Overview
Rev. Tom Knupp examines “I Am the Door” through John 10, Psalm 23, Psalm 132, Psalm 42, showing how sheep, door, shepherd shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding I Am the Door
I am the door, the shepherd and the door. In the verses leading up to John 10 10, Jesus Christ makes a statement that startles the western mind. I am the door of the sheep.
What is the meaning of this bold declaration and what application does it have for us today? First, we must understand the meaning of the word door as it is used in this verse. How can a person be a door? Since when does sheep have a door? A door to what? Second, we must understand the contextual reference to sheep. What does shepherding have to do with Jesus Christ as the door? We know that in the grace administration we’re not sheep, but sons of God.
Is there anything for our learning here? Third, we must understand what Jesus Christ accomplished for us as the door. Will other passages enlighten us as to why Jesus Christ chose this analogy? Why would God want for Jesus Christ to be a door and how would his being a door help us? As we embark on this journey of discovery, we’ll learn how the shepherd is both gateway and gatekeeper of his flock and build our appreciation for all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us as the door. Jesus Christ the door is both our gateway to eternal life and the gatekeeper of our more abundant life.
So, what does the word door mean in the context of John 10? We’ll start in John chapter 10 verse 7. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. Biblically, the word door can refer either to a swinging mechanism hanging on a door frame of a built house or to an opening, an entrance, or a doorway. In this teaching, we will concern ourselves exclusively with this second meaning, an opening or gateway.
As used in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for doorway, petach, is not restricted to houses. It is also used of the entrance to tents, houses, cities, gates, and caves. In John 10, the word door is used to refer to the entrance of a sheepfold.
A fold is a pen or enclosure for sheep. It may be small or large and may or may not have a roof. Realizing that the door is simply an entrance, it is also important to recognize that the phrase, I am the door, is a figure of speech, a metaphor, which indicates in its simplest terms, I am what a door is.
Let’s keep our eyes open as we learn all that a door is and see how it applies to Jesus Christ. Since the word door in John 10 refers to the entrance of a sheepfold, we will need to study shepherds and sheep to better understand how Jesus Christ is the door of the sheep. As the door, Jesus Christ is both the gateway and the gatekeeper of the sheep.
As the gateway, the shepherd leads the flock both into and out of the fold or pen. John 10 verse 9, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.
The door is the only way in and out of the fold. The doorway has no door. The shepherd becomes the door.
As the gatekeeper, the shepherd lays down his life as a sacrifice. The shepherd is prepared to give his life for the sheep. Verse 15, I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Biblical Foundation
As the door, Jesus Christ is the gateway, our porter, provider, and benefactor. The shepherd enters the fold by the doorway, beckons the sheep, and leads them in and out. Back to the first verse of John 10, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
The good shepherd sees to every need of the flock. Psalm 23 relates how God is a shepherd to his people. Let’s go there.
Psalm 23, verse 1. These are verses you know well, I’m sure. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Each verse of this psalm has a direct application to sheep that we must learn about to more fully appreciate the spiritual significance of each statement.
Let’s go through it line by line to learn about this in detail. Psalm 23, verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, author and professional shepherd Philip Keller recounts from lifelong personal experience what it is like for a sheep to be under the care of a good shepherd.
Keller’s assertion is that no other class of livestock requires more careful handling more detailed direction than do sheep. The Lord is my shepherd. In Psalm 23, we have the shepherd David speaking as one of the flock.
Each sheep bears the mark of ownership, having had its ear notched as a permanent sign that they are in the shepherd’s gracious care. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, not just once, but continuously. I shall not want.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
Without a good shepherd, a sheep could want for many things on their own. Good forage, a reliable water supply, and protection from disease, pests, and predators, to name a few. Under the watchful shepherd’s care, all these things and more are readily provided.
Psalm 132, verse 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eyelids. Psalm 23, 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Sheep will only lie down if four conditions have been met.
First, that they’re free from fear. Second, free from tension. Third, free from aggravation.
And fourth, free from hunger. Let’s review these in a little more detail. Free from fear.
Sheep are timid, and they’re easily panicked. They’re really powerless to defend themselves, so they need to be free from fear. Second, we’ve got free from tension, because there’s often friction between the sheep, and there’s a rivalry.
It’s what’s called the budding order. So they want to be free from tension, free from aggravation. And there’s a lot of aggravation out there for sheep, in terms of pests and parasites that torment them.
This can be relieved by anointing oil. And finally, they want to be free from hunger, able to fill up quickly and then lie down quietly to gain weight. He leadeth me beside the still waters.
