I AM THE DOOR OF THE SHEEP

There are two eternal destinations for the children of mankind: one for the righteous and the other for the ungodly, namely heaven and hell respectively. The former is a place of eternal joy, life and peace in the glorious presence of Almighty God. But the latter is a place of eternal torment and divine wrath, a place of eternal separation from God’s blessings. While all sons of men deserve to go to hell – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), God in His sovereign grace has purposed some for adoption as “vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23). 

Who are the sheep

The vessels of mercy are the sheep of God’s pasture, chosen before the foundation of the world for life, not according to their own merits, but on the basis of the work of God’s Son Jesus Christ – the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3-10, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

     Those predestined for adoption to God are the sheep of God’s pasture, chosen by Him in His Son Jesus Christ. They are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; for on them the Lord has bestowed His love. In love He has redeemed them from the curse of the law and poured out on them His saving grace. Thanks to the finished work of Christ on their behalf, God’s elect are forgiven, justified before God, adopted into the family of God, and made heirs of His Kingdom; they are the sheep of God’s pasture, and no one but Christ procures them life, peace, joy, sustenance and eternal security. The Lord Christ Himself declares in John 10:7-9, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

What does Jesus mean by “I AM the Door of the sheep”

All children of men are sinful by nature and thus separated from God (cf. Isaiah 59:2). No one is able to live the perfect life God demands (cf. Romans 3:10-18), nor can they propitiate the wrath of God for their evil deeds. As Psalms 49:7-9 puts it, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.” So then, by themselves children of men are unable to enter into God’s presence. What they deserve is death, i.e., eternity in hell. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

      The sinfulness of the children of mankind starkly contrasts the holiness of God; it is a barrier that keeps them separated from the LORD’s holy presence. They all deserve death because of their lawless deeds and cannot escape by themselves. Even their best works and all their treasures can only suffice to pave their way to the lake of fire, the place of eternal torment, away from the glorious presence of the LORD, the Holy One. Our only hope is Jesus; for He is the Door to the Father. He is the One who can save sinners from seeing the pit of hell. In other words, only the person and work of Christ can grant sinners access to heaven. There is no other way for the children of mankind to obtain forgiveness of their sins and be reconciled to God except through His Son Jesus Christ. For only the blood of Christ can atone for sin, and justification is by faith in Him alone. By faith in Christ, repentant sinners are justified before God. For on the basis of their faith, the righteousness of Christ is graciously imputed to them. In other words, Christ’s finished work, i.e., His perfect life and His substitutionary death on the cross, is graciously credited to them. 

      The Son is the Door to the Father. In other words, access to the Kingdom of God is exclusively through His Son Jesus Christ. Through Christ, sinners’ alienation from God is brought to an end and an intimate relationship with God is established. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him”, declares the Son in Matthew 11:27. Because the Son knows the Father, He can make the Father known to anyone He pleases. Without the Son, therefore, it is impossible to know God, to have an intimate relationship with God. For only the Son knows the Father, and He alone can reveal the Father to men; only the Son can make sinners to be accounted righteous by God and bring them to the knowledge of God. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). 

     By His finished work, Christ grants forgiveness to repentant sinners and rescues them from the wrath to come; He redeems them and reconciles them to God. He tears down the dividing wall between God and men, and gives access to God, life eternal in the glorious presence of God, to everyone who trusts in Him. So, in a general sense, the Lord uses the phrase “I AM the Door of the sheep” to emphasize that access to the Kingdom of God is by Him alone. For it is in Him that sinners can receive everlasting life and enjoy eternal security through faith in His person and finished work, as v. 9 – “I AM the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture”, clearly points out. Parallel to this verse is John 14:6 – “I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

     However, there is a deeper meaning to Jesus’ designation of Himself as the Door of the sheep than what appears at first glance. It is clear that not all children of man are sheep of God’s pasture. Spiritually speaking, there are two kinds of flocks in this world: one flock is made up of sheep and the other is a pack of wolves. The former belongs to God, but the latter to the king of darkness. The sheep belong to God because He chose them before the foundation of the world; they have been born of Him, regenerated by His Holy Spirit, redeemed by the blood of His Son, and justified by faith in Him. So the sheep are granted access to the Kingdom of God thanks to the Father’s unconditional election, the Son’s sacrificial, substitutionary death, and the Holy Spirit’s transforming work. The Door of the sheep is therefore only for the sheep. They go through this door and are saved. 

