Jesus Is The Gate For The Sheep — Why This Is Important

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. — John 10:7 (NIV)

A quick Google search for images of gate structures will yield about 599,000,000 results ~ in less than a second! Gates may come in varying sizes and styles, but they all serve the same purpose: to allow access to an enclosure. While an open gate invites entry, a closed one denies it. In my world, I only see gates when I need to gain access to a fee-based parking area or a storage facility ~ which doesn’t happen often. However, gates played a more integral role in the culture of Jesus’ day ~ especially for sheep and their shepherds. 

Sheep completely depended on their shepherds to care for their needs and to lead them to safe pastures. At night, they slept in sheepfolds. Often the shepherds and their flocks slept out in the country where the sheep pens were made of loosely stacked rocks. These pens had no gate, only a small opening through which the shepherd guided the sheep. The shepherd then laid down and slept in this opening. Any thief or predator would have to climb over him in order to gain entrance. In this way, the shepherd became the gate for the sheep ~ offering both access and protection. The shepherds literally became the gate to the sheep pen. 

This is the context for Jesus’ third I AM Statement:

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. (John 10:7 NIV)

Immediately following this declaration, Jesus further clarified His meaning. He described all of the teachers who came before Him (including the rabbis of His time), as thieves and robbers. In contrast, as the gate, Jesus offered salvation, and promised to give His followers an abundant life (John 10:8-10). 

To help me understand why Jesus referred to the Pharisees as thieves and robbers, I think of another time Jesus taught about gates. At the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave this warning:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)

The other religious teachers of the time encouraged people to demonstrate an appearance of righteousness by outwardly obeying the law (Torah). Throughout His Sermon on the Mount Jesus called people to a higher standard of righteousness by first conforming their hearts to the commands. If the heart submitted to God, the actions would follow. 

As He concluded His teaching, Jesus used the image of a small gate to represent a moral righteousness based on His standards. Because we can never achieve this through our own effort, we need a Savior. We need Jesus as our gate. 

When we define righteousness by our own standards and believe we can achieve it through our own efforts, we enter through the wide gate which leads to destruction. Unfortunately, this is what the Pharisees taught. Through their teaching they robbed people of the true righteousness that can only be obtained through Jesus. 

Jesus is the true gate for all of us. By entering through Him, we receive salvation and eternal protection for our souls (John 10:28). Thankfully this gate, unlike the physical ones I sometimes see in my world, is always present and ready to grant us access to salvation and an abundant life. 

Lord Jesus, thank you for being the gate that opens salvation and offers a full and abundant life. Help us avoid the wide gate of self-reliance and the appearance of righteousness. May we always rely on You for our salvation and the protection of our souls. We pray all this in Your name, Amen.