Jesus, the Door and the Good Shepherd.

In John 10, Jesus refers to Himself twice as the door/gate as well as the Good Shepherd twice. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees (John 9:40), the religious leaders and spiritual shepherds of the Jewish people. These men, spiritually blind and deaf to the truth of Jesus (John 10:6), are causing division (John 10:19).

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Jesus being the Good Shepherd is one of the more familiar depictions of Christ. In John 10, Jesus refers to Himself as both the gate and the Good Shepherd. Jesus’s audience would have had the usual understanding of shepherding in mind. Sheep were a common industry in Israel, not only for clothing and food, but also sacrificed in religious worship as part of regular temple activity.

Our Relationship with the Word of God.

The timing of this text is during the end of the week of the Feast of Tabernacle, about a half year before Jesus goes to the cross. Jesus is in a debate with religious unbelief, confronting their own sin. He identifies for them what true belief is and what saving faith looks like in the believer’s life. Jesus presents three tests of genuine saving faith for unbelief to consider: the test of fatherhood, the test of the use of God’s Word in a believer’s life, and the test of the works of God’s children.

John 8:31-59 focuses on the truth of the Word of God. The second test of genuine saving faith and of true discipleship is evidenced in our relationship with and responsibility to the Word of God in our lives.

Jesus is the Light of the World.

What is your cause?

People follow causes that appear to be good. However, in Proverbs 21:2, it says that every man does what’s right in his own eyes. In the book of John, the cause of a group of righteous leaders appears to be right. Yet Jesus assesses their cause completely differently and condemns them.

It probably took Noah 75-100 years to build the Ark. Even though God was sorry He made man, Noah found grace in His eyes. Noah preached, but no one turned to God. If any of them came to God, even in the last hour, they would have received God’s grace.Grace is unmerited favor from heaven, something offered to us that we don’t deserve.

We apologize for the audio recording issues this week. The notes below give a synopsis of the sermon.

The Chapter of Assessment.

We have been assessing who is the Messiah in the book of John. Where is he from and what is he like? In John 7:25-52, those observing Jesus had the same questions.

Resurrection Sunday

Luke 24:33-49 happened about half a day after Jesus rose from the tomb. Jesus had already appeared to some disciples after His death and burial in the tomb. All the disciples were in a living room, eating dinner behind a locked door, fearing for their lives. They believed the Jewish leaders may seek to kill them as well.

The disciples were discussing reports that Jesus had risen from the dead. The witnesses explained their stories of seeing Him risen. Was this really Jesus? Was it a ghost? The ones who had not seen Jesus may have wondered why Jesus appeared to others but not to them?

The disciples were tired from the recent events of His death. They were grieving and confused about what to do next. Some of you today may be in this same position of anguish and uncertainty. Just as Jesus calmed the hearts of His disciples in this passage, He does the same today.

Knowledge, Love, and Obedience.

John 7 is a chapter full of assessments as people try to figure out who Jesus is and Jesus continues to make statements of Himself and His divine authority. It occurs in the middle of the week-long festival of booths, just 6 months before He would be tortured and crucified for our sin.

The Person, Posture, and Patience of Jesus.

John writes his gospel with the purpose of proving that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that we might believe, and in believing, that we might have life through His name. John places a discourse of teaching before or after each of the miracles he writes about. John 6:16-21 includes two of four miracles that occur in this account. Other details, including the other two miracles, are found in the parallel accounts in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. In both the feeding of the 5,000 and this passage of John 6:16-21, we see that God is Provider, providing food and safety to His people. Jesus is Jehovah-Jireh in the flesh (John 6:35).

The Second Witness of Who Jesus Is.

We are continuing the discussion of 3 witnesses or testimonies from God the Father that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.The first verified witness was John the Baptist. Some who heard his message saw the fruit, but the majority rejected the message of John the Baptist.

John, the Gospel writer, details the next two witnesses beginning in John 5:36:“But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

The First Witness to Seeing Jesus For Who He is.

Satisfied: Is Seeing Really Believing?

In today's world, with computer-generated images and photo editing applications, seeing is no longer believing. But in Jesus’ day there was no photoshopping. When we look back into the Old Testament, the children of Israel literally saw God take them out of Egypt through the use of 10 plagues, then they saw the parting of the Red Sea. They saw, witnessed, and participated in these events, and yet, there was unbelief. As we read the Gospel of John, remember that John was an eye-witness of what we are reading. The Jews also saw Jesus’ miraculous works, yet they didn’t believe it.

Jesus and Nicodemus: Situation, Discussion, and Recognition.

John introduces the reader to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, in John 3:1-2. The name Nicodemus is a common, proper Greek name in history, and during the time of Jesus, it was also a common, popular Jewish name. The Pharisees were a sect of the Sanhedrin, the highest-ranking Jewish school of the time.

Jesus' First Miraculous Sign.

Belief in Jesus requires a personal relationship with Him.

One of the most fundamental questions a Christian must ask is "what constitutes true belief?" How do I know if my own or someone else's belief is genuine or sincere? Do I have enough faith?

John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was the first prophet to speak God's word for hundreds of years. This providential delay in revelation heightened anticipation among the Jews for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist broke the silence with a powerful, influential, successful voice, because God determined it to be so. He preached a message of repentance and led a simple life.

Why Believe in Jesus' Words?

John begins his Gospel giving a simple, profound answer to this question. John introduces Jesus differently than the 3 synoptic Gospel writers. He does not mention Jesus' name until John 1:17, instead calling him by the name "the Word" for most of John 1:1-18.

Overview of John – Part 2.

The earliest of the five books written by the Apostle John, the gospel of John was written primarily to a Greek-speaking, Jewish audience, highly influenced by the Greek culture. Most of the people in John’s audience would have been unsaved, needing to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. John omits many of the words, parables, actions, and miracles of Jesus which the other three gospels include. John’s themes are different than the other gospel writers. The material in chapters 1-5 of the book of John is unique and not found in the other gospels. The healing miracles in chapters 9 and 11 are also exclusive to John. Similarities between the book of John and the other three gospels include the Spirit's anointing of Christ, Jesus feeding the five thousand, Jesus walking on water, Jesus’s sonship to the Father, and Jesus’s authority over nature to name a few.

Overview of John – Part 1.

John is known as the most theological gospel writer, though his name is never mentioned in the book as the author. Luke calls John an apostle in Luke 6. Polycarp, a direct disciple of the Apostle John, testified to knowing that John had written this fourth gospel while in Ephesus. Six times within the book, John is referred to as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Matthew tells us that John and his brother James were known as the sons of Zebedee. Jesus named them "sons of thunder" in the book of Mark. One of the three most intimate associates of Jesus during His earthly ministry, John writes of his own spiritually close relationship with Christ (1 John 1:1-4). After Christ’s ascension, John became a leader in the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2) and ministered with Peter all through the book of Acts. He was living in Ephesus when the gospel of John was written before Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. The Roman government exiled John to the island of Patmos where his final work, Revelation, was written.

The Consoling Love of Our Resurrected Savior.

John 20:11-18 tells of Mary Magdalene encountering the risen Jesus. In this account, we see Jesus' consoling love that is simple and profound.