Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
Worship

  • Preparing for a Cyclone

    It was just over three weeks ago when our news coverage was dominated by Alfred. He was the unwanted guest that taunted a whole city for days, just lingering outside the city, threatening chaos and destruction.
    Alfred was to be the first cyclone to directly in hit the city of Brisbane in over 50 years.
    Some of you might have family or friends that were in the projected path of Alfred. Danger was coming. You need to prepare.
    So a whole city started preparing.
    They hit the supermarkets en masse. Pictures of empty shelves hit our screens.
    They went around the outside of their houses. What do you do with the trampoline or the light outdoor furniture? What about other things that might blow off or away in the wind? It all needs planning.
    What about an evacuation plan? Do you leave or do you stay? Where do you go if you do?
    What about pets?
    When danger comes, you need to think it through.
    This morning, I want to think about how we protect ourselves from danger.
    Part of the problem, however, is that we first need to identify the danger.
    Perhaps the danger in your life might seem obvious. Perhaps there are people or things that pose direct threats to you and your way of life. Perhaps like a bully or someone trying to take advantage of you.
    But perhaps it’s less obvious. You see, there can be an underlying pressure to act a certain way. To tow a certain line. In the school playground, we might call it peer pressure, but it’s perhaps a bit more subtle than that.

    The subtle danger

    Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like danger, because we’ve been swept up in a system that we’re used to… something that feels acceptable, even desirable.
    This is not the danger like a cyclone coming towards us, this is the danger of the person swimming at the beach on a calm day, not realising that a rip is pulling them out into the deep water.
    Preparing for this danger, is quite different.
    But rather than thinking about cyclones or rips, I want to consider the spiritual element to all this.
    You see, the reality is, even when there is either an overt threat, such as the bully, or a subtle threat such as the pressure from society, there is often a spiritual element behind this.
    The evil one has ways of manipulating situations to take us off track.
    When we add this element to it, the question of how we prepare for the danger can also take on a new dimension as well.

    The Jewish context

    So with this in mind, let’s have a look at where things are up to in our series through John’s gospel.
    You see, as we’ve been exploring throughout this series, John’s gospel is predominantly set in Jerusalem, which actually sets it apart from the other gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
    While Jesus might clash with the religious leaders in the other gospels, being focussed on Jerusalem gives a particularly pointed view of the way the Jewish religious leaders were handling themselves.
    Last week we looked at the healing of the man born blind found in John 9. At the end of this chapter, the Pharisees come in for some criticism of Jesus.
    You see, there had been some implication that the Jesus was suggesting that the Pharisees were blind, that is to say, metaphorically speaking.
    When they questioned Jesus on this, Jesus seems to suggest, well, actually, you’re not really blind, because you’ve been shown the way, but because of this, your guilt remains.
    And here comes the problem. The ones that God has entrusted his people to be looked after by, have actually veered off track.
    The ones that should actually be pointing the way to the Father, are actually the ones who have become the stumbling block.
    They should be the lighthouse… the ones showing the way… but they are the danger.
    This is that subtle danger I was talking about before. The one where you feel you shouldn’t be opposing, but yet they take you off track.
    As we come into the tenth chapter, Jesus is going to paint a picture for us, which I’m going to suggest is aimed at helping people to navigate this very issue.

