4th Sunday after the Resurrection 5/15/11 John 10:1-10 and 1 Peter 2:24-25
4th Sunday after the Resurrection
5/14/11
Text: John 10:1-10 and 1 Peter 2:24-25
Today’s Gospel reading can be somewhat confusing, for Jesus appears to be calling himself the gatekeeper, the door, and the shepherd all in the same story. He is really not saying that. It only appears that way when you don’t know the whole story.
My intention today, is to fill you in on the whole story, so that you can better understand Jesus’ message and its relevancy to you today. This particular story takes place right after Jesus had healed a man who was born blind. The religious leaders did not like the fact that he had been healed on the Sabbath because it could have waited until Sunday. Jesus was working on the Sabbath which was against Jewish law, they would say God’s Law.
While they were grilling the man who had been born blind but could now see about how he was healed he said to them, “Do you want to be his disciples too?” That really set them off, for it was quite obvious they did not want to be Jesus’ disciples. Jesus was ruining their whole system of power, prestige, and money making. He had to be stopped. It appears that quite a few, I hate to say all, were actually crooks and thieves, even though they were considered to be righteous. They had turned religion into a money making business.
This is not the first time in history that this had taken place, for the Old Testament tells us of several instances where one or more of the prophets had denounced the priests for the same type of behavior Jesus was denouncing them for in this story.
As to the story it was quite common in Jesus’ day for the village to build a common sheepfold that would house all the sheep owned by various people. The sheep would be kept penned up at night for their protection with a gatekeeper assigned to guard the only door into the sheepfold. He only let the shepherds he knew and trusted to get their sheep out in the morning.
Before we go any further it would be good to understand what the sheepfold, sheep, thieves, and robbers, shepherd, gatekeeper, and door stand for. That way we can understand what Jesus is teaching.
The sheepfold represents God’s protective power in the form of the God’s Christian Church.
The sheep are those people in all the different Christian churches who truly believe in the Triune God and Jesus’ saving work on their behalf.
The thieves and robbers are those pastors and teachers who try to steal the people out of God’s church. They do this by teaching false doctrines such as telling people that they have to do something to please God in order to achieve eternal life, or that Jesus is not God, or that Jesus came to give everyone that believes the good life, or the hundred or more other false teaching that they teach.
The shepherd, who is Jesus the only one to die for the benefit of his people also stands for pastors and teachers from all types of Christian churches who teach the true Word of God in all purity. They love their congregation and want their members to know the Word of God, so that they can live blessed lives in the Lord.
The gatekeeper is God the Father who knows both the people that are his and the pastors and teachers that are the true shepherds of his people.
The door stands for Jesus who is the only way to the Father and eternal life. He is, as he says, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Now that you know what all the symbols stand for I am going to paraphrase the reading. Jesus is speaking."Listen up. This is the truth, I say to you, the pastor who does not center his teaching on Christ and saving work, but teaches false doctrine is a thief and robber of souls and lives and does not belong to me. On the other hand the pastor who teaches salvation by Christ alone is the true pastor of my Christian Church. My father, God the Father entrusts his chosen people to him. The people of God hear their pastor’s voice and respond because they know that he is teaching them the true Word of God, so that they will be able to live their lives under the Lordship of Jesus. Because they trust in their pastor’s teaching they will recognize that the teachings of the false pastor or teacher are lies.” Since the false pastors and teachers that Jesus was talking to that day did not understand what Jesus was saying to them, Jesus told them, “Let me make it clearer. Listen up, for this is most certainly true. I am, actually the Greek is “I am the I am.” the only way to God. All of those pastors who did not teach this are false pastors who have tried to steal the bodies and souls of my people. I am, the I am who is the only way to God have come that all that believe in me will live the abundant life."
Do you understand it better? I hope so, for in those verses I just read there are life saving words from God, for he is telling you that if your Christian pastor or teacher is not teaching salvation through Jesus alone he or she is a thief and robber who is trying to steal your soul and thus your body at the resurrection, for as we are told in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, " For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
A good example of the latest myth that is false doctrine that even Christians are buying into is a book written by Rob Bell a pastor out of a mega church in Michigan. It is titled “Love Wins” a book that teaches that the hell the Bible teaches is here now in the lives that so many live and that in the end everyone will go to heaven whether they are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any of the hundreds of faith systems, for God is love. How could he condemn people to hell just because they don’t believe in him he asks?
His book which was published on March 15 of this year is so popular that it is already number three on Amazons how to book list and number 26 and climbing on the top 100 books list.
People who don’t understand God’s Word are being misled by the thousands putting their souls and bodies in jeopardy. God does not want that to happen to anyone, for he died for all people including those who reject him and his forgiveness. His message is very clear. Trust me and have a blessed life here and in eternity. That is his message.
But we, just like sheep who think the grass is greener over there, think that there must be a better gospel than the Gospel of Jesus. And because of that we scramble around looking for that latest book, movie, teaching, relationship, or drug that will make us happy and give us peace. We rejoice when we find it only to be disappointed, so we go after something else thinking we will find happiness and peace only to be disappointed again, again, and again.
Your Savior Jesus Christ knows this and still loves you so much that he came on this earth to do what you could not do; live your live completely trusting in God the Father to take care of you. He did that and then, as we read in 1 Peter 2:24 and 25 of our epistle reading for this morning, bore your sins in his body on the cross, so that you could die to sin and live in his righteousness.
It did not end there, for those wounds he suffered that day continue to heal the wounds of sin in your life today and tomorrow and the next day.
