Sermon the First - What Did He Say?

OK, here it is. My first sermon at Mt. Moriah UMC. It is not exactly as delivered, but it's fairly close.

What Did He Say?

Our story today is actually a continuation of a story from chapter 9 of John’s Gospel. In that passage Jesus heals a man who was blind since birth. After Jesus heals him the Pharisees doubt the miracle and begin to investigate. They question witnesses. They question his parents. They question the formerly blind man. Twice. Finally he tells them he believes Jesus is the Son of God no matter what they say. The Pharisees respond by kicking him out of the temple. When Jesus hears about this he finds the man again to reassure him that he did the right thing. As they talk, there are some Pharisees nearby. John 9:39-41 - "³⁹Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ ⁴¹Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains." Our story is a continuation of Jesus’ interaction with these Pharisees.

John 10:1-10 - "‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

This passage contains one of many “I AM” statements found in John’s gospel. “I am the vine. I am the door. I am the bread of life” Each of these statements was an obvious referral to Moses interaction with God in the burning bush found in Exodus. After God told Moses he would lead the Jews out of Israel, Moses feared that the Israelites would not believe God sent him. So he asked, “Who should I say sent me?” God replied “I am who I am. Thus you shall say ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Jesus, in saying “I am,” blatantly identified himself as the presence of God on Earth. And this would infuriate the Pharisees. They were familiar with the Jewish scriptures, which included Exodus, so they understood exactly what Jesus was saying.

Sometimes I think of Jesus’ parables as unrealistic or fanciful. Especially this one, it just seems a little too cute. Sheep and a shepherd who takes perfect care and names his sheep. But in his speech to the Pharisees, Jesus spoke practically and factually. He used imagery and situations that his audience would understand. Shepherds, in Jesus time, would place their sheep in a sheepfold at night. This was a pen of sorts. Sometimes it was a cave or a fence made of stone. It was designed to keep the sheep safe as they and the shepherds slept. It was typical for more than one shepherd to place their sheep in the same sheepfold. Therefore it was important that the shepherd know his sheep and that the sheep know their shepherd. The shepherd actually named his sheep and knew them by sight. He had to to distinguish them from the sheep belonging to other shepherds. In the morning he would come and call his sheep by name, knowing their shepherd, the sheep followed him out of the sheepfold to the pastures. Just as Jesus describes in his story.

Jesus also uses a familiar metaphor of the time. It was common to refer to God as a “good shepherd.” The metaphor was also commonly used to refer to a popular, accomplished king or other leaders. So Jesus takes a little shot at the Pharisees. The sheep “will not follow a stranger.” In other words, “You’re not their shepherd. You’re not good leaders.” He’s right back to calling them blind.

But here’s my favorite part. They don’t get it. Jesus insults them. Tries to teach them something. And they just don’t get it. At all. Verse 6 tells us, “They did not understand what he was saying to them.”

That sounds familiar. How many times in the 4 gospels do we read of Jesus teaching and his audience just doesn’t get it. My favorites are the times it happens with the Disciples. Time after time Jesus has to spell out the meaning of his parables to his Disciples. Again and again Jesus corrects their misunderstanding of a statement he makes or a sign he performs. It seems especially bad in Mark’s gospel. When the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable of the sower, you can almost see Jesus roll his eyes as he says, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of them?”

I don’t know about you, but this is encouraging to me. To know that the 12 men closest to Jesus during his time on Earth didn’t understand him, it makes me feel a little better about my lack of comprehension. Sometimes I read the scripture and the only response I have is to scratch my head. To know that the founders of the Christian church had the same problem is reassuring.

We have this issue, especially as it applies to God’s call for our lives. We are all called to be ministers. We are all called to minister to others; to be doers of the word. But often we have no idea how God wants us to live out that call. Sometimes we hear the call; we know it’s there. We just don’t understand what God wants. Sometimes we’re not even sure we hear it. I’ve experienced this more times than I care to admit. 11 or 12 years ago I thought God might be calling me into full-time ministry. I was a part-time youth pastor at the time. But I wasn’t sure. I met with my pastor and his response was, “Are you sure?” I struggled with it for several months until I finally sent out resumes and within a month had a job as a full-time Youth Minister. I had much the same experience in the last couple of years. I thought God may be calling me to pastoral ministry. After a few months of discernment and prayer and struggling, sure enough, that was God’s call for me.

I saw a great sign on the way to church this morning. The sign in front of The Cowboy Church read, "Lord, help me in my blockheaded way to know your will." That's what we have to do. Just as the disciples did so often. We have to ask, "What did you say?"

We have the same problem as it relates to the events of our world. We want to understand, we just don’t. Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes. We see destruction and death. And we want to know why.

Many of you experienced it firsthand. Some of you lost homes. Some of you lost loved ones. You’ve helped your neighbors dig through the rubble of their belongings. We long to understand. We want to know why. There are several people who like to go on TV and tell you that they know exactly why these things happen. But they don’t. How could we understand?

Here’s what I know: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me." Or as it is more familiar to many of us: "Yea, tho I walk through the Shadow of the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me."

Psalm 23 is a wonderful reminder that God is our good shepherd. He is with us always. In good times and bad. Happiness and sorrow. God, our good shepherd is with us.

This is especially evident in this season of Easter. One of my favorite preachers is Adam Hamilton who is pastor of the Church of the Resurrection around Kansas City. It is the largest UMC in the US. A couple of years ago I heard a series of his sermons through Lent. He used a phrase that has stuck with me since then. He said that Easter teaches us that the worst thing is never the last thing. Jesus suffered hours and hours of torture. He died hanging on a cross and was buried. I can’t think of very many things worse than that. But it wasn’t the end. Easter tells us that the worst is never the last. Jesus resurrection defeated sin and death. Through that action our Good Shepherd offers us eternal life.

Back to our story. The Pharisees don’t understand, so Jesus tries to explain.

"7 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Two more things I want to emphasize. First, Jesus as the gate. Remember that a gate does not decide who gets in or out. A gate is simply an access point. I think that’s important to remember. In researching these verses I saw a few people mention that ''Jesus as the gate" means that Jesus controls who is let into the fold. That Jesus decides who is in and who is out. Who can follow him and who cannot. I don’t read it that way. Jesus is the gate. Not the gatekeeper. But, it's important to remember that there is a gate. Not everyone will receive this abundant life. Not because Jesus keeps them out, but because they never choose to go through the gate.

Second, the emphasis here is not on letting the sheep into the sheepfold, it is on leading the sheep out of their pen. Jesus did not come to lead us into constraint. He came to lead us out to freedom. Out to life abundant.