I am the gate
I am the gate. These are the words of Jesus in John 10:7 and again in verse 9. I am the gate, or perhaps your translation says I am the door.
This morning I want to explore this statement. I want to define gate and explore the implications of Jesus being the gate. I’d like to do this by examining the context of these words – the events that preceded them. Finally, I’d like to draw out any encouragement we may find in these words as new covenant believers nearly 2000 years later.
I am the gate. What exactly is a gate or a door? A gate can simply be defined as a means of access or entrance. A gate is usually put in place to grant access to authorized persons and keep unauthorized persons out. We have a gate on our stairway. It grants access to the stairway to authorized individuals, which is just about everyone except Ellie. She is unauthorized to enter into the stairway for obvious reasons.
The context in which Jesus uses the word gate is in the context of a sheep fold or a sheep pen, which is an enclosed area in which a shepherd keeps his sheep safe. The gate of the sheep pen grants access to those authorized to enter: the shepherd and his sheep. The gate also keeps out those unauthorized to enter: such as wolves and thieves.
So what does it mean that Jesus is the gate? To what is He the gate? To what does He grant access? I believe Jesus is the gate to the kingdom and that as the gate He grants access to God and fellowship with Him.
What I hope to show in our context today is that the Jews thought that they were authorized to enter the kingdom simply because of their ethnicity. We’re Jews; the kingdom is ours. We’re already in. We’re Israel; we’re the elect of God. We’re authorized to enter the kingdom and have access to fellowship with God. And if anybody was authorized it was those who taught and guided others in the ways of God, the Pharisees. If anyone had authorized access to the kingdom it was the Pharisees. However, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, unless a man is born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Just because he was born as a Jew doesn’t grant him access to the kingdom. He had to be born again. Access to the kingdom is granted by faith in Jesus – He is the gate.
Access to the kingdom is through the gate.
- The gate is not ethnicity.
- The gate is not keeping the law.
- The gate is not circumcision.
- The gate is not keeping the Sabbath.
- The gate is not the Pharisees.
Jesus is the gate. One enters the kingdom through Jesus. Therefore, those in Christ are the true Israel; the true people of God – God’s elect. Only those in Christ have entered the kingdom, because Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the means of entrance to the kingdom and access to fellowship with God.
CONTEXT (JOHN 9)
Let’s establish some context. I am the gate. Why did Jesus say this? I think in order to best understand Jesus’ words in John 10 we must first understand the circumstances that led up to his discourse. At the beginning of John 9, we find Jesus and his disciples come across a man born blind. The disciples asked who sinned that this man was born blind, him or his parents? Jesus said neither. This man was born blind that the work of God may be displayed in his life. Then Jesus healed the man. Then the man’s neighbors saw him, healed, seeing. They said is that the blind guy who begs? No, he only looks like him. Then the man insisted, I am he. Of course they wanted to know how it happened so he told them Jesus did it. So they brought him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees immediately said, “How did he do it? Oh, he did it like that? This man is not from God, for he did this on the Sabbath.” But he said, he wouldn’t be able to do that if he wasn’t from God. He’s from God. So the Pharisees went to the parents of the man. They had to discredit Jesus somehow. Let’s go to the parents, maybe this isn’t really the guy or maybe he wasn’t born blind. But the parents said yes this is our son and yes he was born blind but how he can see now, we’re not sure.
John 9:20-23 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Do you see what’s going on here? The Pharisees have people living in fear. They are making it difficult to follow Jesus. They had decided that anybody who acknowledged that Jesus was the messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Synagogue comes from a word that means gathering or assembly. The Pharisees were acting as the ones who granted access into the assembly of God. The Pharisees were acting as the ones through whom individuals entered into the gathering of God’s elect. The Pharisees were acting as the gate.
Now after these Pharisees questioned the parents and they replied in fear, ask him (we don’t want to get kicked out of the synagogue. We want the gate to grant us access to the gathering, not deny us entry into the assembly). Ask him. So the Pharisees turn to him. What do you think about this guy, Jesus? Look, all I know is that I was blind and now I see. So then they asked him again, “what did he do to you?” Then he said “I already told you. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too? Then they hurled insults at him and eventually threw him out. After all, they’re the gate. They are the point of entry into the assembly. Through the Pharisees an individual is granted access and entrance into the gathering of the elect.
