Joh 10:7-9 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord continues His figure of speech and also adds an explanation. Just as He began the figure of speech with the double and therefore emphatically “truly”, followed by the authoritative “I say to you” ( ), so He also begins the sequel with it. He presents Himself as “the door”. He is not the door of Israel, but of the sheep. There is no other door, no other way for the sheep to enter the place of blessing. That blessing is the blessing found in Christendom, which is on a totally different basis than everything connected with Judaism. The Lord speaks of the many presumptuous people who have risen among the people. Those persons are thieves and robbers. They have robbed the people and they have robbed God by pursuing only their own interests at the expense of His people. The sheep have not listened to them, which means that there is no bond of trust between the sheep and them. From onward the Lord speaks about “the sheep” who have already been led out and are His own sheep. In He points once more to Himself as the door, this time not with regard to the sheep, but to present the blessings that every sheep, that is every human being ( ) receives who enters the area of blessing through Him. Those blessings are threefold: “to be saved”, “to go in and out” and “to find pasture”. The first blessing is “to be saved”. The necessary work for this, His death and His resurrection, still had to be done, but the Lord already points out the result. “To go in and out” is an expression that indicates freedom ( ). In Judaism there is no free access to God. Nor are the Jews free to go out to the nations to tell them about God. Now however there is boldness for both activities ( ; ). The third blessing, “to find pasture”, indicates the spiritual food that the good Shepherd offers them, as opposed to the false shepherds who only feed themselves, pasture themselves, and trample the remaining ( ).

‏ John 10:7-9

I Am the Door

The Lord continues His figure of speech and also adds an explanation. Just as He began the figure of speech with the double and therefore emphatically “truly”, followed by the authoritative “I say to you” (Jn 10:1), so He also begins the sequel with it. He presents Himself as “the door”. He is not the door of Israel, but of the sheep. There is no other door, no other way for the sheep to enter the place of blessing. That blessing is the blessing found in Christendom, which is on a totally different basis than everything connected with Judaism.

The Lord speaks of the many presumptuous people who have risen among the people. Those persons are thieves and robbers. They have robbed the people and they have robbed God by pursuing only their own interests at the expense of His people. The sheep have not listened to them, which means that there is no bond of trust between the sheep and them.

From Jn 10:7 onward the Lord speaks about “the sheep” who have already been led out and are His own sheep. In Jn 10:9 He points once more to Himself as the door, this time not with regard to the sheep, but to present the blessings that every sheep, that is every human being (Eze 34:31) receives who enters the area of blessing through Him. Those blessings are threefold: “to be saved”, “to go in and out” and “to find pasture”.

The first blessing is “to be saved”. The necessary work for this, His death and His resurrection, still had to be done, but the Lord already points out the result. “To go in and out” is an expression that indicates freedom (Acts 9:28). In Judaism there is no free access to God. Nor are the Jews free to go out to the nations to tell them about God. Now however there is boldness for both activities (Heb 10:19; Acts 8:4). The third blessing, “to find pasture”, indicates the spiritual food that the good Shepherd offers them, as opposed to the false shepherds who only feed themselves, pasture themselves, and trample the remaining (Eze 34:18).