Jesus as the Sheep Gate

Gospel	John 10:1-10 ©

I am the gate of the sheepfold

Jesus said:

  ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognize the voice of strangers.’

  Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.

  So Jesus spoke to them again:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

I am the gate of the sheepfold.

All others who have come

are thieves and brigands;

but the sheep took no notice of them.

I am the gate.

Anyone who enters through me will be safe:

he will go freely in and out

and be sure of finding pasture.

The thief comes

only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come

so that they may have life and have it to the full.’

Jesus uses a lot of different terms to describe Himself and His mission.  Some of these terms are pointing to Him as He really is, such as "I am the bread of life." which we find in John Chapter six.  In other places, such as our reading today, He is using language which the people of the time, well versed in the keeping and use of sheep, would have understood quite well. 

So, what was Jesus telling us here?  Jesus is the sheep gate.  A sheep gate is a gate in which sheep pass through (Duh.) But the sheep gate that Jesus is referring to is the gate near the pool at Bethesda in Jerusalem.  Yes, the very same pool where the sick and suffering waited to be healed and where Jesus would at some later time heal the paralytic.  But the pool itself was not some beautiful spa where the notables went to bathe and enjoy the healing properties of the waters. No, it was quite the opposite. Those of delicate sensibilities and those of delicate dress and temperament did not patronize pool.  This pool was near the sheep gate by the temple. The sheep would be taken through the sheep gate and washed in the pool at Bethesda to make them pure and ready for sacrifice. So, any lamb washed in these waters then went through the sheep gate and into the temple and would not come out again nor pass through the sheep gate, it was a one-way road for our wool-bearing friends.  

Should we be afraid of Jesus when he describes Himself as the sheep gate?  No, because Jesus Himself says that the sheep that enter through Him will be safe and will come and go through the gate multiple times always finding pasture.  We enter the fold through Him and He makes sure that we have all that we need and more than that, we will have life and have it to the full.