Living Theology Friends1022
Leon Combs
June 6, 2010
“I AM sayings of Jesus: the Door”
Past issues of these letters (225 so far) may be read at and I encourage you to catch up with them if you have not received earlier letters. Other writings of mine (over 43 articles and 17 commentaries) are at and I pray they will be helpful. The author is solely responsible for the content of these letters and they do not represent any particular denomination.
John 10:7-9 Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The category “sheep” always refers to those people for whom Jesus came to be the door. As the text states, there are two categories of people who will try to mislead people. Two different Greek words are used to describe the people as thieves and robbers. The first type of person uses cunning rather than force in attempts to lead people astray much as Satan is depicted in Genesis 3. This person could be an unbelieving minister or teacher putting forward false doctrines that appeal to the worldliness of people. The second type of person uses force (psychological, political, or physical) to place him in a leadership role so that people will follow his lead. Jesus says that His sheep are not fooled by the devices of either type of false prophet.
The type of holding area to which Jesus is referring was made by piling up rocks to form an enclosure with an opening through which the sheep could come. After getting all the sheep into the pen the shepherd would then lie across the opening to prevent any person or animal from entering the area. There is only one gate so this verse parallels John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. There is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. The religions of the world have no such dependency upon one person. They all teach that people must learn rules and doctrines but there is not one person through whom they must come to be a member of that religion and to go to God. The religions of the world do not have a true path to God for they teach false gods. The writer of Hebrews and Paul both spoke of this one access:
Eph 2:18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
Heb 10:19-20 Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
Notice that Jesus says that if anyone enters through Him he shall be saved. This verse needs to be blended with John 6:44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. There is no conflict between these two sayings of Jesus as John 6:44 tells us how any person will be drawn to come through Jesus to the Father. We do not know the identity of those people so we witness to everyone knowing that God will draw to Him those who will be saved.
Similar to the teaching that one must eat or drink of Jesus (John 6:48-58), here He teaches that a person must enter through Him. It is not enough to just go to “church”, sing the hymns, and participate in the Lord’s Supper and other aspects of worship. One must actually be given the faith to believe, repent, and trust in Jesus as the door to the Father. He did not say that He is a mountain that must be climbed or some maze through which one must maneuver. He is not the book that we must study and be tested to determine if we are worthy for entering the fold. He is simply the door through which one must enter. Once we have entered we will be discipled and begin to understand the grand plan that God has for His sheep:
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Jesus also teaches of great benefits for those who enter through Him to the Father. The first great blessing is that we are saved. We are saved from the wrath of God:
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
This salvation begins the moment we are regenerated (born again), proceeds through our sanctification on earth as we begin to be transformed in our thoughts and actions, and will one day be completed at our glorification when we receive our new bodies. Please see my article on “Salvation” at for a more complete discussion of salvation.
The second great blessing is that we shall go “in and out”, which signifies our security as a child of God. In the day of Jesus, this phrase meant that the person lived in a kingdom ruled peacefully so that a person was totally at peace being in that kingdom as seen in these OT verses:
Deut 28:6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Psalm 121:8 The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.
The sheep are citizens of the Kingdom of God and should have no fear for even the gates of hell cannot prevail against it and Jesus promises to be with us throughout out time here:
Matt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
Matt 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
The third blessing promised by Jesus is that the sheep will “find pasture” meaning that they will be satisfied. Palestine was an area in which it was difficult to find good pasture so finding such was a great blessing. David wrote of this leading to satisfaction:
Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Paul also spoke of this fulfillment in Phil 4:19 And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ is our shepherd, our access to God, our protection, and our provision. We should praise the Father every day for His grace that allows us to enter the fold and receive His blessings.