The shepherd scopes out unpolluted sources in advance. The dew on the grass, or deep, hand-hewn wells, or springs, or streams. Psalm 23.3 says, He restoreth my soul.
What is it to be cast down in the context of a sheep’s life? And for this, I’m going to go with you to Psalm 42, verse 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God. In the New Testament, we read in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 12.
Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. A sheep is said to be cast when it is turned over on its back and unable to get up again. This can happen more readily than you might imagine.
Faith in Action
Even the healthiest and strongest of sheep may accidentally roll over after lying down in a slight hollow and changing positions to the point where its center of gravity shifts. A cast sheep is easy prey for predators. Furthermore, if the shepherd doesn’t arrive on the scene in a short time to right the sheep and set it on its feet again, it will die as gases build up in the rumen and circulation to the legs is cut off.
A shepherd can reduce a sheep’s risk of being cast by reducing its weight, or having it eat less, or by shearing it. The verse continues in Psalm 23, 3. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Without the shepherd’s guidance, sheep can easily overgraze a pasture, causing rutting and reinfestation.
The good shepherd keeps his flock on the move from week to week to ensure fresh forage. Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, and the shepherd understands what the sheep need and keeps them on the move.
Psalm 23, verse 4 continues. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, a good shepherd never takes the flock where he has not been before. He always scouts out the territory in advance.
In summer, he leads the flock up the well-watered valleys to mountain meadows because he knows that is where they will find the best forage at that time. Predators may lurk in the surrounding high cliffs, but the shepherd keeps watch for any dangers and protects his sheep along the route. The verse continues.
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. The rod is a weapon and it’s also an instrument of correction or discipline.
And in the rod, we have implied the authority of God’s word. Thus saith the Lord. The scriptures are his rod used to guide the wayward back and away from danger.
Ezekiel 20, verse 37. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. Here in Ezekiel 20, 37, it calls the counting of the sheep passing under the rod.
So the rod was also used in the individual examination of the sheep for defect hidden beneath the surface of the wool. And in terms of comfort, in the sure hand of the well-practiced shepherd, the rod can be used to actually strike and kill predators. What about the staff? The staff was an instrument uniquely designed and crafted for sheep, and only for sheep, no other animal.
Walking in Love and Confidence
It was the symbol of the shepherd’s concern and compassion for the sheep. It had three uses. First, to draw a newborn lamb together with his mother.
Second, to draw a sheep of any age to the shepherd for examination. And finally, for gently guiding a sheep so that the sheep could be in touch with the master, delivering them from self-inflicted troubles. Psalm 23, 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
The way the shepherd does this in the pastures is he clears out the poisonous plants each year before the sheep arrives to graze there. He does it at the watering holes by clearing away the surrounding brush and possible pollutants. Thou anointest my head with oil.
When we look at this verse, we have to understand what the sheep need. And summertime is fly time. You’ve heard the statement, a fly in the ointment.
Nasal fly larva can literally drive a sheep crazy. The shepherd’s remedy consisted of linseed oil, sulfur, and tar applied to the nose. So summertime is fly time.
Summertime is also scab time. And scab is a highly contagious sheep disease prevalent the world over. Due to their proclivity to rub heads, it can be readily spread.
The modern antidote is linseed oil, sulfur, and other chemicals often applied in a vat, what’s known as sheep dip. You have to submerge the head as well as the body for treatment. The ancient antidote was likely olive oil, sulfur, and spices.
Sacrificial lambs were to be without blemish, that is, they were to be free of scab, representing contamination, sin, and evil. Psalm 23 5 continues, my cup runneth over. To revive or reinvigorate a sheep chilled by drenching from a sudden mountain downpour, the modern antidote is brandy and water.
We suppose that the ancient antidote could have been wine. Continuing in Psalm 23 verse 6, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Sheep can be the most beneficial of all livestock if properly managed.
They have the best manure and it’s consistently deposited where needed the most, the bare higher ridges. The sheep would consume the widest variety of herbage, including noxious weeds, and therefore have a beneficial effect on the land. That’s goodness and mercy following the flock.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
They leave a blessing behind themselves. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. To quote Philip Keller, it is the sheep owner’s presence that guarantees that there will be no lack of any sort, that there will be abundant green pastures, that there will be still clean waters, that there will be new paths into fresh fields, that there will be freedom from fear, that there will be antidotes for flies and disease and parasites, that there will be quietness and contentment so that they could live ever aware of God’s presence.
