Life to the Fullest

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LIFE TO THE FULLEST

John 10:1-18

10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."  6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." 

NIV

Having looked into one aspect of these words of Jesus we now move to another. No one else will ever be able to give us life and give it to us to the full other than Jesus. He is the only gate, the only way we can be saved. Because he is using the metaphor of the sheep pen, we need to see it in the context of that culture. Usually, at the end of a day, many shepherds would come together at the local sheep pen which was usually made up of stones. Personally having visited the plains area of Israel, the Negev, where sheep would have been kept, it has a massive amount of stone all over the ground even to this day. In fact, many of the Bedouin who still live in tents, make their territory with piles of rocks, sort of like a fence. So these sheep pens would be a stone-walled area with just one opening. The shepherds would camp out right at the entrance guarding the way into the pen. In this case, it is Jesus who guards the entrance to heaven. Anyone else who wants entrance and does not come through Jesus is nothing but a thief and a robber. Anyone else who wants to think they are the guardian of the sheep runs when the wolf comes to attack the flock and scatter it. How is that applied to our lives today? Are there hired hands today? It is a good thing to be a shepherd, a pastor called by God to look over a certain flock. But the shepherds, the other pastors with their flocks must bring them into the sheep pen which Jesus is watching over, the sheep pen of heaven. There is also something pastors have to know is that there are wolves attacking their flock, trying to divide or scatter it, so they can devour many of them. These wolves may well come in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be sheep, followers of the Good Shepherd, but we should not be deceived by them, for they did not come through the one true gate. If they were they would breed their own flocks, they would not go after sheep who belong to another shepherd. However, therein lays a rub. Shepherds who have been called by the Good Shepherd to pastor certain flocks, should be on guard against the wolf and not run, but stand and defend his flock, making sure they know who that wolf is in sheep’s clothing and that it is still a wolf. However, Jesus is still saying that he is the only one, the only shepherd who lays his life down for his sheep. There is no one else who does that. Not a single person, no matter how good of a shepherd, or sheep they happen to be, can provide the way into heaven by laying down their life. There is, obviously, not a single person, other than Jesus, who can pick his life back up again. Jesus is the only way to attain life and life to the fullest. We also should see that the wolf could also be, as in the context of his teaching, others who claim to be the Christ, of which there were in those days. Jesus warned them and now warns us of those who would claim to be the Messiah, the one who is the way to heaven. Again, false prophets and false teachers, of which they had many, as well as we do today. They would still qualify under the label, wolves in sheep’s clothing. Let us live only in the flock of Jesus. He is the only way to be saved and to live and live to the fullest.