None but Jesus

John 10:1-10
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Part of my testimony
-“Reformer, Martin Luther taught that only by faith can men be saved. Good works are useless. He is wrong.”
-These were the words of one of my religion teachers in high school during our church history lesson.
-And because I saw her as an authority, I never questioned what she taught. I did not doubt her because I looked at her as a
guide and an expert in the field. I took her lessons at face value, never bothering to check whether they’re true or not.
-Fast-forward in college, I was confronted by this topic of salvation once more. But this time, I learned to consult the primary
source, the final authority—God’s Word. And here I saw that Luther was correct. I am not saved by my many good works,
instead, I am saved when by grace I put my faith (trust) in the person of Jesus who did all the good works I cannot fulfill,
who took the punishment for all the sins I’ve committed.
-I distinctly remember my “eureka” moment when I finally understood it. We were walking with some friends towards Molave
dorm when I suddenly blurted out, “I get it! My good works do not save me! They are only the result or the outcome of my
salvation. I am saved when by grace I believe in Jesus and the result is that I do good deeds!”
-Finally I understood intellectually. But the greater challenge to me was the truth that believing in Jesus, turning to Him for
salvation meant turning away from all other things that competed against Him in my life, all the false gods I worship in my
heart (selfish ambitions to become famous and influential, ungodly relationships, pride, people’s attention and religious
traditions etc.)
-When I sat and assessed myself, I realized that I could not do it. Believing Him was too costly. But I thank Him because He is a
God who pursues His people. The question about Jesus never left me for more or less a year, until I finally talked to God
honestly. I also remember what I told Him that day, “Lord, I want to follow you but I can’t. If You want me to follow You,
tulungan mo naman po ako na gawin iyon…”
-Praise God because He answered. By His grace He opened my eyes and enabled me to believe and to turn from all false gods
to follow Him. It didn’t mean that everything became easy after that. I still struggle with sin and doubt and selfishness… But
the Lord has been slowly changing my heart and my attitude to always look at things from His perspective, not mine. (4:30)
B. Main Context
-our passage today, the whole Gospel of John, in fact, invites us in this same journey of discovery -- who is this Jesus and what
does it mean to follow Him?
-for John, his hope is written in John 20:31 (purpose of the book), “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
-(Context) Our passage brings us in the heart of one of the big Jewish feasts (Feast of Booths) where the people flocked back to
Jerusalem from all over Israel to celebrate God’s faithfulness
-And in this feast, we witness Jesus presenting Himself, His actions and His claims for scrutiny
-and rightly, this brought division among the people—some rejecting Him as of the devil, others mistaking Him as simply one of
the prophets, but others finally realizing the He is indeed the Christ.
C. Outline
-so in chapter 10, Jesus ends the feast with three startling truths about Himself that went head on against the religious norms
of His time. And He wants His audience to respond to these claims. Jesus said that it is He who:
1. Leads people out of Deceit (vv. 1-6)
2. Liberates people from Death (vv. 7-10)
3. Lays down His life for God’s people (vv. 11-18)
NOT, NEVER the religious leaders, institutions, authorities, or any worldly system. And He calls us, as He did with the Jewish
people during His time, to wrestle with His claims with the desire that in the end we will trust in Him!
D. Transition and Reminders
-Throughout the sermon, remind yourself that here is Jesus presenting Himself as the Leader, Liberator and the one who Lays
down His Life for God’s people…. What will you do with Him?
-But in keeping with our sermon schedule, we will only tackle the first two points today as we continue the series on Jesus’
Seven I AM’s. (4:00)
II. BODY
A. Leads people out of Deceit (vv. 1-6)
POINT: Jesus is the true guide of Israel, not the hypocritical religious leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, etc.). Those who belong to
Jesus recognize Him as the true leader, so they believe and follow Him. But the rest remain blinded and they follow false
guides who are as blind as they are.
PROOF: v. 1 Jesus paints the imagery of shepherding in 1st century Palestine  start of an extended metaphor
-not shepherding per se but borrow this imagery to establish spiritual truths
PICTURE: shepherding during Jesus’ time (wall, thorns and briers on top, sheepfold from different herds, door or
simply an entrance where the shepherd stayed, doorkeeper sometimes)
v 1. “thief and robber”  Jesus is referring to the false guides  who are they? Look at the context
-Context: John 9 where Jesus healed a man born blind and the Pharisees were scandalized because He did it on a
Sabbath (John 9:13-16).
-but the tensions started much earlier all the way in chapter 5 because of Jesus’ earlier miracles that violated Jewish
traditions, His claims to divinity and Messiahship, His rising popularity among the people (jealousy)
-this culminated in John 9:39-41 where Jesus reveals the spiritual state of the Pharisees. Though they can physically
see, they are actually spiritually blind. [Pharisees are the false guides/ the blind guides]
vv. 1-2 thief “climbs in by another way…” vs shepherd “enters by the door…” (comparison)
-they are not just blind but worse they’ve usurped God’s authority, they placed themselves as guides
-a) they disregarded God’s Word and followed their traditions (Mark 7:9) b) rejection of Jesus as Savior
-Jesus, on the other hand (shepherd) has all authority and right to be Israel’s guide being the Son of God and sent by
the Father (John 8:16-18)
vv. 3-5 “sheep hear his voice... sheep follow him (shepherd) vs “they will flee from him (thief)…”
-but why are these religious leaders rejecting Jesus (when others believed Him? blind, other Pharisees, etc.)
-because they are not His sheep, they do not know the voice of the Shepherd, they don’t respond to Him
[Pharisees are not among God’s flock]
-Jesus’ call: follow me, come out of the false system of works/law salvation
-not this religion but a relationship with God, through the Son
-v. 6 the Pharisees do not understand because they are not His sheep
PRACTICE: We scoff at the Pharisees for being blind, but in reality, many times, even if we are already believers of Jesus, we
still struggle to follow Him.
-When temptation comes, oh how easily do we give in! Given the choice between the easy and comfortable but
dishonoring to God and the difficult and sacrificial but glorifying to Him, oh how easily do we choose self over our
Lord!
-And it gets worse because we allow seemingly innocent things to slowly usurp Jesus’ lead in our lives—things we read,
learn, watch, people we hang out with, activities that preoccupy our lives—that do not really magnify our Lord. We
have these things and they are false guides competing with our Savior.
-May the lyrics of the song, “Come Though Fount” be the prayer of our hearts
O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let they goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart. O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above. (10:20)

