Day 39 of 49
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
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.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Jn 10:1–10.
John 10 takes place at the Feast of Dedication (Feast of Lights), in winter (vs 22-23). The Feast of Dedication is what we know as Hanukkah. At the time of Jesus it was celebrated as a rededication of the Temple. Today in America, most Christians see it as a Jewish substitute for Christmas using a menorah instead of a tree.
Hanukkah celebrates a miracle of God that happened during what we call the 300 quiet years, where God did not speak to his people.
Around 200 bc, Syria, Greece, Egypt and Rome fought for control in Israel. Antiochus III worked with Israel to oust Egypt, but when he died, Antiochus IV wanted all to embrace the Greek lifestyle. He refused to let the people study the Torah, sacrifice to God, and tried to force them to eat pork. He sacrificed a pig on the brazen altar, erected a statue of Zeus in the Holy Place and assassinated the priests.
The 90 year old High Priest refused to eat the pork they tried to force feed him. His people, in order to spare him the pain of refusing, told him to pretend to eat it. He refused because he did not want to give the impression to the children that he had compromised and turned away from Adonai. He died a horrible death.
Judas Maccabeus led a rebellion in 164 bc. The people expelled the Greeks and cleansed the Temple. They found one small jar of uncontaminated oil, not enough for lighting the candlestick in the Temple, but it was multiplied and provided enough oil for 8 nights, or until they were able to consecrate new oil. That is the reason for the lighting of the menorah for 8 nights, remembering God’s miracle of the oil.
The holiday rejoices in God’s provision of the oil and a deliverer in Judas Maccabeus. They celebrated the rededication of the Temple and looked forward to the coming deliverer, the Messiah.
This festival encouraged a great hope that the Messiah would arrive and deliver them. But they did not seek a spiritual deliverer, they sought one to free them from Rome.
In John’s Gospel, he preceded the “I AM the door” with the story of the healing of the blind man. Because he claimed to believe in Jesus, who had healed him, the Pharisees expelled him from the synagogue, which included exclusion from the Temple also. They felt as if they were in charge of who had access to the people of God and to God himself.
Jesus specified that he is the door of the sheep.
The watchman was usually one of the shepherds. The folds could contain several flocks. At the door, each sheep who entered must go under the rod which the shepherd placed across the door, too high to step over, but the sheep must bend down to go under. This revealed anything that was wrong with the sheep so the shepherd could take care of it right there; removing burrs or placing oil on a wound or cut, or dealing with a lame leg. Then he would lay at the door so that the sheep had to go through him to get back out.
As we looked at the OT passages referring to a door, there is a sense that the door to God’s presence requires righteousness to enter. Our righteousness provided through Jesus Christ allows us access to the presence of God. Entering God’s presence gives us access to the kingdom of God, eternal life, rest, and fellowship.
Jesus is the only way to the Father, there is no other.
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the Temple split from top to bottom. This curtain allowed only the High Priest to enter God’s presence once a year, but only after steps of preparation including sacrifice, washing, changing clothes, and carrying the blood and incense (Lev 16:1-29).
Jesus, as the door, opened the way for us to enter God’s presence without all the preparation. He was our sacrifice. He washed away our sins. He has clothed us in righteousness. He did it all for us on the cross.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!
Mk 15:37–39.
Because Jesus said “I AM the Door”
- I have_________________
- I can_______________
- I will________________
TRICIA LATHROP 