The Word This Week
John 10:1…
Jesus accuses the Pharisees, who are blind because they think they see, of being hirelings.
And because they are hirelings, they will abandon God’s sheep the instant they sense difficulty. (Especially any difficulty that threatens their lives or their livelihood.)
They are so blind to this truth about themselves they don’t even realize what Jesus is saying.
Of a truth, they are descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. There have been genetic records kept and scrupulously maintained to prove this fact. But they have abandoned the simplicity of God’s calling to the priesthood for the sake of worldly gain. Power, recognition, income, and stature have for hundreds of years invaded their hearts and completed polluted and denied their true purpose in ministry.
Those who were intended by God to be the very ones to invite people into God’s kingdom, and to present and preserve the basis for their faith in being children of God had failed to do so because of self-consideration being their chief priority in ministry life.
Jesus likens these men blind to the truth about their own lives in ministry to thieves and robbers. They have not entered by the door but have broken in and are plundering God’s house by plundering God’s children.
In the third of the seven “I AM” statements John records for us in his Gospel, Jesus again presents a clear representation of Himself, and of His ministry. Jesus says, “I AM the door of the sheep.”
It is known the sheepfolds in the surrounding countryside near Jerusalem were typically low stone walls to hem in the sheep for their own protection during the night. There would be an opening left in the stone wall, and the shepherd would lay his body across the opening – literally becoming the ‘door’ in the wall. Any threats to the lives of the sheep in the pen would be immediately recognized and met head-on by the shepherd who would give his life if necessary to protect the sheep because they were his sheep.
A hireling, on the other hand, would sense danger and flee out of concern for his own well-being.
They would be shepherds in name only. A true shepherd would give his life to protect the sheep under his care.
Jesus, having entered by the door, has become the door, and as such is our Good Shepherd, which is the next great “I AM” statement He makes about Himself. It becomes crystal clear through His illustrations exactly what Jesus means by His words.
Pastor Bill
Jesus accuses the Pharisees, who are blind because they think they see, of being hirelings.
And because they are hirelings, they will abandon God’s sheep the instant they sense difficulty. (Especially any difficulty that threatens their lives or their livelihood.)
They are so blind to this truth about themselves they don’t even realize what Jesus is saying.
Of a truth, they are descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. There have been genetic records kept and scrupulously maintained to prove this fact. But they have abandoned the simplicity of God’s calling to the priesthood for the sake of worldly gain. Power, recognition, income, and stature have for hundreds of years invaded their hearts and completed polluted and denied their true purpose in ministry.
Those who were intended by God to be the very ones to invite people into God’s kingdom, and to present and preserve the basis for their faith in being children of God had failed to do so because of self-consideration being their chief priority in ministry life.
Jesus likens these men blind to the truth about their own lives in ministry to thieves and robbers. They have not entered by the door but have broken in and are plundering God’s house by plundering God’s children.
In the third of the seven “I AM” statements John records for us in his Gospel, Jesus again presents a clear representation of Himself, and of His ministry. Jesus says, “I AM the door of the sheep.”
It is known the sheepfolds in the surrounding countryside near Jerusalem were typically low stone walls to hem in the sheep for their own protection during the night. There would be an opening left in the stone wall, and the shepherd would lay his body across the opening – literally becoming the ‘door’ in the wall. Any threats to the lives of the sheep in the pen would be immediately recognized and met head-on by the shepherd who would give his life if necessary to protect the sheep because they were his sheep.
A hireling, on the other hand, would sense danger and flee out of concern for his own well-being.
They would be shepherds in name only. A true shepherd would give his life to protect the sheep under his care.
Jesus, having entered by the door, has become the door, and as such is our Good Shepherd, which is the next great “I AM” statement He makes about Himself. It becomes crystal clear through His illustrations exactly what Jesus means by His words.
Pastor Bill