the Good Shepherd

^{1 -5} "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's up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. 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." ^{6 -10}Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. ^{11 -13}"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and 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. ^{14 -18}"I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, 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. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father."

John 10

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the gatekeeper, the shepherd, the Gate itself. we are the flock of sheep, His followers, His beloved. the sheep pen is the Church, the Body of Christ, His flock as a whole. no one will ever match up to Jesus. He knew that thieves and robbers were coming to take us away from Him. but He also knew that His sheep respond to His voice. we respond to His voice. His message is clear and simple, "Anyone who goes through me will be cared for-will freely go in and out, and find pasture." through Him, we find comfort and care. through Him, we find Heaven and God. anyone who doesn't come through Jesus is potentially someone who wants to take us away from God. this is kind of scary and it seems like paranoia but the thing we have to realize is that there are thousands of thieves out there trying to steal from God's kingdom. how do we know what speaker, influential leader, or writer is truly good? i think we have to be sure that this person worships the Lord, our God, Jesus Christ and knows His teachings and the way to live and fully agrees with each and every one. even then, we know who our one and only dependable speaker, influential leader, and writer is. it is Jesus! we have to know that no other person even comes close to comparing with Jesus. the only way to God is through Jesus, not a man, speaker or book writer. Jesus goes on to talk about how He freely laid down His life for us. He knew how much He loved us. and He took the initiative to die for our sins so that we would be blameless before God. that we would be made clean again with all our sins wiped away, every single one. matthew henry said this and i like it a lot, "He was both the Offerer and the Offering." He offered Himself for us so that we would be free from shame, sin, darkness, materialism, social status, social expectations, and empty living. let's honor that by really giving ourselves TO Him. we declare that, "we are free from shame, sin, darkness, materialism, social status, social expectations, and empty living!" and say, "Jesus, take my life, everything that I have, I give it all to You, forever and ever until the day I'm reunited with You once again! I give up my life to serve Your kingdom, to take care of Your church, to bring lost sheep back to You, and to glorify Your name above all else in my life!"