Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the courtyard by the gate but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:1-4).

 

Jesus entered the courtyard of the high priest by the gate as the band of soldiers brought Him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest. “Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple” (John 18:15). They followed Jesus in, but as the Good Shepherd, Jesus was there to lead out all who would hear His voice and follow Him. There with the council sat Nicodemas and the other Pharisees who had listened to Jesus’ teaching but were afraid to break with synagogue and the temple. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, had come into the courtyard of the high priest to lead them out of death and hell to the pastures of eternal life.

 

The gatekeeper tried to keep them in, inside the walls of those who denied that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of all who believe. “The servant girl at the door said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’” (John 18:17). Trapped, Peter said, “I am not,” a blatant denial of Jesus’ confession to be the great “I AM” (John 8:58) who lead His people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land. They were cold words of betrayal. Peter moved closer to the charcoal fire where the soldiers had gathered, hoping to warm himself, but his heart remained bitterly cold.

 

The soldiers also said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” (John 18:25), a second chance for Peter to make the great confession. But alas, he was surrounded, hemmed in on every side with no avenue of escape. “He denied it and said [again], ‘I am not.’” Then immediately a third chance for him to confess “I believe,” but in answer to a challenge from a relative of the man he had tried to murder just an hour or so ago when Jesus had been arrested. Now his confession would mean admitting to attempted murder in front of the very soldiers that he had attacked. So, a third denial before the rooster crowed.

 

What else could Peter do? He was trapped in that courtyard. He was surrounded by the unbelieving and hostile Jews who were determined to kill someone. They all denied that Jesus was God eternal, the source of everlasting life. They had Peter locked in. The gate was being watched. He was trapped in his sins and had no way of escape. Perhaps he had entered thinking that he might be able to help Jesus but he found himself helpless. He needed Jesus to get him out.

 

Jesus had said, in the presence of some of these very Jews gathered now to condemn Him to death, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the courtyard by the gate but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

 

And when they didn’t understand what He was saying to them, He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the gate of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7-8).

 

Jesus was the only way out for Peter and all others who find themselves trapped within the courtyard where the Son of God is rejected and condemned. All of those who surrounded Peter and Jesus in that courtyard were thieves and robbers, stealing glory away from God and robbing the people of the gift of salvation and eternal life that God had sent in His Son.

 

Those who left the teaching of these rabbis and Pharisees, had followed the voice of Jesus teaching plainly in the synagogues and in the temple. He led them out to the pasture where they had life in Him. Jesus is the way to God the Father. He is the gate to all of the gifts that God wants to give to His people. Peter desperately needed that gate as he stumbled around the courtyard trying to keep warm, looking for a place to hide, helpless and falling.

 

But Jesus, the gate, was there in the courtyard. Peter’s way out had not disappeared. In fact, Jesus was there as the Good Shepherd to lead His sheep out to the pasture of everlasting life. He had said, “I am the Good Shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). And that is exactly what He was doing for Peter and for all of His sheep: the other disciple who was known to the high priest; Nicodemus who was sitting silently on the council; and us included.

 

Because we get trapped, like Peter too. We find ourselves surrounded and hemmed in on every side, with no way to get ourselves out. In the courtyard of the school, or the yard at work, or the places where we like to go in our free time, even on those social media sites; when confronted by enemies (a strong band of soldiers or little servant girls), we somehow don’t have the strength to hold fast to our confession. Tempted by threat to our life, or perhaps just to our livelihood, or even to our lifestyle, the denial of faith is blurted out and our cold hearts are revealed as we betray the great “I AM.”

 

But also like Peter, we are not abandoned or alone. There is always a way out for us, not a way to get ourselves out, to undo our sins, or to make up for a even moment of weakness. Rather, it is a way of salvation from all of these sins that damn us to the fires of hell. Jesus is there with us. He is the gate to eternal life with God the Father. He is the Good Shepherd who leads His sheep out to pasture. He is the one who laid down His life upon the cross in order that we might be forgiven and live eternally.

 

The Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. No one took it from Him. And even as they accused Him and struck Him in the face, He remained in control. He was laying down His life for us, determined to fulfill the heavenly Father’s will.

 

When the band of soldiers came to arrest Him, He stepped forward, and they fell backward (18:4, 6). He was determined to “drink the cup” that His Father had given to Him (18:11). He allowed them to take Him into the courtyard of the high priest so that He could make the good confession before them that we are so often unable to make. He taught openly in the public synagogues and in the temple. He did nothing in secret (18:20).

 

He told the Roman Governor that He could have had His servants (disciples and angels) fight for His deliverance, but that was not the kind of kingdom He came to rule (18:36). He did not hide behind lies, but spoke the truth (18:37). He made it plain that Pilate had no authority in this situation at all (19:11), and no matter how hard Pilate tried to release Him, it just was not possible. So the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. No one could stop Him.

 

And that is where Peter found the gate. The gate is Jesus on the cross. It was the gate where Peter found forgiveness for all of his sins. It is the gate out of every trap that holds you. This is the gate to the heavenly Father’s grace where you receive His forgiveness for all of your sins, where you are fed in the pasture of the Lord, and where you have everlasting life in peace with God.

 

We hear the voice of our Good Shepherd, leading us out of the courtyard of wickedness, sin and death; through the gate of His sacrifice upon the cross; and into the eternal pastures of peace and rest. He called us by name at our Baptism, and He leads us through death and the grave to the resurrection and unending life with the Father. He has gone before us, suffering all that we deserve for our sins, so that in Him our death finds the gateway to eternal life.

 

We know His voice. It is the voice that confesses what we are unable. He never denies us by saying, “I am not!” He is always “I AM” for us. He is always our Good Shepherd. He is always our gate out of the eternal punishments we deserve, and into the life that He shares with all who follow Him.