Believe in him. Trust in him. Be blessed in him, for “you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” It is only in him and him alone will you find true happiness and peace. Amen
5/14/11
Text: John 10:1-10 and 1 Peter 2:24-25
Today’s Gospel reading can be somewhat confusing, for Jesus appears to be calling himself the gatekeeper, the door, and the shepherd all in the same story. He is really not saying that. It only appears that way when you don’t know the whole story.
My intention today, is to fill you in on the whole story, so that you can better understand Jesus’ message and its relevancy to you today. This particular story takes place right after Jesus had healed a man who was born blind. The religious leaders did not like the fact that he had been healed on the Sabbath because it could have waited until Sunday. Jesus was working on the Sabbath which was against Jewish law, they would say God’s Law.
While they were grilling the man who had been born blind but could now see about how he was healed he said to them, “Do you want to be his disciples too?” That really set them off, for it was quite obvious they did not want to be Jesus’ disciples. Jesus was ruining their whole system of power, prestige, and money making. He had to be stopped. It appears that quite a few, I hate to say all, were actually crooks and thieves, even though they were considered to be righteous. They had turned religion into a money making business.
This is not the first time in history that this had taken place, for the Old Testament tells us of several instances where one or more of the prophets had denounced the priests for the same type of behavior Jesus was denouncing them for in this story.
As to the story it was quite common in Jesus’ day for the village to build a common sheepfold that would house all the sheep owned by various people. The sheep would be kept penned up at night for their protection with a gatekeeper assigned to guard the only door into the sheepfold. He only let the shepherds he knew and trusted to get their sheep out in the morning.
Before we go any further it would be good to understand what the sheepfold, sheep, thieves, and robbers, shepherd, gatekeeper, and door stand for. That way we can understand what Jesus is teaching.
The sheepfold represents God’s protective power in the form of the God’s Christian Church.
The sheep are those people in all the different Christian churches who truly believe in the Triune God and Jesus’ saving work on their behalf.
The thieves and robbers are those pastors and teachers who try to steal the people out of God’s church. They do this by teaching false doctrines such as telling people that they have to do something to please God in order to achieve eternal life, or that Jesus is not God, or that Jesus came to give everyone that believes the good life, or the hundred or more other false teaching that they teach.
The shepherd, who is Jesus the only one to die for the benefit of his people also stands for pastors and teachers from all types of Christian churches who teach the true Word of God in all purity. They love their congregation and want their members to know the Word of God, so that they can live blessed lives in the Lord.
The gatekeeper is God the Father who knows both the people that are his and the pastors and teachers that are the true shepherds of his people.
The door stands for Jesus who is the only way to the Father and eternal life. He is, as he says, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Now that you know what all the symbols stand for I am going to paraphrase the reading. Jesus is speaking."Listen up. This is the truth, I say to you, the pastor who does not center his teaching on Christ and saving work, but teaches false doctrine is a thief and robber of souls and lives and does not belong to me. On the other hand the pastor who teaches salvation by Christ alone is the true pastor of my Christian Church. My father, God the Father entrusts his chosen people to him. The people of God hear their pastor’s voice and respond because they know that he is teaching them the true Word of God, so that they will be able to live their lives under the Lordship of Jesus. Because they trust in their pastor’s teaching they will recognize that the teachings of the false pastor or teacher are lies.” Since the false pastors and teachers that Jesus was talking to that day did not understand what Jesus was saying to them, Jesus told them, “Let me make it clearer. Listen up, for this is most certainly true. I am, actually the Greek is “I am the I am.” the only way to God. All of those pastors who did not teach this are false pastors who have tried to steal the bodies and souls of my people. I am, the I am who is the only way to God have come that all that believe in me will live the abundant life."
Do you understand it better? I hope so, for in those verses I just read there are life saving words from God, for he is telling you that if your Christian pastor or teacher is not teaching salvation through Jesus alone he or she is a thief and robber who is trying to steal your soul and thus your body at the resurrection, for as we are told in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, " For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
A good example of the latest myth that is false doctrine that even Christians are buying into is a book written by Rob Bell a pastor out of a mega church in Michigan. It is titled “Love Wins” a book that teaches that the hell the Bible teaches is here now in the lives that so many live and that in the end everyone will go to heaven whether they are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any of the hundreds of faith systems, for God is love. How could he condemn people to hell just because they don’t believe in him he asks?
His book which was published on March 15 of this year is so popular that it is already number three on Amazons how to book list and number 26 and climbing on the top 100 books list.
People who don’t understand God’s Word are being misled by the thousands putting their souls and bodies in jeopardy. God does not want that to happen to anyone, for he died for all people including those who reject him and his forgiveness. His message is very clear. Trust me and have a blessed life here and in eternity. That is his message.
But we, just like sheep who think the grass is greener over there, think that there must be a better gospel than the Gospel of Jesus. And because of that we scramble around looking for that latest book, movie, teaching, relationship, or drug that will make us happy and give us peace. We rejoice when we find it only to be disappointed, so we go after something else thinking we will find happiness and peace only to be disappointed again, again, and again.
Your Savior Jesus Christ knows this and still loves you so much that he came on this earth to do what you could not do; live your live completely trusting in God the Father to take care of you. He did that and then, as we read in 1 Peter 2:24 and 25 of our epistle reading for this morning, bore your sins in his body on the cross, so that you could die to sin and live in his righteousness.
It did not end there, for those wounds he suffered that day continue to heal the wounds of sin in your life today and tomorrow and the next day.
Believe in him. Trust in him. Be blessed in him, for “you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” It is only in him and him alone will you find true happiness and peace. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 2:16 PM
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