John chapter 10. Our journey through the gospel of John continues this week with a focus on verses 7-10 of John chapter 10. I'm going to begin reading back in chapter 9 though. Because remember what we're reading here, at least the way I understand the gospel up to this point, is a part of Jesus' response to the Pharisees who tried to stop the man born blind whom Jesus had healed from believing in Jesus and trusting that he was the Messiah. And the man believed anyway because, as Jesus said, his sheep don't listen to robbers and thieves. They listen to the shepherd. I'm going to back up to chapter 9, verse 35, and we'll read all the way through John 10, verse 10. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. Remember, that's the man born blind, and Jesus had healed. And when he had found him, he said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and it is he who is talking with you. And then he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind. Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, Are we blind also? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, We see. Therefore, your sin remains." Remember, in our examination of that verse, what he's really getting at is that if they would admit their blindness, they wouldn't be so stubborn. then they would be repentant, right? They would seek forgiveness from Him. Most assuredly, he says to them, chapter 10, verse 1, I say to you, he who does not enter by the sheepfold, rather by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber, that he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." And we saw last week how really Jesus is talking about what happened with the man born blind. He didn't listen to the voice of strangers, robbers and thieves, such as the Pharisees were. He listened to Jesus. And Jesus has labeled these Pharisees for what they really are, people who are trying to steal the sheep away from their true shepherd. Because they refused to acknowledge him as the Messiah, as that man born blind did. In fact, he acknowledged him as God as well and worshipped him. But, verse 6 tells us, they didn't understand. Jesus used this illustration. But they did not understand the things that he spoke to them. They are still blind. They still don't get it. And then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Let us pray. Holy Father, help us as we seek to understand what it is that you are saying here. We thank you that you inspired the Apostle John to remember and record these words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for our benefit. We want to hear his voice. As his sheep, we long to hear his voice in these words. We want to respond to his voice in faith, hope, and love. And so we ask that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit to that end, that we might hear his voice speaking to us. and that we might respond in faith, crying out with the man born blind, Lord, I believe, and worship Him. This we ask in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, last week we began to examine Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees, as I said, who tried to prevent this man who was born blind from believing in Jesus. And they even cast him out of the synagogue when he refused to listen to them. And we saw how Jesus used that illustration in which he compared himself to a shepherd, the man born blind to one of his sheep, and the Pharisees to thieves and robbers who sought to steal his sheep away from him. Well, this week we're going to see that Jesus continues to use essentially the same type of illustration, but he changes it up. And he uses it in a different way to make different points. And this will become pretty clear right away as we look at verse 7. Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Now, as we have seen already, Jesus had before applied the metaphor of the shepherd to himself. And he's going to do that again in verse 11 and following. But here, he doesn't call himself the shepherd. Here he calls himself the door of the sheep. So we can see how he's creatively expanding his use of this metaphorical illustration as he applies it to his own ministry. Now, many interpreters also think that Jesus can apply both of these metaphors to himself, both the idea of the shepherd and the door, because Sometimes in the first century, and maybe frequently, it is thought that shepherds actually serve as the door for the sheepfolds, to protect their sheep. As George Beasley Murray has noted in his commentary on this passage, quote, various writers familiar with life in the Nearer Orient have drawn attention to statements of shepherds virtually identical with that in verse 7, Part B, second half of the verse there. They speak of themselves as a door of the sheep, since they habitually lie down across the open entry of a sheepfold, and their body forms a barrier to intruders, whether thieves or wild beasts." It's possible that that's the idea that Jesus has in mind here. But the reason he can switch back and forth here, when he's just given one illustration about how he's the shepherd, and then turn right around with a very similar illustration, and call himself the door or the gate of the sheep is because shepherds might often have actually served as the door because they would lay there at night to protect the sheep from marauders and from people coming in to keep the sheep safe inside. That's quite possible. It's also possible that Jesus had an actual gate in mind and he's using that as a metaphor for himself here. But whichever way we take it, he clearly applies