Jesus Comes through the Door

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

From our last lesson we know that the religious leaders were waging a conflict with Jesus, and they rejected Him as Messiah. Now He explains His credentials—why we can trust Him as our Savior.

Read John 10:1, 2.

Using the picture of a sheepfold, Jesus says to the religious leaders that He came in by the door, making Him the shepherd of the sheep. Others climb in some other way, but He came in legally and in an orderly manner.

He came in to fulfill Old Testament prophecy:

* He was born in Bethlehem in the line of David.

* He was born of a virgin.

* He was born under the Law in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4) to fulfill the Law.

No one else could have fulfilled prophecy as He did because no one else had His credentials (v. 25). The proofs of who He is are His teaching, His life, and His miracles.

Not only that, but Jesus was welcomed by the doorkeeper, the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ did everything through His power.

Jesus also said, “and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” In John 9, the religious leaders rejected Jesus as Messiah. They didn’t hear His voice. But millions have heard Jesus and, leaving all, follow Him.

Jesus also said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (v. 11). This is one of the most wonderful metaphors used in Scripture. He is the door to the sheepfold. He is the Good Shepherd. He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). Jesus as a lamb emphasizes His humanity. Jesus as the Good Shepherd emphasizes His deity. He alone is worthy and able to save. No other human being could have; He had to be God.

Jesus said that His miracles and teaching prove He is the Messiah—but many people then and now won’t believe Him. It makes sense that they don’t believe, because they are not His sheep. “My sheep,” Jesus said, “hear My voice and follow Me” (v. 27).

Obedience is what brands a sheep’s ownership. If you want to know whether a person is saved or not, look at His relationship with the Savior. Are they following Him? Do they obey Him?

To His sheep, Jesus gives eternal life. They don’t earn it; He gives it. And it’s for forever. He gives to us eternal life, and we’ll never perish. Our Shepherd said He won’t lose any of us. If one of us gets lost and even gets in the pigpen, He’s going out to get us and bring us in because He starts out with 100 sheep and is coming through with 100 sheep.

Next, does Jesus have power over death?

1. Why would John choose to tell us about both Jesus as the Good Shepherd and Jesus as the Lamb of God?

2. What does it look like in your life to know Jesus’ voice and to follow it?

3. How does knowing that Jesus promised to lose none of His sheep change the way you think about problems in your life right now