    The Sheep pen

    The whole chapter is going to focus on the picture that is set in the opening verses. In a way, these opening verses act like a parable. Again, a big difference between John’s gospel and the others, is that Matthew, Mark and Luke have Jesus telling lots of parables, and these gospels actually call them parables. John’s gospel does not. But there are a few images, like this one before us now that could effectively be called a parable.
    The picture is of a sheep pen.
    Now let’s just get in mind the way in which sheep are managed in the middle east, because it’s quite different to how it’s done here in Australia.
    You see, a shepherd would typically have a smaller amount of sheep then you would typically find on a farm around here. The shepherd would lead his sheep around, in fact, they would follow him, and he would lead them to places where they can get drinks or eat in the pastures.
    It was at night when the dangers would be more real. Things like wolves, or possibly even bears or lions might be ready to attack, and so, it would be common for there to be a pen in which the sheep would go at night.
    Sometimes in fact, the one pen might have the sheep from numerous different shepherds, but the next day, they would go back to the shepherd they belong to, because they have learnt his voice.
    So, when they’re in the pen, they are safe… except… this is where Jesus’ image become interesting. He pictures another danger. Not the bears or lions or wolves. But other people.
    If a person has business being there, which, is really just the shepherd, then they will enter by the gate.
    For the dodgy person who wants to cause havoc, he can’t go through the gate, because the shepherd would block his access. So he finds the alternate path. He figures out a way to get over the wall without being seen. If he can be bothered doing this, he’s not there to look after the sheep. He’s in there because he thinks he can gain something.
    This danger is actually not expected. So often, we think of the danger as the wolves, and we fail to see the person from among us who wants to cheat the system.
    So the picture in the first five verses of this chapter paint a contrast between the shepherd, the one that is there to protect, and the thief and robber, who is not concerned about the welfare of the sheep, but only about his own gain.
    The shepherd leads, but the thief takes.
    The shepherd gathers. The thief scatters.
    The shepherd is known and safe. The thief is a stranger and poses a danger.
    If you look in verse 6, it says that the Pharisees did not understand what Jesus was telling them with this figure of speech.
    It wasn’t that they didn’t understand the image. The image is pretty clear. They would have understood the practice of looking after sheep.
    They just don’t understand the implication.
    Actually the image of the shepherd as someone guiding the people is actually something they would have been familiar with. The Old Testament uses this image quite a lot. The prophets even described the religious leaders as the shepherds of Israel.
    But here lies their problem in understanding what Jesus is saying.
    They would be happy to understand the shepherd as the Pharisees. Perhaps they might want to make the Romans as the thief.
    But something in the way the conversation is going, gives these Pharisees pause to think this is not what Jesus is intending.
    His just said in the last line of chapter 9 that the guilt of the Pharisees remain.
    Is Jesus implying that the Pharisees are the thieves and robbers in this image? This does not make sense. Surely that’s rubbish if that’s what he’s saying.

    I am the gate

    Well, Jesus doesn’t leave this image as it is. He’s about to make two very big claims about himself to expand on the image.
    The first one comes in verse 7 - “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep”.
    Now, I think when you’re reading through this the first time, this is probably not what you’re expecting Jesus to say. You might expect a claim to be the shepherd, and this is going to come very shortly, but the claim to be the gate seems quite unusual.
    But let’s just dwell on this idea a moment.
    You see, the gate is the access point to safety and security. The gate is what lets those who should be in to come in, and ensure that those who should not be in stay out.
    Jesus goes on after saying he’s the gate… verse 8: “All who have come before me are thieves and robbers...”
    The image has perhaps shifted a little from the opening verses.
    You see, with the focus now no Jesus as the gate, we’re now thinking - what is the entry point to safety?
    As you try to escape the danger, which door are you going to choose?
    The sad reality is, the Pharisees have been offering a gate that looks very promising. It has all the hallmarks of godliness. It looks like the way to God.
    But… just scratch a little below the surface, they are not quite as good as they seem on the surface.
    Their air of godliness becomes a means for big noting themselves. Their righteousness is a delusion - it’s based on their own ability to do right, where the reality is this was never going to be enough.
    They’ve fallen in love with power. And at the end of the day, this is why they are thieves and robbers. They want to gather, not for the sake of those they are trying to bring in, but to increase their own power.
    Which gate do you go in?
    Well, the ones that belong to God, they hear the voice of Jesus. The ones who don’t, they get tricked by the thieves.
    Jesus repeats himself in verse 9: “I am the gate”. This time adding… “whoever enters through me will be saved”
    Now interestingly, the gate allows them both to go in and out of the pen. Entering through Jesus might be the way to salvation, but it’s not to suggest you go in and out of salvation. Rather this coming and going out of the pen is a picture of safety. As they go out, they go to the pastures. When you use the gate provided by Jesus, you enter the good life. Not a superficial good life, but an actual deep seated good life.

    Verse 10

    We then get the verse that is favourite of many. Verse 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”. When stated like that, it’s obvious. You’re not going to “um” and “ahh” about this one.
    What Jesus is offering is not a dead religious experience. That’s what the Pharisees were offering with their rule based religion.
    What Jesus is offering is also not this path to all things boring. You know, sometimes we can think the Christian moral’s are just there to stop all our fun.
    What you actually find, is that when you enter through the gate that is Jesus, that’s when you actually start living. Life takes on a new depth, and it is the most beautiful thing you’ll experience.

