29/06/2026
I AM THE DOOR
Revd. Dr. Osahon Jeremie I. Ogbeiwi
Barnsley Church of the Nazarene
Bible Reading: John 10:7-10
Introduction
The Door? A door is a device that controls the movement of people or traffic entering or leaving a place, a room, a house or a town. When a door opens, it gives access, but when it shuts, it becomes a barrier, barring entrance. Whether they are small doors like valves or giant doors like city gates, whether they are porous like a one-bar barricade or solid like the six-inch doors to bank vaults or safes, doors open only to people who have the key or the combination. In John 10:1, Jesus tells one of the important uses of the door. In the context of a sheepfold where sheep are kept for their safety and security, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the door but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber. He who enters by the door is the shepherd, or the rightful owner of the sheep, who is recognised by the doorkeeper and the sheep. Only he who comes through the door is given legal access and the key to open it.
Examples
There are many examples of doors that open to a place of glory, and those who are qualified enter through it and are recognised. University admission is a good example. Only those who passed their A levels at the required grades and applied through UCAS are admitted as legal students. Anyone who visits the school and finds another way to the lecture hall to attend lectures is an illegal student, a thief and a robber, and can never graduate. Our church operates an open-door policy, and we welcome everyone who comes in through the physical door. To BECOME a committed and registered member of our church, we have another door, a policy door of three expectations: three Bs.
1. Belong: BELONG to our church by actively attending and participating in services for at least 6 months,
2. Believe: BELIEVE in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour (be BORN AGAIN) and
3. Baptised: Be willing to be BAPTISED if not already baptised before.
By this, we encourage everyone in our Church to fulfil the conditions Jesus gave for salvation in Mark 16:16 -
“He who BELIEVES and is BAPTISED will be saved; but he who does not BELIEVE will be condemned.”
That is the door to enter the membership of this church. Anyone who tries to enter the membership of our church in any other way is a thief and a robber who has a hidden agenda. In the same way, anyone who attempts to enter the kingdom of God without passing through the Door of the kingdom is a thief and a robber.
The Door of the Sheep
Jesus says in John 10:7-8 that He is the “Door of the sheep, and that all prophets, gurus and messiahs who made a similar claim before him were thieves and robbers.
Jesus says in John 10:7-10
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Who are the sheep? The sheep are the people Jesus has redeemed, people who believe in him and have been saved from sin when they placed their faith in him. They are the people God has blessed with a hope of eternal life. The place they are kept by God is what Jesus called a sheepfold: a place of salvation and safety. I believe the sheepfold is what David in Psalm 91:1 described as dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. The sheepfold is their paradise, where they can go in and out and find pasture.
What is pasture? The pasture in the sheepfold may represent everything a person seeks to have a happy life. Pastures represent salvation, divine blessings, satisfaction, spiritual food and eternal life. What are you truly seeking in life? If you are seeking salvation and life, Jesus is the door to enter the place where God provides them in abundance. Jesus says in John 10:10 that He is the source of life and abundant life, just as He says in John 3:16 and John 11:25-26 that He is the source of everlasting life. Jesus is the only Door to life. Other doors are thieves, and the thief never gives life. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy
Two Gates
So, according to Jesus, there are two doors or gates. One leads to life, and the second leads to destruction. So Jesus admonishes everyone to choose the gate that leads to life.
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it.”
So the way you live leads to one of these two doors. Living the broad, easy way will lead you to the wide gate that opens to destruction, but living the difficult, tight way will lead you to the narrow door that opens you to life. That the way to the narrow Door that opens to life is described as difficult or tight means it is not a permissive way like the broad, easy way many people live. Many people prefer the broad, easy way because it allows them to do whatever is convenient for them. How do you tell two lovers that they must not live or sleep together until they marry? How do you tell politicians, lawyers and businessmen not to tell lies to gain power and profit? How do you tell students not to cheat in exams when that is what brings quicker success and prosperity? People who love an easy life will also choose the wide gate even though it leads to destruction. When the way to the narrow gate of life is too difficult, they remember they only have one life to live, and they must choose what makes them happy now, though it might bring death later. So, which way are you living now? Which gate awaits you at the end of your life? The wide gate to destruction or the narrow gate to life?
Doing only what you think is best for you always leads to the wide door to destruction. The way that leads to Jesus, the door to life, is the Jesus way. It is the way that does what is right according to Jesus and God. If you are in church seeking the door to divine blessing, favour, satisfaction and salvation, but you choose to live a permissive lifestyle, you are in the wrong place. Jesus way to the Jesus gate might be difficult and narrow, but it is the only door that opens to salvation and life. Yes, abundant life and eternal life.
Conclusion
Are you a sheep in Jesus’ sheepfold? What pasture do you seek in your life? Are you seeking salvation and Life?
Jesus still says in John 10:9 – “I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.”
You only find the pasture you seek when you come to God through Jesus. Jesus’ claim of being the Door of the sheep in John 10:7 aligns with a similar claim in John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except by Me.” So, only by living the Jesus way can one find the Jesus Door that opens to life and salvation.
