Continuing on with the seven I am's of Jesus in the book of John in chapter 9; right after Jesus spoke of Himself being the light of the world and then healed the man who had been blind since birth - Jesus seeks out this man who was thrown out in the street and asks him, "do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man says, "Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him." Jesus tells him, "you're looking at him; don't you recognize my voice?"
The man then says to Jesus, "master I do believe," and then worships him.
Jesus goes on from there to make the point, "I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind."
The Pharisees who overheard him saying all this asked Jesus – "does that mean you're calling us blind?" To which Jesus responds, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."
It's right after this, while Jesus is still with those Pharisees and blind man that He says the next two I am statements; I am the gate and I am the shepherd. In chapter 10 of John – He says…
Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate – you know he is up to no good. He is a sheep rustler!
The shepherd walks right up to the gate and the gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won't follow a stranger's voice but will scatter because they aren't used to the sound of it.
Jesus told this very simple story but they had no idea what he was talking about, so he tried again.
I am the gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for, will go freely in and out and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal, kill and destroy; I came so that they can have real and eternal life, more and better than they ever dreamed of.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd put the sheep before himself and sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and he runs for it – leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf, He's only in it for the money. The sheep don't matter to him.
I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way that the Father knows me and I know the Father; I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary.
You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them too. They'll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one shepherd.
Jesus was talking here of the gentiles; not just the Israel people. He is making the point that His message would be for everyone; not just those who were from Israel. Most of us understand what gates are… we see them all the time. Around here we see gates keeping animals in a certain area or keeping out someone who doesn't belong there. Jesus made a point here that He is that gate; speaking about it in terms of a sheep pen. Sheep pens weren't much in ancient Israel, they weren't like they are now with big wooden boards or electric fences. A pen in those days would be made of simple stones, hedges or branches and a lot of times more than one flock of sheep would be kept inside of the pen at the same time to provide even more safety to the sheep. (You know - power and safety in numbers) These sheep would mingle together, graze together and play together, and would only be separated when the shepherd would call out to them with a cry that they recognized. The sheep knew their voices and the shepherds knew their sheep by name also… they knew this one was fluffy…that one was fleecy and that one was flouncy. You spend time with something long enough you know – you name it. And what would happen is – during the night or when the flock was pasturing in the pen the shepherds themselves would lay at the entrance to the pen and be – kind of like a living gate to protect them.
Jesus was making the point that He is our living gate. I'm sure that if you've gone to church in the past you have heard the term flock being used to describe the church and the families there … Jesus was making some very valid points here by using this simple analogy; with Him saying that He is the gate and the shepherd; He was actually saying such things as:
He speaks to His sheep.
He calls them by name.
He leads them.
He protects them.
These things that He spoke about, most people could wrap their minds around.
He was saying that He was the gate…not a gate. He was saying that He was the only entrance to which people could be saved and He was also calling the people that He came to protect and to save –His sheep. Some interesting things to know about sheep is that:
They have pretty good hearing, they can hear the shepherds call… but they are very sensitive to noise and voices when they are being handled and will take off running from the shepherd when they become afraid.
Sheep have excellent peripheral vision; they can usually see behind themselves without turning their heads; which makes great sense when you think in terms of humans who all have pretty great 20/20 vision when it comes to hindsight. But they have poor depth perception, which is the ability to judge the distance of objects from them. If you think in terms of a lot of Christians… a lot of them don't seem to be able to judge the danger around them either… they always seem to think the things that are out to hurt them are much farther away than they truly are.
In general, sheep are said to have a tendency to move out of the dark and go into well-lit areas; which is what God truly intended for us as His followers to do, right?
What's even more incredible about sheep is that they also have an amazing tolerance for pain. His true followers; His sheep will also have to have an amazing tolerance for pain too.
If you've ever gone to a farm or a fair; it can be difficult to distinguish the sheep from the goats sometimes…and it's because they are so closely related. This brings up a great point that is discussed in Matthew 25; when it says that "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."
Jesus is indicating that everyone will be subject to judgment someday when He returns for His followers. He is saying that every person will stand before him; and if you've already accepted Him as your shepherd – if you truly are one of His sheep, if you've gone through that gate which is Jesus; then you will be let into His Kingdom. But if you only look like a sheep but are truly a goat – you will not make it in.
Like I said at first glance you may not recognize a sheep from a goat but there are some tell tale signs that we can pick up on if we pay closer attention. (Think Christians in terms of sheep)
Obviously; sheep have fleece and goats have hair. So, they actually do look a bit different.
They actually sound different too…Sheeps say baa, and goats say maa. (Although, maybe only a shepherd or mama goat or sheep would be able to pick it out.)
People often say that goats are "smart" because they are very curious and inquisitive, and sheep are thought to be stupid since they tend to stay put. Goats are always jumping over their fences or finding clever ways to open the gates that hold them in; they are true escape artists. But does that make them smarter or more foolhardy?
Goats are more independent than sheep, who are usually aloof to people.
People often say that sheep are "stupid" because of their strong "flocking mentality."
A sheep will become very agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock. However, it is this same flocking behavior that provides their best defense against predators.
Sheep are considered stupid animals because they are skittish and are frightened away easily and also because they follow other sheep staying in the flock …sometimes without thinking through the dangers that may be ahead.
Sheep also are much more likely to overeat than goats. (?)
Sheep are paranoid and loyal, goats are open and curious. If a stranger comes around, sheep will normally run away but goats on the other hand; will come up and check out the strangers, say hello, and even eat from their hands.
"He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."
This provides some very interesting information for us. We see that people will be judged by Jesus himself and be put into one of two categories.
They will either be designated as sheep or as goats. While it may be easy for some people who are not familiar with livestock to confuse sheep and goats; it's very easy for a shepherd to tell the difference between a sheep and goat and always get it right.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
There is a sense of security that comes with having Jesus as our good shepherd.
A good shepherd will care enough to sacrifice himself to take care of the sheep that He cares and loves. And that is what Jesus did when He died on the cross for each one of us that He shepherds. He will lead you, speak to you, call you by name and protect you, if you are truly one of his sheep. What say you? Baa or Maa?
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