Meditations

”[Jesus] gave us the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers to equip the saints… so that we may no longer be like confused children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Eph 4:11-14) “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved… the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:9-10)

There are thieves and then there are thieves. The thief that can do more damage to us than any other is the one who comes to kill our opportunity to receive eternal life by stealing our faith, “I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.” (Luke 12:5) That’s why the punishment for that thief is worse than the death penalty: “Woe to the one who [causes one of these little ones to sin]. It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be cast into the sea.” (Luke 17:1-2) “There is more in what Jesus is telling His followers here than that He is the Way to salvation. Once He has us safely in His sheepfold, He will also protect us from the deadly thief. That’s what a good shepherd did in the days of Jesus.” (David Jeremiah)

“Jesus is using a familiar illustration in this sermon, one every listener would understand. The sheepfold was usually an enclosure made of rocks, with an opening for the door – sometimes there would be a little wooden gate, sometimes not. Once the sheep were brought in for the night, the good shepherd would guard them by lying across the opening. It was not unusual for several different shepherds’ flocks to sleep together in one fold, but only one shepherd would be ‘the door.’ In the morning each shepherd would come and call out and his flock would follow him. No flock would ever follow a stranger’s voice. That is why Jesus said the thief would steal them because there was no way that they could merely be led away.” (Warren Wiersbe) The good news for Christians who know their Bibles is that any false teaching, no matter how cunning or subtle, simply will not sound right – the Spirit will be making us feel very uncomfortable when we hear it and that’s a good time to shout, “Get behind me, Satan!” That thief will bother you no more. (2 Pet 2:19-2:3)

David