you know you’re actually old. If you’re young out there tonight, just wait a few minutes, it will overtake you. You’ll look in the mirror and say, “What happened?” It’s called aging. You know you’re getting old when you get together with your friends and all you talk about is what doesn’t work anymore, you know. Your talk is like an organ recital. All you talk about is, “Yeah, I got this,” and “I got that,” and “I can’t sit down,” “I can’t tie my shoes anymore,” and “I can’t see anything anymore.” You lose your health. You may be a specimen of health right now, you never know what a day might bring forth. You can lose your wealth. All it takes is the stock market to crash or for you to lose your job or to lose your health and you lose all of your wealth. You can lose your family and be left alone. You can lose your friends. You can lose your own life. It’s never promised that we will live a long life, but we always know that the Good Shepherd is keeping us safe.

The Christian life is not smooth, but it’s safe. I like that. It’s not smooth, but it’s safe. There’s bumps in the road. One of my favorite authors is a man by the name of Warren Wiersbe. He’s gone to be with the Lord, but he’s written a great little book called, The Bumps Are What You Climb On. Usually the bumps are what we trip over, but we should climb on them. It’s to get up higher, closer to the Lord. How wonderful that is that God would use adversity and difficulty and loss and trial. How about Paul’s thorn in the flesh? A messenger of satan to buffet him. He prayed three times, “God, would you take it away?” God said, “No, no, no, but I’ll do something for you. I’ll give you My grace.” He said, “My grace will be sufficient and My strength shall be made perfect in your weakness.” Paul said, “Okay! That sounds great! I’m going to glory in my weaknesses because it’s then the power of Christ rests upon me for when I am weak, then am I strong.” God’s economy is different than ours. It’s my weakness that drives me to a place of dependence and trust in the Lord. So your Christian life might not be smooth right now, but it is safe because Jesus is the door watching over you.

This so parallels Psalm 23 where David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” or literally, “I walk through the valley of deepest darkness,” he said, “I will fear no evil,” why? because, “thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” So, “God, I may have to walk through a deep dark valley, but I know I’ll never be alone. I know that I’ll be safe. I know that I’ll be secure. I’m in the fold. You’re the Good Shepherd watching over me, and even in this dark valley I won’t be afraid.” We are secure.

Jump down (and we’ll get there in a couple of weeks) to John 10:28-29. Jesus says, “And I give unto them eternal life,” that is, His sheep, “and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” We are safe, and we are secure in the hand of Jesus and in the Father’s hands. The door keeps us safe.

Here’s the third and last statement about Jesus the door. Jesus is the door to satisfaction. Jesus is the door to salvation, He’s the door to safety and security; but thirdly, He’s the door to satisfaction. Remember Mick Jagger’s song, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction?” It’s like, “Mick, you need to turn to Jesus. You need Jesus in your life,” if you want satisfaction. Amen? Notice verses 9-10. These two verses are iconic. He says, “I am the door,” there’s the great “I Am” statement, “by me if any man enter,” this is a whosoever, “enter in,” we do that by faith or believing, “he shall be saved,” not might be saved, not hoped to be saved, “shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” Jesus contrasts Himself with the thief, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

I want you to notice in verse 9, “and find pasture,” isn’t that neat? That’s a picture of finding satisfaction. Whenever you see a sheep in a beautiful green pasture eating the grass, that is a happy sheep; and that’s the Christian life, the satisfaction that comes by having the Lord our Shepherd. The door opens to let us find green pasture. He opens the door to take us in, He closes the door to keep us safe, and then He opens the door for leading and guiding us into green pastures. What a beautiful picture. This is the picture of midday.

Parallel that with Psalm 23:2 where the psalmist, David, who was a shepherd, said, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” He opens the door and leads us out into a life of guiding, providing, and blessing us. Notice what He does, “He maketh me to lie down,” so we have rest. He takes us into “…green pastures,” and “leadeth me beside the still waters.” We have refreshment. “He restoreth my soul,” we have restoration. “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness,” we have righteous paths to walk on and follow our Good Shepherd. That’s a whole study in all of itself that the Lord’s my Shepherd, I have everything I need. I have His rest, His refreshment, His righteous paths to lead and guide me.

