SLIDE 1
Jesus said ‘I Am the Gate’. Now that seems a strange thing to say doesn’t it. What did He mean? All around us there are different types of gates, you may have one by your house or in your garden. To understand what Jesus meant by calling Himself ‘The Gate’ we need to hear something about shepherds, their sheep and the sheep gate.

SLIDE 2
In Jesus’ time and still in some places in the world today, shepherds look after sheep. A shepherd would spend all day with their flock, taking care of them and making sure they were well fed and kept safe from any danger.

SLIDE 3
Every morning a shepherd would lead his sheep out of the sheepfold where they had spent the night and take them to a place where they could eat fresh grass. At some times of the year there was not a lot of grass to be found, so the shepherd would have to search carefully to find new grass.

SLIDE 4
The sheep knew the shepherd’s voice and would follow him, trusting him to lead them safely to the place where they would eat that day. The sheep would not follow anybody, they would only follow their own shepherd.

SLIDE 5
When they got to the right place, the sheep would graze whilst the shepherd watched over them. The shepherd cared very much for his flock and there were dangers around, things that he would need to protect the sheep from, wild animals were always looking for a tasty meal.

SLIDE 6
The shepherd would not let the sheep out of his sight. He knew that sheep can sometimes be quite silly and wonder off on their own.

SLIDE 7
If he saw a sheep doing this he would quickly bring them back to the safety of the flock.

SLIDE 8
Before dark the shepherd would gather the sheep together and lead them back to the sheepfold. Very often they would travel over the hills and through valleys. All the time the sheep would listen out for the shepherd’s voice.

SLIDE 9
In some places, the sheep had to go in single file following the shepherd very carefully indeed.

SLIDE 10
Somewhere along the way the shepherd would lead the sheep to water where they could drink, after the day’s munching.

SLIDE 11
Finally, before dark they would arrive back at the sheepfold where they would bed down and spend the night together in safety.

SLIDE 12
Now about that special gate. Well, the sheepfold didn’t actually have any kind of normal gate; you see the shepherd himself was the gate.

SLIDE 13
When evening came and all of the sheep were safely gathered in, the shepherd would lay down across the doorway into the fold. And, he would spend the night there. If some wild animal should come hunting for a meal during the night, the shepherd would be right there to protect them.

SLIDE 14
Bears certainly were always on the lookout for a meal and if they could get into a sheepfold, they wouldn’t be short of one.

SLIDE 15
Lions too would be on the prowl for a tasty bite at the end of the day and a sheep would do nicely. But with the shepherd on guard the sheep were safe, even against lions and bears.

SLIDE 16
With the danger past, the shepherd would once again lay himself across the entrance to the sheepfold.

When Jesus said “I Am the Gate” he was likening Himself to the gate of the sheepfold. Just like the shepherd looked after his sheep, Jesus wants to look after us too. The shepherd led the sheep in and out of the gate each day, taking them to eat and drink and bringing them safely home for shelter at night. Jesus wants to look after us. Jesus knows what’s good for us and not so good. He wants to guide us in our daily lives, and show us how to live an abundant life following Him. That’s just great, isn’t it.

I’d say Jesus was a pretty cool gate, wouldn’t you.