Dear Christian friends:

When Jesus lived here on earth most people did not believe that He was the Savior God promised in the Old Testament. Especially the Jewish teachers and rulers refused to believe Him. Since 1,950 years ago most Jewish people do not accept Jesus as the Savior and Good Shepherd. A few Jews are Christians. There is one Jewish group who are Christians, which call themselves Jews for Jesus.

Also today, many Gentiles do not believe that Jesus is the only Savior. I am sorry to say it, but most people in the world today do not really know Jesus or believe in Him. They have other saviors and other ideas and other faiths, or no faith.

We who believe in Jesus must continue to tell them and witness to them and try to win them for Jesus.

In our text Jesus shows that He is the only Savior for sinners, the Good Shepherd. Let us listen so we will not be deceived by false saviors and false preachers or false ideas about God. Then we can be better witnesses.


Jesus is the only true Savior, the Good Shepherd, because He came through the door of the sheepfold. (verses 1-2)

What is this "door?" The "door of the sheepfold" is the prophecies about the Christ that we find in the Old Testament. We know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior God promised, because all the prophecies in the Old Testament happened exactly in Him. Listen to these:

1. Born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:12) Born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2)

2. Son of David. Isaiah 9:6-7) Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David.

3. Jesus did many miracles. In doing that He fulfilled such prophecies as Isaiah 42:1-7.

4. John the Baptist prepared Jesus' way as Isaiah prophesied. (Isaiah 40:3)

5. Judas betraying Him and His suffering and death on the cross for the people's sin is prophesied in Psalm 22 & Isaiah 53:1-12.

6. Jesus' resurrection is prophesied in Psalm 16:8-11.

7. Jesus' going up into heaven is prophesied in Psalm 47:1-9.

Jesus came through the "door." All the prophecies of the Old Testament happened exactly in Him. He is the true Savior. All the others are false, "thieves and robbers." Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

All true preachers accept Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the Good Shepherd. (verse 3) "The gate-keeper opens the gate for Him." All true preachers and teachers know that Jesus is the Savior God promised and sent. They know this because Jesus came through the "“door."' He came and did exactly as the Old Testament prophesied about Him. All true preachers say that Jesus is the true and only Savior for sinners. False preachers say that you can be saved through other ways and ideas.

Also, the true Christians follow Jesus. Jesus says, "The sheep hear His voice, and He calls to His sheep their names, and He leads them out. He goes ahead and the sheep follow Him, because they know His voice. They will not follow another man, but flee from him, because they do not know his voice." (verses 3-5) True believers know the sweet voice of Jesus.

They know the Good news preaching which says that Jesus loved them and died on the cross for their sins. They will not listen to a false preacher, who preaches not God's mercy in Jesus crucified and risen. The false preachers tell the people they must obey the law to be saved. Law preachers make people become self-righteous, hypocrites or make them despair.

Jesus the true and only Savior, the Good Shepherd, not only came through the "door," He is "the door!" Jesus came through "the door" and He is "the door!" He came exactly as the Old Testament prophesied and He is the Good News of the Old Testament.

Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep. All the others before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them." (verses 7-8) Jesus is the true and only Savior for sinners. All others are “thieves and robbers," false Saviors and false preachers. They do not fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and they do not preach the sweet Gospel of the Old Testament. You can easily know who is the true Savior and the true preacher. How ? (Explain the difference between Law preachers and Gospel preachers.)

Those who listen to Jesus are saved and have the true riches and the good life. Those who listen to a false savior and false preachers will be destroyed in sin and hell. They do not have the "good life." Jesus says, "I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he is saved. And he will come in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they can have life and have it more abundantly." (verses 9-10)

Jesus is the true and only Savior for sinners. He is the Good Shepherd and all who listen to Him and believe in Him are His dear sheep. They are saved from sin, death and hell! They have the good life, the eternal life. They have new, spiritual life now on earth and then forever in heaven. Death cannot destroy their new life in Jesus.

Let us rejoice in Jesus our Good Shepherd, and let us defend Him against false saviors and false preachers! Believe me, there are many false saviors and false preachers in the world today, as we have been seeing on TV and in the newspapers lately.

The true and only Savior is Jesus of Nazareth, who came through "the door," and who is "the door." He saves us! He gives us the good life now on earth and forever in heaven.

Amen.

Additional Notes: True Good news preachers say that Jesus kept and obeyed the Law to save all people. False preachers say the people themselves must keep and obey the Law and through that save themselves. True Good News preachers tell the people that Jesus on the cross suffered the punishment for all, because all have broken the Law and therefore can't save themselves. False preachers tell the people they must suffer the punishment themselves if they sin and break the Law. True Gospel preachers emphasize what God has done and still does to save us. False, preachers emphasize what we must do to save ourselves!