“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:14-16)
Our world needs Jesus the Good Shepherd. We need His caring guidance, compassion, and strength to help us endure the chaos of modern life and overcome it. We need His wisdom and strength to protect us from sin and the devil. The government and the majority of the various elected officials who claim to be interested in our well-being are interested only in themselves. How we long for Jesus the Good Shepherd. He is our only comfort.
What is of vital importance that many in our world do not know is that Jesus is the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of God. The only way in is through Him. The metaphor of Him as the good a shepherd enhances this idea because only those sheep that belong to Him get in for He, like a shepherd, is the door. He knows which sheep belong in His fold and they know Him. They recognize His voice, they know and believe in Him by faith as their Lord and Savior.
Such a teaching is considered unacceptable in our cancel culture, which rejects God’s Word and authority in favor of relativism. Our culture maintains that all religions are equally valid so that there are many ways to God, to heaven or paradise or nirvana, not just one. But that is illogical as we examine the assertion that Jesus made. There are, logically only four possible assumptions we can make about Jesus, only one of which can be true.
1. He is a liar.
2. He is insane.
3. He has a demon.
4. He is who He says He is.
The first three assumptions do not stand up to the evidence of the life of Jesus. He was a kind, compassionate, and loving teacher who spoke with authority, grace, and wisdom. He healed the sick, the blind, and the lame. He raised at least three people from the dead. He cast demons out of many men and women. These are not the actions of an evil man, a liar, a crazy person, or a demon. Thus we are forced to conclude that one who does and speaks such good and righteous things cannot be a liar, or insane, or demonic. He must be who He claims to be. He must be God.
And, logically, there can be only one supreme, all-powerful being. And since Jesus is that Being, there can be no other. There is only one way to God, only one pathway to eternal life: Jesus. There is no other option.