4 things sheep need that the Good Shepherd provides

In the gospel of John there are 7 “I Am” statements by Jesus. The third one is: “I am the gate” (John 10:9). Here are those words in their context.

John 10:1–10 – “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone 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 one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. … ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. ⁷ Therefore Jesus said again …  ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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. 

Verse 6 specifically mentions that Jesus is using a figure of speech when he is using the terminology of sheep, shepherd, and gate. These are metaphors, things that represent other things. So, sheep, represent us, and the Good Shepherd represents Jesus.  There are 4 things that sheep (people) need.

1. Sheep Need a Shepherd

In those days a sheep wandering in the wilderness without a shepherd was soon to be a dead sheep! Sheep are defenseless. Most animals have a defense mechanism (claws, fangs, spray, camouflage, etc…).  But, sheep have none of that. They are defenseless, and so are we spiritually speaking without Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  There is someone who wants to harm us, and that someone is Satan. Jesus describes Satan as a thief and killer: John 10:10a – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Satan wants us to prevent everyone from getting saved and thus destroy their souls. If he fails in doing that, then his next best goal is to try and steal our joy and peace by leading us into sin. He wants to destroy our purity by enslaving us to addictive behavior.  He is bent on discouraging us.

That is why we need to let Jesus, the Good Shepherd lead us. Jesus went on to say:

John 10:10b – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The fullness of life can only be experienced within a personal close ongoing relationship with the Lord Jesus. Everyone is looking to maximize the fullness of life. The answer isn’t more money or more power or more things. It’s Jesus!

2. Sheep Need a Flock

Verse 1 talks about a sheep pen, where other sheep live together and come and go. Sheep are social creatures. They do better in groups. When one sheep is isolated from the others it is much more vulnerable to predators, especially when it gets outside the sheep pen. The idea is that following Jesus is not a solo journey. It is meant to be done in conjunction with others in the flock of Christ, known as the local church. Every Christian needs a church family, just like every sheep needs a flock. That’s why connecting with other believers regularly for worship, teaching, and fellowship, is crucial to our spiritual well-being.

3. Sheep Need to hear and respond to their Shepherd’s voice

John 10: 2–3 – The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 

The scene in view here is a rural village. At night, often several flocks of sheep would be gathered within an enclosed area, a sheep pen, for protection. In the morning the shepherd would come to the gate of the pen to collect his flock. The gatekeeper would open it up, and the shepherd would call for his sheep, and then lead them out of the pen to the pasture for grazing. The sheep of his flock would recognize his voice and follow him out through the gate.  Jesus was saying that the sheep of his fold know his voice. Jesus calls us to begin a relationship with him, but then he calls to us each day to continue the relationship. He calls to us by the Holy Spirit and through his Word, the holy Scriptures. Are you setting aside time to read the Scriptures that you might hear his voice?

4. Sheep Need to pass through the one and only gate into the pasture

John 10:9 – I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The scene is now shifted from the village to the pasture. Sometimes the shepherd would take sheep on long trips to find good pasture, and at night, he would have to create a makeshift sheep pen out of wood, or rocks, or in a cave, and the shepherd would literally lie down at the entrance to both keep the sheep from wandering out, and to keep wolves and predators from getting in. With that in view, Jesus says, “I am the gate.”   The analogy here is that heaven is like a beautiful green pasture where God has abundant provision for us, and what Jesus is saying is that he is the one and only gateway to heaven. Since he has laid down his life for us and paid for our sins, the impediment to heaven, our sin, has been cleared out of the way and we can pass through into an eternal relationship with God. With Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can also come in and go out and find pasture, meaning, we can come into God’s presence each day as we walk with him.  Then of course there is the final trip, upon death, where we shall pass into the heavenly pasture of God’s presence and glory once and for all.  Jesus isn’t a gate to heaven. He’s the gate to heaven.  How a person responds to him determines their eternal destiny.