"Verily,verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." (John 10:7) "I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." (John 10:9)
In the first part of this chapter ten, Jesus speaks of a door into a sheepfold, and of those climbing up another way, being thieves and robbers. It is very plain that this is not the same door as the door of the sheep, for Jesus, the shepherd, entered in through that door, into the sheepfold.
There is only one door for Christ, the Messiah, to come in by, and that was the prophesied door, the door of the Virgin Birth. Isaiah 7:14 says, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Six hundred years later, God Himself, quoted that same verse to Joseph, (Matthew 1:23) "Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
No other man ever came into Israel by that door. All other so-called messiahs were thieves and robbers.
"To him the porter openeth." John the Baptist was the God chosen porter and forerunner of the Christ. When John saw Christ approaching, he called out to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
"And the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out." There were sheep in Israel, when Christ came; saved, born again people, who had trusted the Messiah to come.
Two of them were told of, in Luke 2:28-38; Simeon and Anna, who rejoiced to see the promised Savior as a baby, when Joseph and Mary brought Him into the temple.
Many of the sheep who heard Jesus' voice and came to Him, were disciples of John, to whom John had preached the coming Christ. In Acts 19:4, Paul says of John the Baptist, "John verily baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
It is plain, then, that John didn't just preach repentance, but both repentance, and faith in the Savior, just as we do today.
John's baptism was a baptism unto repentance and faith in Christ (the Messiah), Just as we baptize today. It is a testimony of personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus came through the door, into the sheep fold. The porter opened the door to Him, receiving Him, and pointing Him out to the sheep. His sheep heard His voice. He called them by name.
In John 1:42, Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him, He said, "Thou art Simon, the son of Jona. Thou shalt be called Cephas." Nobody needs to tell Jesus the name of any child of God. He knows them all by name.
In John 10:7, Jesus is talking about a totally different door than the one He entered in, coming into this world. He says, "I am the door of the sheep." No other messiah could ever say that he was the door of the sheep. All the others could only point to the rules, teachings, works to follow, in vain hope of perhaps, finding some kind of salvation. But Jesus says, "I am the door. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." That's the way to be saved. Just enter by Jesus Christ. That's the way to become a sheep. Just go through the door, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the door. The door is open to anyone. Just enter in, and the filthy swine you have been, is no longer a swine, but a white, woolly sheep with a new nature--to follow the Shepherd.
Paul says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (or creation): old things are passed away: behold all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17) That's what happens when you enter into Christ, the door of the sheep.
Some folks proclaim that the saved, were always sheep. All they needed, was some kind of revelation, and suddenly they realize they are God's sheep, and have been all along; and now they know they are among the saved. I'm afraid that such Christians will wind up badly disappointed, for no one is ever a sheep, until he has passed through the door, Jesus Christ.
A total change is required. Jesus said, "Marvel not that I say unto you, Ye must be born again." (John 3:7) Like the miracle that occurred when Jesus was born of a virgin, and became a baby, without a human father; so is the miracle that occurs, when a human being is born again, and the vile and filthy swine is changed into a sheep. Of course there are many professors, who lay claim to a religious experience, but they find it a hard road to follow. In the end, says Peter, "But it is happened unto them according to true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.' (2 Peter 2:22)
You won't find a sheep wallowing in the mire, but that's what pigs like to do. It's their nature. Baptismal waters will not change you. All your good works will not change you. There's only one way to become changed. Enter the door, Christ Jesus, and be born again as one of His sheep. That will change you.
Jesus said, "By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved." When Jesus said this, I believe He was thinking of His crucifixion, when He would become the blood-covered door.
Over a thousand years before this, when the people of Israel had been slaves in Egypt, and God sent Moses to set them free, the last of the terrible punishments brought upon the land of Egypt, was the night the death angel passed over the land. The children of Israel had all been told to slay a lamb the previous day, a lamb for one house, or a lamb for two houses. It made no difference. But each house was to take of the lamb's blood, and smear it over the door and upon the two door posts, on each side, then they would be safe in their homes that night. Wherever there was no blood over the door, and on the two door posts, the oldest son inside would die, that night, but whenever the death angel saw the blood over the door, and upon the posts, he would pass over that house, and all inside would be safe.
There is the story of a little Israelite boy who was being tucked into bed on that night of the passover by his father. "Oh father," said the boy, "are you sure that big brother is safe in bed?"
"Of course," answered the father. "He is in his bedroom, and no doubt asleep by now."
But the little boy was not satisfied. "Father, I want to know," he said. "I want to see him. I don't want my brother to die!"
The father then led his little boy into his elder brother's room, but to their horror, there was no one in the bed.
Out into the night, ran the little boy and his father, and together they frantically searched, as the dread midnight hour drew nearer.
They called and they called the lost boy's name, and at last they found him playing with some Egyptian youths. The father and his small son, each clasp a hand of the oldest boy, and together they rushed him home, just in time to pass through the door, under the blood, to safety. There was peace and joy, that night, in that home, you may be sure.
The very day that Jesus died upon the cross, the Jews were preparing the Passover lamb in memory of that first Passover in Egypt; but Jesus was the real Passover Lamb.
By faith in Him, you enter through the door, under the blood, and you are saved. Jesus is the Passover Lamb. He is also the blood covered-door. He says, "By me, if any man enter in, HE SHALL BE SAVED." The wages of sin is death, but the gift God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Won't you trust Jesus as your Savior? Won't you come in by the Door and be saved?
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