What's In a Name? I Am the Door

–John 10:1-10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

1. Gatekeepers

S2E6 | Jesus Heals the Man with the Withered Hand

“Classificationitis”

TORAH
TRADITION
TRIBIALISM
TERRITORY
TEMPLE

1. Exclusivity
2.Jesus challenged all of these identity markers in some way.

The purpose of any religious system: to control the “forgiveness market.”

The religious leaders wanted to maintain their position as “gatekeepers” of access to God.

who is…
in - out
acceptable - is not;
“us” - “them;”
worthy - is not

“I Am the Gate!”

2. There are three functions of a door

1.Protection, or Safety.
2.Entrance or Opportunity.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
-a door opening = exciting new opportunities.

3. symbolic; it’s the sign of Home, or Belonging.

“The Long and Winding Road.” ~ The Beatles
The long and winding road
that leads to your door
Will never disappear
I’ve seen that road before
It always leads me here
leads me to your door

The entire Bible is one long story of going away and coming back again.

Leaving and coming home.

“knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door” ~ Bob Dylan

What is Heaven like? Devotional writer Ken Gire (Moments with the Savior) shares one image that touches the deepest longings of our hearts: Home.

aspects of the heavenly kind of life that we can begin enjoying now:

Unbroken fellowship with God
—Matthew 28:20 “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Newness of life in Christ
—2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation…”
Power to do amazing things—in this world—that God wants done.
—John 14:14 “Ask anything in my name and it will be done for you.”
Even a taste of what is to come
—Ephesians 2:6 “We are now seated in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

And the gates of the city will never be shut. (Revelation 21:25)

•Jesus is our safety, our protection from all harm and danger. 

•He is our opening into the abundant life that God wants for us. 

•And he is the fulfillment of our deepest longing, the longing for home.