Nehemiah 3

CHAPTER 3THEME: Rebuilding the walls and the gatesThis chapter brings us to the rebuilding of the walls and gates. It was one of the greatest building projects ever undertaken. What Nehemiah did was a tremendous thing. It was a wonderful way in which God was moving. You see, God had led Ezra and Zerubbabel back to the land to rebuild the temple. Their task was a different one from Nehemiah’s. He was a layman, and his work was to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. God accomplishes His work in different ways with different men. God always moves like that, friend. Many of us in the ministry started out trying to imitate someone. Well, it doesn’t work. We just have to be ourselves. Have you ever noticed what God can do with one nose, two eyes, one mouth, and two ears? He can make a billion faces, and no two of them will be alike. He certainly can come up with a variety of faces. He also makes an infinite number of fingers and no two fingers are alike, and the fingerprints are all different. God does it like that because He wants each of us to be himself. The story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem is given to us in a most wonderful way. Ten gates tell us the story. It begins with the sheep gate and ends with the sheep gate. Sometimes the question is asked, “Were there other gates in the wall of Jerusalem?” I do not think there were at that time, although there could have been. These ten gates were selected to tell the story of the gospel. They give God’s plan of salvation. I have written a booklet entitled The Gospel in the Gates of Jerusalem which goes into more detail concerning these gates.

Nehemiah 3:1

SHEEP GATEAt the sheep gate is where it all began. This is the gate where the Lord Jesus entered into Jerusalem. We have on record one occasion when He came through this gate and came to the pool of Bethesda (Joh_5:2). Frankly, I think He used the sheep gate to enter Jerusalem every time until His triumphal entrywhen He entered through the east gate. There are those who make the mistake of identifying the east gate with the golden gate. I have heard people say that because the east gate is sealed up today, it will not be opened until Jesus Christ comes through it. The east gate is not the golden gate; the golden gate is the gate that leads to the temple. That is the gate which will be opened for Him and which will lead Him right into the Holy of Holies. The sheep gate is the gate through which the animals were brought for sacrifice. This is the gate our Lord used. I think He was acting out, as it were, a walking parable. He was illustrating what John the Baptist said about Him, “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Joh_1:29). He is the Lamb of God in His Person and in His work. He takes away the sin of the world.

Therefore, the sheep gate symbolizes the Cross of Christ. This is where you begin with God. The Cross is the only place you can begin with God. God does not ask us for anything until we come to Christ and accept Him as Savior. God has only one thing to say to the world and that is, “What will you do with My Son who died for you?” Not until you answer that question will He ask you about your life and your service. If you turn Him down and you do not want to accept His Son, then He does not ask you for anything.

He doesn’t want your good works, nor does He want your money. He does not want anything from you. Instead, He has something to give you. His Son died for you. It is the sheep gate which sets that concept before us. It all begins at the sheep gate.

Nehemiah 3:2

Jericho is the place of the curse, and its men worked right next to the sheep gate. That is interesting to me. The men of Jericho came up to Jerusalem from down in the Jordan valley. They built right next to the sheep gate. If you came around the Mount of Olives on the road to Jericho, you would be at the place where these men worked. The pinnacle of the temple and the temple area is at that spot. Jericho is the city upon which a curse was pronounced. Joshua said, “…Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho …” (Jos_6:26). In the days of Ahab there was a man who rebuilt this city, and the curse came upon him and his sons. It was the city of the curse. You and I live in a world today that has been cursed by sin. I don’t have to labor that pointall you have to do is look around you. Man has gotten this world in a mess! Man just does not seem able to solve his problems. There are non-Christian men in high places who are saying that the problems today are beyond the solution which man can offer. We live in a cursed world. Only Christ’s death on the Cross can remove the judgment of sin from your life and my life, because (Eze_18:4 tells us), “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” My friend, that is a judgment on you. It is a judgment on me. Christ can bear that for you because of His death on the Cross. If you have not trusted Him, you can trust Him now.

