The 3^rd Sunday After Easter

SERMON

Text: John 10:1-11

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters 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." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things, which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, "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 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. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

In Christ Jesus, the truths of Whose Word serve as the basis for our faith, dear fellow redeemed:

The news coming out of Christian churches is not too encouraging these days. The reason why that is the case is because many Christians and their churches have given up believing in the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word. The Bible is, as we heard in our Scripture lessons last week, the inspired Word of God. Jesus promises that if we abide in it faithfully, we will know God’s truth. When individuals and churches turn away from the Bible, they are set adrift in the midst of changing fads of sinful human thought. This, unfortunately, is what we see in religious news today.

For instance, the Mankato Free Press included an article in its April 28 edition entitled, "Biblical views at root of gay rift." In it a professor from the ELCA’s Lutheran Theological Seminary says, "Scripture passages are not going to settle this issue for the contemporary church…[the church must accept] new realities [instead of being] bound in literal fashion to the text [of the Bible]." In another article this past Friday, we read that the United Methodist Church in convention successfully resisted the demands of homosexuals to approve the ordination of homosexuals and to rewrite church law concerning marriage. However, the article reveals that these issues were not settled on the basis of Scripture, but on the basis of political maneuvering and majority vote. If that is not enough to disturb you, World magazine this week reported: “In the 1960s the ecumenical movement tried to reconcile the various Christian traditions. Today, it tries to reconcile the various world religions. Liberal mainline Protestants increasingly employ Native American rituals and goddess-idolatry in their worship services and shrink from ‘exclusive’ teachings such as the First Commandment and that faith in Christ is the only way to salvation” [p. 16). In a second article with the subtitle “Does the ECUSA (Episcopal Church USA) take the Bible seriously?,” John Spong, a retired bishop, is quoted from his new book, 12 Thesis, in which he writes, “The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed” (p. 40).

My dear friends, the goal of Satan is not just the moral corruption of the church, it is the removal of Christ and the teaching of His redemption of lost souls from the church. While Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” (John 14:6), Satan and an increasing number of individuals and churches within Christianity are saying, "No, You are not, and that is not the way it is!" May God preserve us from such errors! Let us this day review these vital biblical truths and confess them openly before the world, for JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE!

I.

We see, first of all from our text, that Jesus is the Way—the "Door" leading to salvation! In order better to understand Jesus’ words, we must lay out the context in which these words were spoken. Jesus had just performed an astounding miracle by healing the eyes of a man born blind. He told the man, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), then anointed his eyes with a bit of clay, and told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. When the man did that, he was able to see for the first time in his life and began to rejoice in the name of Jesus. A group of the Pharisees, who by this time were plotting against Jesus and threatening to throw anyone following Jesus out of the synagogue, heard him and demanded to know the details. They refused to accept his explanation, claiming that Jesus was a sinner. When the man maintained his story and proclaimed his belief that Jesus must be a prophet sent from God, the Pharisees cast him out of their presence. They were followers of Moses, they claimed, and would have nothing to do with Jesus. Jesus, upon hearing what had happened, found the man and revealed Himself to the man as the Son of God.

Then Jesus spoke the words of our text, “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.” My dear friends, Jesus’ words are powerful. He proclaims that He alone can speak for God our heavenly Father when it comes to the salvation of human beings. He alone is the way by which human beings can overcome sin and find eternal salvation. But who are the “thieves and robbers!” Jesus is talking about? They are any and all individuals who came before Him, or for that matter since Him, who lead people away from the one, true God and the redemption He planned into their own works. That would include Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, Plato, and Aristotle, all of whom did not know the true God, and all of whom encouraged people to look to themselves in some way to overcome sin. Even the Pharisees, who knew the true God and the words of God revealed by Moses, were included, for while they claimed to follow Moses, they misused the very Scriptures God had revealed to point to His Son! Jesus alone is “the way…the door” to our heavenly Father! The Bible clearly declares, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life…He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:16,40). Truly, JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE! He is the way—the "Door" leading to salvation!

II.

He is also the Truth—whose words all true shepherds speak! Our text reads, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters 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.” The words of our text were an immediate response to a small group of Pharisees, who apparently were not among those Pharisees who had dealt so roughly with the blind man. They asked Jesus whether they were blind, as He claimed the others to be. Jesus with these words points out that all true shepherds approach their calling by passing through the door of Jesus. If they try to approach God’s flock in any other way or by any other name, they are nothing other than thieves and robbers—agents of Satan who will ultimately only harm the sheep.

My dear friends, I cannot tell you how important it is that your called pastors and teachers immerse themselves in God’s Word, so that as they serve you they are true spokesmen of the Lord God Himself! Every time that Pastor Eichstadt or I enter the pulpit, we are to prayerfully present our Savior’s words to you, for therein you will find the truths you need for your eternal salvation as well as for a solid foundation for your Christian life in this world. We is true of your pastors is also to be true of your teachers. Currently we have extended a call to a young woman, Rachel Sullivan, to serve as an instructor in our school primarily in the areas of Social Studies and Foreign Languages. The area of Social Studies, in particular, is an area about which the Bible has much to say, for it deals with the individual within the context of the family, the community, our nation, and this world. In our call, therefore, we have asked Ms. Sullivan, should the Spirit lead her to accept our call, to teach in accordance with the truths of the Bible. We have also asked that as she instructs our young people, she do so in an evangelical manner. This is of the utmost importance for JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE! He is the truth—whose words all true shepherds speak to the joy and for the comfort of every sheep!

III.

Finally, Jesus is the life—who by dying bestows the gift of life! Jesus concludes our text by saying, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Life is the most precious gift that we can receive! Yet, if by "life" we mean only "physical" life here in this world, there would be many individuals who would argue that it is not much of a gift. Consider the thousands of people struggling to live in the midst of famines in Africa right now, or the lives of those individuals who are suffering through warfare, or the lives of those individuals whose bodies are wracked by disease. In fact, I would imagine that almost all of us could identify individuals we know who believe that they are suffering hell right here on earth in this life. Nevertheless "physical" life is still a gift! However, Jesus is here talking about something much more. When Jesus talks about bestowing upon us an "abundant" life, He is talking about the gift of "spiritual" life and all that entails. We receive "spiritual" life when the Holy Spirit enters our darkened and sinful hearts and creates life within them. This life brings confidence and hope to believers who by grace are restored to the family of God and possess the certain hope of eternal life. Paul speaks of this amazing truth in Ephesians when he writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (2:4-7).

In my introduction to this meditation I mentioned retired Episcopalian Bishop John Spong. Bishop Spong claims that if we will listen to him, we will experience a new reformation within the church. What does he have to say? He denies virtually every biblical teaching concerning Christ—His virgin birth, His divinity, His miracles, and His resurrection. Yes, he even claims that the thought of Jesus dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins must be dismissed as barbaric. Our Savior calls Bishop Spong and others like him “thieves and robbers,” for they seek to steal souls from our Savior! My dear friends, in our text Jesus says that He is the “good shepherd” who will give up His life for His sheep. This He did and thereby He paid for our sins and reconciled us to God. Because of this we are the lambs that our Savior, beloved and protected! What a comfort that is for us as we travel through the difficulties of this life! What a comfort this message is when we share it with others! Let others worship false gods and goddesses if they wish, but may we by the grace of God ever remain steadfast in our commitment to our Savior God and His Word, which tells us that JESUS IN THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting