How many of you use baby gates to keep your little ones safe? We have them in our house for two reasons. We have grandchildren who are under 2 years old, and the 13 wood steps from the ground level to the living level are dangerous for them. We also use them every day to keep our dog from attempting to do the stairs alone. At almost 14, our old girl has taken several spills, and now needs a guiding hand to safely go up and down. We are grateful for gates that keep everyone save and contained.

In John 10, Jesus declared himself to the Gate for the sheepfold. He determines who may come and go into the pen, with the priority of keeping the thieves and outlaws out. He allows the sheep who follow his voice to enter through his gate to find the pasture, where life can be experienced to the fullest. Those who come only to steal, kill, and destroy will be locked out.

John 10 (Common English Bible)

7 So Jesus spoke again, “I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and outlaws, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.

 The Gospel of John does not contain any parables, but this metaphorical rendering comes close. John calls this teaching a paroimia, which refers to an illustration used to deliberately be vague as to its real meaning. (See John 10:6, where our Common English Bible version uses the word “analogy”.) Remember that we have established in previous devotionals that the revelation of the truth of Jesus as the Son of God was dangerous for him at this point. He had so much work to do before he took on the work of the crucifixion. So the paroimia served to allude to the truth of his nature without being too confrontational to the Pharisees.

 The image of gates and fences when applied to a first century sheepfold might leave us with a visual of a rickety structure of wood or branches on a rocky Judean hill. But when applied to Jesus, it is more appropriate to envision a twenty-foot high gate of steel embedded in the Great Wall of China. Jesus’ gate was impenetrable. Jesus’ fences were secure. If you entered through the open gate, your life was guaranteed to be protected and defended by Jesus himself.

For his first followers, then, Jesus offered safety from the dead adherence of the Law and its false claims. He offered them a new life of salvation through the true Messiah of Israel.

 For modern day readers, the safety of entering through Jesus’ gate is a promise of eternal salvation. If you consider this illustration as referring to the gates of heaven, it makes sense that Jesus is the gate. In John 14:6 we read: ^“Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). But for his first followers, Jesus offered himself as the way back to knowing and understanding the Father, something that the thief and outlaw Pharisees could not do. They had forgotten about God in their never-ending pursuit of the Law. 

Truly, this passage confronts us with a model of community envisioned by Jesus where all may come in. His model is grounded in the word “open.” This invites us to reflect on our own community’s practices. The illustration of open gates opens up a question for us today. How open are the gates of the church? Do people feel as thought they can come in, just as they are, or do the “gatekeepers” of doctrine and tradition prevent people from entering in? What does Jesus, our Open Gate, want? And as we expand the call to openness, what can we discern about the openness of our social structures, our neighborhoods, and our borders? Are the practices and policies that control these entities in line with Jesus’ vision?

Jesus is an open gate.

Which are you?

Safe Pastures by Kathy Schumacher