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Jesus is the Gate and the Good Shepherd

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And Don’t Sheep (We) Need These

We’re continuing with the “I Am” statements of Jesus this week. Today is a combination of two of these. “I am the gate and the good shepherd,” John 10:1-15.

In the Bible, sheep are used to represent people quite often and there’s a good reason for this. Having been around sheep in my childhood and then raising them as an adult … I get it.

Sheep aren’t terribly smart.

David is one of those who wrote about sheep in the Bible. After all, he had some experience with sheep having been a shepherd. He knew that the sheep needed to be penned up at night and protected from wild animals and thieves.

The only way in or out of the pen was through the gate. The shepherd had to open and close it because the sheep couldn’t. The shepherd also kept watch at the gate so thieves wouldn’t open it.

In Psalm 23, David uses this experience to give us an example of how God is our Shepherd. How He leads us down the right paths to good places. When we are in dark valleys, He will protect us.

God has our back like a shepherd.

Jesus is using these same examples when He’s talking with the Pharisees in John 10:1-15. He has just given a blind man sight on the Sabbath and the church leaders are mad at Him, because it was the Sabbath (John 9).

Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are blind and missing what’s most important. He tells them their sight is worse than the blind man’s. They aren’t seeing what’s right in front of them.

He goes on to tell them, “I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice.” (John 10:1-5)

Jesus spoke again, “I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”

Shepherds were devoted to protecting their sheep. They would risk their lives. In 1 Samuel 17:33-37 when David offers to go face the giant, Saul tells him he is just a boy. David responds, “Your servant has kept his father’s sheep, and if ever a lion or a bear came and carried off one of the flock, I would go after it, strike it, and rescue the animal from its mouth. If it turned on me, I would grab it at its jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has fought both lions and bears. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them because he has insulted the army of the living God. The Lord, who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.”

Jesus is our Gate and Shepherd.

Sheep do stupid things and so do we. So, follow the Good Shepherd.

Jesus is the Bread of Life

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Bread is Important to Sustaining Life

The Guinness World Record for the longest loaf of bread is 3,975 feet long and was baked for 59:30 hours. Starting on July 7th, 2005 at 8:00 PM and finishing on July 10th at 7:30 AM. It takes 9 minutes for a combine to harvest enough wheat to make 70 loaves of bread. France bakes around 6,000 baguettes per year. There are a lot of different kinds of bread. On average, each American consumes approximately 53 pounds of bread annually. Germany consumes the most bread per capita.

Bread is an important part of almost every culture. Breaking bread together and sharing a meal is one of the best ways for fellowship. We are all so busy, but we need to slow down periodically to eat. Sharing a meal is a great opportunity to connect with others.

In John 6:1-15, a large crowd of people was following Jesus because they had previously witnessed Him miraculously healing the sick. He then fed thousands of people with 5 loaves and 2 fish with 12 baskets left over. Another miracle.

This was at the time of the Passover, which involved unleavened bread to commemorate when the Jews left Egypt and didn’t have time to wait for bread to rise. This included removing all yeast from their homes.

Yeast is a microorganism used to make bread rise. A small amount will spread throughout the dough.

Like yeast, sin can spread through our lives.

While the Jews were in the wilderness they received manna daily. This was their daily allotment of bread. They were told to only collect what they needed for each day, but some gathered more than they needed. When they did this, it would spoil and go bad. This was to teach them to depend on God and not be greedy.

We need to trust God to provide and not be greedy.

After Jesus fed the thousands, He could tell that the people wanted Him to be their king and rescue them from their Roman oppression. So, he went away from the crowd, to be alone. (John 6:16-21)

While He was gone his disciples got in boats to cross the lake to Capernaum. He hadn’t shown up yet and the wind came up and blew the boats out into the lake. Then Jesus appeared, walking on the water as they reached the other shore. (John 6:16-21)

The next day the crowd realized that the disciples were gone, and Jesus hadn’t been in the boat when they left. When they couldn’t find Jesus or His disciples they went across to Capernaum looking for them. (John 6:22-24)

When they found Jesus on the other side they had some questions for Him.

“When did You get here?”

He answered them, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.” (John 6:25-27)

“What must we do to accomplish what God requires?”

“This is what God requires, that you believe in him whom God sent.” (John 6:29)

“What miracles are You going to perform? What will You do next? Our ancestors were given manna in the wilderness. It is written; He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

“I assure you, it wasn’t Moses who gave the bread from heaven to you, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33)

“How can we have this bread always?”