Let’s read what happens next at the end of John 9, just before Jesus claims to be the gate.
John 9:35-41 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
So Jesus was talking to the blind man he healed. He told him that the blind will see and those who see will become blind. Then Pharisees engage Jesus. From this point forward, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees. They asked, “What? Are we blind too?” And to the Pharisees, Jesus responded. His response continues through the chapter division and right on into Chapter 10 and his claim to be the gate. Jesus responded to Pharisees, whose hard unbelieving heart would not allow them to acknowledge Christ’s miracle, Pharisees who saw themselves as the shepherds of God’s flock, who saw themselves as the gate that grants access into the synagogue, the gathering/assembly of God’s people. It is to them that Jesus responds with the following in John 9:41-
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
John 10: 1 “I tell you (who is you?) the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. Yes, Jesus everyone knows that the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. Only authorized people can go through the gate, like the shepherd. The gate is to keep out unauthorized people like thieves and robbers and wolves. So anyone trying to get in some other way, like climbing the wall is a thief or a robber.
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” A true shepherd doesn’t need to climb over the wall. He goes in through the gate. In those days shepherding was a different business. The sheep actually recognized the shepherd’s voice. The shepherd would actually know and name his sheep. He didn’t drive them like we commonly see depicted today. He led them. They knew his voice and followed him.
6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. This was a figure of speech. Jesus was using a metaphor to describe the context of their situation. Remember, this is all following the healing of the blind man, the disbelief of the Pharisees, the excommunication and the questioning of Jesus. Why would Jesus use this particular metaphor? The Pharisees saw themselves as shepherds over the flock of God. Sheep represent Israel, the people of God. The sheep only listen to and follow the voice of their shepherd, not a stranger. Nor a thief or a robber. The sheep will run away from such a stranger.
Jesus said this and they understood the scenario, but they didn’t understand how it applied to them. Remember, they thought they were the shepherds of the sheep, leading God’s people. Jesus is actually implying, “You aren’t shepherds. You’re a stranger and the sheep won’t listen to you. Goats will, but the sheep won’t.
By this it becomes clear who the sheep are, like my blind buddy I healed earlier. He knows the voice of the shepherd and he recognizes the voice of the stranger that doesn’t enter through the gate. That’s why he doesn’t follow after you, you’re not the shepherd of the sheep, you don’t enter through the gate, you climb in some other way because you’re thieves and robbers.
That’s what Jesus was implying, but they didn’t get it. 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. Again, Jesus is the gate for the sheep.
His audience was the Pharisees. They saw themselves as the gate. They saw themselves as the ones who granted access into the sheep pen, into the assembly, the gathering, the synagogue. To those who thought they were the gate, Jesus says I am the gate. You think you grant access into the assembly of God’s elect, but you don’t, I do. You may kick people out of the physical assembling of ethnic Israelites, but I am the one who determines who is a part of the assembly of true Israel. I am the gate. I am the point of access and entry into the spiritual gathering of God’s elect.
Therefore, those in Christ make up the true Israel.
He is the gate for the sheep. The sheep are Israel. At the end of the age there was a separation of sheep and goats. It was made clear who was true Israel. The goats perish, while the sheep, who entered through the gate enter into fellowship with God, as they are the true Israel. Those in Christ are the true Israel.
Notice that Jesus says I am THE gate for the sheep. He doesn’t say I am A gate. He doesn’t say I am one of many gates. He says I am THE gate for the sheep. Jesus is the ONLY gate through which one enters into the kingdom of heaven & into fellowship with God.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. Who is a thief and a robber? The one who doesn’t enter the gate but climbs in some other way. That would be the unbelieving Pharisees to whom he is speaking. Jesus is basically telling the Pharisees that they are thieves and robbers. He says the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. Jesus is the gate. Whoever enters through Him will be saved or be kept safe. He will come in and go out and find pasture. That may sound confusing if you think about it a certain way. One might think that since Jesus is the gate for the sheep to enter the sheep fold and sheep are people of God and the sheep fold is the kingdom or fellowship with God, that this means that a person will enter the kingdom and go out of the kingdom and enter the kingdom and leave the kingdom. Does this mean that a person will enter into fellowship with God and then leave the faith, and then get saved again and then lose his salvation? Not at all.