the metaphor of the gate to himself, and in so doing, reveals that he is the way into the sheepfold. He's the way in which the sheep come into the fold, and he's also that means of protection for the sheep, that keeps those wicked, marauding forces out, the thieves, the robbers, the wolves, as we'll discover when he further amplifies this kind of illustration in the weeks ahead. He also speaks rather emphatically here. As William Hendrickson has correctly noted, when Jesus says, I, he's speaking emphatically. I alone, he intends to say, am the door of the sheep. There's an emphatic use of the word for I here in the Greek. He's saying, I am the door of the sheep, meaning me and nobody else. He means that he's the only one through whom anyone obtains legitimate access. There isn't any other way but Jesus into the fold that he has in mind. And that fold is where the true sheep are at. Those who hear his voice, for example. This he will emphasize again. I think John Bergen also hints at a pretty good application that we might make of this verse when he writes, quote, take notice that he says not the door of the sheepfold, but the door of the sheep. That is, he is our door. For through him we offer up our prayers, and by him we have access to the Father. By him alone we enter the church, and through him we look for salvation. I think he's making a good point there, don't you? Jesus wants us to know He's not talking about some thing. His focus here isn't on a sheep pen and how to get into it. His focus is on sheep and how they get in to this metaphorical sheepfold, which if we think about it in the light of what Jesus has been revealed to have said in the Gospel of John up to now would be the Kingdom of God, right? It would be a relationship with God. It would be faith in the Messiah, like the man born blind had, who was a sheep who listened to Jesus. He's the door for such people. We'll think more about that kind of application later, but right now, let's continue with this illustration of verse 8, where he says, all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. Now when Jesus says, all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, he certainly cannot be referring to the Old Testament prophets, whom God himself sent to foretell Jesus' coming, or to John the Baptist, whom God appointed as the forerunner of Christ, right? He's not talking about the good guys here. He's talking about wicked people, just as he was in his previous illustration. Although, I think now he has a slightly different emphasis. In this context, Jesus, I think, must be referring to those who came before him and who tried to get the sheep to listen to them as though they themselves could offer what only Jesus himself could give. In other words, I think Jesus most likely is referring to false Christs here who have come before him as thieves and robbers who are trying to steal the sheep away. There were well-known examples of such pretenders in the first century. If you recall, for example, the Pharisee named Gamaliel, when the apostles early on, after Christ had ascended to heaven, began to preach the gospel, they were challenged, they were brought before the Jewish leaders, and one Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up and said, we need to be cautious here. That was the point he was making, about how we deal with this. And here's what he said, and this is recorded in Acts 5, 35-37. where he said to them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men." Meaning Jesus' apostles who are preaching. Jesus as the Christ. He says, "...for some time ago, Thutis rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him." That's more than have joined Jesus. If John 6 is any indication, he's down to a few. "...He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. And after this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him, he also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed." What's he talking about there? He's talking about these false messiahs that had risen up and tried to get the people to follow after them. Offered them all kinds of great things. Those men just ended up dead. And so Gamaliel goes on to say, if this isn't of God, let's just leave it alone and see what happens. Let's see how it plays out. This is basic. approach, but what we're interested in is that he could speak as though these false Christs, these people that came and these pretenders were commonly known amongst the people. And I would suggest that Jesus probably has the same thing in mind here when he says that all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. There were not true believers that went after Thutis and this Judas from Galilee. But true believers are coming after Jesus. They are hearing His voice. So I think it's quite likely, as I said, that Jesus has these kind of men in mind here. But what He says could apply to anyone who tries to get people to follow any other way of salvation than through Jesus Christ, couldn't it? So it could certainly apply to the Pharisees who, even though they weren't claiming to be a Messiah themselves, any of them, Certainly we're preventing people or trying to prevent people from believing in the Messiah. And I think it's especially likely that Jesus has this further application in mind here when you consider what he says later on in his ministry about these people. It's recorded in Matthew 23. Here are a couple of things that Jesus will later say about these Pharisees. What we have in chapter 9 of John is an example of their trying to keep people out of the