Nehemiah 3:3

FISH GATENext we come to the fish gate. It was to this gate that fish were brought in from the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. There were many fish eaters in those days. The fish gate was one place you would not have any problem locating, friends. Your nose would lead you right to it. Now, what does the fish gate symbolize? Well, the Lord Jesus said to the men who followed Him, “…I will make you fishers of men” (Mat_4:19). After the disciples learned the facts of the gospel, Jesus said to them, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luk_24:49). That is, don’t go yet. Wait until you are baptized by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and then filled by the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost they were filled, and they became fishers of men. Today that is what God is saying to His own. He is not asking any unsaved man to be a fisher of men. How could He? An unsaved man would not know what God is talking about. But God is saying to His own, “I want you to fish for men.” I believe that we are to fish for men in different ways. I disagree with people who insist that those who fish must go from door to door. I don’t think every person can do that. I think there are some people who are called to witness a little differently. For example, prayer evangelism is one way of effectively reaching people today. We all have different gifts; God made all of us differently. There are different ways to spread the gospel. However, I am of the opinion that all of us need to go through the fish gate one way or another. You should have a part in getting out the Word of God. Jesus says, “I want you to follow Me, and I’ll make you a fisher of men.” When we come to Neh_3:4, we begin a list of individuals who worked to rebuild the walls. It is wonderful that their names have been recorded in the Book of Life. To read this section is an exercise in pronunciation. Frankly, you cannot be dogmatic about the pronunciation of these names. You can follow a self-pronouncing Bible, but no one can guarantee its accuracy. However, these individuals are known to God. They helped build the walls of Jerusalem. Someday they are going to be rewarded for their labor.

Nehemiah 3:5

These nobles thought they were too good to do this type of workor perhaps they had some other excuse. You suspect that they had lily-white hands and would not think of lifting stones to repair the walls of Jerusalem. My friends, if you have seen the stones in the walls of Jerusalem, you marvel at the work which individuals must have put forth to build them, and maybe you have a little sympathy for the nobles of the Tekoites. They just would not put their necks to the work. It took a lot of manpower to move those stones. It took a lot of grunting and groaning to build those walls. This work created a lot of sore backs, sore hands, and sore feet. In fact, a person was sore all over from this hard labor. However the nobles were shirkers and fell down on the job. It is interesting to note that the nobles were right next to the fish gate, which speaks of witnessing. These men were not witnesses for God at all. I don’t know about you, but I would not want to be in that group. I would hate to have it reported in the eternal Word of God that I did not do what He called me to do. In our day I am afraid that there are many people in the church who are not doing what God has called them to do. I am talking about saved people, not the unsaved.

These Christians are not doing anything. They are not serving God. In Pro_11:26 it says, “He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him….” Corn represents the Word of God, and it is a terrible thing to hold back the Word of God from those who are hungry. Have you ever stopped to think about that? Read this verse carefully: “He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him….” We are also told that there will be certain people in eternity that will rise up and call an individual blessed. I think there will be people in hell that will rise up and curse some folk who are in heaven because they withheld corn from them.

Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” If we are going to be in His will today, somewhere along the line we are going to have to become involved in a movement that is getting out the Word of God to hungry hearts. None of us can do it alone. It must be a team effort.

Nehemiah 3:6

OLD GATENext we come to the third gate that is mentioned. It is the old gate. I asked a friend the first time we visited the city of Jerusalem and saw the gates, “Which one is the old gate? They all look old to me.” The old gate is one that has been there from the very beginning. Jer_6:16 tells us the message this gate has for us: “Thus saith the LORD. Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls….” We are living in a day where people are interested in the thing that is new. They must have the latest model automobile, the latest fashion, and the latest thing for the house. One day a man whose fetish was to have the latest style in clothes said to me, “I notice that you are wearing a narrow lapel, and today it is the style to wear a wide lapel.” The lapel on a coat does not make any difference to me, but it does make a great deal of difference to many people. Concerning my home, another man said to me, “You have an old place, don’t you?” My home is about twenty-five years old, and I still think of it as new. In the south I lived in a house that was one hundred years old, but in Southern California my house is already old. We are living in a day when things are changing radically and rapidly.