Have you found His green pastures? Still waters? Righteous paths? If you know Jesus Christ, He’s your Shepherd, He’s not only the door but is your Shepherd and He’s leading you out. Life is empty without Jesus. Have you ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? Solomon was looking at life without God—life under the sun—basically a way of saying: life without God. If God’s not in the picture, all is emptiness and vexation of spirit. Solomon had all the money you could want. He had all the buildings, and houses, palaces you want. He had all the wine, women, and song you could ever want. He had 700 wives. No wonder he wanted to commit suicide. He realized, This is not working! It’s kind of like the Hugh Hefner dream, you know, but it’s all emptiness, all vexation of spirit. He said, “Everything my eyes saw, I kept not from me,” but he said, “All is vanity, vexation of spirit.” Do you know that things can’t buy us true happiness? Only Jesus can lead us into green pastures, still waters, and righteous paths because He is the door to that kind of blessing. Life is empty without Him.

Look at verse 10. In verse 10, Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” that’s the nonChristian’s life. He comes with subtlety. He comes to destroy. These are the false shepherds who don’t care about God’s people. They lead people astray—the blind leaders of the blind. Don’t let satan destroy you, rip you off, or deceive you. He comes to kill, steal, and to destroy. Who doesn’t, as a believer sometimes, think back about the sinful life you lived before you got saved—the darkness, the emptiness, the loneliness, the lostness—until the light of God’s love came into your life and you knew the truth and Jesus set you free. Amen? You had peace in your heart. You knew God’s grace and mercy. How marvelous that is!

Notice in verse 10, and we could spend a lot of time in verses 9-10, but notice why Jesus came. Jesus said, “I am come,” now the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and in context I think He’s talking about the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews, who are destroying God’s people. They kicked this man out of the synagogue. Jesus says, “I am come,” that’s an intended contrast. Here we have Jesus, in red letters, telling us why He came. Why did He come? “…that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” First, Jesus came to bring us life. He didn’t come to give us rules and regulations and teachings to follow. He did give us teachings we should follow, but we can only do that if we first have the life of God in our soul. The Christian isn’t someone that follows Christian teachings. A Christian is someone who knows Christ, has a personal relationship with Him. Put John 3:16 alongside that, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Sometimes we forget. We think “everlasting life” is when you die, you go to heaven, and live forever. No. It starts the moment you are born again. Everlasting life is a quality of life, not a quantity. It’s a quality. It’s spiritual life. Before you’re saved you only have physical life, carnal life. You’re controlled by the flesh and the evil, sinful nature that is inherited from Adam. Jesus comes to save us, that’s “have life,” but He also comes to sanctify us. Notice the second statement, “and that they might have it more abundantly.” I’ve always loved that contrast there, “I am come that they might have life,” that’s salvation, “and that they might have it more abundantly,” that’s sanctification. There’s a lot of people that get saved but are not really growing in sanctification, so they’re not experiencing the abundant life that Jesus wants to give you. It’s kind of like, “Well, I’m a Christian, but I’m not a happy one.” “I’m a Christian, but I’m a grumpy one.” “I’m a Christian. I’ve been baptized in lemon juice,” or something. “I’m a Christian, but it’s miserable.” You need to know what it is to walk in the freedom, the liberty Christ has made us free. You need to let Him lead you into green pastures, still waters, and righteous paths. You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and have the joy of the Lord.

The phrase, “abundantly” is actually in the Greek a word that means overflowing, and it would be used of a rushing river or a waterfall or rushing waves. I love the ocean, and sometimes the ocean gets so big and powerful and strong. Sometimes surfers try to get out beyond the breakers, and they can’t even get through them, they’re so continual, powerful. It just keeps sweeping over you, so that’s that abundant, that overflowing work of God in our lives. What a marvelous truth to tie into: Jesus, the door, leads me into salvation, leads me into sanctification, and provides for me safety and security.

Let me wrap this up as we close. There is only one door to salvation, and it’s Jesus Christ. We must understand that He alone is the God-man who can save us. Only Jesus Christ in all of human history is perfectly suited to save mankind. I love that proclamation of the angels in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,” not a philosopher, not a religious leader, not a psychologist, not a military leader, “a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.” There’s only one.

Secondly, if you enter in by believing; that is, faith, you will (verse 9) “be saved.” Notice how affirming this is. When Jesus said, “I am the door,” in verse 9, in the Greek it’s in what’s called the emphatic. He’s literally saying, “I’m it. I’m the door. No other way. I am the door, the only door, and you must enter in through Me.” We enter in by believing in Him, by trusting in Him, by putting our faith in Him. That’s why we preach Christ and Him crucified.

Thirdly, notice you will find pasture. If you enter in by believing, you are saved. Then, Jesus will lead you out of the fold (verses 9-10), and you will have the life which is the life “more abundantly.” Amen?