kingdom of God. like they did with the man born blind. Jesus will accuse them of this quite directly later on as well. When He says in Matthew 23.13, But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. Isn't that what they try to do with the man born blind? Yes, it is. For you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. They just can't stand the thought that people are believing in Jesus. They refuse to believe, they refuse to enter the kingdom, and they're trying their level best to get everybody else to do the same, to reject Christ. Again, he says in Matthew 23, 15, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he has won, you make him twice as much a son of El as yourselves. Yikes. Those are pretty powerful words. So as I said, though I think Jesus has primarily in mind in this particular use of the illustration in John chapter 10 verses 7 through 10, where he shifts the reference of some of the metaphorical elements there, the gate, the thieves and robbers, I still think we can make an application, and he still intends to see an application, and for the Pharisees to see an application to themselves, at least in part here. So again, though none of these pharisees, to our knowledge, who were attacking Jesus were trying to claim that they were the Messiah, they certainly were trying to get people to believe that Jesus wasn't and isn't the Messiah. And so they're no better than these other pretenders, to be sure. But Jesus is quick to add, but the sheep did not hear them. But the sheep did not hear them. This is because true sheep will only listen to the shepherd. As Jesus already said in the previous illustration in verses four and five, when he brings out his own sheep he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. They will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. That's what the man born blind did. Jesus is saying whether you're one of these Pharisees or whether you're one of these false Christs, no matter who you are, that tries to lead people away from faith in the Messiah. Know this, the true sheep won't listen to you. You chased this man, you cast this man out of the synagogue, you Pharisees. But what really happened is he listened to the voice of his shepherd. He entered through the gate of the sheep. Jesus is speaking, I think, words of judgment, as he said he would in chapter 9, for judgment I have come in this regard, to the Pharisees here. But, he's also holding out hope. For they can still believe. They're not dead yet! Judgment hasn't come yet! Again, in this particular illustration, however, Jesus shifts from the shepherd to the door, and we see this again emphasized in verse 9. And we see the same emphatic use. The Greek ego, I, used emphatically here. I am the door. Meaning, not these thieves and robbers. Me and me alone. Jesus is like, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. There's some things I want to unpack here in this verse so we can get what Jesus is saying. When Jesus says, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, he is of course referring to salvation from sin, right? That's the focus of this gospel. and of Jesus' teaching in it. He's talking about salvation from sin. It's also the problem that he's identified as the primary issue for the Pharisees to whom he's speaking here. Although other people are listening, remember, he's talking to these Pharisees. And he's accused them of sin. And they need to be saved from it. Their sin, like this man born blind is being saved from his sin. because he's believing in Jesus, accepting that he's God and the Messiah. Remember again in verse 39-41 of chapter 9, Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind. That's the judgment. People that think they see, they're just going to become more and more blind in their self-deception. Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said, We're not blind also, are we? With the attitude of surely you don't mean us. Of all people we see, right? They're the very people he means. What did Jesus say to them? If you were blind you would have no sin, but now you say we see, therefore your sin remains. That's the problem. Sin. That's why they're blind. They're interconnected, their blindness and their sin. They go together. You can't have one without the other. And that's the real problem, is sin. So when Jesus says, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, he certainly is talking about salvation from sin. And though he's speaking, I believe here, words of judgment, and using an illustration to help the Pharisees see what's really going on here, is that this man is following the true shepherd. He's gone in by the true gate. And he really does see, not just physically, but spiritually see in a way that they don't. Though there's a certain judgment on them and a confrontation of their sin, there's also hope mixed into this. Isn't there? He says, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved. If you're a Pharisee and that day standing there, that means you. If all you'll do is enter by Jesus, you'll be saved. Why do you think there's grace mixed in here? If they would only hear. It goes on to say that this person who is saved will go in and out and find pasture. What does he mean by go in and out? Well, sheep go in and out of a sheepfold through a gate. Does that mean you go into salvation and you go out of salvation? Of course not. That's not what he's talking about here when he talks about going in and out. Actually, he's using an old Hebrew idiom when he speaks of going in and out that refers to just