The first three doors of this series were from the Old Testament. Now we look at doors in the New Testament, starting with Jesus as the door of the sheep. Jesus speaks of this in John, chapter 10:

[Jesus said] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. [2] But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

This is one of several “I am” statements of Jesus that John records.

In John 6 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever come to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

In John 8 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

A little later after the text Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

And finally, in John 11 Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

So Jesus is the door of the sheep. Every morning the shepherd would lead the sheep out of the sheepfold so that they could go out to the pasture to eat. After a full day of eating in the pasture, the shepherd would lead them back to the sheepfold, making sure that none of them were lost.

When all were safely gathered into the sheepfold the shepherd would literally spend the night at the entrance of the sheepfold to make sure no one would come and harm the sheep.

Jesus says that if anyone enters by the Jesus door two things will happen.

First, He will be saved. There is a battle going on between Jesus, the good Shepherd, and the devil. And what they are fighting over is us.

Jesus wants to save us, to give us abundant life. He gave his life on the cross to bring us these gifts. The devil would never think of sacrificing anything for us. He only wants to steal, kill and destroy.

The other thing that will happen is that we will go in and out and find pasture. The sheepfold is not meant to be a hiding place. The sheep cannot stay in the sheepfold. They must go out.

And so with us. We cannot stay cowering in the sheepfold we have to go out. Jesus promises to be with us as we are out and about in the world.

Jesus says later in the chapter, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (10:27-28).

As with many of the doors we are looking at in this series, it is a door that will someday be closed. When Jesus returns at the end of the world those who have not entered through his door to eternal life will perish.

Being the thief that he is, the devil deceives people into thinking that there is unlimited time to enter through the door. They can go out and have a good time and live their own life and if they get around to it then they can enter the door.

Our job is to convince people that the time is short. Now is the time to go through the door to eternal life.