Jesus said, “I am the gate.”
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Pastor Kelvin continues to teach us from the texts in the Bible where Jesus says, “I AM.” Since the name that God gave the the Israelites for himself during the Exodus means “I AM” (Ex. 3:14), whenever Jesus uses the phrase “I am” we need to pay close attention. This week, Pastor Kelvin spoke about Jesus’ saying “I am the gate,” or “I am the door” depending upon the translation (John 10:7,9). We learned that Jesus was illustrating using the country sheepfold. It was just a circling stone wall out on the hillside with one narrow opening. The shepherd lay down in this narrow spot to control access in and out. He literally became the gate or door of the sheep fold. Jesus applies this spiritually. He is our shepherd, we are his sheep. He wants us to understand that he is the one who controls access to our heavenly Father and to the kingdom of God. Previously, access to God’s presence had been symbolically and physically blocked by the thick curtain or veil hung before the Holy of Holies in the Temple. But when Jesus died, this veil was torn showing that Jesus by his death had provided access for us into the presence of God (Heb. 10:19-22).
Jesus also refers in this passage to the sheep going in and out freely. We learned that this is a direct answer to the prayer of Moses that God would, “appoint someone over this community…who will lead them out and bring them in… (Numbers 27:15-17).
In addition, Jesus promises that under his shepherding care, the sheep will enjoy abundance (John 10:10). Of course, we should not interpret this as just material riches, because God has many other ways of blessing his people including good health, spiritual strength, powerful influence, loving relationships, mental and emotional health, and living with a purpose to name a few.