a person's life. The things they do every day. in their life in total. Here are a couple of examples that might prove helpful from the Old Testament use of this figure of speech. First, when Moses describes the covenant blessing that God has in store for His obedient people in Deuteronomy 28, verse 6, he says this, Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. Coming in and going out, going in and out. It's the same kind of idiom, the same kind of figure of speech. I think the Net Bible Notes get it right when they comment on Deuteronomy 28.6 that to come in and to go out is a figure of speech, a merism they call it, indicating all of life and its activities. By the way, this kind of figure of speech that they're using here is where you take parts of something that kind of represents the whole. Like if I searched for my glasses high and low, what I mean is I searched everywhere. I'm speaking of every place. And of course, they were in my pocket the whole time, as always. Another scriptural example of this kind of figure of speech would be in Psalm 139.2, where the psalmist says, you know my sitting down and my rising up. Well, he means more than God is just aware of when he sits down and when he gets up. That's a way of describing, you know what I do every day. Well, this is what this idiom means, going in or going out and coming in, this idiom. It just means how you're conducting your life, the totality of it every day. Another example of the same use of that idiom would be in the second song of ascents. That's in Psalm 121. In verses 7 and 8, the psalmist declares, the Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Whatever you do, God will preserve you in it. That's the idea. This same type of speaking was also used by the apostles later on for a final example. Remember later after Jesus rises from the dead and he appears to people over the period of 40 days and he ascends to be with the Father, they said, well, you know, we're minus one of the 12. So they want to replace him. And they're talking about who should replace Him. And here's what they say in Acts 1.21-22. Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken out from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection. They're looking for a guy that's been with them all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them. That's just talking about His living with them. Being with them all the time. In their daily lives. So when Jesus talks about, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. He's talking about their life. The life that they will have. He's talking about whatever the person does, whenever or wherever he goes, he will find pasture. The sheep that enter by the door that is Jesus will always have pasture. They will always be nourished. They will always be looked after, is the idea here. And of course, He's thinking metaphorically of those sheep that will starve unless they have good pasture to graze in. Jesus says that his sheep, the sheep that enter by the door, like the man born blind, they'll always find pasture. It's very similar, this metaphorical language, to that found in Psalm 23. In Psalm 23, verses 1-3, David writes, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. The blessings about which David wrote, these come only through Jesus. He's the gate. He's the door to those blessings. He's the door to life. He's the only gate through which the Lord leads us to such green pastures. But there will always be those who try to stop people from receiving the blessings of salvation through Christ. And Jesus returns to them once again in verse 10, where He says, The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly." Those false teachers and those messianic pretenders Jesus has talked about as thieves and robbers have only one true intention. That is to lead people to destruction. Because they're leading them away from life. From the true shepherd. They come to take Jesus comes to give. They come to kill. But Jesus comes to grant life. They come to destroy, He says. What's Jesus come to do? He comes to save. What a difference between Jesus and these thieves and robbers He has in mind. What we, I think, must ask, what does Jesus mean when he says that he has come not only that he might give life, but that he might give it more abundantly? What does that mean? In the context, he surely intends that the life that he'll give will include both his protection and his provision. That's what this whole metaphor of the gate means, right? and people going in and out and finding pasture. The metaphorical language he uses here certainly has these ideas of provision and protection. They're prominently in the illustration there, revealed to us. And so, many people think that that's what he means when he says, not only will they have life, but they'll have it more abundantly. That is, they'll have abundant protection, they'll have abundant provision, they'll have abundant green pastures, so to speak. And that that's what Jesus has in mind here. And it might be. There's certainly a contextual argument to be made. I just made it for that interpretation. But I suspect that what Jesus is saying is just speaking in another way of everlasting life. When He says that they may have life, that they may have it more abundantly, I think He means not just any life, but everlasting life. I think that's what He has in mind. And here's why. This is what He's constantly been offering to people, as Jesus records His words in this Gospel. If you back up to chapter 4, For example, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, in