Hello everyone.
I will continue with my examination of Jesus' "I Am" statements with some thoughts about his statement, "I am the gate for the sheep." This statement come from a conversation that Jesus is having with the Pharisees and also contains the next "I Am" statement, "I am the good shepherd." It seems that Jesus always has very interesting conversations with the Pharisees and they usually end with Jesus getting the better of them. This conversation is interesting on a number of levels. One reason that I find it interesting is that Jesus is talking about being a good shepherd to the men who were supposed to be spiritually shepherding Israel, and yet when he talked to them about spiritual things they did not understand what he was talking about.
Look at at John 10:1-6 and you will see Jesus talking about entering the sheep pen through the gate and that those who enter through some other way are thieves and robbers. He talks about how the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd and will follow it, but will not follow the voice of a stranger. Verse 6 says, "Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them." So, since they were unable to understand what Jesus was telling them, he spoke more plainly. Verse 7-10 says, "Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
There are many things we could learn from what Jesus is saying here. For example, if Jesus is calling the supposed spiritual leaders of Israel, "thieves and robbers," we could look at the Pharisees as examples of what not to be like. However, today's focus is on Jesus and how he is like the gate for the sheep. So let's ask ourselves, "What is a gate?" Well, a gate is an entrance, a way in. In this case, it is a way into the sheep pen. This is good. I want to be in Jesus' sheep rather than out. But even better than that I notice that when you are in Jesus' sheep pen, he offers life, and that life is to the full. I don't about you, but I find the offer of a full life appealing.
Now to be honest, I don't have a lot of experience in dealing with sheep and so I need help understanding what a full life for a sheep would be. So I turn to Psalm 23 where David is the sheep and the Lord is his shepherd. So this perhaps what offers to the sheep in his sheep pen:
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. (Comfort)
he leads beside quiet waters, (Peace)
he refreshes my soul (More peace)
He guides me along right paths for his name sake. (Guidance, direction)
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. (Protection)
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Discipline)
You prepare table before me (My needs are met)
in the presence of my enemies (More protection)
You anoint my head with oil. (Cool things that a sheep has no right to expect.)
My cup overflows (More of everything)
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life (Goodness and love, lasting relationships)
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Promise of eternal life)
That's a pretty good offer for a sheep. A wise sheep would enter through Jesus the gate into that sheep pen and never leave it.
Tom
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Jesus: The Light of the World
Happy New Year everybody.
I will continue looking at Jesus "I Am" today by looking at his statement "I am the light of the world." He makes this statement twice, in John 8:12 and again in John 9:5. In fact, the Gospel of John has "Jesus as Light" as a constant theme throughout. In John 1 it says a number of things about Jesus being the light, including making connections between the Light and life (John 1:40).
John takes some time in John 1 to compare the light of Jesus with the darkness of the world and explain how the darkness has rejected the light. In John 3, in talking to Nicodemus, Jesus says that people love the darkness rather than the light because they are afraid that their evil deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
In John 12:35-36, Jesus again compares light and dark, saying that those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going. I personally have found this to be true. Getting up at night and trying to navigate my way around in the darkness has sometimes proven painful. I have injured myself bumping into things in the dark, sometimes I have walked into things I knew were there. I just didn't see them clearly. The great thing about light is that it enables us to clearly see our path. I seldom walk into things when the light is on. It is the same in our spiritual walk. Walking by the light of Jesus, we can see more clearly the path that has been marked out for us. This is a good thing.
But here is what I want to focus on today. Twice Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." Once he says, "You are the light of the world." (Matt. 5:14) We can share in this one. This makes this "I Am" statement unique. I cannot be the Bread of Life. Nor can I be the Gate, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection or the True Vine. And I certainly can't be The Life. However, Jesus tells me that I can be the Light. So I want to be the Light. The question becomes then, How?
II Cor. 3:18 says: "And we, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." The light doesn't actually come from within us. We become the light by reflecting the the true light of Jesus. As we get closer to Jesus we reflect his light and therefore light the way for others to see how to live. I like the way Steve Kinnard put it in his book King Jesus, (p. 126): "We are to be "the light of the world."As Christians, we are to be the spiritual light that allows the world to see spiritual truths. The light of our example will expose lies and darkness and show people what they need to change." Well said.
Jesus is the light. We can share in that or we can walk in darkness. Not much of a choice really.
Tom
I will continue looking at Jesus "I Am" today by looking at his statement "I am the light of the world." He makes this statement twice, in John 8:12 and again in John 9:5. In fact, the Gospel of John has "Jesus as Light" as a constant theme throughout. In John 1 it says a number of things about Jesus being the light, including making connections between the Light and life (John 1:40).
John takes some time in John 1 to compare the light of Jesus with the darkness of the world and explain how the darkness has rejected the light. In John 3, in talking to Nicodemus, Jesus says that people love the darkness rather than the light because they are afraid that their evil deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
In John 12:35-36, Jesus again compares light and dark, saying that those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going. I personally have found this to be true. Getting up at night and trying to navigate my way around in the darkness has sometimes proven painful. I have injured myself bumping into things in the dark, sometimes I have walked into things I knew were there. I just didn't see them clearly. The great thing about light is that it enables us to clearly see our path. I seldom walk into things when the light is on. It is the same in our spiritual walk. Walking by the light of Jesus, we can see more clearly the path that has been marked out for us. This is a good thing.
But here is what I want to focus on today. Twice Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." Once he says, "You are the light of the world." (Matt. 5:14) We can share in this one. This makes this "I Am" statement unique. I cannot be the Bread of Life. Nor can I be the Gate, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection or the True Vine. And I certainly can't be The Life. However, Jesus tells me that I can be the Light. So I want to be the Light. The question becomes then, How?
II Cor. 3:18 says: "And we, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." The light doesn't actually come from within us. We become the light by reflecting the the true light of Jesus. As we get closer to Jesus we reflect his light and therefore light the way for others to see how to live. I like the way Steve Kinnard put it in his book King Jesus, (p. 126): "We are to be "the light of the world."As Christians, we are to be the spiritual light that allows the world to see spiritual truths. The light of our example will expose lies and darkness and show people what they need to change." Well said.
Jesus is the light. We can share in that or we can walk in darkness. Not much of a choice really.
Tom
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