Jesus tells us that we must go through
him, that he is way. We enter through
him just as sheep go through the door to enter the sheepfold. The shepherd goes through the door – all
others are thieves or robbers.
To the people of Jesus’ day, this
explanation would have made a lot of sense.
Thieves would often make a hole in the back of a traveler’s tent, making
off with their goods. Robbers would
often brutalize their victims traveling down the back roads of ancient Israel,
leaving them for dead, like in the story of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus is trying to tell us that we
cannot enter the kingdom of God through the other ways that are enticing us,
whether try to rely solely on good deeds, a philosophical system, rituals, or
any of the other false gods that try to rule our lives. All of these other ways will not work on
their own – they will rob us of our place in the kingdom of God.
What is Christ’s way? He shows us his way as his earthly ministry
unfolds in the Gospels. His way is the way of the shepherd. Hi way is the heart of a servant and a
protector. Christ cares for his sheep
through service; he calls each of us by name to follow him. Jesus does not seek us for personal use or
for his own advantage like a thief or a robber.
We are not just a nameless number who does not matter in a vast
bureaucracy or in an anonymous system.
Jesus knows each of us intimately, just like a shepherd knows his
sheep.
We know Jesus’ voice, but are we
willing to follow him when the going gets tough or when it is more politically
correct to follow what our secular society tells us is the right thing to
do? Jesus is the good shepherd, but it
is up to us to follow him or not.
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