John 10:7-9 - The Third I AM; Jesus is The Door of Salvation.
John 10:7-9 (ESV) I am the door of the
sheep If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and
will go in and out and find pasture.
CONTEXT
Jesus' "I Am" Statements In The Book Of John
Express His Saving Relationship Toward The World
After the miraculous feeding of the
5,000, Jesus was challenged by the crowd to perform
an even greater miracle in John 6:30. "Our
fathers ate the manna," they said (v. 31), implying
that Jesus' miraculous feeding was a small
miracle compared to what Moses did. In order for
them to believe in Him, they would need to see
Him feed the nation of Israel on the same scale
that God did when He sent manna and fed the
entire nation of Israel during their wilderness
wanderings for 40 years (Ex. 16:11-36). They were
demanding that Jesus outdo Moses if they were to
believe in Him.
Jesus responded that the manna God gave
was temporary and perished and was only a meager
shadow of what God offered them in the true bread,
Himself, who gives spiritual and eternal life to
mankind ("world"). He is the "true bread from
heaven," and in case that wasn't understood, He
added, "I am the bread of life" (v. 35).
Twenty-three times in all we find our
Lord's meaningful "I AM" in the Greek text of this
Gospel 4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24,
28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6;
15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). In several of these, He
joins His "I AM" with seven tremendous metaphors
which are expressive of His saving relationship
toward the world.
"I AM the Bread of life" (6:35, 41, 48,
51).
"I AM the Light of the world" (8:12).
"I AM the Door of the sheep" (10:7, 9).
"I AM the Good Shepherd" (10:11, 14).
"I AM the Resurrection and the Life"
(11:25).
"I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
(14:6).
"I AM the true Vine" (15:1, 5).
[MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]
WORD STUDY
Jesus the door/gate; He is the one way into
salvation. [NIV SB]
Jesus is the door/gate; He is the way, the
truth, and the life (John 14:6). [The Bible
Notebook]
INTRODUCTION
It is the gospel of the grace of God alone
that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of
the love of God manifested in His Son will stir
the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as
nothing else can. Christ came that He might
re-create the image of God in man; and whoever turns
men away from Christ is turning them away from
the source of true development; he is defrauding
them of the hope and purpose and glory of life.
He is a thief and a robber. {DA 478.2}
COMMENTARY PEARL
Whenever I have a medical appointment, I
know one question I'll probably ask: "How do I
get out of here?" One clinic I visit has a front
door followed by a door into the orthopedics
section. When my name was called, I entered a door
into the wing with a group of doctors, then
walked through a doorway to find my specific
doctor, which led me down several twisting hallways
to finally arrive at the designated exam room.
I felt like I needed a GPS just to find the
exit door.
I like the theme of only one door in the
Bible: one door in the ark, one doorway in the
tabernacle, and Jesus as the Door. In New Testament
times, a sheep pen had only one opening. At night,
a shepherd guarded the flock by lying across
the opening. In the morning, the shepherd led
them out to find grass and water, all the while
standing watch for danger. As our Good Shepherd,
Jesus does far more than that.
Jesus provides all I could ever need, as
listed in the twenty-third Psalm: guidance,
nourishment, refreshment, comfort, renewed strength, and
deep soul rest. Like a shepherd who stretched
across the doorway of a sheep pen to protect the
flock, Jesus stretched out His body on a cruel
cross to save me from sin's power. If I ever feel
lost spiritually, I know how to find the right
Door, no GPS needed. A simple prayer shows me the
way: "Jesus, guide my steps." Dianne Neal
Matthews
Faith Step: Slowly read through Psalm 23,
thinking about how Jesus fulfills each of these
promises in your life. [Mornings With Jesus 2023
Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
As Christians, we talk about God
opening doors to us as a means of His revealing
His will. What we are asking God to do is
engineer our circumstances to match what we think
would be best. The problem is that we
misunderstand what the door is. Jesus said He is the door.
Circumstances are irrelevant, for no one can shut the door
that Jesus opens (Rev 3:8). If you have
substituted activity for your relationship with Christ,
then circumstances can disrupt your activity.
When the activity is hindered, you may assume the
door has been closed. Yet, if Christ is the door
in your life, He will guide you into every
experience of Him that He wants, and there will be
nothing that people can do to stop Him.
When Paul and Silas were thrown into
prison at Philippi, it appeared that the door to
their ministry in Greece had been violently and
firmly closed (Ac 16:22"24). The reality of their
situation, however, was that their Lord had opened a
door of ministry to a previously unreached group
of men in prison. The Philippian jailer and his
household would become a significant nucleus of the
new church in Philippi. From a human
perspective, a door had been closed; from Gods
perspective, Paul and Silas continued to minister exactly
where God wanted them to.
When people oppose us, we can become
discouraged or worry about what others are doing to us.
We may even try to take matters into our own
hands to accomplish what we think God wants. This
reveals that we do not really believe Jesus is the
door for our lives. If we did, we would be
assured that through Christ we have access to
everything He wants to do in and through us.
[Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry and Richard
Blackaby]
There Is Only One Way to Be Free
Youll encounter lots of doors in your
life. Youll find doors to happiness, doors to
sadness, doors to success, and doors to failure. Some
doors are traps, and others are opportunities.
Your success in life largely depends on
which doors you decide to walk through. The Bible
has a lot to say about these doors. In fact,
youll find the word door throughout the Bible,
often used as a metaphor for opportunities.
We often go through the wrong doors, or
maybe we miss the right ones. But theres one
door you just cant afford to miss: the door to
freedom.
Freedom is a big deal to God. He
doesnt want you enslaved to guilt, resentment,
grief, or anything else. He wants you to live
free.
The biggest prisons in life arent
physical. Theyre the mental prisons in your mind.
Maybe its a relationship you feel trapped in.
Maybe its debt that you cant escape. Maybe
its a habit you cant seem to shake. Maybe
its a tradition that holds you back. Maybe
its a painful memory you cant forget.
No matter what kind of prison youre
in, you need a way out. You cant enter the
doors of opportunity God has planned for you until
you walk out of the prisons that hold you back
and through the door to freedom.
In John 10:9, Jesus says something really
important about the door of freedom: I am the door;
if anyone enters through Me, he will be
saved (NASB).
Jesus doesnt just want to show you the
door to freedom. He is the door to that freedom.
He is the only way to live free! [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
I AM the Gate; whoever enters through Me
will be saved. I am the only Entrance to the path
of Life - to eternal Life. If you do not enter
through Me, you will never find salvation from your
sins.
Some people compare the spiritual journey
to climbing a mountain: There are many paths
that lead to the summit, and all the successful
climbers will end up at the same place. People often
use this analogy to claim that all paths to God
are equally effective. Nothing could be further
from the truth! You can enter salvation only
through Me, the one true Gate.
Once you have come through this Gate, you
can enjoy walking along the path of Life. I
don't guarantee you an easy journey, but I do
promise to be with you every moment. No matter what
difficulties you may encounter along the way, there is
Joy to be found in My Presence. Moreover, each
step you take brings you closer to your goal -
your heavenly home. (John 10:9; Psa. 16:11; Mat.
1:21; 2Ti. 4:18) [Jesus Always by Sarah Young]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
John 10:7-9 - The Third I AM; Jesus is The
Door or Gate of Salvation.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20130523-1526.html
John 14:6 - The 6th I AM Statement of Jesus;
The Way-maker!
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210718-1038.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
