That is the expected way to come to church.
#FOLLOWING THE SHEPHERD WINDOWS#
I did not see any of you climb in through the windows or slide in under the pews this morning! You came in by the door. The door is the proper entrance to this auditorium. There are three marks, he declares, by which we can tell the true Shepherd: First, "He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep." What does he mean, "the door?" He is referring, of course, to the normal, proper entrance to a sheepfold.
#FOLLOWING THE SHEPHERD HOW TO#
Which Jesus is the true Jesus, the true Shepherd? Here Jesus tells us how to know. Many people are asking, "Who is the true Jesus? Who is the true Shepherd of the sheep?" There is the Jesus of the Moonies, the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Jesus of the Scientologists, the Jesus of the Christian Scientists, the Jesus of the Mormons, etc.
Even today there are many false views of Jesus. Through the centuries there have been many false shepherds. In this section we learn the marks of the True Shepherd of the sheep. This is the picture our Lord uses with regard to the encounter between the man who had been born blind and the false shepherds, the Pharisees. Although the flocks had been mingled together, each flock knew its own shepherd's voice, and each would follow its own shepherd and no other. In the morning the shepherds returned and each called his own sheep. In the East, shepherds brought their flocks into one central sheepfold every evening where half-a-dozen flocks gathered together and were guarded by a porter or gatekeeper behind locked doors. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:1-5 RSV) When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. To him the gatekeeper opens the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. Jesus sees these leaders, these Pharisaical rulers of the Jews who had twisted and distorted the teachings of the law, as false shepherds. This passage follows immediately on the healing of the man born blind, who had been cast out of the synagogue because of his faith in Jesus. In the first figure he is clearly setting himself apart as the True Shepherd of the sheep in contrast to the false shepherds. Our Lord builds his teaching around four figures that are taken from the life of a shepherd. In this section of John we have a picture of Jesus as the Shepherd, not the sheepherder, of the sheep. But I have learned there is a great deal of difference between a Western sheepherder and an Eastern shepherd in the way they care for their flocks. Sometimes they did a good job and sometimes they did not. They were hired to take care of the sheep. There, sheepherders were considered the lowest form of life and were not very highly regarded in Montana society. I grew up in Monta-a-ana where there are lots of sheep. In the 10th chapter of John, Jesus assumes the role of the Shepherd of the sheep. What a comforting thing it is to know we have such a Shepherd.
He leads us in paths of righteousness he makes us lie down in green pastures he leads us beside still waters he takes us through places of danger and darkness. Many Christians have read it in times of pressure and of danger. No part of Scripture is better loved than the 23rd Psalm.
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