The Door

I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7) 

 In John 10, Jesus reaches into the agrarian society of Israel at the time and uses vivid and familiar analogies to teach about His authority and the exclusivity of salvation in Him alone. 

Jesus twice declares that He is “the door” (John 10:7, 9). What kind of door? 

Each night, the sheep of a flock would be enclosed in a sheepfold. The sheepfold was guarded and only the shepherd had the authority to come in through the door. The Lord’s assertion in these verses declares His rightful authority and ownership of His flock. 

Who is the flock? In the immediate context He speaks of Israel, but the great truth of salvation for Gentiles is made clear in John 10:16, when Jesus explains that he has “other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also...and they will become one flock with one shepherd." 

Christ has one flock, comprised of Jews and Gentiles, and He alone is the entrance into that sheepfold. 

Speaking of the false prophets and teachers of Israel’s past, Jesus warns in verse 8, “all who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.” 

These “thieves” came “only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). False teachers rob men of spiritual life by preaching and teaching false gospels. Even today Christians must flee when a teacher preaches salvation through any means other than Christ alone. 

In John 10:9, our Lord offers words of great comfort: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." 

Salvation is found in Christ alone, and those who turn to Him in repentance and faith are promised eternal life and assurance of their salvation.

Jesus is not a revolving door. All that the Father gives to Him will come to Him (John 6:37) and no one can snatch Christ’s people out of His hand (John 10:28-30).