John 10:9

“I am the doorway. By me if any man enter in he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

‘I am the doorway of the sheep' (compare John 10:7). Jesus is both the good shepherd and the doorway. All who would come to the Father must do so through the doorway. And those who do come through Him will be saved. As mentioned very often this would be literally true of a Middle Eastern shepherd. Once his flock were safely in the sheepfold he would lie across the entrance acting as the protecting door and guarding the doorway. But he would not be the doorway and the main stress in Jesus' illustration is on the doorway as being the only way in and out. That is here the crucial point. That doorway is on the way of holiness (Isaiah 35:8). and those who would walk on that road must use that doorway constantly. They must walk along it by following Jesus. There is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved (Acts 4:12), although later He will refer to the shepherd as One Who acts as protector and gives his life for the sheep (v. 11). Indeed the way He describes it, ‘the doorway of the sheep' rather than of the sheepfold, stresses the personal nature of His attentions. He is their doorway, their way in and out and their personal protector, their shepherd.

Those who respond to God, coming through Jesus Christ, will find a saving welcome. They will become acceptable to God through Him.

‘Go in and out and find pasture' - once they have first entered through the doorway and now go in and out by it, they can freely enjoy the benefits and protection provided by their Shepherd. For Jesus is their doorway and their shepherd, their entry to God and their guidance on the way of holiness, as they walk among the waiting people of Israel. He is the bread of life and the water of life.