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

The people wanted Jesus to solve all their problems. They were impatient and didn’t like Jesus’ answers. They were looking for worldly fulfillment.

Belief is more than explanation. It requires faith.

Like yeast can permeate dough, sin can take over our lives.

Don’t let it.

We are given what we need every day if we just look up and pay attention. We need to be careful not to become overly expectant and greedy in our expectations.

Jesus is the bread of life every day.

Jesus is the Light of the World

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And We Need All the Light We Can Get

The number seven is throughout the Bible. John used seven a lot of different times in his Gospel. One of those sevens, is the seven “I Am” statements. These seven statements from Jesus are:

  1. I am the bread of life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
  2. I am the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5)
  3. I am the door (John 10:7, 9)
  4. I am the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14)
  5. I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
  6. I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)
  7. I am the vine (John 15:1, 5)

This week we’re going to focus on Jesus being the light of the world.

In John 7:1-2, it is time for the Festival of the Tabernacles. This is a Jewish holiday that lasts for seven days and is a time for giving thanks for the harvest and remembering the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness after leaving Egypt. During the holiday, many Jews build and dwell in temporary, outdoor structures called sukkot, which are meant to remind them of the Israelites’ temporary dwellings during their wilderness journey.

A part of the Festival of the Tabernacles was the celebration of light. So that people outside the temple could celebrate too. This was accomplished by lighting fires in bowls filled with oil on top of tall 30′-40′ poles. These poles would light the whole city.

It serves as a reminder of the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and hope over despair. By understanding the history and traditions associated with this festival, we can gain insight into how to navigate our own lives with faith, courage, and perseverance.

Like the number seven, light is also prevalent in the Bible. The Book of John starts out quoting Genesis:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man named John who was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him.” John 1:1-10

Think of how dark it would have been two thousand years ago before electricity. The world needed light. The fires on the poles gave light, but it was not THE LIGHT. The world today needs THE LIGHT.

A great example of light and how it works is the sun, moon, and earth. The earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the earth. The sun is the source of our natural light. Neither the earth nor the moon creates any light. The moon’s light is a reflection of the sun’s light. A full moon is really bright and lights things up.

Jesus is our “Son” and the source of our spiritual light. When we are full, we can share the light of the Son and brighten people’s dark lives.

Jesus is the LIGHT of the world, and we should reflect that light.

The Greatest Joy

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Mary Finds the Tomb Empty

This past Sunday was Easter. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

In John 20:1-10, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’ tomb and finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. She assumes someone has stolen the body and ran to tell the disciples. Peter and John go back to the tomb with her. They find the cloth that the body had been wrapped in lying there.

After all they had experienced, they still didn’t understand that Jesus must rise from the dead.

The disciples left, but Mary stayed. She was crying outside the tomb when she saw Jesus. He told her to go tell the others. She went and told them that she had seen the Lord. (John 20:11-18)

After His resurrection, He was seen several different times. On the road to Emaus, in the room with the disciples, then again so Thomas could see and believe, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and to multiple others.

The resurrected Jesus has a physical body. He eats with the disciples. Thomas touches the scars. People recognize Him. Jesus had a perfect body, scars and all.

After all that we know, do we understand who Jesus is?

The evidence is there if we chose to believe.

Our earthly bodies are less than perfect. In addition to our physical flaws, we have a big God-shaped hole, smack dab in the middle. The first step to a perfect, heavenly body is to fill this hole by accepting the gift Jesus gave us when He died on the cross.

Jesus will fill that God-shaped hole, making us whole.

The greatest joy will be our own empty tomb if we have a perfect body for eternity in Heaven. This is a choice. I hope you make the right one.

Jesus’ Blood is On Us

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We Can’t Wash Our Hands of This

We’re getting closer to the cross this week. The past several weeks we’ve been going on this journey with Jesus. Too much of the time we just jump from Palm Sunday to Easter and bypass the ugly part in between. And there is a lot of ugly.

Part of this journey was Jesus being taken to Pontius Pilate by the Jewish leaders. They want to put an end to this Man who is messing up their comfortable lives.

Most of us have heard the story of Jesus being taken to Pilate to be put to death.

Pilate couldn’t find anything that justified Jesus being punished to this degree.  There was a tradition at that time of the governor releasing a prisoner and he offered the crowd the choice of Jesus or a notorious prisoner, Barabbas.

While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of Him!”

The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

“Barabbas!” they answered.

Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Messiah?”

They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

Then he said, “Why? What has He done wrong?”

But they kept shouting, “Crucify Him!” all the more.

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!”