The conditions under which our grandfathers proposed to our grandmothers were vastly different from those under which young folk in this present day deal with the matter of marriage. Morality is changing. People talk about “new morality,” but it was old even in the time of Noah. It is this constant search for something new that is leading us to frustration. It is the thing that has taken many folk down the garden path to a dead end street with no purpose in life whatsoever. Jeremiah says that we need to ask for the “old paths,” because there we will find rest for our souls. Instead of running to psychiatrists and trying this and that new method, what we really need to do is come to the One who says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat_11:28-30).

My friend, in Christ we find rest. The human heart needs something greater than this mechanical, electronic, push-button age in which we live. We need to get back to the old paths.

Nehemiah 3:8

Does this impress you as being unusual? The stones in the walls of Jerusalem, as I have said, were tremendous; their weight was enormous. Now the goldsmiths were accustomed to sitting at benches and working with little pieces of gold. They were not used to working with large stones. Although it was hard work for them to rebuild the wall, they did it. God took note of that and recorded what the goldsmiths did. In our day there are folk who are making real sacrifices for God and it is difficult for them. Remember, my friend, God takes note of it. An apothecary is a druggist. They are the pill-rollers. They don’t make pills any larger than you can swallow; yet these folk were working with great big stones. These men were really rock-and-rollers now! God took note of them also and recorded it in His Word. I like to see people today who are really putting their necks to the work, those who have to grunt and groan in the Lord’s work and are really doing something for Him. I know several pastors, real men of God, who are killing themselves in the work of the Lord. I had a wonderful friend in Southern California who had a heart attack and died. He was a man of God, and he actually killed himself in the work of the Lord. I know of others today who are doing the same thing. I said to a pastor up north, “Look, brother, I know something about what you are going through. You are overworking. You are doing too much. You have to slow down.” My friend, if you have a good pastor and he is working too hard, go to him and put your arms around him (I hope that won’t give him a heart attack!), and tell him you are praying for him. He may be one of the goldsmiths or the pill-rollers. Tell him not to overwork. Men of God are needed today.

Nehemiah 3:12

You ought to take note of this. We have the women’s liberation movement today, and they had it in Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s day. They said, “We are going out and help build the walls of Jerusalem. Men do it. We are going to do it too.” Apparently Shallum the son of Halohesh did not have any sons, so his daughters went to work helping him build the walls of Jerusalem. God took note of it and recorded it.

Nehemiah 3:13

VALLEY GATEThe valley gate is the one that led out of the city of Jerusalem down into the valleyit could have been on any side of the city, because you have to go down into a valley to get out of Jerusalem. This is the gate through which many of us are called to go. When I think of this gate, I think of the valley of the shadow of death. All of us are walking in that valley. David spoke of it in Psalms 23. As you walk down that canyon, it keeps getting narrower and narrower untilif the Lord doesn’t comeyou will walk out right through that gate. This gate also has a practical side. It is the gate of humility, the gate of humbleness. God sometimes has to lead us through trials and difficulties in order to teach us some lessons. We are told that faith develops in us different virtues, and one of them is lowliness of mind. In the Epistle to the Colossians it is called “…humbleness of mind …” (Col_3:12). This is something that you cannot cultivate in your own human strength. Humility has to come from the inside. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. I am reminded of the man who said to his friend, “I have been trying to be humble and at last I have succeeded.” The friend said, “Well, I know you are proud of that.” The man replied, “I sure am.” Humility is not attained by human effort. We have to be humbled by the Spirit of God. The story is told about a minister in Scotland who while in seminary was the leading student in his class. Once during his student days he was invited to preach in a certain church because of his fine scholastic record. Since he was a star pupil, he entered the pulpit with great pride. When he stood before the congregation to preach, it was confusion. He found out that it was easy to put a sermon on paper in his study, but to get up and deliver it was another thing. He became frightened.

He forgot everything he knew. He left the pulpit at the close of the sermon in great shame and humility. A dear little Scottish lady had watched his every action and met him as he left the pulpit. She said, “Young man, if you had only gone into the pulpit as you came down, you would have come down as you went up.” God has put us in the school of humility. Humility is a fruit of the Spirit. The valley gate is one that many of us need to go through.