    I am the Good Shepherd

    Okay, so, we’ve had Jesus describing himself as the gate, but in verse 11, we get the next “I am” statement. This is the one we were probably expecting first. This time he says: “I am the good shepherd”.
    Now, I actually want to focus on the word “good”, because this word is sometimes easy to gloss over.
    What I mean is that we have this natural feeling towards shepherds where we just assume that of course they are good. It probably doesn’t help because the children picture books all have shepherds looking kindly and friendly. So adding the word “good” hardly feel necessary.
    The reality, however, is that in the first century, it would not be natural to put the word “good” in front of shepherd. These were rough people who on the social ladder were pretty low. Sure they may have been above tax collectors, but not by a lot.
    But the good shepherd keeps that tough tenacity… keeps that fierce protection, but with a deep love who will always act in an honourable way.
    The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He is not afraid to risk his own life to protect the sheep.
    This is contrasted with the hired hand. Now, the hired hand is not the same as the thief in the previous section. It’s really used as a device to show why we need a good shepherd.
    At the end of the day, anyone in comparison to Jesus is like the hired hand. I might like to think that I show some ability as a shepherd, but I’m not the good shepherd you need. Jesus is the good shepherd that you need.
    Jesus repeats in verse 14 “I am the good shepherd” adding “I know my sheep and my sheep know me”.
    We actually get this further section about Jesus having sheep from other sheepfolds.
    We could perhaps really explore this in detail, but for now, let’s just acknowledge that Jesus will keep drawing in more people into his fold. Of course, this is not how shepherding normally works, but for this metaphor, it’s a nice little touch.
    Jesus is willing to lay down his life for anyone that belongs to him, whether initially of this sheep fold, or having been called at a later point.
    This all points to the death and resurrection of Jesus - the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. It was the defeat we needed to keep us safe.

    Our safety

    Now I want to bring this back to where we started.
    You see, there is danger around us. There are external threats of people wanting to bring us down. But there are also threats within. Like the Pharisees, there are people who come in our midst who seem godly. But actually, they are more concerned about power. They can lead us astray. Sometimes they can almost pose more of a danger because we’re less aware of them.
    It might seem obvious when I say it like this, but we need Jesus.
    We need to see him as the access point (the gate if you will) to a safer place.
    We need to see him as our protector.
    While that might sound obvious on one level, the reality is, because we’re not always aware of the danger, we lose sight of this aspect of Jesus.
    We lose sight that Jesus actually makes a difference to what physically happens around us.
    He has power to change the physical circumstances around you. He can move in the life of the person attacking you. He can help you against the subtle sway of the person pushing you off track by reminding you of what you should be doing.
    But there is another aspect to this. When you enter through Jesus the gate, you are entering into his kingdom. You may lose all your wealth. You may lose all your health. You may even lose your life. But yet you can not be touched - because there is more to this life than this world.
    You have security knowing that nothing can touch you. The life you gain through Jesus can never be taken from you.
    This is what it mean to have life and have it to the full.

    The choice

    Now, before I finish, I want to look at verses 19 to 21 which follows what I’ve just been discussing.
    You see, it’s in these verses that we start to see the reaction the Jews had to what Jesus is saying.
    Some, as in verse 20, though Jesus must be demon possessed and raving mad.
    Many today might agree. The idea of finding security in someone who walked this world 2000 odd years ago might sound crazy. Security is found in making wise choices. You could go back to my introduction. We deal with the danger of the cyclone by making a good plan.
    The truth is, we should be wise in our decision making when we face danger. If a cyclone, or perhaps more likely, a bush fire was to threaten us, we should think about how to prepare for that.
    But where does wisdom come from? Is it crazy to think that Jesus might actually give us wisdom in times like these.
    While some in verse 20 thought Jesus was mad, other recognised he can’t be mad. He can’t be mad because his actions match up with his words. He showed he can work miracles, therefore he can be trusted when he says he is the good shepherd that we need.
    There’s a choice that lay before us. We can prioritise the practical solutions to our problems, or we can prioritise Jesus, the one who is the gateway to what we need, and the protector.

    Conclusion

    There are many dangers around us. Some easily recognisable. Others hard to see.
    But when we enter through the gate, that is Jesus, we enter into a kind of protection this world can never offer. When we come to the Good Shepherd, we get a protector, who not only protects against things of this world, but protects our souls for all eternity.
    The dangers are there. But so is the protection we need.
    Are you seeking Jesus as your protector?
    Let me pray...
Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
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