I AM the Door; I AM the Good Shepherd!

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  (John 10:9-11)

Depending on which poll or survey you read, upwards of 90% of the population of the world believe in the existence of God (or gods, or divine power of some kind).  True, hard-core atheism is definitely a minority point of view.  In fact most people who claim to be atheists are really agnostic upon further examination.  That’s because despite all of the efforts of the secular humanists in academia, you cannot expunge the basic fact that the existence of the universe (and all that’s in it) defies a purely natural explanation.  The universe is one vast “effect” that must have a “cause” greater than itself that brought it into being, and that cause would be God.

While most people would be comfortable accepting the existence of God, the existence of Jesus Christ is another story.  God is OK, Jesus is not.  Why?  Because Jesus came proclaiming an exclusive way to God and heaven.  Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of religious ritualism.  Jesus denied the sufficiency of external piety.  Most people when questioned won’t say they hate Jesus.  Many will say they admire or even respect Jesus.  The most common description of Jesus amongst unbelievers is that he was a “great moral teacher,” or a “prophet.”  With all due respect to the many people who believe these things about Jesus, they’re dead wrong.  Jesus didn’t allow us to believe such things about him.  It was C.S. Lewis who said that Jesus was one of three things:  A liar, a lunatic, or the very Son of God.  A good moral teacher would not claim to be the only way to God.  A good moral teacher would not preach about hell as much as he did.  A good moral teacher would not claim to actually be God.  These are things that Jesus did and said, according to the gospel records. 

Jesus, The Good Shepherd

In John 10, Jesus continues his dialogue (really it’s a monologue) with the Pharisees from chapter 9.  At the end of chapter 9, Jesus proclaimed the judgment of spiritual blindness upon them.  Immediately in chapter 10, Jesus begins talking about a sheepfold, sheep, shepherds and thieves.  The imagery is pretty clear.  Jesus is the Shepherd, the sheep are the people of Israel, and the thieves are the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.  The thieves are those who try to enter the sheepfold illegally and lure the sheep away, but the sheep only listen to the voice of the Shepherd (Jesus).

When this figure of speech fell on deaf ears (John 10:6), Jesus becomes more explicit.  At this point, Jesus utters two more of the seven “I AM” statements recorded in John’s gospel (the first two being, “I AM the bread of life,” John 6:35 and, “I AM the light of the world,” John 8:12).  Jesus equates himself to the door of the sheepfold (v. 9) and as the Good Shepherd (v. 11).  Each of these statements reveals a little more about Jesus and his ministry to mankind. 

What does Jesus mean when he says he is the door to the sheepfold?  According to his own words, it means he provides access to salvation.  Consider again his words:  “I am the door [to the sheepfold is implied].  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”  A door is a point of access, in this case to the sheepfold.  In v. 7, Jesus states he is the “door of the sheep.”  Only the sheep can enter through the door.  This begs the question:  Who are the sheep?  Later in v. 27, Jesus says the sheep are those “who hear his voice” and “follow him.”  They are also those whom the Father has given to Jesus (v. 29).  Clearly the sheep are those who follow Jesus, know him and are known by him.  This would indicate they are true believers-initially Jews, but Gentiles are included as well (as implied in v. 16). 

So Jesus is the way of access for the sheep (true believers) into the sheepfold (salvation and eternal life).  Jesus also speaks about thieves who only come in to “steal, kill and destroy.”  As mentioned earlier, the thieves would be those who attempt to enter into the sheepfold illegally.  If the sheepfold is symbolic of salvation, then the thieves are those who try to obtain salvation by means other than what God has ordained-i.e., through Jesus.  They are also those who try to steal and kill the sheep.  In other words, these are people who try to lead astray the people of God or kill the people of God.  In the context of John 10, the thieves would be representative of the Pharisees, but it could be applied to anyone who proclaims a false religion and seeks to lead astray the true believers or persecute them.  In contrast to the thieves, Jesus came “that they [the sheep] may have life and have it abundantly.”

And how does Jesus give us, the sheep, this abundant life?  That comes in the next “I AM” statement in v. 11:  “I am the good Shepherd.  The good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”  Jesus goes on to compare himself as the Shepherd to what he calls “hired hands.”  The meaning is clear.  As the good Shepherd, Jesus has a vested interest in the lives and welfare of the sheep.  A hired hand is only doing this for money; as such they will not make the ultimate sacrifice for the sheep.  What is also clear is that this is a reference to the sacrifice that Jesus would make at Calvary.  So not only does Jesus provide the only way to salvation and eternal life, he does so by sacrificing himself for the sheep.  He came that we might have life and have it abundantly-here and in the life to come.

Bottom Line:  Every time I read this passage of Scripture; I cannot help but be reminded of Psalm 23.  I don’t think that is a coincidence.  Is there any doubt that the Good Shepherd of John 10 is the Lord who leads us beside still waters and in the paths of righteousness?  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).