Nehemiah 3:14

DUNG GATEThis is an important gate for the health of the city, but not much is said about it. Today the dung gate leads to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, but in Nehemiah’s day it was located at the southwest angle of Mount Zion. The dung gate was where the filth was carried out, where the garbage was taken away. In 2Co_7:1 Paul says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Paul dealt with this subject in the Christian life as much as any other. You and I need to recognize that we need to confess our sins to God. Honest confession is the means by which we get out the garbage. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn_1:9).

Nehemiah 3:15

GATE OF THE FOUNTAINI believe that the gate of the fountain refers to what our Lord meant when He said to the woman at the well, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (Joh_4:14). At the Feast of Tabernacles Christ stood up and said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Joh_7:38). In the next verse John explains His statement: “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (Joh_7:39). In Rom_8:9 Paul says, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The gate of the fountain, therefore, teaches the fact that every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God, and that he needs an infilling of the Spirit. When a believer is filled with the Spirit, he is not just a well, but a fountain of living water which will gush out to be a blessing to other people. All of us should be a blessing to others in these days in which we live.

Nehemiah 3:26

WATER GATEAs we read down through this chapter, we come to the seventh gate. The water gate was the gate used to bring water into the city. An aqueduct brought some water into the city but not all of it. The remainder was carried in through the water gate. What does the water gate have to say to us? I believe it symbolizes the Word of God. When we get a little farther along in this book, we will see that it was here that Ezra put up a pulpit. When Ezra erected a pulpit at the water gate, he read from the Word. The place he chose was symbolic; it was no accident. The New Testament makes this clear when it speaks of the washing of water by the Word.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (Joh_15:3). In His prayer in Joh_17:17 the Lord said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The water gate pictures the Word of God. We are washed by the water of the Word. It is through this gate that we are trying to spread the Word. We all need to be water boys, helping to bring the water to those who are thirsty. The psalmist asked the question, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” How is he to get clean? “By taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psa_119:9). The startling thing about the water gate is that it was not repaired. Apparently when the other gates and walls were torn down, the water gate remained intact. That was unusual. It did not need any repairs at all. Does that tell you anything? The Word of God, friend, does not need any repairs. It is intact. There are many people today who try to prove that the Bible is the Word of God. There are also those who try to prove that the Bible is not God’s Word. My ministry at the beginning was an apologetic ministry. I tried to prove that the Bible was the Word of God. I learned, however, that I do not need to prove it; I am to give out, and the Spirit of God takes care of that. I have already come to the definite, dogmatic conclusion that the Bible is indeed the Word of God. I don’t think it isI know it is. And I know what it can do for you today. Therefore it does not need my weak support. The Bible will take care of itself. When I first became a pastor in downtown Los Angeles, California, the late Dr. Bob Shuler was still pastor of the Trinity Methodist Church. He said to me one day, “You don’t need to defend the Word of God. It will take care of itself. It is like having a lion in a cage in your backyard. You don’t need to have guards protect the lion from the pussycats in the neighborhood. You just open the door and the lion will take care of himself. He will also take care of the pussycats.” The Word of God is like that today. It needs to be given out. It does not need any repair, certainly not my weak repair. All the Lord asks me to do is to give it out.

Nehemiah 3:28

HORSE GATENow the horse was an animal ridden by a warrior. Zec_1:8 speaks of a man riding upon a red horse. Behind him there were red horses, speckled, and white. Rev_6:4 says, “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” These symbolic horses are powers making war. The Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a little donkey. He was not meek because He rode upon that animal; it was the animal ridden by kings. It was not considered a humble little animal in that day. Men only rode horses during a time of war. The horse was the symbol of war. The horse gate speaks of the “soldier service” of the believer today. In Eph_2:6 Paul tells us that God has “…raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” That great truth is in the first part of the book. In the second part of Ephesians we are told to “…walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Eph_4:1). Our heads are up in the heavenlies, but our feet are down here on the ground where we have to walk. Not only that, in Eph_6:11 we are told to “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” There is a real battle to be fought. It is a spiritual battle.