All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them. But after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Matthew 27:15-26

It’s interesting that even though Pilate washed his hands of this to absolve himself of this situation, his name is the one name connected to Jesus’ crucifixion more than any other. If he’d known who he was turning his back on … he might have done things differently.

Jesus’ blood was on Pilate.

The Jewish people became so caught up in the moment they asked for Jesus’ blood to be on them and their children. If they’d known what they were asking … they might have done things differently.

Jesus’ blood was on the Jewish people.

And then there’s Barabbas. He was the fortunate benefactor of this situation. The one who was set free. He literally knew what it was like for Jesus to die for him.

Jesus’ blood was certainly on Barabbas.

Just like Pilate, the Jewish people who called for Jesus’ death, and Barabbas, we can get caught up in the world and make the wrong decisions. These bad choices can’t simply be ignored, and they’ll go away.

Just washing our hands doesn’t change it.

Jesus’ blood is on all of us.

It’s up to us to believe in Jesus and accept the gift of His blood.

We Need to Live Our Lives Awake

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What Does It Mean to be Awake?

As we continue with Jesus on His journey to the cross, this week we find ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane. They just finished sharing their last meal together. After singing a song, they went to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:22-26)

Jesus told them, “All of you will run away …” Peter insisted that even if everyone else runs away, he would not. Jesus said to him, “I assure you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter insisted that he would never deny Him. (Mark 14:27-31)

We all know what happened later that night.

On the Mount of Olives was the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told His disciples to sit and pray. Then, He took Peter, James, and John with Him further into the garden. Jesus was going through the distress of what He knew was coming.

Jesus asked these three to “remain and stay awake.”

Then He went on a little further and prayed. When He came back, He found them sleeping. He said to Peter,

“Couldn’t you stay awake for an hour?

“Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This statement says a lot about us, doesn’t it? We want to do what’s right, but the world makes it hard.

Once again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing to them. When He came back, He found them sleeping again.

He then came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The time has come. Look, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.” 

I think falling asleep in this Scripture is less about the physical act of the disciples sleeping and more about them, and us, going through life with our focus on the wrong things.

Prayer is one of those things that we too often overlook.

We need to be awake and in conversations with God.

Don’t go through life asleep. Wake up and live your life. The life that God wants you to live.

The Journey of Life Can be Hard

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It’s Nice When Somebody Goes with Us

During this time of Lent, we’ve been going through Christ’s journey to the cross. Two weeks ago, we talked about knowing where our treasure is and Mary’s anointing of Jesus with the expensive oil. She knew where her treasure was. Last week we discussed Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem and many of the people missed out on who Jesus was. They were expecting a different kind of king.

This week we’ve made it to the first Last Supper.

Jesus got up from supper, took a towel, poured water into a bowl, and began washing His disciples’ feet. He explained that this act of service was an example of how we should treat others. He even washed the feet of Judas who was going to betray Him.

This act of washing feet was done by the lowest of servants. Jesus told them that He—as their Lord and Teacher having done this—was an example of what we should do for others. There are a lot of ways that we can wash people’s feet.

Be willing to “wash people’s feet”.

At this last supper that Jesus shared with His disciples, he knew that one was going to betray him. At this point it wasn’t too late for Judas to turn back and ask for forgiveness … but he didn’t. If we’re still living we have the same opportunity. We can repent and ask for forgiveness.

Don’t wait too long to repent and ask for forgiveness.

This meal was a Passover meal. It commemorates death passing over the homes with lambs’ blood on the door posts in Egypt. Jesus held up the bread, representing His body broken for us. Then He held up the cup. Reminding us of His sacrifice He made for us. Without eating and drinking we will perish.

Accept the gift of His body and blood so you don’t perish.

We need to remember these acts and the promise that comes with them.

There are hundreds of words in the English language that use the prefix re-, which mean “back” or “again.” Some examples are reject, recede, reduce, reflect. returning, revert, rearrange, rejuvenate, regenerate, and recapitulate.

For instance, when you reject a plan, you throw it “back.” When a man’s hair recedes, his hairline continues to move “back” as he loses hair. When you reduce the amount of money you spend, you lead it “back” to a smaller amount. When light reflects off a surface, it bends “back.” When you are returning home from an outing, you are turning “back” home. And when a criminal reverts to being good again, he turns “back” to morally upright behavior.

Another primary meaning of the prefix re- is “again.” For instance, when you rearrange the furniture in a room, you arrange it “again” into a different configuration. A marathon runner can become rejuvenated or etymologically made young “again” by sleeping and eating after a long race. Some newts regenerate limbs once they’ve lost them; that is, they grow them “again.” When a teacher recapitulates something she’s just taught, she goes over it “again” by summarizing it.

