The Door and The Shepherd.

The Plain Sense (what actually happened)

The one point: Jesus is the rightful Shepherd of God’s people—and the leaders who drove out the man born blind are not.

In the previous pericope about the Man born blind, we have Jesus speaking to the Blind man and healing him of his blindness. This sparked controversy in the Synagogue among the leaders. They hold a tribunal with the Man born blind and question him about how he came to see. The Man born blind hasn’t seen Jesus, but has listened to him and has now been given sight. The leaders believe he is lying. So they sent for his parents. The parents are afraid of being put out of the synagogue, so they appeal to their son’s age as being old enough to speak for himself. They call the man back, and he testifies about Jesus. This results in the Man being put out of the Synagogue. When the man is put out of the synagogue, Jesus comes to him and asks if he believes in the Son of Man. The man says, “Who is he that I may believe?” Jesus says you have seen him, and he is the one who is speaking to you now.

It is this account that Jesus then turns to teach a parable presented to us in our gospel lesson. Those who put out this man from the synagogue, a place where God’s people gather, are like robbers and thieves. They conspire and violently mistreat the sheep that belong to God. They are not the Shepherd of the flock. The sheep know the Shepherd’s voice and follow him. This is exactly what is revealed in the actions of the man born blind who receives sight. He follows Jesus when Jesus reveals that he is the Son of Man who is “speaking” to him. The man who received sight is now following Jesus into his fold that he is gathering to himself.[1]

The Christ-and-Church Sense (what it tells us about Jesus and his Church)

The one point: Jesus is both the Shepherd of the flock and the Door into it—and those who enter through faith in him are given access to the Kingdom where he himself tends them.

Jesus draws a line in the sand as he speaks this parable to the leaders of the synagogue. They are not the doorkeepers of the place where God’s people gather, but Jesus is. They seek to rob God of his people, as seen in their actions with the man born blind. Jesus healed him, the man testifies about Jesus, and they put him out of the fold, the very one that Jesus saved. For this reason, they are robbers and thieves.[2]

But Jesus is THE Shepherd of the flock and the door through which God’s people enter into the fold. Those who enter through faith in Him will enter into the fold and be given access to the Kingdom where the Shepherd Jesus cares and tends to the sheep. The sheep know the shepherd’s voice; they know that the one who is speaking to them is Jesus, and they worship and follow him.[3]

The Moral Sense (what it asks of you and me)

The one point: Listen for the Shepherd’s voice in the Scriptures, and out of love for him do what he commands—his voice is what keeps you safe in the fold.

Jesus, as the Shepherd, speaks to his sheep and instructs them on what to do. His sheep know and listen to his voice. The sheep hear the commands of the shepherd and do them. There is no other voice that directs them. It is their love for the shepherd that they obey his voice.[4]

Each Sunday, we gather to hear the voice of Jesus from the scriptures. We are given instructions that we must apply to our lives, meant to keep us safe and sound in the fold and to guard us from thieves and robbers. There should not be any greater influence in our lives than Jesus. We keep our distance and install boundaries from those who would seek to steal us from the true Shepherd. 

The Hope Sense (where it all is going)

The one point: The pasture Jesus opens is the Kingdom of God—present now in his Church—and the hope of that pasture gives us peace today.

This parable of Jesus identifying himself as both Shepherd and door into the fold of God inspires hope that fuels our lives. Everyone’s favorite Psalm, Psalm 23, is so for the hope and imagery it portrays. A comforting pasture that we are led into by a loving and caring Shepherd who leads us to places of hope and peace. Still waters, greener pastures. Leading us even through the shadows of death. This is the reality we all seek, but only comes through Jesus, who is the only one to grant access to such a place and who came to lead us on.

This is the pasture that the Kingdom of God exhibits, and the presence of the kingdom of God is his church on earth. To experience this pasture and to be led by Christ himself, you come and enter into his fold, his church, and listen to his voice. Not being influenced by others who would lead you to different pastures, nor can lead you through the shadows of death or to greener pastures, for there is only one, and his name is Jesus, and if you listen to his voice, you will have hope for tomorrow and peace for today.[5]

Where you dwell speaks to what you believe. Jesus is the door. This means he grants or prevents access to a special place where he alone maintains his presence. This image is to be understood as the church, the fold where the Shepherd’s sheep are corralled and kept. Only believing in Jesus allows access into this fold. To dwell in the fold, you have to believe in Jesus. This further teaches that where your heart is, there your treasure will be. When you believe in Jesus with your heart, your treasure will be realized in his fold. By being present in the fold, the church, you proclaim where hope is found and experienced. To live with hope, in hope, you live in the Shepherd’s fold—the Church. We live in Hope, not apart from it.

For a fuller picture of the church as a sheepfold, read Psalm 23.

[1]St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 59 (in the volume Commentary on St. John, Homilies 48—88). See also St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book VI (vol. 1).

[2]St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 45 (in the volume Tractates 28—54).

[3]Augustine, Tractate 45; Chrysostom, Homily 59 on John.

[4]On the sheep’ knowing and obeying the Shepherd’s voice, see St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 46 (in Tractates 28—54); and St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 59.

[5]Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book VI; Augustine, Tractate 46 on John.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Bruce