Eph_6:12 continues: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We are not fighting against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in this battle. As I write this, there is an increasing interest in the Word of God. There are also a great many adversaries. Paul said the same thing in his days: “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1Co_16:9). I never realized that certain folk were my enemies until I began to give out the Word of God. It is amazing that you can be attacked by certain men who ought to support God’s Word. These men claim to be Christians, and you would think that if they didn’t have something good to say, they wouldn’t say anything; but they have been very critical of my Bible teaching ministry. Because there are many adversaries, we need to put on the whole armor of God. And we are told to take the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. That is the only weapon we want to use. In 2Ti_2:3 Paul said to a young preacher, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” This verse speaks of the fact that as believers we are going to have battles to fight. If you are not in a battle today, apparently you are not standing for the Lord, because the battle is waxing hot in many places. If you take a stand for the Lord, somebody is going to try to cut you down. Many of God’s children are having a real struggle in this hour in which we live.

Nehemiah 3:29

EAST GATEThe next gate we come to is the east gate, a gate that fills us with anticipation and excitement. Obviously, this gate was located on the east side of the city. It was the first one that was opened in the morning. The east gate in modern Jerusalem is sealed. There are those who seem to think that it is the gate through which the Lord Jesus Christ will come when He returns to earth. He may do that, but Scripture does not say that He will. Scripture indicates that He will enter through the golden gate, which is not in the wall of the city but in the temple. Although the east gate is now sealed, it was the first gate opened each morning, because it was facing in the direction of the rising sun. All during the night the watchman was on the wall, walking up and down, making his rounds. Early in the morning he comes around to the east gate and watches the horizon for the first sign of daybreak. Perhaps there were people in the city who were disturbed that night, fearing there might have been an enemy out in the darkness, and they could not sleep. Maybe they paced up and down most of the night. Finally they ask, “Watchman, what of the night?

Isn’t it ever going to end?” The watchman replies, “Well, it is still dark out there, but the morning is coming.” After a while there is that glimmer of light in the eastern horizon. Finally the watchman gives the signal and says, “It is light out here; I can see that there is no enemy. And the sun is coming up.” What a sigh of relief goes up from that city! We as believers ought to be gathered at the “east gate” because there is a glimmer of light on the horizonthe sun may be coming up before long. But before the sun comes up, the Bright and Morning Star will appear. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Th_4:16-17). This event is what we call the Rapture. “Caught up” is a translation of the Greek harpazoµ, and one of the synonyms is the word rapture. When someone says that the Bible does not teach the Rapture, they are just arguing semantics. The Scripture says that He is going to take His own out of the world before the sun comes up. And there is a little glimmer of light today.

I have no date to suggest concerning the time of the Rapture. Unfortunately, there are men today who are saying that between now and A.D. 2000 the Lord will come. I would like to know where they get that idea. They act as if they have a private line to heaven that the rest of us do not have access to. Scripture tells us, however, that our Lord is coming, and I believe that the next event is the Rapture of the church. We ought to be gathered at the east gate my friend, in this day when it is so dark.

It is comforting to know that there is a little glimmer of light, and we have a hope.

Nehemiah 3:30

This verse is interesting in that all this man Meshullam did was repair the part over against the chamber where he lived. My friend, you may not be able to witness to the world; you may not be able to reach your neighborhood; but you can reach your family. You can give the Word of God to your family. It is wonderful to have a saved family, and it is your responsibility to get God’s Word to them. One man said to me concerning his family, “I feel I should get them saved.” I disagree with that. His business was to see that they heard the gospel. Then their decision was between them and the Lord. Meshullam just repaired over against his chamber. Apparently that was all God expected him to do, and He recorded it.

