Therefore, Jesus said again:
“I tell you the truth, I am the gate (door) for the sheep.”
(John 10:7, NIV)
The door, in this case, is an implicit comparison of a word that primarily is used for one thing and applied to another (a metaphor). It could be an indirect reference to Psalm 118:20 which says, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous can enter. In the Gospels, many times this psalm is quoted as a messianic message. The “gate” is symbolic of “Christ.” The Apostle Paul says, For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18, NIV) … Therefore, brothers, since we have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body (Hebrews 10:19-20, NIV).
The only way we can have entrance to God is through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The “sheep” are His people. We who have professed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Through Him, Jesus Christ gives us what is most important. That is a life more abundant than what the world offers.
Christ came so that we may have eternal life, both now and in the world to come. Once we receive eternal life, if we are obedient to God life can become even more wonderful. In Christ, we enjoy the peace and joy which passes all human understanding. A peace and joy that the world cannot take away. The Bible says all of this is summed up in that triumphant shout of the Apostle Paul, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15: 57).
William Barclay said, once a man discovers through Jesus Christ, what God is like, a new sense of safety and security enters life. If life is in the hands of a God like that, the worries and the fears are gone.
I am an example of what William Barclay said. In 2011, something incredible happened to me that proves God is all-powerful. I was standing in a parking lot off the square in Independence, Missouri. When I looked up into the sky, I had a vision. I felt like a warm white light came down from heaven that shined on and around me. Suddenly, I knew I was standing in the direct presence of God. A peace that was even greater than I had ever experienced filled my soul. I became more aware of God’s love for me. The experience was so overwhelming that tears of joy flowed down my face uncontrollably. There was something even greater that happened! God made a radical change in the kind of man I was. On the inside, that part of me that makes me alive, I became a different man. Many fears that I had before were gone. It has been more than twelve years since I had that vision. Yet today, that experience continues to be a real part of my life.
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