Our Security for Eternity - the Gospel of John Sample

Read: John 10:1–21

SOAP: John 10:9–11

“I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

After Jesus healed the man born blind, the Pharisees questioned him. They threw the man out of the synagogue and attempted to discredit Jesus, saying He was a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath. Jesus responded to these events, calling the Pharisees blind. They claimed they could see but were blind because they refused to acknowledge Jesus and who He is. Jesus continued to explain who He is using a parable, and that is where our reading picks up today.

“I am the door.” The door is what provides a way to access the pasture the sheep need to sustain life and survive. The door also protects from predators or thieves. The only way the sheep can find life is through the door. Jesus is the Door. He provides us access to life. Through Him and Him only do we find salvation. He protects us from the enemy, keeping out those who would attempt to destroy us. He alone is the Door, the only way to eternal life.

“I am the good shepherd.” A shepherd guides the sheep. The shepherd protects the sheep from death, keeping them away from predators. The shepherd guides the sheep to life, abundant life, leading them to good pasture so they can be fed. He calls the sheep, and the sheep respond because they know the shepherd. And at any time, the shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep, because in giving himself up, the sheep can be saved. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He protects His sheep from death. He guides His sheep to abundant life, gives them what they need, and sustains life. Jesus gave Himself up for His sheep, dying in their place so they would have abundant, eternal life with God. If we are His sheep, we know and respond to His voice.

Jesus is the Door, the way to eternal life, and the Good Shepherd, the protector, sustainer, and guard of our lives. We can find great comfort and encouragement when we believe these things. However, Jesus shows us the reality of the enemy, the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. In this parable, the thief represents the Pharisees, who threw the blind man out of the synagogue, who tried to discredit Jesus and turn His sheep away from Him. If we are in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we can rest knowing that He sustains our lives and always protects us from the thieves who come to destroy us. He gives us life, and life abundantly!