     As the Door of the sheep, Christ the Lord makes His sheep to be accounted righteous by God. He delivers them from the wrath to come and leads them into God’s glorious presence; He rescues them from the world, from the power and penalty of sin, and leads them to Zion, the new City of God’s people, the heavenly Jerusalem; He supplies their every need and guides them patiently and triumphantly in the way of righteousness. In Him they find salvation, safety, peace and life. The Lord Christ Himself, after saying to the Jews in John 10:7, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM the Door of the sheep”, adds in vv. 8 and 9, “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” 

     The false shepherds of Israel were thieves and robbers. Among them were the Pharisees and scribes in the days of our Lord’s life on earth. They did not seek the well-being of the people, but preyed and laid heavy burdens on them. In Matthew 23:4, the Lord Himself says of them, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” This rebuke was formed against the Pharisees and scribes because of their legalistic and self-righteous approach, and their burdening of the people with their work-based system of salvation. Rather than seeking the righteousness that comes from God, they sought to establish their own righteousness by works, and taught the people to do the same, thus concealing the Way of salvation, the door by which sinners can enter life. Therefore in v. 13, the Lord opens His pronouncement of woes against them with this declaration: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

     Unlike these false shepherds of Israel, who “shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces”, Christ gives life to His sheep. Through Him they enter the sheepfold, the bosom of the LORD, His glorious presence, to find safety and rest. Christ provides His sheep with a safe place to dwell and provisions for their physical and spiritual needs. He makes them lie down in good grazing land; He feeds them with good pasture and shelters them with His presence. He will carry them in His bosom forever. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).

     God’s redemptive work for His sheep sets them apart from the other flock, that is from the rest of mankind, and Christ being the Door of the sheep, this implies that there is another door reserved for those who are not sheep. In other words, there are two doors: one is for the sheep and the other for the wolves; and each door leads to a distinct destination: one leads to life and the other to death. The door of life is reserved for the sheep, whereas the door of death is for the wolves. A sheep cannot enter by the latter, nor can a wolf by the former. 

Entering by the Door of the sheep

The Door of the sheep is reserved for the sheep of God’s pasture only. For God, in His eternal decree and according to His sovereign will, predestined the sheep for adoption as sons, but the wolves for destruction (cf. Romans 9:22). So one must be a sheep to enter by the Door of the sheep. Neither a goat, nor a wolf, nor any other beast can enter by the Door of the sheep. In the hospital, for example, there are doors marked “Employees only.” That is to say, the areas behind those doors are closed to patients and visitors. A person who is not an employee is not allowed in those areas. And to access those areas, hospital employees need an access card specifically designed for them. It is also important to note that the employer, not the employees, is the one who crafts the access card. And each employee receives his own personal access card. Without the access card, they cannot open the doors that give access to the restricted areas. So it is with the Door of the sheep, the door that leads to the Celestial City – God’s holy and eternal habitation. 

     To access the Celestial City, one must enter by the Door of the sheep; for access to the Celestial City requires a special garment – the garment of salvation, crafted, not by those who enter, but by the King of the Celestial City. This special garment is the very righteousness of Christ, the King of the Heavenly City, the King of glory, He who lived for His sheep and laid down His life for them. He graciously clothes every single one of His sheep with His holy garment – the robe of righteousness, so that they may be justified before God, crowned with life and granted access to the holy and eternal habitation of the LORD. Without this garment, no one can enter the City of the Great King, the Heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 22:11-13).

     Although the sheep have also sinned like the rest of mankind and deserve eternal ruin, they will inherit the Kingdom of God  thanks to Christ’s finished work. They have been set apart to God, prepared for glory, according to the riches of His grace. Thanks to Christ’s imputed righteousness, they are counted by God as righteous. By His perfect life and His substitutionary death on the cross, the Son has granted His sheep access to His Kingdom. He has opened for us access to the Father, as it is written, “by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20).

     To enter the presence of the Father, every sheep passes by the Door of the sheep. In other words, to enter the Kingdom of God the Almighty, the sheep of His pasture go through His Son Jesus Christ. Christ enables His sheep, both Jewish and Gentile, to enter the safety of God’s presence and to dwell in His holy habitation by clothing them with His own righteousness and by baptizing them with His Spirit. And so Paul writes in Ephesians 2:17-18, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” 

     As sheep of God’s pasture, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). No one but the sheep have access to the Father. For the way that His Son opened by laying down His life is for the sheep only, not for those who are predestined for wrath. Christ laid down His life for His sheep (cf. John 10:16), and these alone are baptized by His Spirit into one body. His finished work is the basis of their justification: it is graciously credited to them and they are counted by God as righteous. And their baptism by His Holy Spirit is the mark of His ownership over them. Thus Paul writes in Romans 8:9c, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” 

     Those who are not sheep cannot receive the Spirit of Christ because they are not His chosen ones (cf. John 14:17). But the Spirit of Christ indwells His sheep, every one of them; they are supernaturally marked by He who owns them. Therefore they are able to enter by the Door of the sheep, the door that leads to life, because they bear the mark of divine ownership. Conversely, no matter how hard a wolf or any other beast may strive to enter by the Door of the sheep, he cannot succeed; for he does not bear the characteristics of a sheep: he is not clothed with the right garment, namely the righteousness of Christ (cf. Matthew 22:11-13), nor is he marked by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. So he who is not a sheep cannot enter by the Door of the sheep, because he does not bear the mark of Christ’s ownership.

