The Exclusive Door to Abundant Life Text: John 10:7-10
Introduction: The Scandal of the Definite Article
We live in an age that is allergic to doors. Our culture has declared war on thresholds, boundaries, and distinctions. The spirit of the age is a spirit of mush, a bland, syncretistic stew where every path leads to the top of the same mountain, and every religion is just a different dialect of the same basic spiritual truth. The modern world loves options, it loves open fields, and it despises narrow gates. Its highest virtue is a gelatinous tolerance, and its greatest sin is to say that there is only one way. It is a world that can stomach a Jesus who is a way, but it cannot abide a Jesus who is the way.
Into this relativistic fog, Jesus Christ speaks with the force of a thunderclap. He does not offer Himself as one option among many. He does not present Himself as a helpful suggestion or a spiritual additive to make your life a bit better. He makes an absolute, exclusive, and therefore scandalous claim. He says, "I am the door." Not a door. The door. The definite article here is a declaration of war against the pluralism of our day and the paganism of every day.
The Pharisees, to whom Jesus was speaking, were professional gatekeepers. They had constructed an elaborate system of fences, rules, and regulations around the law of God. They were the religious bouncers, deciding who was in and who was out based on their traditions and their self-righteousness. They thought they controlled access to God. And Jesus, standing right in front of them, effectively tells them that they are illegitimate. They are not the doorkeepers; they are burglars. They are not shepherds; they are rustlers. He is the sole point of entry. He is the only authorized access to the sheepfold of God.
This passage is a direct assault on every form of human autonomy. It confronts every man-made religion, every secular philosophy, and every political program that offers a counterfeit salvation. It tells us that there is one door to safety, one door to true liberty, and one door to a life that is actually life. Every other entrance is a trap door that leads to destruction. We must therefore understand what Jesus is claiming for Himself, what He is protecting His sheep from, and what kind of life He provides for those who enter through Him.
The Text
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
(John 10:7-10 LSB)
The Sole Proprietor (v. 7-8)
Jesus begins by doubling down on His claim with the solemn formula, "Truly, truly."
"So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.”" (John 10:7-8)
In the ancient near east, a shepherd would often lie down in the opening of a stone sheepfold at night, literally becoming the door. Nothing could get to the sheep except through him. Jesus takes this earthy image and applies it with cosmic force. He is the only legitimate way into the covenant community of God. To try to get to God by any other means, through any other system, whether it be the legalistic piety of the Pharisees or the atheistic materialism of our own day, is to attempt to break in like a criminal. You cannot sneak into the kingdom of God through the window of your own good works, or tunnel in through esoteric knowledge, or blast your way in through political revolution.
Then He makes a breathtaking statement: "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers." He is not, of course, referring to the Old Testament prophets like Moses or Isaiah, who pointed to Him and spoke for Him. He is referring to all the self-appointed messiahs, the revolutionary charlatans, and the religious hucksters who had come in their own name, promising deliverance but delivering only death. In the immediate context, this is a direct shot at the Pharisees standing right in front of Him. They were the current iteration of false shepherds, who laid heavy burdens on the people and cared nothing for the flock. They were thieves, stealing the people's money and God's glory. They were robbers, violently casting out those who, like the blind man in the previous chapter, actually came to see who Jesus was.
But notice the encouraging caveat: "but the sheep did not hear them." God's true sheep have a divinely given instinct. They can discern the voice of their Shepherd from the voice of a stranger. This is a profound statement about the nature of election and effectual calling. Those who belong to Christ will not ultimately be deceived. They may be tempted, they may stumble, but they will not finally follow the voice of the hireling or the wolf. Their ears are tuned to the frequency of grace, and the static of legalism or license ultimately drives them away.
Salvation, Liberty, and Provision (v. 9)
Jesus then repeats His claim and explains the benefits for those who enter through Him.
"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." (John 10:9 LSB)
Here we have a beautiful three-fold description of the Christian life. First, "he will be saved." This is the foundational blessing. To enter through Christ is to be rescued from the penalty of sin, the wrath of God, and the power of the evil one. It is to be brought from death to life, from darkness to light. This is not a salvation we earn or maintain, but one we receive by passing through the door by faith.
