I Am the Door

The third I AM that Jesus claimed of himself is “I am the door.” This is found in John 10: “⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7 – 9 ESV). Considering the ancient culture of the time we understand believers to be sheep that are cared for by Jesus our Shepherd. The door is the entrance to the area where the sheep are kept when not out to pasture.

Sheep are most helpless with little instinct and are incapable of finding their way home if they get separated from the flock. Sheep are dependent on the shepherd to protect and lead them. This is seen in the 23^rd Psalm where we read, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters” (Psalm 23:1 – 2 ESV). In the next lesson we will focus on the meaning of shepherd, but here we are considering Jesus as the door.

At night when the sheep are brought into a protected area the shepherd would lay down across the doorway to keep the sheep in and predators out. The world is full of predators whose intent is to destroy us. This is very clear when we look at the treatment of believers in many parts of the world. Physically, believers may suffer and die for their faith, but spiritually, Jesus is making the promise that as the door nothing can separate us from him and harm us. We are secure with him.