     Only God’s elect, i.e., those whom He foreknew and predestined for adoption in His Son Jesus Christ can enter by the Door of the sheep. They get regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are drawn to the Son, the Door of the sheep, being justified by the blood of His cross. So thanks to the powerful and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, those chosen by God are drawn to His Son Jesus Christ; they turn to Him in repentance and faith. But he who is not a sheep cannot draw near the Door of the sheep. As the Lord Himself says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). 

     The sheep are supernaturally enabled by the Father to turn to His Son Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. But the wolves do not have such enablement, and are therefore devoted to eternal ruin and torment. For they cannot express saving faith, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit and the only means by which sinners are justified before God and granted access to His Kingdom.

The narrowness of the Door of the sheep

Broad is the way that “leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matthew 7:13b-c). But the Door of the sheep, the door that leads to life, as Scripture declares, is the narrow gate: the way is hard “and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14). The few who find the Door of the sheep, the door that leads to life, are the sheep; for they are supernaturally drawn to this door. Those who are not sheep cannot find it because they are blind, puffed up with conceit, and rebellious. 

     Even if the door of life opens before the nose of those who are not sheep, they will not and cannot take a single step toward it, but will continue stubbornly by death’s door until they reach their eternal home, the lake of fire. They cannot respond to God’s call or consider any of His works. For they are tied up, chained to the door of death. For instance, during the Lord’s earthly ministry, many Jews had the privilege of hearing His teaching directly and witnessing His miracles first hand; yet they did not believe in Him. So, at the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem, as the Lord was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon, and “the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name bear witness about Me, but you do not believe because you are not among My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:24-27). 

    In John 12:35-36, the Lord urged them, saying, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” But because of their callous, stubborn and conceited hearts, they refused to follow Christ; they did not turn to Him. This is not characteristic of the sheep of Christ’s pasture. Had they been Christ’s sheep, they would have believed His words and come to Him, because He is the Door of the sheep. 

     So then, he who is not a sheep cannot enter by the Door of the sheep, and whoever enters by any other door than the Door of the sheep will perish in the hell of fire. For only the Door of the sheep leads to life. In other words, life is found in Christ alone, “in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:12). “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).  Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” 

     Only those set apart by God and cleansed by the blood of Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), are privileged to enter by the door that leads to life. Only the redeemed of God can walk on the highway of salvation that leads to the New Jerusalem of God, and the Lord Christ is the One who shepherds and preserves them on that road. 

     Concerning the return of His people Israel to Zion, the Lord spoke by the prophet Isaiah, saying in Isaiah 35:3-10, “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

     In v. 8 of this prophecy, Isaiah tells the readers that in the day to come, when the Lord returns to save His people, there will be a highway prepared for them, a highway that will be called the Way of Holiness. Literally, this refers to the road where the redeemed will travel safely as they return to Zion, the City of their God, when He comes to establish His earthly millennial Kingdom. But spiritually, it refers to Christ, the Way of salvation, the One who leads His people, the sheep of His pasture, safely to Zion. Just as in the past the Lord Christ rescued His people from the land of Egypt, led them through the wilderness and settled them in the Promised Land, so in the day to come He will gather His redeemed from among the nations, will Himself bring them safely to Zion and crown them with everlasting joy. There they “will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:18). 

     Now it is worth noting the restriction that surrounds the privilege of traveling the Way of Holiness, a restriction set forth in Isaiah 35:8-9. In v. 8 the prophet tells us that the Way of Holiness is reserved, not for the unclean, but for “those who walk on the way”, the righteous, those set apart by divine decree and appointed by grace to walk on that way. These, even if they are fools, will not stray from the way; they will be kept from missing the door. In other words, they will all turn to Christ in repentance and faith, and persevere to the end. For the Lord has predestined them for adoption as sons. “And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

     Therefore when they hear His voice, they follow Him. None of them will see the pit, nor can the prince of darkness snatch them away. For the Lord Himself has redeemed them, and He will lead and preserve them to the end. “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”, declares the Lord in John 10:27-28. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:24-25, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Romans 5:2, “Through [Him] we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

     Furthermore, in v. 9 Isaiah tells us that no lion or ravenous beast, however powerful and stealthy, shall come up on the Way of Holiness. While this may indicate the absence of danger and harm to travellers (if interpreted literally), it probably refers to the exclusion of all those who are not sheep from the Way of Holiness. For it is the way for the sheep of God’s pasture – the redeemed of the Lord, as the last clause of this verse indicates. For it says, “but the redeemed shall walk there”. In which case, the prophet may have used the terms “lion” and “ravenous beast” to qualify the unclean of v. 8. Either way, the Way of Holiness is a path reserved for the sheep, and it is a safe path. For the Lord makes level the path of the righteous (Isaiah 26:7). Although they have many foes in this world, the sheep of Christ journey safely and peacefully to their eternal home, the Heavenly Jerusalem, being led and kept by Christ Himself. “But nothing unclean will ever enter [the City of the Great King], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). In other words, no rebellious sinner can enter the Heavenly City, none can see God. Because they spurn the Son, the One who alone takes away our impurities, the only Door to the Father, rebels remain unclean and are denied access to the Kingdom of God. For without holiness, no one will see the Lord (cf. Hebrews 12:14).