(John 10:7-9)
If you are going anywhere you have to enter by the door. Jesus tells us it’s the same if we want to enter the kingdom of God. To enter His kingdom we must also enter by the door.
The problem is that many will not enter by the door and in fact many will not even find the door even though Jesus is quite plain and explicit in this section about what or rather who the door to the kingdom of God is. In case you haven’t read the verses yet, look at what it says.
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.”
Well it’s pretty obvious that Jesus was quite clear about who and what the door is. He said it twice in this section. So let’s have a look at what Jesus is saying here and what it means for us today.
Finding the Door
I mentioned earlier that there will be many who will not even find the door, let alone enter it. This is evident in a few places and Jesus mentioned that this would be the case. He says in Matthew 7:13-14,
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The gate is narrow that leads to life. A gate or a door are similar in that if you wish to get inside either a building, field, pasture or yard you must open the gate or door to enter. But to do so first you need to know where the gate or the door is so that you can enter. And Jesus tells us that there will be many who will not find it, and this is before we even start counting the ones who will enter it.
Think about the rich young man who came to Jesus asking, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus told him to keep the law and he would have eternal life. But the man felt or knew there had to be more because he then said, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Then Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:16-22)
This young man was seeking the door or the gate to find a better life. He was seeking the way of The Lord. But when The Lord showed the way to him, he could not enter because he was unable to forsake the riches and the things of this life.
Entering by the Door
As we have seen in the scriptures at the top of this post, Jesus said twice that, “I am the door.” If we are to enter the kingdom of God we need to enter by the door. We need to come to the kingdom through Jesus for the doorway to God is through Him.
As Jesus said elsewhere, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) the only way to come to the Father is through Jesus. But how is this possible? How can Jesus be “the door?” And how do we enter “through” Him?
Well the basis of everything in the New Covenant rests on faith, so it is by faith that this occurs too. And it is also in the simple act of water baptism that this process takes effect.
When we are baptised in water we are baptised into the death of Jesus. Romans 6:3 says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” When we are baptised into Jesus’ death we take on or put on His death as if it were our own. In Galatians 3:26-27 it says, “26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
So it is through baptism that we come into Christ and we enter into His death and resurrection by going through water baptism. Thus the analogy of the door. As we enter a building, field,or,even a kingdom by going through a door, so too we enter the kingdom of God by going through the door of Jesus’ death in baptism.
Death is a door all man must pass through to go from this physical realm to the spiritual realm. Jesus has allowed us in His death to bring that forward so we no longer live as if we are in this world, but can begin as new creations in a new life of the spirit worshiping God.
Implications for Today
The door is still available to those who seek him. There is still an opportunity to knock on the door and have it opened. And The Lord promised that if we knock it will be opened. He said as much in Luke 11:9-10.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
If you come to him seeking the narrow gate, you will find it. If you come and knock on the door that is Jesus, he will open it. And if you ask The Lord what all these things mean and how they can and will work in your life to give you access to His kingdom, He will give you what you need to know.
The door is still available and He is waiting on the other side to open it to all who knock. Go to him and start banging on His door so that you do not miss out and you will find the truth and the way. This is not my promise, it is the promise of The Lord.
Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.
