I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” – John 10:9 (ESV)
The metaphor is the door that protects us when we believe. This truth is revealed to us given a twofold application. Jesus is the door to the sheep as well as He is the door for the sheep. In verses 7-8 Jesus appears as the door to the sheep; in verse 9 as the door for the sheep. We paraphrase, “I assure you truthfully, all who do not enter the sheepfold by faith believing in Me and have an appointment by Me, enter illegitimately proving to be a thief and a robber. Believe this, all who came before me have evil intent and are thieves and robbers. But he who enters justifiably is the shepherd of the sheep.” For the true shepherd, He is the door. For every true sheep He is also the door. For the shepherd He is the door to the sheep. For the sheep He is the door to all the blessings of salvation. The figure is very proper: a door leads both in and out: it gives the shepherd access to his sheep that are inside. It gives the sheep access into the fold, and out to the pasture which is outside.
197
Esengo Mingi 