Second, he will "go in and out." This is a classic Old Testament expression for a life of freedom, peace, and security (Deut. 28:6). It does not mean, as some have foolishly suggested, that we can pop in and out of salvation. Rather, it describes the glorious liberty of a child of God. The sheepfold is a place of safety and communion ("going in"), but it is not a prison. The Christian life is also one of confident engagement with the world ("going out"). We go out into the world to do our work, to take dominion, to engage in cultural tasks, all from a position of absolute security in Christ. We are not cloistered monks, hiding from the world in fear. We are secure in our Father's fold, and from that security, we go out to work in His world, knowing we can always return to that place of safety. This is the rhythm of a healthy Christian life: worship and work, communion and commission, safety and sortie.
Third, he will "find pasture." This speaks of sustenance and provision. The Shepherd does not just save His sheep; He feeds them. He leads them to green pastures and still waters. This is not just about a future heavenly reward. Jesus provides for His people now. He gives us His Word as spiritual food, He gives us His Spirit as our constant help, and He provides for our daily needs as we seek first His kingdom. The Christian life is not a life of grim starvation; it is a life of feasting on the goodness of God.
The Great Antithesis: Life vs. Death (v. 10)
Finally, Jesus draws the ultimate contrast between Himself and the thief. This is the central antithesis of all reality.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10 LSB)
The thief, who is Satan and all his emissaries, whether spiritual or human, has a three-fold mission: to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to steal glory from God and joy from man. He wants to kill the body and, if he could, the soul. He wants to destroy everything good, true, and beautiful that God has made. This is the entire agenda of the city of man. It is a culture of death, built on envy, murder, and destruction. Look at the world around us. Every ideology that is not rooted in Christ the Door is a thief's ideology. It promises freedom but brings bondage. It promises life but brings death. It promises to build utopia and leaves a trail of smoking ruins.
In glorious, stark opposition, Jesus declares His mission. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The life He gives is first of all eternal life, a restored relationship with God. But it is not just a quantity of life that stretches into eternity. It is a quality of life that begins now. The word for "abundantly" means super-abundantly, overflowing, more than enough. This is not the thin, anemic, vaporous spirituality that so many Christians settle for. This is a robust, hearty, joyful, and fruitful existence. Abundant life is not a promise of a life free from trouble. It is a promise that in the midst of trouble, we can have a deep, unshakable joy. It is a life of purpose, meaning, and dominion. It is the life of the blessed man in Psalm 1, the man planted by rivers of water, whose leaf does not wither, who brings forth fruit in his season. It is a life that is not just about personal piety, but about the steady, certain advance of the kingdom of God in every area of life, until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Conclusion: Entering the Abundant Life
The claims of Jesus Christ in this passage leave us with no neutral ground. He is either who He says He is, the one, exclusive door to God, or He is a megalomaniac. The world's religions and philosophies are either thieves and robbers, or Jesus is a slanderer. There is no middle position. This is the great offense, the great stumbling block of the gospel.
Every person is born on the outside of the sheepfold, exposed to the wolves. We are by nature children of wrath, following the prince of the power of the air, the great thief himself. We cannot build our own door. We cannot climb the wall. Our only hope is to hear the Shepherd's voice and to enter through the Door that He is.
The good news of the gospel is that this Door is open. Christ, by His death and resurrection, has made a way where there was no way. To enter is not complicated. It is to abandon all other claims to entry. It is to confess that your own works are worthless, that your own religion is a dead end, and that your own wisdom is foolishness. It is to trust in Him alone. When you do, you are not just given a ticket to heaven. You are brought into a new reality. You are saved, you are set at liberty, and you are seated at a feast. You are given life, and life to the full.
And that abundant life is not meant to be kept to yourself. It is a life that overflows. It is a life that is productive, fruitful, and victorious. It is a life that takes the security of the sheepfold and extends its boundaries out into the world, claiming every square inch for the Good Shepherd who bought it all with His own blood. He is the Door. Come in, and then go out and live.