B. Liberates people from Death (vv. 7-10)

POINT: Jesus is the way to salvation, there is no other—not the hypocritical religious leaders nor earthly religions nor worldly
systems/institutions. He nullifies the work of the enemy (steal, kill and destroy), and through Him we find freedom from the
power of sin and death, to receive eternal life.
PROOF: v. 7 “door of the sheep” (THIRD I AM STATEMENT) – builds upon His earlier imagery but alters it slightly
 PICTURE: two possibilities a) actual door or gate at the entrance of the sheepfold b) the shepherd Himself serving
as the door at the opening of the sheepfold (I prefer this imagery)
Word Study: Gk Thura entrance, way or passage into
v. 9 “enters by me…saved”
-Jesus makes a clear spiritual statement: He is the entrance, the way, God’s provision for salvation
-if we enter by Him, we will be saved; we will go in and out (a phrase that actually means the whole of our lives) and
find pasture (in a place or condition of sustenance, peace for the soul)
-cf. John 14:6 Jesus is the way… no one comes to the Father except through Him
-if we acknowledge, believe that He is the only way, nothing else, we surrender to Him as the only mediator to God, if
we walk through that narrow road (Matt 7:14) by God’s grace, we find salvation, reconciliation
PROBLEM: Some commentators look at Jesus’ statement on salvation as not actually referring to God’s redemption,
but only about safety from harm and danger. But looking at the bigger picture, especially going down to vv. 11-18,
we cannot deny that Jesus has in mind His ultimate mission to be the sacrifice on the cross to pay for the penalty
of sin, to die for His people and to rise again—the GOSPEL.
vv. 8, 10a Why did He emphasize this truth? Are there other ways competing with Jesus? YES. A LOT!
-the religious leaders were advocating strict adherence to the LAW and TRADITION
-there are man-made religions, systems of merit or good works, false gods
-secret knowledge (Gnosticism)
-humanistic ideologies (human values, simply becoming a good person based on your standard)
-there is no one way… there are myriads of ways… (all roads lead to God)
PICTURE: Nico’s friend (ASK Nico)
v. 10a “steal, kill and destroy…” – tension between Jesus’ way and the Pharisees’
- this tension may be seen as man’s way (good works) vs God’s way (grace, faith)
-the world’s way is dangerous because it feeds on human pride
-we can’t accept that we can’t save ourselves so we rely on our own strength (perfect recipe for death*)
-need for surrender, unless we admit our inability and powerlessness, need for a Savior, cry for humility (by grace*)
v. 10b “life…abundantly” – in contrast to death, what does Jesus give to those who go through Him?
-life, eternal life: this is not simply that future glorified existence (is part of it), but also the transformed life here on
earth (John 17:3) being used by God to transform the world
PROBLEM: Some misunderstand this verse to mean materially abundant life (prosperity, health, wealth, man-
centered Gospel). In a closer study of Zoe, we will see that its OT counterpart does denote the idea of “a happy life
and every kind of blessing…”*
-But, the emphasis is not really in material wealth but in the idea of a life dedicated/belonging to God, a life full
and genuine, united to God through Christ. Not to mention, “abundantly” here is not a noun that could refer to
abundance or wealth, but an adverb, describing the action of receiving this life offered to God—those who pass
through Jesus abundantly have life overflowing for God.
-the salvation Jesus brings is never man-centered (benefits and blessings), but actually a salvation that produces
transformation so that we can live lives advancing the Kingdom of God for His glory
-we are indeed saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone… but as the reformers often emphasized, this is a faith
that’s never alone—it comes with it the result of transformation (as a result of our salvation, we begin to hate
what God hates, and love what God loves-- sanctification).