chapter 4, verses 13 and 14, Jesus answered and said to her, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a thousand of waters springing up into everlasting life. There's an abundant life talked about there. A life that springs up. Or as Jesus said to the people in his previous visit to Jerusalem, recorded back in chapter 5, verse 24, Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death into life. Or again, as Jesus said to the Jews after the feeding of the 5,000, most of whom turned away from Him, though they had professed faith in Him, most of them turned away. Remember what Jesus said in chapter 6, verse 40, This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up at the last day. In chapter 6 verse 47, most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. You get the point. Jesus is constantly promised everlasting life. And so when he says here, once again, in chapter 10, that he has come, that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly, he's not talking about just any kind of life. Just like when he gave sight to the blind man, it wasn't just any kind of sight he was talking about when he talked about the blind seeing and the seeing being made blind. He was talking about spiritual sight. Even so, here, he's not talking about just any kind of light, he's talking about spiritual life, he's talking about everlasting life, and he's talking about life that only comes through him. That's what he's talking about when he speaks of life more abundantly, at least in my view. As Charles Spurgeon has rightly pointed out, the thief came to take away life, but Christ came to give life, and that abundant life which shall last forever and ever. But see what it cost him to give that life. That is what we're going to focus our attention upon more fully next week when we examine Jesus' words in verse 11. I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. It is only through the sacrificial death of Jesus that we've celebrated this morning in partaking of the Lord's Supper that we may have forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Jesus alone is the door. He and he alone is the way of salvation. And he'll go on to point this out even more explicitly later. For example, in chapter 14, verse 6, where he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through me. Jesus offers abundant life, which lasts forever and brings with it many spiritual blessings, which Jesus describes as finding pasture. all the nourishment and blessing that we need, we could ever hope for, or want, comes with such everlasting life. As the Apostle Paul put it, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This abundant life has abundant blessings with it, doesn't it? I'd like to conclude our time in God's Word this morning with a few reminders from the Apostles of Jesus, who teaches that Christians must constantly rely on Jesus as the only means of salvation and of access to God, His grace. We can't walk away from here thinking As some people, it seems to me, might do, that Jesus is the door to salvation, and that's it. You're saved, you've gone in through the door, and you don't need the door anymore, because you're through it. No, no, no, no, no, no. Jesus is the door all the time. That's why He goes on to say they will go in and out and find pasture. He's talking about the life that they'll live once they're through the door. Right? Once they're saved. Jesus wants us to know that He's always our door. And He alone is always our door. And so I want to reinforce that point through what some of His Apostles said. For example, the Apostle Paul in Romans 5, verses 1-2 says this. And this is in the context of He's getting ready to talk about trials and suffering. And how we can have joy in trials and suffering. How? How can we have joy in times like that? The door. to which we have access to all we need from God. That's how. Look what he says in Romans 5, 1 and 2. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we've been pronounced righteous in the eyes of God. Remember, because earlier in the book, he talked about imputation. Our sins got put on Jesus on the cross. But in a happy exchange, as Luther put it, His righteousness gets credited to us. The righteousness of God Himself. And God now looks at our account and sees the righteousness of Jesus. and says, not guilty, or better yet, that's a righteous person that I'm looking at. Because of the righteousness of Christ. And he says, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the door. Through whom also we have access by faith. into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. You want access to the grace that you need for all your hard times? Jesus is your access. Always! It's through Christ and Christ alone that you come to the Father. A couple more examples from the author of Hebrews. And by the way, most of Hebrews is about this point, actually. About Christ as our great intercessor and high priest and our access to God the Father. I'll just read a couple of passages. Hebrews 4, 14-16 says, Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. He's trying to encourage us here. to stay strong and trusting in Jesus. Because we know who He really is as our great High Priest. