We in America like to tout our freedom. We like to wear our freedom as a badge for all to see. We want everyone to know that we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. That is who we are as Americans.
We have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But when you start to think about it, what does that mean? What does it mean that we have freedom?
I heard it all the time as a kid. Your brother or sister is being particularly annoying, either singing obnoxiously or “not touching you.” You tell them to stop and their response is always the same, “It’s a free country. I can do what I want.” Is this true? Does living in this free country give us liberty to do whatever we want? Of course not.
While we may have freedom of speech, there are still such things as libel laws. You can’t just go about spouting lies about people. Likewise, inciting an unlawful riot will land you with some criminal charges. So, even though we have freedom of speech, you still can’t say whatever you want.
In regards to freedom of religion, we’ve already seen the implications of abortion inducing drugs in the Affordable Care Act. Yes, there are limits to what the government can impose upon someone, but it’s possible that the law will override your religious beliefs. Does this mean that we don’t truly have freedom of religion?
What does it mean to be free? As we look at this topic and try to answer this question, we come back to a passage we looked at only a few weeks ago. As we continue in our study of the “I am” statements of Jesus, we’re going to revisit John 10 in a little more detail.
Last time we looked at this passage, we discussed how Jesus is the good shepherd that knows and cares for his sheep, but that’s not the only thing he says in that discourse. Looking back at the events that lead to this discussion, we find that Jesus had healed a man who had been born blind. This was a feat that was unheard of. Moreover, he had done it on the Sabbath.
As the Pharisees try to wrap their heads around what has happened here, they’re split. Some argue that nobody had ever healed a man born blind, so whoever did this had to have been from God. However, the others argued that this man healed on the Sabbath, thus breaking one of God’s laws, and therefore can’t be from God. Their investigations lead them to this meeting with Jesus.
It’s at this point that Jesus tells them a parable about the sheep and the shepherd. He explains to them the relationship between the two, but they didn’t get it. They didn’t seem to understand, so instead he has to spell it out for them.
As we begin to look at this passage, we’re immediately taken back to what we discussed last time. We spoke before about the sheep pen, a place in which the shepherds would keep their sheep at night. There were actually two types of sheep pens. Within towns and villages you might find a communal sheep pen. Flocks from all the different villagers would be sheltered here. These pens had a large, strong door that locked. The watchman would be the only person with a key.
The second type of sheep pen is the one discussed previously. During the warm season, when the shepherds didn’t always bring their sheep into the village at night, they would collect their sheep into a sheep pen on the hillside. These sheep pens didn’t have a fancy gate with a strong lock. Instead they were merely a wall with an opening for a doorway. At night the shepherd would act as the door or gate by sitting or lying across this opening to prevent the sheep from getting out. Likewise, anyone that desired to enter the sheep pen would have to confront the shepherd.
This is the image that Jesus is giving when he declares, “I am the door.” He says, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers.” Often when Jesus refers to “those who came before” he’s referring to the prophets of old. However, in this case, thieves and robbers doesn’t sound like terms Jesus would use when referencing the prophets.
We see reference to the people of whom Jesus speaks in Acts 5. After Jesus’ resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the apostles began preaching and healing in Jesus’ name. This drew the attention of the Jewish courts which brought them in. Upon hearing their testimony they decide to put them to death. However, an honored teacher of the law, Gamaliel, speaks up (Acts 5:36-37).
What he’s describing here are those that came before Jesus. Ever since going into exile, the people of Israel waited for the messiah to come and liberate them. There were some that believed that it was their duty to bring about this liberation and possibly the coming of the messiah. The Zealots sought to overthrow their Roman oppressors through military means.
These were the people Jesus was speaking about when he told of the robbers and thieves. They were not above war, murder, and assassination. Instead, their ways drove people further from God and led only to destruction. However, Jesus’ way was that of love, peace, and sacrifice. It is only through his perfect sacrifice that we can be saved.
I was talking to my wife the other night about things I don’t understand (trust me, there are many). But I was recounting my days in Army Basic Training. During training, you are removed from everyone and everything you know. I’ve heard the goal of Army Basic Training as tearing a person down so that they might be rebuilt as they want them to be.
During that time you have little or no contact with the outside world. If you’re lucky you’ll get to call home once or twice. You don’t get a newspaper, radio, or anything. You are isolated for nine weeks. You are told when to wake up and when to sleep. You are told what to eat and what to wear. Your every waking activity is planned for you, and if you deviate from that plan, you will face the consequences.
They say that the first three days after you quit smoking cold turkey are the hardest. The nicotine withdrawal can last up to two weeks. With that in mind, having been nicotine free for nine weeks in Army Basic Training, nobody coming out of training is addicted to nicotine. So it is that to this day I cannot understand why most, if not all, of the people who smoked prior to training went right back to it after they’d finished. They were free from the physical nicotine addiction, but they went back to it. Because you see, they’re not free.
Jesus says, “he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” This was a common phrase that the Jewish people would have understood. We see it numerous times throughout scripture (Numbers 27:17; Deuteronomy 28:6; 1 Kings 3:7; Psalm 121:8).
Jesus’ audience understood when this phrase was used, to come in and go out, it meant freedom. A man could come in and go out of his home without fear of being attacked or robbed. This scenario indicated that your country was at peace. Law and order ruled in the land. They enjoyed security.
Does this mean that it was a euphoric utopia? No, but in general the people were safe and free. In general, I can go out on the streets of Beulah and not have to worry about being attacked or robbed.
In general I have the freedom to worship my God in any way I choose. In general I have the freedom to say whatever I want. I don’t have to worry about saying something against the government or the president had being thrown in prison. I have that freedom.
There are limitations. I may be attacked or mugged in Beulah. There are some things I can’t do in worship and some things I can’t say. But I have the freedom to come and go as I please. This is the freedom that we talk about when we sing the Star Spangled Banner, but Jesus’ freedom goes beyond this.
He says, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” See it’s not just when you go in. If I told you that you were free to go anywhere as long as you stayed within this room, you’d say that’s not freedom. It’s not just that you are safe in that sheep pen, but when you go out the shepherd is still there, guiding and protecting you. It is only through that gate, the shepherd, that we find the freedom and security that he offers.
The thief comes but to steal, kill, and destroy. All those who have come before cannot offer the freedom and security that is offered by Jesus, the door. Whether great revolutionaries or great politicians, many great men and women have come before and have promised greater things, but none of them can deliver. Ultimately, their ways will lead to death, but Jesus’ way brings life.
He says that if you enter by the gate, not only will you have life, but you will have it abundantly. In the Greek the phrase translated here literally means, “to have a superabundance of a thing.” It’s more than just an abundance of life, it’s a superabundance. It’s a superabundance of freedom. It’s a superabundance of security.
This is what Jesus is offering when he calls us to enter through the door. Jesus is the door, the only way to peace and security. He is offering life in a superabundance. You don’t have to worry, if only this person is elected. You don’t have to worry, if only I would get that promotion. You don’t have to worry, if only I had more money.
In Jesus, when we enter through the door we will find freedom. We will come in and go out and find pasture. We will find everything we need. Maybe not everything we want, but you will find peace and security in the one who is the door.