Having studied how the shepherd cares for the sheep, we’ve gained a better understanding of how Jesus Christ is both gateway and gatekeeper of the fold. How does this relate to what he accomplished for us as our Passover? In 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7, we read, Jesus Christ’s crucifixion took place at the same hour as the yearly Passover sacrifice. In order for God’s word to be fulfilled, every requirement of the scripture had to be met before his work as the complete Passover was accomplished.
John 19 30 attests to this truth. John 19 30, when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. At the same time, something happened in the entrance to the Holy of Holies in the temple at Jerusalem.
The veil that hung in the doorway of the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, indicating that the separation between God and man had been done away. Mark 15 38, and the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Why is this significant? The veil was not on the outside of the temple, but rather at the entrance to its most interior part, the Holy of Holies, the temple’s inner sanctum.
The Holy of Holies represented the presence of God with Israel, and the veil represented the separation of Israel from God. When Jesus Christ died for us, the separation between man and God was eliminated once and for all. Look at all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us as the door.
With his crucifixion, he passed through the entrance to the holiest once and for all, giving us free and open access to God’s presence. Hebrews 10 19 and 20. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, Jesus Christ became our gateway into God’s presence, so that we could enter into the holiest by a new and living way through the veil.
Man now has free access to know the Heavenly Father intimately and personally. By his sacrifice, Jesus Christ also abolished the separation between the Gentiles and Judeans, breaking down the middle wall of partition between them. Ephesians 2 13 and 14.
But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. In the temple, Gentiles were restricted to the outer section known as the court of the Gentiles.
By breaking down the middle wall of partition, Jesus Christ became the Gentiles’ gateway into the household of God. Ephesians 2 19. Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.
Jesus Christ gave men entree to God by abolishing the separation between God and man in two ways. The Gentiles could now pass through the middle wall of partition, and with the Judeans enter in freely, being no longer strangers and foreigners. Secondly, both Israel and the Gentiles could now enter into God’s presence, being fellow citizens, saints, and of the household of God.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
How tremendous to comprehend that by laying down his life, Jesus Christ the door tore down the walls that separated man from God, so that whosoever will may come. All who believe now have free access to God through the pathway opened up by his sacrifice. Ephesians 3 12.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. We would not have this access without Jesus Christ the door. We have examined in detail how Jesus Christ is both gateway and gatekeeper, and what he accomplished for us as the door of the sheep.
Truly he is the gateway to our eternal life and the gatekeeper of our more abundant life. He obtained this by his sacrifice for us once for all. As the gateway, Jesus Christ came that we might have eternal life.
John 10 verse 9. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. Verse 28.
And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. As the gatekeeper, Jesus Christ came that we might have a more abundant life.
John 10 7. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. And in verse 10. The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy.
I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. God knew what Jesus Christ would accomplish from the very beginning. The service of the original Passover foreshadowed what Jesus Christ would accomplish for us as the door.
At the time of the exodus, when God saw the blood of the animal lamb, he passed over the door of the houses of the children of Israel and would now allow the destroyer to come in to smite them. At the time of the crucifixion, when God saw the blood of the human lamb of God, the veil of the temple was rent in two and Jesus Christ entered into the holiest by a new and living way. When Christ’s accomplishments were complete, God’s people were protected from the destroyer, not only here and now with a more abundant life, but for all eternity with eternal life.
How can we emulate our Lord and Savior in his wonderful ministry as the door? First John, verse 16 of chapter 3, hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. As the shepherd laid down in the entrance, as both gateway and gatekeeper of the fold, we should stand in the gap to care for God’s people. The threats have been thwarted.
Our needs have been secured. We now have the privilege of putting our all on the line to love and serve God’s people.
Key Takeaways
- A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, not just once, but continuously.
- How tremendous to comprehend that by laying down his life, Jesus Christ the door tore down the walls that separated man from God, so that whosoever will may come.
- Since the word door in John 10 refers to the entrance of a sheepfold, we will need to study shepherds and sheep to better understand how Jesus Christ is the door of the sheep.
- As the gatekeeper, the shepherd lays down his life as a sacrifice.
- The shepherd is prepared to give his life for the sheep.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “I Am the Door”?
Rev. Tom Knupp examines “I Am the Door” through John 10, Psalm 23, Psalm 132, Psalm 42, showing how sheep, door, shepherd shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from John 10, Psalm 23, Psalm 132, Psalm 42, 1 Corinthians 10.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Believers can receive the truth presented, verify it in Scripture, and put it into practice with faith, humility, love, and consistent action.
Scripture References
John 10; Psalm 23; Psalm 132; Psalm 42; 1 Corinthians 10; Proverbs 14
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