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Oh, so many believers fail to access the grace of God through Christ because somehow they think, oh, He doesn't understand. I can't talk to Him about my struggles. The author of Hebrews says, no, no, no, no. Everything Jesus did was to show you that that's not true. That He can sympathize and does sympathize with your weaknesses. Because He was tempted in all places we are, yet without sin. If there's anyone who can give you access to grace that will help you overcome sin, it's the one who overcame all sin. And that's Jesus. Therefore, He says, let us come boldly to the throne of grace. There's our access. That we might, He says, obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Do you feel need in your life? Jesus is the door. And He's the only door to the throne of grace. There are thieves and robbers out there who try to tell you there's another door, but they're liars, every one of them. Lastly, in Hebrews 10, 19-23, the author of Hebrews says, Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way, which he consecrated for us through the veil, that is his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith." Get what he's saying here. Whenever you see people throughout the Bible, an angel of the Lord might appear to them, what do they do? Is their first inclination to draw near to Him? Or to shy away? It's almost always to shy away, to fall on the ground, I'm not worthy to be in your presence. Notice what the author of Hebrews is saying that we should be doing. Draw near! Draw near! Because Jesus is our door! He's our inn! That is, draw near, he says, with a true heart and full assurance of faith. having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." When Jesus said, I am the gate, and that anyone who comes through Me will go in and out and find pasture, He is faithful to keep that promise and all that it entails. And what Paul and the author of Hebrews, whoever he may be, I suspect it was Paul himself, What they were saying in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was simply explaining what Jesus meant when he called himself the gate. He's the way to everlasting life. He's the way for us to experience God's grace every single day of our lives. And this is why, as I like to say, we need the gospel every day, don't we? We need every day to remember that we're center-stayed by grace because Jesus died on the cross for us, and He rose from the dead for us, and He forever lives to intercede at the Father's right hand for us. He is our way. He is our door. Let us not become discouraged and grow weary in well-doing with a door like that to the throne room of grace. the door like Jesus. Perhaps one other line of application before we finish. Let's put on to this line an old scholar, a guy named C, I never found his first name, Marriott. He says this, he's aiming it at pastors, so George and Dennis, he's aiming it at the three of us, primarily here, but I'm going to expand that application to all of us. He writes this, in considering Christ as the door of the sheep, much will appear that is important to all shepherds of his flock. For by him must be their going out and coming in, if they are to go in and out before his sheep and to find the pastor that is provided for them. In other words, we can't lead people to a pastor we haven't found, fellow elders. And we can't daily lead them to that pasture, focus them on the door, who is Jesus, unless He's our door first. Every day. That's true of everybody in this room, isn't it? If you're a father, are you showing your family the door every day? To God? To grace? To salvation? To sanctification? To glorification? Are you showing them the door? Everyday mothers, many of you homeschool your children. Are you showing your children the door? Everyday? When you go to work? Are you showing those people at work the door? Are you? You certainly can't shum the door if you're not going in and out of yourself. If you're not relying on Jesus yourself. Isn't that true? It's true of me, who got hit between the eyes first by the application of Brother Marriott, but it's also true of you. All of you. So, I want to encourage you today, in summing up here, Always remember that Jesus, He doesn't stop being your door once you're saved. He's always your door. And He's the only door for everyone. And everyone needs to know it. And it's our job as Christians to help them know it. To constantly point one another as believers to the door. and constantly point unbelievers to the door as well, just as Jesus was doing in this text. Let's pray. Holy Father, I hope I've been able to explain clearly what your word is really saying, what you meant. Lord Jesus, when you said these things, I've tried to bring in some of what your apostles said, and getting us a fuller picture of your intentions here. And it is my hope that I've been faithful to your holy word, and that your Holy Spirit has therefore spoken to our hearts. Because we believe here at Emmanuel Baptist Church that your appointed means to bring people to salvation in Christ and to sanctify believers is your Word. And so we cling to your Word, we stand on your Word, we proclaim your Word. We want your Word to be within our hearts. And today your word has called us to remember who Jesus is to us as our Savior. Help us to do so, Lord. Help us to have the kind of confidence you want us to have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to be the kind of witnesses you want us to be to who he really is. And for any here today who have not yet come to know him, We ask that you do for them what you have done for us. Open their eyes that they may see. Give them ears to hear. Grant them faith to believe and repentance into everlasting life. We ask these things in the name of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. I thank you once again for your kind attention.