"I Am"Sýnishorn

I am the door.

For my twelfth birthday, I saw my childhood idol, Amy Grant, in concert. At the concert, I entered a sweepstake to win backstage passes, and amazingly, my name was drawn! My mom and I were led through a series of doors that were marked “Restricted” to reach backstage. It was there that I met her, and my pre-teen life was made!

Doors are so ordinary that we hardly notice them unless we’re trying to go through one we normally can’t enter. But Jesus’s third “I am” statement is nothing short of extraordinary. When Jesus said he was the door, he was confronting the Pharisees and their lack of care over the sheep of Israel. This statement is tightly connected to the next “I am” statement, where Jesus says that he is the good shepherd.

But before he spoke of his role as a shepherd, he referred to himself as the first point of defense and access for the sheep. In those days, shepherds would lead their sheep into a pen at night to keep them safe from predators. If the pen didn’t have a door, the shepherd would sleep across the doorway. He acted as a physical barrier to keep the sheep inside, and the wolves, thieves, and robbers outside.

As the door, he was there to protect his fold, but also to give them access to green pastures.

Jesus as the door reveals his heart for us. Unlike the Pharisees, and the so-called shepherds of the day, who cared nothing for the sheep, Jesus, is our defense, and our access. He’s the way we go in and out, and as his sheep, we know his voice, and we respond to him.

Unlike the doors that opened for me to meet my childhood idol, there is a door that allows us entry into the presence of God. It’s not marked "Restricted," but rather "Come In!" This door is Jesus Christ. Anyone can go through this door and be saved, but it is an exclusive door. It’s the only one that will lead to salvation, green pastures, and still waters. Come to the open door. It’s wide open, and he welcomes you in!

Respond

• How does knowing that Jesus describes himself as the door comfort you in the trials you’re facing?
• Thieves and robbers don’t go through the door; they sneak over walls. How can this truth help us identify true and false shepherds in our day?
• Doors allow us to go in and out. Jesus says that those who go in and out find pasture (John 10:9). What does that mean to you?