Nehemiah 3:31

GATE MIPHKADWhat is the gate of Miphkad? Miphkad means “review” or “registry.” When a stranger came to Jerusalem, he had to have a visanot like those we have today, but he had to stop at this gate and register. It was also a gate of review. When the army had been out fighting a battle and returned, they passed through this gate. It was here that David reviewed his soldiers returning from battle. How he loved them, and how they loved him! Most of them would gladly have laid down their lives for him. When they passed through this arch, David was there to thank his battle-scarred men for their unselfish loyalty and daring. As we saw in 1 Thessalonians 4, at the time of the Rapture we are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Some people say, “Oh, that is going to be wonderful.” Well, it is. But did you know that after the Rapture we are going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ? “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2Co_5:10). This is not the same judgment as that at the Great White Throne mentioned in Rev_20:11-15. Only believers will be present at the judgment seat of Christ, because this judgment does not concern salvation but reward. Believers will receive rewards for things done in the body. You will not be there if you are not saved. You will be rewarded according to what you have done, whether it be good or bad. And Paul says, on the basis of that, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men …” (2Co_5:11).

In effect, Paul says, “I want to keep busy because I am going to have to turn in a report about whether I am working eight hours a day, or if I am giving the Lord sixty minutes in every hour, twenty-four hours every day, seven days a week.” Under the Law the Jews only gave God one day, but our Lord says that regardless of what we do, we are to do it unto Him. He does not care if we wash dishes or dig ditches. Someone has said, “You can dig a ditch so straight and true that even God can look it through.” And He is going to “look it through” someday, my friend. He is going to take a close look at how you lived down here. That is the picture of the gate Miphkad. David knew his battle-scarred men and what they had done.

Every once in a while he would call one out of the ranks and say, “I have a reward for you.” There are going to be many unknown Christians who will be called out before the judgment seat of Christ and rewarded. We think of the preachers, the missionaries, the officers of the church, and the Sunday school teachers receiving great rewards, but I think that some of the greatest rewards will go to some of the unknown saints who live for God in this day. Miphkad can be a wonderful gate for you and me to come to someday. The prospect of it should cause us to examine our lives a little more closely.

Nehemiah 3:32

We have been through ten gates, and now we are back at the sheep gate. We have been all of the way around the walls of Jerusalem, and we are right back where we started. As you will recall, the sheep gate symbolizes the Cross of Christ. We began with the Cross of Christ and we end with the Cross of Christ. It is Christ’s Cross that is all important. As we stand at the sheep gate, I would like to tell you the story of the late Dr. MacKay, the great Scottish preacher who was holding meetings in London. After a service a young man came to him and said, “Dr. MacKay, I would like to speak to you for a moment.” Dr. MacKay replied, “Well, I must take the train back to the place where I am staying, but you may walk with me to the train.” On the way as they walked, the young man said, “What you say about trusting Christ is not clear to me.” Dr. MacKay went over the plan of salvation once again, but the young man said, “I am sorry, but I cannot seem to feel that I understand savingly.

It does not seem to get through.” The preacher heard his train coming and he asked the young man if he had a Bible. He said, “No, I don’t.” Dr. MacKay said, “Here is my Bible. Take it and turn to Isa_53:6 and read that verse. When you come to the first ‘all’ you bend down low and go right in there. Then, when you get to the last ‘all’ stand up straight and you will come out right.” So the young man took his Bible and Dr.

MacKay rushed down to get his train. The young man stood there holding the Bible, a little puzzled. He moved over under a street light and turned to Isa_53:6. Now what did he say to do? He said at the first “all” to bend down low. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way….” The young man thought, That sure is a picture of me. He continued to read the verse: “…and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” He stood there puzzled. Oh, yes, I am to stand up straight and come out.

I see it now. I am to trust Christ. The Lord God has laid all of my sins on Jesus. Now I can stand up straightHe has forgiven me!The next evening Dr. MacKay arrived early and sat on the platform looking for the young man. The service started and he had not located him yet.

He had his Bible and, after all, Dr. MacKay, being Scottish, was not about to part with that Bible. Finally he saw the young man come in, and Dr. MacKay went to meet him and get his Bible. He said, “Young man, did you do what I said?” The lad replied, “Yes, I did. I read Isa_53:6.

I bent down at the first ‘all’ and stood straight up at the last ‘all.’” Dr. MacKay asked, “And what happened?” The lad replied, “I know now that Jesus is my Savior and I have trusted Him.” My friend, we begin at the sheep gate, and we come out at the sheep gate. I think that throughout eternity we are going to talk about the sheep gate, where Jesus died over 1900 years ago for your sins and mine.