If we remember the covenant that Jesus made, we become a member of His followers again.

Remember this covenant He made with us.

Another thing to remember is that He is with us on the journey of life. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Jeff gave an example of the importance of remembering in the children’s message. He shared a story of when he was in his mid-teens and his uncle, who was five years older and like a brother to him, died at twenty. In his loneliness and missing his uncle, Jeff asked God how He could let something like this happen. He did not hear any answers. In the silence, Jeff ran away from God for a few years.

Over time he figured some things out. One of those things was that…

The teacher is silent during the test.

Tests are a part of life, and we need to be willing to take them. Just because we can’t hear the teacher when we’re taking tests, doesn’t mean they’re not there looking over us.

In James 1:12 it says, “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

There are some hard lessons in life. But if we use the things the Teacher has taught us and remember that even in His silence He is with us, we will pass the test.

Perspective is Up to Us

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It’s Important to Have the Right One 

We can be blind even when things are staring us in the face. 

This is what happened with Jesus’ followers. Even those closest to Him. Those who knew Him better than anyone else on earth. They saw Him give sight to the blind, heal the lame, cast out demons, even bring people back to life. He had been teaching them and explaining what was going to happen. They still weren’t seeing things clearly. 

They were looking at things from a worldly perspective. 

A perspective is a particular way of looking at something. Too often when we have a perspective about something it is hard to change the way we see it.  

The Jews in the Old Testament were looking for relief from the Roman oppression and tyranny. They were convinced that Jesus was going to overthrow the persecution and oppression they had been experiencing and become their king. 

Even after Peter, James, and John shared in Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountaintop … they still weren’t getting it.  

And we’re talking about a pretty amazing, out-of-this-world, experience.   

“He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:1-8) His face was as bright as the sun! This is bright—really bright!  

Yet even after this experience, the disciples still missed the magnitude of what they were witnessing. They were still looking at things from a worldly perspective. They were looking at what was in it for them. 

There was bickering amongst them. Jesus told them they lacked faith. Judas betrayed Jesus to the church authorities. They all ran away when Jesus was arrested. They watched Jesus be whipped and beaten. Peter even denied knowing Jesus. Then He was crucified on a cross. This is not what they had envisioned.  

It wasn’t until after Jesus came back to life that they finally began to understand. 

Just like Jesus died to the world … we need to die to the world. 

Like Jesus’, we can have life after death. We need to nail our worldly perspective to the cross. We need to ask ourselves: what do I need to nail to the cross and leave behind? 

Having the right perspective is up to us and it will make an eternal difference. 

Don’t Build Your Life on Sand

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Build on a Solid Foundation

The past several weeks we’ve been going through the Sermon on the Mount. We discussed the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), the importance of listening to God (Matthew 5:17-20), doing things for the right reason (Matthew 6:5-15), choosing the right treasures (Matthew 6:19-24), and focusing on the right thing first (Matthew 7:1-12).

This week’s message is about the difference between wise and foolish builders.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-29)

From a builder’s perspective, I can really connect with this week’s message. It’s important to know the benefits of building things well and the cost of building poorly. The Scripture above explains this well.

When things are built well they are damaged less in storms.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be storms. It doesn’t mean there won’t be any damage. It’s about coming through the storm with something to repair. In verse 25, it says, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall…” It can be repaired.

Jesus is the foundation we should build our lives on. He is the solid rock. If we build our lives on Jesus, we can make it through whatever storms life throws at us.

Don’t be foolish and build your life on the sand. Be wise and build your life on the solid foundation of Jesus.

Focus on Your Plank First

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It’s More Important Than Someone Else’s Sawdust

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus tells us that we will be judged the way we judge others. He says that we should focus on our own mistakes and shortcomings first, not others’.

When it comes right down to it, we have no control over what others do. We can only control ourselves. Pointing out other people’s mistakes and failures is often done as a way of taking our attention off our own weaknesses.

Our focus should be on our own planks.

This doesn’t mean that we should turn a blind eye to someone doing something wrong. It means we should be clear on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we do it.

To help us with this Jesus goes on in Matthew 7:7-12 to tell us what to do.

He says to, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This is how we get our priorities in the right order. It’s about aligning our thoughts and desires with His. It’s about going to God first and asking for His guidance and direction.

We are to help others, not judge them. This can only happen when we are focused on God first.

Judgement is for God … not us.

We need to focus on God and our own planks, not other people’s sawdust.