This expression to “come in and go out” is a phrase that communicated the idea of dwelling or living, going about one’s life freely. To find pasture meant to find peace and safety and provision. So for Jesus to say, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture” it was for Jesus to say for those who enter into the kingdom through me, they will find a life of peace, safety, provision and yet liberty and freedom. It communicates the idea of a life without heavy burdens and legalistic demands.
I believe Jesus is here contrasting life in Him with life following the Pharisees.
Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light. The Pharisees tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them (Matt 23:4).
The Pharisees took the Law and added rule upon rule to it, making it impossible to keep, making it burdensome and legalistic.
Jesus removes all burden and all legalism. In Jesus, there is freedom and liberty.
He is the gate. Whoever enters through him will be saved or kept safe. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Who is the thief? The thief is the one who doesn’t enter by the gate but climbs in some other way. That’s the Pharisees who refuse to enter through Jesus and reject the gate. They try to climb in some other way, they won’t go through the gate. The thief is the unbelieving Pharisee.
Once again, Jesus is contrasting the Pharisees to himself.
- The unbelieving Pharisee comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
- Jesus came that they may have life and have it to the full.
- The Pharisees are the thieves who destroy the people of God.
- Jesus came to bring life to the people of God – full life, abundant life, spiritual life.
And remember who His audience is. He is saying all of this to the hard-hearted unbelieving Pharisees. In essence he is saying you guys just want to do harm to the people of Israel while I came to bring them abundant life.
THE PHARISEES THOUGHT WRONG
The Pharisees thought they were shepherds, but Jesus tells them they aren’t but rather they are strangers and sheep won’t follow them. Goats might, but sheep won’t. Sheep will follow Jesus and the apostles, the true shepherds.
The Pharisees thought they were the gate. They thought they were the ones who granted access into the assembly of God’s people. They thought they were the ones who allowed entry into the gathering of the elect in fellowship with God in the kingdom. They thought they were the gate. But they are not; Jesus is the gate.
They don’t enter through the gate but climb in some other way and that makes them thieves and robbers, who came to steal and kill and destroy God’s sheep.
Not only do they not enter through the gate, but they stopped others from entering through the gate. They made it nearly impossible for people to follow Jesus. You want to follow that guy?
His miracles are fake. No they’re real. I really was blind. I’m really that guy.
Well, he can’t be from God because he did it on the Sabbath. He has to be from God because only someone from God could do this.
Well you can follow him if you want to but we’re kicking you out of the synagogue.
Jesus said to them in Matt 23:13 “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
The Pharisees shut the kingdom in men’s faces because they wouldn’t let them enter through the gate. Jesus is the gate.
APPLICATION FOR US?
Now there is clearly a first century context in Jesus’ teaching as he was speaking directly to the religious leaders of OC Israel and today there is no such thing as OC Israel.
However there are timeless truths in the text as well as some encouragement for us today.
First of all, Jesus is still the gate. He is still the ONLY gate. Today, there is still only ONE WAY to enter into the kingdom and access fellowship with God. Jesus. Jesus is the gate.
There were in the first century other things that seemed like gates.
- Circumcision
- Sabbath keeping
- the Pharisees.
Today, there are other things that present themselves as gates. Today, some may see:
- Baptism
- catechism class
- confirmation
Jesus is THE gate. He is the ONLY gate and nearly 2000 years later we must reject other so-called gates. Today, we have access to the gathering of God’s people in fellowship with Him by entering through the one gate, Jesus.
Just as the first century had men who shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, nearly 2000 years later we still have people who shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. There are still individuals hostile to Jesus. There are still individuals who make it seem like it’s cool to reject Jesus and individuals who make you feel like an outcast for following Jesus. They will reject you. And we should respond in the same way that the blind man in our text did. He was rejected for following Jesus. Yet he continued to believe and he worshiped Jesus.
Finally, today, we who enter through the gate come in and go out and find pasture. In other words, as those in Christ, we still enjoy freedom and liberty. We enjoy a life of peace and providence in Jesus without burden or legalism. Notice that any cult leader or false prophet tends to say, “You need to do this in order to be a part of our group.” They add rules and regulations and burdens. We, as true Israel, as the sheep who belong to God, must recognize the voice of the true shepherd and reject the voice of such strangers.
Jesus is the gate. If you haven’t entered through this gate, I plead with you to do so. There is only one gate, one means of access into the kingdom of God – Jesus.
Enter through Him and you will find that He did truly come to give life…and life to the full.
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