PRACTICE: Growing up in the Philippines our challenge is not really believing that there’s only one way to God. We’re aware
that Jesus is the way, that He is our Savior. We’re also aware that He came to save us from sin.
-I think our greater challenge is understanding what it means to enter by Him. In this regard, many fall in the trap of pride.
We don’t want to admit that being reconciled to God, receiving His forgiveness or being saved is beyond our power.
That is why despite knowing, we revert to our default mode of rebellion, wanting to do things our way—good works,
instead of grace through faith.
 -If you fall in this trap, or you know anyone who falls in this trap, my prayer is for God to place in their/your hearts a
discontent of your current condition, that He will bring you to a point of helplessness, so that you will see your need of
Jesus, and like the tax collector in the temple cry out, “Have mercy on me, a sinner”… like the centurion pray, “I believe!
Help my unbelief!”
PICTURE: My prayer to God when I was not yet saved: I want to follow You but I can’t. If you want me to follow You,
please give me the strength to do so. (11:00)

C. Lays down His life for God’s People (vv. 11-18)

POINT: Jesus, not the hypocritical religious leaders, truly cares for God’s flock. He loves His own so much that Jesus will give
His life for them, and then gather them to be with God forever.
-this death and resurrection is His way of leading out of false systems and ushering us into salvation
-more on this next week (11:00)

III. CONCLUSION
-Who is this Jesus? Today we learned three truths about Him from our passage. Jesus…
1. Leads people out of Deceit (vv. 1-6) * > He is the true guide, the authority who leads us out from false systems and
ideologies to GOD
2. Liberates people from Death (vv. 7-10) * > He is the DOOR, our access, our way to salvation. He nullifies the enemy’s
work to bring transformation in our lives, which in turn overflows, manifests in our interaction within, with the
people around us, with our community and the world at large.
3. Lays down His life for God’s people (vv. 11-18) > He fulfills all these through His sacrifice on the cross, His dying and
rising again for God’s people—our Good Shepherd (more on this next week)
-This is Jesus… what will you do with Him?
A. Justification> If you have never put your trust/faith in Him, if you have not yet surrendered to His Lordship, perhaps this is
the day of your salvation. Call out to Him! Out from a genuine heart ask the Lord for grace to believe.

B. Sanctification> If you profess faith in Christ, ask God to use these truths to deepen your love for Jesus. Ask God to use
these truths as mirrors to reveal any false guides you’re following that may hinder your spiritual growth.
-and I urge you, too, to let your light shine! Salvation is not a ticket to heaven that gives you the license to neglect others,
your society or this world.
-you are not saved only to be apathetic towards the spiritual needs of people, and the physical sufferings around us,
apathetic towards Kingdom Building
-Our salvation, if it is true, must move us to engage the world because unless the hearts of men are changed from stone to
flesh, there will be no genuine transformation around us. Injustices, corruption, inequalities are only symptoms of our
real problem—sin, unregenerate hearts. And the only power given by God is the Gospel that gives salvation and
transformation to those who believe. We cannot be quiet about this…
-So where you are right now and even beyond, preach the Gospel, live out the Gospel, ask God to help you see from
Gospel-saturated eyes as you seek to fulfill whatever calling the Lord has given you. Ask for His eternal perspective.

-Friends, here is Jesus presenting Himself as the Leader, Liberator and the one who Lays down His Life for God’s people…. What
will you do with Him? (5:00)

Frederick Paulo Tomacder

22 April 2018