John 10:6-10
Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.
Jesus
said: I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep.
Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did
not listen to any of them. I am the gate. All who come in through me
will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.
A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I’ll
be the first to admit that there are times when I read a scripture
passage and ask, “What does this mean?” Thank goodness for commentaries
and the Internet search engines! So let me see if I can give a quick
synopsis of what I believe Jesus means in these verses from the Book of
John.
In New Testament times, sheep were prized possessions.
They provided wool for clothing and blankets – and milk and meat to feed
the family. Sheep have been characterized as less than intelligent
animals…subject to wandering away from the flock and getting lost. Each
shepherd took his sheep out into the pastures to graze during the day,
but at night, many shepherds housed their flocks together in a common,
walled area where they could rest safely…known as a sheepfold.
As
dumb as sheep could be, they did have one particularly important
knack…they could discern their shepherd’s voice from that of any other
person. So when the shepherds came each morning to gather their flock,
all they had to do was speak, and their particular sheep would assemble
around them.
The sheepfold had thick stone walls and only one
gate, which was guarded overnight by a doorkeeper – sometimes known as a
“porter”. This was a good system, unless the porter fell asleep.
Robbers and thieves would scale the wall and steal the sheep…and carry
them back over the wall.
Commentaries suggest that Jesus is
comparing the Jewish leaders to the thieves who came in the night – men
who have created their own religion and tried to infiltrate through a
back way to acquire followers. Jesus represents the gate…the One Way in
and out for genuine nurture and rest. The thieves are not interested
in the sheep…other than for their own personal gain…and the sheep
certainly do not recognize the voices of these robbers. So they do not
“follow” of their own volition. Jesus suggested that the Jewish leaders
convinced people (the “sheep”) to follow them with clever lies and
deceptions.
By now you are probably wondering what this has to do
with us. After all, we are not sheep…at least not in a literal sense.
But here’s the thing…too many of us are easily swayed by outside
influences. I read a news report just today about a 4-year-old boy in a
very small northwest Arkansas community who was approached by two men
in a mini-van. They offered the child an ice cream sandwich.
Thankfully, this little boy had been taught what to do in such
situations, and he loudly yelled, “NO!” This brought his mother running
from around the corner of the house! Police have compared this
incident with other recent events that bear striking similarities, and
they have determined that someone is in the area who is dead-set on
abducting children.
While this is a tangible example…there are
plenty of subtle situations that occur in our lives to which we fall
victim out of either ignorance, peer pressure, apathy, or a lack of due
diligence. In essence, we are either like the porter who falls asleep –
or the sheep who are captivated and/or captured by the robber – or
both. Often, we never even saw it coming! So we fall prey to warped
ideas about religion and morality…we are tempted to participate in
sinful activities…we are convinced that this or that conversation or
activity is really not that bad – or that nobody is looking, so it
doesn’t matter. And in some instances, we actually can be persuaded
that there is more than one “Gate”…that salvation through Jesus Christ
is not necessary in order to be considered one of God’s children…or to
secure a place in His Kingdom.
Often we know these things are not
coming from our Shepherd…that the voice we hear is not God’s…but we
follow along anyway. Other times, we are so out of touch with God…so
blind, deaf and dumb to His wisdom and instruction…that we are “easy
pickin’s” for the devil and his band of robbers and their propaganda!
Just
as I encourage my friends who are parents of young children to review
“stranger danger” rules with their little ones, I believe we need to
essentially do the same. We need to stay awake and alert to attempts to
be lured “over the wall” and into sinful behaviors. We must listen for
our Shepherd’s voice, and stay near to Him. We must recognize that
there is only ONE WAY into the “sheepfold” of God’s Kingdom – and it
ain’t over the wall! Remembering this should make it easier to
recognize and identify the “thieves and robbers” in our lives.
Jesus
stands at the gate and beckons us to come in and rest. He calls on us
to learn His voice – and learn it well…to know when it is He who calls
to us, and when the thieves and robbers are near. This is a good day
for all of us to review our “stranger danger” rules…whether they are the
guidelines for keeping young children safe or those that guard our
hearts and our souls. When the devil’s thieves and robbers attempt to
scale the walls of your heart, do you know what to do? Don’t you think
you should?
©2014 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment