Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 10:9
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
9. by me ] Placed first for emphasis; ‘through Me and in no other way.’ The main point is iterated again and again, each time with great simplicity, and yet most emphatically. “The simplicity, the directness, the particularity, the emphasis of S. John’s style give his writings a marvellous power, which is not perhaps felt at first. Yet his words seem to hang about the reader till he is forced to remember them. Each great truth sounds like the burden of a strain, ever falling upon the ear with a calm persistency which secures attention.” Westcott, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, p. 250.
he shall be saved ] These words and ‘shall find pasture’ seem to shew that this verse does not refer to the shepherds only, but to the sheep also. Although ‘find pasture’ may refer to the shepherd’s work for the flock, yet one is inclined to think that if the words do not refer to both, they refer to the sheep only.
With the verse as a whole should be compared ‘the strait gate and narrow way which leadeth unto life’ (Mat 7:14). In the Clementine Homilies (iii. lii.) we have ‘He, being a true prophet, said, I am the gate of life; he that entereth in through Me entereth into life.’ See on Joh 9:3.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By me – By my instruction and merits.
Shall be saved – See Joh 5:24.
Shall go in and out … – This is language applied, commonly to flocks. It meant that he shall be well supplied, and defended, and led beside the still waters of salvation.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. I am the door: by me if any man enter, c.] Those who come for salvation to God, through Christ, shall obtain it: he shall be saved-he shall have his sins blotted out, his soul purified, and himself preserved unto eternal life. This the scribes and Pharisees could neither promise nor impart.
Go in and out] This phrase, in the style of the Hebrews, points out all the actions of a man’s life, and the liberty he has of acting, or not acting. A good shepherd conducts his flock to the fields where good pasturage is to be found watches over them while there, and brings them back again and secures them in the fold. So he that is taught and called of God feeds the flock of Christ with those truths of his word of grace which nourish them unto eternal life; and God blesses together both the shepherd and the sheep, so that going out and coming in they find pasture: every occurrence is made useful to them; and all things work together for their good.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Saviour here lets us know, that he meant by the door, in the former verse, the door of salvation; the way by which every man must enter into life that findeth life; not the door only by which every true pastor must enter into the church, but by which every soul that shall be saved must enter into heaven; which is the doctrine which he before taught, Joh 3:16,18,36. And he, who so believeth in me, shall be so guided, and governed, and taught, that he shall be secure, and want nothing for the management of his whole conversation in the world. Under the notion of pasture here, are signified all good things that the soul can stand in need of: it is much the same promise with that Joh 6:35, He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst; and with that Psa 84:11; as also with the Psa 23:1-6; to which Psalm our Saviour is thought in this parable to have a special reference.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. by me if any man enter inwhethershepherd or sheep.
shall be savedthegreat object of the pastoral office, as of all the divinearrangements towards mankind.
and shall go in and out andfind pasturein, as to a place of safety andrepose; out, as to “green pastures and still waters”(Ps 23:2) for nourishment andrefreshing, and all this only transferred to another clime, andenjoyed in another manner, at the close of this earthly scene (Re7:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I am the door,…. Of the sheep, as before, see Joh 10:7. The Ethiopic version reads, “I am the true door of the sheep”; which is repeated for further confirmation, and for the sake of introducing what follows:
by me if any man enter in; into the sheepfold, the church,
he shall be saved; not that being in a church, and having submitted to ordinances, will save any, but entering into these, at the right door, or through faith in Christ, such will be saved, according to
Mr 16:16; such shall be saved from sin, the dominion of it, the guilt and condemning power of it, and at last from the being of it; and from the law, its curse and condemnation, and from wrath to come, and from every evil, and every enemy; such are, and for ever shall be, in a safe state, being in Christ, and in his hands, out of which none can pluck them:
and shall go in and out; in allusion to the sheep going in and out of the fold: not that those who come in at the right door, shall go out of the church, or from among the saints again; but this phrase rather denotes the exercises of faith in going unto Christ, and acting upon him, and in coming forth in the outward confession of him, and the performance of good works; or in going unto him, and dealing with his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, and coming out of themselves, and all dependence on their own righteousness; or it may regard the conversation of the saints in the church, their attendance on ordinances, their safety there, their free and open communion one with another, and with Christ, in whose name and strength they do all they do, coming in and out at this door:
and find pasture; green and good pasture; pasture for their souls; the words of faith, and good doctrine; the wholesome words of Christ Jesus; the ordinances, the breasts of consolation; yea, Christ himself, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed: the Persic version renders it, “and shall a pastor”, or “shepherd”; see Jer 3:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The door ( ). Repeated from verse 7.
By me if any man enter in (‘ ). Condition of third class with and second aorist active subjunctive of . Note proleptic and emphatic position of ‘ . One can call this narrow intolerance, if he will, but it is the narrowness of truth. If Jesus is the Son of God sent to earth for our salvation, he is the only way. He had already said it in 5:23. He will say it again more sharply in 14:6. It is unpalatable to the religious dogmatists before him as it is to the liberal dogmatists today. Jesus offers the open door to “any one” () who is willing () to do God’s will (7:17).
He shall be saved (). Future passive of , the great word for salvation, from , safe and sound. The sheep that comes into the fold through Jesus as the door will be safe from thieves and robbers for one thing. He will have entrance () and outgo (), he will be at home in the daily routine (cf. Ac 1:21) of the sheltered flock.
And shall find pasture ( ). Future (linear future) indicative of , old word from , to pasture. In N.T. only here and 2Ti 2:17 (in sense of growth). This same phrase occurs in 1Ch 4:40. The shepherd leads the sheep to pasture, but this phrase pictures the joy of the sheep in the pasture provided by the shepherd.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “I am the door,” (ho ego eimi he thura) “I am (exist as) the door,” Joh 10:1-2; Joh 10:7, the entrance, the access-to salvation, security, eternal life, life beyond this, as the one door to Noah’s Ark was not only salvation from destruction by the flood, but also transport to new life and a new beginning on earth, Gen 6:16; Gen 7:16; He is not “a door” but “the only door,” Joh 8:24; Act 4:12.
2) “By me if any man enter in,” (di emou ean tis eiselthe).”If anyone enters through me,” through the door, doesn’t get into the sheepfold (the church) Joh 10:1, some other way, climbing over, digging under, or digging through, in some cheating, lying manner, as Judas Iscariot did, as a baptized, ordained, covetous, selfish cheat, Joh 6:64; Joh 12:4-6, Our Lord said, have not ”I chosen twelve of you and one of you is a devil?”
3) “He shall be saved,” (sothesetai) “He will be saved or delivered,” by me and by no other, Act 4:12; Act 10:43; Rom 1:16. He will be safe from the consequences of judgement for his sins, because Jesus has borne them, Isa 53:1-12; 2Co 5:21; 1Pe 2:24.
4) “And shall go in and out,” (kai eiseleusetai kai ekseleusetai) “And he will go in and go out,” of the sheepfold or from the sheepfold, in fellowship assembly, for prayer, worship, praise, and study, and out to the fields to feast on God’s daily goodness, let His light shine, and bear witness of Him, Heb 10:24-25; Mat 5:15-16; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; Act 1:6.
5) “And find pasture.” (kai nomen heuresei) “And he will find pasture,” daily food, manna from on high, doing daily tasks, being doers of the Word, praying, “give us this day our daily bread,” etc. Mat 6:11; Jas 1:22; Jas 1:27; Php_4:19.
SALVATION
I read a story the other day of some Russians crossing wide plains studded over here and there with forests. The wolves were out, the horses were rushing forward madly, the travelers could hear the baying; and, though the horses tore along with all speed, yet the wolves were fast behind, and they only escaped as we say, “by the skin of their teeth,” managing just to get inside some hut that stood in the road, and to shut the door. Then they heard the wolves leap on the roof, they could hear them dash against the sides of the hut; they could hear them gnawing at the door, and the howling, and making all sorts of dismal noises; but the travelers were safe, because they had entered in by the door, and the door was shut. Now, when a man is in Christ, he can hear, as it were, the devils howling like wolves, all fierce and hungry for him; and his own sins, like wolves, are seeking to drag him down to destruction. But he has got in to Christ, and that is such a shelter that all the devils in the world, if they were to come at once, could not start a single beam of that eternal refuge: it must stand fast, though the earth and heaven should pass away.
– Spurgeon.
The phrase “to go in and out,” is a common Old Testament expression denoting free activity of daily life and service, Num 27:15-21, Deu 28:6; Psa 121:8; Jer 37:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9. If any man enter by me. The highest consolation of believers is, that when they have once embraced Christ, they learn that they are out of danger; for Christ promises to them salvation and happiness. He afterwards divides it into two parts.
He shall go in and out, and find pasture. First, they shall go safely wherever they find necessary; and, next, they shall be fed to the full. By going in and out, Scripture often denotes all the actions of the life, as we say in French, aller et venir, ( to go and come,) (287) which means, to dwell These words, therefore, present to us a twofold advantage of the Gospel, that our souls shall find pasture in it, which otherwise become faint and famished, and are fed with nothing but wind; and, next, because he will faithfully protect and guard us against the attacks of wolves and robbers.
(287) A phrase in Scottish law, denoting a full right to occupy a house or any property, is, free ish (issue) and entrance, or, in other words, a right to go out and to come in, as the occupant pleases. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) By me if any man enter in.He returns to the thought of the door, through which every true shepherd must himself enter the fold. The thought is parallel to that of the strait gate and narrow way, in Mat. 7:13-14, and with St. Pauls thought in Rom. 5:2, and Eph. 2:18. No one can really enter the fold and become a shepherd of the flock who does not seek to do so through the character and life and death of Christi.e., to devote himself in entire self-sacrifice to the sheep whom he seeks to lead; to live in unfailing prayer to and communion with God, whose the sheep are; to find for himself as for them the access through Christ Jesus by one Spirit unto the Father. We may not narrow the door to the fold, nor yet may we widen it. He is the Door. No shepherd may enter unless through Him.
He shall be saved.The words refer primarily to the dangers without the fold from which he shall be delivered. (See the striking parallel in 1Co. 3:15, and Note there.) But in the wider thought they include the salvation from sin which is in this life to be realised, and is a necessary qualification for the pastors work.
And shall go in and out, and find pasture.The fold will ever be open to him who enters by the Door. He will have perfect freedom to enter, whenever storm or danger or night approaches. He will lead out and find pasture for his flock. In the devotion of his service, and in communion with God, he will daily have an increasing knowledge of truths new and old, and the truths which he learns he will give as food for the souls of men.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. The door The way of access to the fold of the justified; and so the way, access, or mediator between man and God. The Pharisees rejected this way; and yet, undertaking to play the shepherd by a false route, became interlopers, usurpers, persecutors, and destroyers. If any man saved For even the under shepherds are, under another view, sheep of the great Shepherd, and need to enter in and be saved.
Pasture See note on Joh 10:3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I am the doorway. By me if any man enter in he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
‘I am the doorway of the sheep’ (compare Joh 10:7). Jesus is both the good shepherd and the doorway. All who would come to the Father must do so through the doorway. And those who do come through Him will be saved. As mentioned very often this would be literally true of a Middle Eastern shepherd. Once his flock were safely in the sheepfold he would lie across the entrance acting as the protecting door and guarding the doorway. But he would not be the doorway and the main stress in Jesus’ illustration is on the doorway as being the only way in and out. That is here the crucial point. That doorway is on the way of holiness (Isa 35:8). and those who would walk on that road must use that doorway constantly. They must walk along it by following Jesus. There is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved (Act 4:12), although later He will refer to the shepherd as One Who acts as protector and gives his life for the sheep (v. 11). Indeed the way He describes it, ‘the doorway of the sheep’ rather than of the sheepfold, stresses the personal nature of His attentions. He is their doorway, their way in and out and their personal protector, their shepherd.
Those who respond to God, coming through Jesus Christ, will find a saving welcome. They will become acceptable to God through Him.
‘Go in and out and find pasture’ – once they have first entered through the doorway and now go in and out by it, they can freely enjoy the benefits and protection provided by their Shepherd. For Jesus is their doorway and their shepherd, their entry to God and their guidance on the way of holiness, as they walk among the waiting people of Israel. He is the bread of life and the water of life.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 10:9. By me if any man enter in, “If any man believeth on me, he shall become a true member of God’s church on earth, and, if faithful, shall from time to time receive such instructions as shall nourish his soul unto eternal life.” Our Lord here seems to allude to the common pastures, and to the method of grazing sheep in the East. They were confined in the folds by night, to secure them from wolves and other wild beasts; but were let out to graze in the day time, when the danger from those animals was not so great. See 1Sa 18:16.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 10:9 . ] , Euth. Zigabenus.
] emphatically occupying the front place, excluding every other mediation.
] namely, to the sheep in the fold. Comp. Joh 10:1 ; Joh 10:7 . The subject is therefore a shepherd ( ), who goes in to the sheep through the door. Others , on the contrary (Chrysostom, Euth. Zigabenus, Maldonatus, Bengel, and several others; also Fritzsche, Tholuck, De Wette, B. Crusius, Maier, Baeumlein, Hengstenberg, Godet, and several others), regard the sheep as the subject, and the as the gate for the sheep. But there is no ground for such a change of figure, seeing that both the word in itself after Joh 10:1-2 , and also the singular and masculine , can only refer to the shepherd; besides, another mode of entrance than through the door is for the sheep quite inconceivable; consequently the emphatic words , so far as the is the door , would be without any possible antithesis.
] is not to be understood directly of the attainment of the Messianic redemption (compare especially 1Co 3:15 ), as Luthardt and older commentators suppose, after 1Ti 4:16 , for that would be foreign to the context (see what follows); but means: he will be delivered, i.e . he will be set free from all dangers by the protecting door; the interpretation of the figure intended by Jesus does undoubtedly signify safety from the Messianic , and the guarantee of future eternal redemption. This happy is then followed by unrestrained and blessed service , which is graphically set forth by means of the words . . ., as in Num 27:17 , as an unhindered entering in and going out of the fold, at the head of the flock, whilst engaged in the daily duty of tending it; and by , as the finding of pasture for the flock ( , Soph. O. R . 760; compare Plat. Legg . iii. p. 679 A: ). That this in the interpretation of the allegory is (Plat. Phaedr . p. 248 B), which works for the eternal life of those who are fed through the evangelical grace and truth which they appropriate (comp. Joh 10:10 ), does not need further urging.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1662
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Joh 10:9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
THE importance of sound doctrine cannot be too strongly insisted on. Error, especially in the fundamentals of religion, is as destructive as vice. In innumerable instances, it brings both those who propagate, and those who receive it, into eternal ruin: hence St. Paul denounced anathemas against any one, even though he should be an angel from heaven, who should blend Judaism with Christianity. Our Lord himself also spake of false teachers with indignation. The Pharisees, while they rejected him, taught the people to look for salvation to their own ritual or superstitious observances; Jesus therefore declared them to be only as thieves and robbers, who, instead of belonging to the flock of God, sought eventually their destruction, and, in opposition to their false doctrines, affirmed [Note: The affirmation is exceeding strong, ver. 7 and it is repeated in the text.] himself to be the only door of admission into the fold of God.
We shall consider,
I.
The metaphor by which Jesus represents his own character
He had been delivering the parable of the Good Shepherd [Note: ver. 6, 11.]; in elucidating which, he speaks of himself as the door of the sheepfold.
The Church of God is here compared to a sheepfold
[All men in their natural state are wandering at a distance from God [Note: Isa 53:6.]: they neither acknowledge him as their Shepherd, nor feed in his pastures; they are strangers to that flock which is under his immediate care [Note: Eph 2:12.]. But in every age God has had a chosen and peculiar people: in the days of Moses he brought them into a visible fold; till the time of Christ all his sheep were kept within the pale of the Jewish Church. But our Lord announced his purpose to introduce the Gentiles also into his fold [Note: ver. 16.]. Now all who name the name of Christ are called his sheep. All however who are nominally his, are not really so [Note: Rom 2:28; Rom 9:6.]. It is to be feared that his sincere followers still form but a little flock; but the truly upright, of whatever denomination they be, belong to him: they are indeed often ready to cast out each other as aliens; nevertheless they are equally the objects of his superintending care.]
Of this fold Christ is the door
[Parts of Juda were probably still infested with wolves: the sheepfolds therefore were better secured than ours: perhaps the entrance into them was guarded by a door. Now, what that door was to the fold, that is Christ to the Church: every sheep must enter into it by faith in him [Note: Gal 3:26.]. We are expressly said to have access unto God through him [Note: Eph 2:18.]; nor indeed has there ever been any other way into the fold [Note: Joh 14:6.]. It was the blood of the sacrifice which procured admission for the high-priest within the vail [Note: Heb 9:7; Heb 9:25.]. Through that, all believers, from the very beginning, were brought nigh to God [Note: Rev 13:8. with Eph 2:13.]; and, through that, we also have boldness to enter into the holiest [Note: Heb 10:19-20.]. Some, it is true, have climbed up into the fold some other way [Note: ver. 1.]: they profess to be his without having ever believed in him; but they are regarded by him only as thieves and robbers; nor will they ever be admitted into the fold above.]
This description of Christ is of great importance.
II.
The benefit of receiving him under that character
There is no benefit which can accrue to a well-attended flock, which does not arise to those who believe in Christ
1.
Security; He shall be saved
[Protection is of unspeakable benefit to a defenceless sheep: but who can estimate the value of salvation to an immortal soul? Yet, such is the portion of those who enter into the fold aright: they shall be rescued out of the jaws of the devouring lion [Note: 2Ti 2:26. 1Pe 5:8.]: they shall be freed from the curse and condemnation of the law [Note: Rom 8:1.]: death itself, disarmed of its sting, shall have no power to hurt them [Note: 1Co 15:55-57.]: every kind and degree of penal evil shall be averted from them. He that is empowered, is also engaged, to save them to the uttermost: and this benefit he bestows, because they come unto God by him [Note: Heb 7:25.].]
2.
Liberty; He shall go in and out
[A sheep left to wander on the mountains infested with wolves, might boast of its freedom from restraint; but it would soon find what little reason there was to glory in such a privilege: its truest liberty is to submit itself to the direction of the shepherd. Thus they, who live without God in the world, may boast of their liberty; but their very freedom is, in fact, the sorest bondage: [Note: 2Pe 2:19.] and every moment they are in danger of everlasting destruction [Note: Psa 7:12-13. Deu 32:35.]. It is far otherwise with those who have entered into the fold by Christ. Whether at large by day, or enclosed by night, they feel no restraint. Through Christ they have all the liberty which their souls can desire [Note: Joh 8:36.]. Secure of Gods favour, they go in and out before him in perfect peace [Note: Psa 25:13.].]
3.
Provision; He shall find pasture
[Good pasture comprises all the wants of a highly favoured flock: and how rich, how abundant is that, which the sheep of Christ partake of! There are exceeding great and precious promises, on which they feed. It is utterly their own fault if ever they experience a dearth [Note: Psa 23:2.]. David from his personal knowledge attests this truth [Note: Psa 22:26.]; and God confirms it by an express promise to all his people [Note: Eze 34:14.]. This privilege too, no less than the others, is the consequence of entering into the fold by the appointed door [Note: Joh 6:35.].]
Address
1.
Those who are wandering at a distance from the fold
[Perhaps, like the silly sheep, you are insensible of your danger; but the more confident you are of safety, the more certain is your ruin. If they only, who enter in by the door, are saved, what can you expect? O consider, that the loss of bodily life, is not to be compared with the doom that awaits you; nor do you know how soon that doom may be inflicted upon you. Blessed be God, however, the door is yet open to all who come, and the Saviours declaration is yet sounding in your ears [Note: Joh 6:37.] He is even now desirous to bring you home on his shoulders rejoicing [Note: Luk 15:4-6.]. Stay not then till the door be for ever closed upon you. Let the caution given by our Lord stir you up to improve the present moment [Note: Luk 13:25.]]
2.
Those who are desirous of returning to God
[It has been already shewn, that they only are saved who enter in at the door. Now our proud hearts are extremely averse to be saved in this way. We would rather come into the fold by some less humiliating means. But our self-righteous attempts will be of no avail. We must come unto God by Christ, or not at all: salvation never was, nor can be, obtained through any other name than his [Note: Act 4:12.]. Seek then, and that with earnestness, to enter in at the strait gate [Note: Luk 13:24.], and then you shall have that promise fulfilled to you [Note: Isa 45:17.]]
3.
Those who are dwelling in the fold of God
[What debtors are ye to the grace which brought you to the knowledge of Christ! and what inestimable blessings are you now made to enjoy! Yet these are only an earnest of the blessings that await you hereafter. Rich as your present pastures are, they are not to be compared with those above. Let nothing tempt you then to wander from the fold to which you are brought. Follow not those who are but goats, or wolves in sheeps clothing. Let it be your delight to hear your Shepherds voice, and to follow his steps: then shall you be separated from the goats in the day of judgment [Note: Mat 25:33.], and receive from the Chief Shepherd the portion reserved for you [Note: 1Pe 5:4.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Ver. 9. And shall go in and out, &c. ] That is, shall live securely, and be fed daily and daintily, as David shows, Psa 23:1-6 , where he sweetly strikes upon the whole string through the whole hymn.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 10:9 . With emphasis He reiterates: “I am the door: through me, and none else, if a man enter he shall be saved, and shall go in and out find pasture”. Meyer and others supply “any shepherd” as the nominative to , which may agree better with the form of the parabolic saying, but not so well with the substance. Jesus is the Door of the sheep, not of the shepherd; and the blessings promised, , . . ., are proper to the sheep. These blessings are three: deliverance from peril, liberty, and sustenance. For the phraseology see the remarkable passage Num 27:15-21 , which Holtzmann misapplies, neglecting the twenty-first verse. To “go out and in” is the common O.T. expression to denote the free activity of daily life, Jer 37:4 , Psa 121:8 , Deu 28:6 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
THE GIFTS TO THE FLOCK
Joh 10:9
One does not know whether the width or the depth of this marvellous promise is the more noteworthy. Jesus Christ presents Himself before the whole race of man, and declares Himself able to deal with the needs of every individual in the tremendous whole. ‘If any man’-no matter who, where, when.
For all noble and happy life there are at least three things needed: security, sustenance, and a field for the exercise of activity. To provide these is the end of all human society and government. Jesus Christ here says that He can give all these to every one.
The imagery of the sheep and the fold is still, of course, in His mind, and colours the form of the representation. But the substance is the declaration that, to any and every soul, no matter how ringed about with danger, no matter how hampered and hindered in work, no matter how barren of all supply earth may be, He will give these, the primal requisites of life. ‘He shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.’
Now I only wish to deal with these three aspects of the blessedness of a true Christian life which our Lord holds forth here as accessible to us all: security, the unhindered exercise of activity, and sustenance or provision.
I. First, then, in and through Christ any man may be saved.
For consider that, even in regard to outward dangers, union with Jesus Christ defends and delivers us. Suppose two men, two Manchester merchants, made bankrupt by the same commercial crisis; or two shipwrecked sailors lashed upon a raft; or two men sitting side by side in a railway carriage and smashed by the same collision. One is a Christian and the other is not. The same blow is altogether different in aspect and actual effect upon the two men. They endure the same thing externally, in body or in fortune. The outward man is similarly affected, but the man is differently affected. The one is crushed, or embittered, or driven to despair, or to drink, or to something or other to soothe the bitterness; the other bows himself with ‘It is the Lord! Let Him do what seemeth Him good.’
So the two disasters are utterly different, though in form they may be the same, and he that has entered into the fold by Jesus Christ is safe, not from outward disaster-that would be but a poor thing-but in it. For to the true heart that lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ, Sorrow, though it be dark-robed, is bright-faced, soft-handed, gentle-hearted, an angel of God. ‘By Me if any man enter in, he shall be safe.’
And further, in our union with Jesus Christ, by simple faith in Him and loyal submission and obedience, we do receive an impenetrable defence against the true evils, and the only things worth calling dangers. For the only real evil is the peril that we shall lose our confidence and be untrue to our best selves, and depart from the living God. Nothing is evil except that which tempts, and succeeds in tempting, us away from Him. And in regard to all such danger, to cleave to Christ, to realise His presence, to think of Him, to wear His name as an amulet on our hearts, to put the thought of Him between us and temptation as a filter through which the poisonous air shall pass, and be deprived of its virus, is the one secret of safety and victory.
Real gift of power from Jesus Christ, the influx of His strength into our weakness, of some portion of the Spirit of life that was in Him into our deadness, is promised, and the promise is abundantly fulfilled to all men who trust Him when their hour of temptation comes. As the dying martyr, when he looked up into heaven, saw Jesus Christ ‘standing at the right hand of God’ ready to help, and, as it were, having started from His eternal seat on the Throne in the eagerness of His desire to succour His servant, so we may all see, if we will, that dear Lord ready to succour us, and close by our sides to deliver us from the evil in the evil, its power to tempt. If we could carry that vision into our daily life, and walk in its light, when temptation rings us round, how poor all the inducements to go away from Him would look!
There is a power in the remembrance of Jesus to slay every wicked thought; and the things that tempt us most, that most directly appeal to our worst sides, to our sense, our ambition, our pride, our distrust, our self-will, all these lose their power upon us, and are discovered in their emptiness and insignificance, when once this thought flashes across the mind-Jesus Christ is my Defence, and Jesus Christ is my Pattern and my Companion.
Oh, brother! do not trust yourself out amongst the pitfalls and snares of life without Him. If you do, the real evil of all evils will seize you for its own; but keep close to that dear Lord, and then ‘there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.’ The hidden temptation thou wilt pass by without being harmed; the manifest temptation thou wilt trample under foot. ‘Thou shalt not be afraid for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.’ Hidden known temptations will be equally powerless; and in the fold into which all pass by faith in Christ thou shalt be safe. And so, kept safe from each danger and in each moment of temptation, the aggregate and sum of the several deliverances will amount to the everlasting salvation which shall be perfected in the heavens.
Only remember the condition, ‘By Me if any man enter in.’ That is not a thing to be done once for all, but needs perpetual repetition. When we clasp anything in our hands, however tight the initial grasp, unless there is a continual effort of renewed tightening, the muscles become lax, and we have to renew the tension, if we are to keep the grasp. So in our Christian life it is only the continual repetition of the act which our Lord here calls ‘entering in by Him’ that will bring to us this continual exemption from, and immunity in, the dangers that beset us.
Keep Christ between you and the storm. Keep on the lee side of the Rock of Ages. Keep behind the breakwater, for there is a wild sea running outside; and your little boat, undecked and with a feeble hand at the helm, will soon be swamped. Keep within the fold, for wolves and lions lie in every bush. Or, in plain English, live moment by moment in the realising of Christ’s presence, power, and grace. So, and only so, shall you be safe.
II. Now, secondly, note, in Jesus Christ any man may find a field for the unrestricted exercise of his activity.
Note, then, ‘He shall go in.’ That comes first, though it interferes with the propriety of the metaphor, since the previous words already contemplate an initial ‘entering in by Me, the Door.’ That is to say, that, given the union with Jesus Christ by faith, there must then, as the basis of all activity, follow very frequent and deep inward acts of contemplation, of faith, and aspiration, and desire. You must go into the depths of God through Christ. You must go into the depths of your own souls through Him. You must become accustomed to withdraw yourselves from spreading yourselves out over the distractions of any external activity, howsoever imperative, charitable, or necessary, and live alone with Jesus, ‘in the secret place of the Most High.’ It is through Him that we have access to the mysteries and innermost shrine of the Temple. It is through Him that we draw near to the depths of Deity. It is through Him that we learn the length and breadth and height and depth of the largest and loftiest and noblest truths that concern the spirit. It is through Him that we become familiar with the inmost secrets of our own selves. And only they who habitually live this hidden and sunken life of solitary and secret communion will ever do much in the field of outward work. Christians of this generation are far too much accustomed to live only in the front rooms of the house, that look out upon the street; and they know very little-far too little for their soul’s health, and far too little for the freshness of their work and its prosperity-of that inward life of silent contemplation and expectant adoration, by which all strength is fed. Do not keep all your goods in the shop windows, and have nothing on your shelves but dummies, as is the case with far too many of us to-day. Remember that the Lord said first, ‘He shall go in,’ and unless you do you will not be ‘saved.’
But then, further, if there have been, and continue to be, this unrestricted exercise through Christ of that sweet and silent life of solitary communion with Him, then there will follow upon that an enlargement of opportunity, and power for outward service such as nothing but emancipation by faith in Him can ever bring. Howsoever, by external circumstances, you and I may be hampered and hindered, however often we may feel that if something outside of us were different, the development of our active powers would be far more satisfactory, and we could do a great deal more in Christ’s cause, the true hindrance lies never without, but within; and it is only to be overcome by that plunging into the depths of fellowship with Him. And then, if we carry with us into the field of work, whether it be the commonplace, dusty, tedious, and often repulsive duties of our monotonous business; or whether it be the field of more distinctly unselfish and Christian service-if we carry with us into all places where we go to labour, the sweet thought of His presence, of His example, of His love, and of the smile that may come on His face as the reward of faithful service, then we shall find that external labour, drawing its pattern, its motive, its law, and the power for its discharge, from communion with Him, is no more task-work nor slavery; and even ‘the rough places will be made smooth, and the crooked things will be made straight,’ and distasteful work will be made at least tolerable, and hard burdens will be lightened, and the things that are ‘seen and temporal’ will shimmer into transparency, through which will shine out the things that are ‘unseen and eternal.’
Some of us are constitutionally made to prefer the one of these forms of Christian activity; some of us to prefer the other. The tendencies of this generation are far too much to the latter, to the exclusion of the former. It is hard to reconcile the conflicting claims, and I know of no better way to hit the just medium than by trying to keep ourselves always in touch with Jesus Christ, and then outward labour of any sort, whether for the bread that perishes or for His kingdom and righteousness, will never become so absorbing but that in it we may have our hearts in heaven, and the silent hour of communion with Him will never be so prolonged as to neglect outward duties. There was a demoniac boy in the plain, and therefore it was impossible to build tabernacles on the Mount of Transfiguration. But the disciples that had not climbed the Mount were all impotent to cast out the demoniac boy. We, if we keep near to Jesus Christ, will find that through Him we can ‘go in and out,’ and in both be pursuing the one uniform purpose of serving and pleasing Him. So shall be fulfilled in our cases the Psalmist’s prayer, that ‘I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of ray life, to behold His beauty, and to inquire in His Temple.’
III. Lastly, in Jesus Christ any man may receive sustenance. ‘They shall find pasture.’
I need only remind you, in illustration of it, of two facts, one, that in Jesus Christ Himself all the true needs of humanity are met and satisfied. He is ‘the Bread of God that came down from heaven to give life to the world.’ Do I want an outward object for my intellect? I have it in Him. Does my heart feel with its tendrils, which have no eyes at the ends of them, after something round which it may twine, and not fear that the prop shall ever rot or be cut down or pulled up? Jesus Christ is the home of love in which the dove may fold its wings and be at rest. Do I want and I do if I am not a fool an absolute and authoritative command to be laid upon my will; some one ‘whose looks enjoin, whose lightest words are spells’? I find absolute authority, with no taint of tyranny, and no degradation to the subject, in that Infinite Will of His. Does my conscience need some strong detergent to be laid upon it which shall take out the stains that are most indurated, inveterate, and ingrained? I find it only in the ‘blood that cleanseth from all sin.’ Do my aspirations and desires seek for some solid and substantial and unquestionable and imperishable good to which, reaching out, they may be sure that they are not anchoring on cloudland? Christ is our hope. For all this complicated and craving commonwealth that I carry within my soul, there is but one satisfaction, even Jesus Christ Himself. Nothing else nourishes the whole man at once, but in Him are all the constituents that the human system requires for its nutriment and its growth in every part. So in and through Christ we find ‘pasture.’
But beyond that, if we are knit to Him by simple and continual faith, love, and obedience, then what is else barrenness becomes full of nourishment, and the unsatisfying gifts of the world become rich and precious. They are nought when they are put first, they are much when they are put second.
I remember when I was in Australia seeing some wretched cattle trying to find grass on a yellow pasture where there was nothing but here and there a brown stalk that crumbled to dust in their mouths as they tried to eat it. That is the world without Jesus Christ. And I saw the same pasture six weeks after, when the rains had come, and the grass was high, rich, juicy, satisfying. That is what the world may be to you, if you will put it second, and seek first that your souls shall be fed on Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, will what is else water be turned by His touch and blessing into wine that shall fill the great jars to the brim, and be pronounced by skilled palates to be the good wine. ‘I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
I am = I represent. See note on Joh 6:35.
if, &c. A contingency which would be proved by the result. App-118. Not the same word as in Joh 24:33, Joh 24:37, Joh 24:38.
any man = any one. App-123.
and out = and shall go out. The two expressions being the idiom used for life in general.
find = shall find.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 10:9. , through Me) the Christ known by the sheep, and calling them,-who am the Door. Comp. after thee [I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow Thee. Hebr. after Thee], Jer 17:16.-, any man) as a sheep [and a shepherd.-V. g.]-, he shall be saved) Secure from the wolf. Salvation and pasture are joined, as presently after life and abundance, Joh 10:10, That they might have life, and have it abundantly.- , shall go in and go out) By this Hebraic phrase, there is denoted a continual intimacy with the Shepherd and Master. Comp. Act 1:21, These men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us. Septuag. Num 27:17; Num 27:21 [ ,- – : – , Engl. Vers. Which may go out before them, and which may go in, and lead them out and bring them in;-At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in].-, shall find) whether he enters in, or goes out: whereas the pasture is unknown to all others. Comp. Exo 16:25, etc., Eat that to-day: for to-day is a Sabbath unto the Lord; to-day ye shall not find it in the field.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 10:9
Joh 10:9
I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,-[From all the skulkers of the night, the hosts of evil, that would fain destroy the sheep.] If any one enters the fold of God through Christ as the door, he shall be saved.
and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.-Afe the shepherd leads his sheep in for protection and out for pasture and water so Christ will give these protection and food. This is a reference to the shepherd leading his flock out to the pasture and into the cote or fold for protection. It means that God affords his children food and protection. No parable is intended to apply in all its parts, but one leading point or feature represents the lesson intended to be taught. [Jesus is at once the door, the shepherd, and the pasture. His pasture is the bread of life and the water of life. All who enter by him in the way ordained by God are saved and shall never be lost unless they cease to continue to hear and obey his voice. This is a picture of the happy, contented life of the sheep folded by night and fed by day. So may those who have entered into Christ rest in peace sure that he will lead them by day and protect them by night.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
saved
(See Scofield “Rom 1:16”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the door: Joh 10:1, Joh 10:7, Joh 14:6, Rom 5:1, Rom 5:2, Eph 2:18, Heb 10:19-22
and shall: Psa 23:1-6, Psa 80:1-3, Psa 95:7, Psa 100:3, Psa 100:4, Isa 40:11, Isa 49:9, Isa 49:10, Eze 34:12-16, Zec 10:12
Reciprocal: Exo 26:36 – hanging Exo 40:28 – General Exo 40:33 – hanging Lev 1:3 – at the Lev 17:4 – bringeth Num 9:17 – when the cloud Num 27:17 – go out 1Ki 3:7 – to go 1Ki 6:31 – doors Psa 23:5 – preparest Eze 34:14 – feed them Eze 41:2 – the door Eze 46:3 – General Hos 2:15 – for Mat 7:13 – at Joh 8:18 – one Joh 10:2 – he that Joh 14:4 – and the Act 9:28 – coming Heb 9:8 – the way Heb 10:20 – a new Heb 13:15 – him Rev 22:14 – and may
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRIST THE DOOR
I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh 10:9
It is an open question whether the text refers to priests only, or to priests and people alike. The latter seems preferable.
I. The fullness of the Christian life.
(a) Security. He shall be saved. Salvation placed in the forefront as the very beginning of the Christian life, from which all else in it must start and find its guarantee of permanence.
(b) Freedom. Safety is not dependent on isolation or close confinement to the fold; on physical separation from the world out of which men come; on a vigorous system of restraints and prohibitions. The believer has the run of Gods house, freedom to come and go, the right of access and exit as a child or friend. This does not imply oscillation between the Church and the world, but does imply freedom under Christs care. There is no real liberty till a man enters the fold of Christ and becomes a sheep of His pasture. Genuine independence lies in dependence on Christ. Out of Christ men are slaves, in peril, hampered by guilty fears, mechanical rules, and suspected dangers; are creatures of mere petty details, instead of having to rule themselves by great principles.
(c) Sustenance. The exercise of freedom gives pasturage. Not only within, but also without the fold, the saved soul, acting out freely its new instincts, derives nourishment from all worldly things, learns to extract the good, to refuse the evil, to turn all things to spiritual profit. The visible becomes a parable of the invisible, full of rich suggestions of Divine truth. He has not only safety and freedom, but sustenance; not only life, but abundance. Finding implies seeking. Seek, that you may find what you need. Despise nothing that can give pasture.
II. The fullness of the Christian life is open to all.There is a door of entrance and egress; but the door is open, open for any man who chooses to enter. No class of society or race has a monopoly. Christ has no favourites, places no restrictions, makes no exceptions. No one, then, need think regretfully that this fullness is beyond his reach.
III. The sole condition of possessing this fullness is entrance into the Fold.Christ lays down no other. This entrance is not merely into the visible Church, but into the invisible Church, the mystical body of Christ, in living communion with Him. It is to come out from the world and be separate from it; to enter into Christ by faith. Very simple is the condition. The open door invites you to comply with it.
IV. The entrance into the enjoyment of this fullness depends on Christ alone.He is the Door. There is no use climbing over the wall or breaking through the fence. Christ has the exclusive right of giving access. There is no other door admitting to the privileges of the fold. Men try to fashion doors for themselves when they do not care to climb the wall, such as the door of their own merits, their religious observances, their charities, etc.; or they make doors of the under-shepherds, and think that they have entered rightly, if these have not barred their passage. But personal dealing with Christ is essential.
Illustration
He shall go in and out. What is the meaning of this expression? In the literal interpretation of the allegory of the Good Shepherd there is no doubt on this point. We see the fold reared in the midst of the pasture. Into it the sheep enter, and from it they go forth, according to the desire of each; nothing bars their going out or their coming in. But what is the interpretation of this image in spiritual life? Very many answers have been given to this question, and yet I cannot but think that the meaning is plain when we remember that the expression, to go out and to come in, is one of very frequent use in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. You will find it, for instance, in these passages: Num 27:15-17; Num 27:21; Deu 28:6; Deu 31:2; 1Sa 18:13; Psa 121:8; Jer 37:4; Zec 8:10; 1Ma 15:25. It is also used by St. Peter of our Lords public life in Act 1:21. If you will refer to these passages, you will see that in every instance they point to us one living in the peace of liberty, for they show us one who is either able or unable to live before men a life freed from all conditions, physical or spiritual, which hinder men from living the life of obedience to duty. In other words, they show us a condition of life in which men can live true to conviction, aspiration, and resolve, as they live in the glorious liberty of the children of God. Hence our Lord says that as the sheep is free in life, as it passes from fold to pasture, and from pasture to fold, so they who are living under His care in His Church are set free to live a rightly regulated life.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
9
The terms or expressions used in an illustration, are generally drawn from the characteristics of the subject, concerning which the comparison is made, and the application cannot always be made literally. One such expression is go in and out. Jesus had already selected a shepherd and his work for his illustration, and that made such a phrase appropriate. A shepherd will lead his flock into the fold in the evening for the night, then lead them out the next morning for pasture. In its application it simply means that if a man accepts Jesus as his Shepherd, he will be saved from the wolves of sin, and also will be abundantly supplied with spiritual pasture or food.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
[Find pasture.] How far is the beasts’ pasture? Sixteen miles. The Gloss is, “The measure of the space that the beasts go when they go forth to pasture.” A spacious pasture indeed!
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 10:9. I am the door: by me if any one have entered in, he shall be saved, and shall enter in, and shall go out and find pasture. From the thought of the thieves and robbers, Jesus turns to mat of a shepherd of the sheep. And as entering by the door has been mentioned (Joh 10:1) as the first mark of a true shepherd, He emphatically repeats His former saying, I am the door. In Joh 10:7, however, as Joh 10:8 shows, it is of the release of the flock from the fold that we must chiefly think (and therefore the words of the sheep were naturally added). The repetition here introduces the other application of the thought. Whoever has entered through this Door (Christ) shall be saved, and shall enter in (to the fold), and shall go out and find pasture (for the flock over which he is placed in charge). The repetition of enter, it will be seen, involves no tautology: first the shepherd passes through the door, then goes into the heart of the enclosure to call to him his sheep. He goes in for the purpose of coming out to find pasturage for the flock that follows him from the fold. The chief difficulty lies in the interpretation of the words he shall be saved. The sudden introduction of this thought in the very midst of figurative language most consistently preserved (the door, enter in, go out and find pasture) at first appears strange. But the very place which the words hold supplies a key to their interpretation. We cannot content ourselves with saying that the whole parable is instinct with the thought of salvation in its general sense, and that what is present in every part may surely be expressed in one. It is true that in our Lords parables we sometimes find a rapid transition from the sign to the thing signified; but such an intermixture of fact and figure as (on that supposition) is found here, we meet with nowhere else. Whatever difficulty may arise, the words must connect themselves with the imagery of the parable. The chapters of Ezekiel and Zechariah, referred to in the note on Joh 10:1, show at once how this is possible. We have before seen (see chap. Joh 3:3, Joh 7:39, Joh 8:33, etc.) how suddenly our Lord sometimes removes His hearers into a familiar region of Old Testament history or prophecy. To the teachers of the law, who were the hearers of most of the discourses related by John, the letter of the Old Testament was well known; and, moreover, it is very probable that in the discourses as delivered other words may have been added, not necessary to the completeness of the thought, but helpful to the understanding of the hearers. One of the connecting links between this chapter and the last is the evil wrought by unworthy and false shepherds; in this word suddenly introduced in the portraiture of a true shepherd we have vividly brought before us all that the prophets had said of the fate of the unworthy. Those shepherds who had no pity on the flock, but said, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich, the soul of the prophet loathed, and he gave them to destruction (Zec 11:5; Zec 11:8; Zec 11:17). From all such penalty of unfaithfulness shall the true shepherd be saved. That He whose love to His flock assigns this punishment to the unworthy will reward the faithful, may not be expressed in the figure, but in the interpretation it holds the chief place: to such a shepherd of souls will Jesus give salvation.It should perhaps be said that (probably in consequence of the difficulty which the words he shall be saved seem to present) this verse is usually understood as relating to the sheep and not to the shepherds. It seems impossible, however, to compare the language here used with that of Joh 10:1-2 without coming to the conclusion that all the three are identical in subject.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Joh 10:9-10. I am the door I therefore repeat it again, as a most important truth, that I myself am the only right door of entrance into the church of God; if any one, as a sheep, enter in By me, through faith; he shall be saved Now and hereafter; or rather, he shall be safe, like a sheep in its fold, safe from the wolf, and from those murdering shepherds; and shall go in and out Under my care and guidance, and that of the shepherds whom I have sent, whose instructive voice he shall hear, and whose holy example he shall follow; and shall find pasture Food for his soul in all circumstances: in consequence of his regard to me, his waiting upon me in mine ordinances, and his attendance on the ministry of those whom I appoint to dispense to him the word of life, he shall be fed and nourished with true doctrine, and shall obtain substantial happiness. The thief cometh not but for to kill, &c. That is, nothing else can be the consequence of a shepherds coming, who does not enter in by me. Such assume the character of teachers divinely commissioned, for no other reason but to promote their own interest at the expense of mens salvation; I am come that they might have life Life spiritual and eternal; the life of grace and the life of glory. Christ came to quicken his church in general, which was rather like a valley filled with dry bones, than a pasture filled with grazing flocks. He came to vindicate divine truths, to purify divine ordinances, to correct mens errors, to renew their hearts, to reform their lives, to redress their grievances, to sanctify and support them under their trials and troubles, to seek that which was lost, bind up that which was broken, strengthen that which was weak; and this, to his church, was as life from the dead. He came, that men might have life, as a criminal has when he is pardoned; a sick man when he is cured; a dead man when he is raised; that we might be justified, sanctified, and at last glorified. And that they might have it more abundantly A life more abundant than that which was lost and forfeited by sin; more abundant than that which was promised by the law of Moses; more abundant than could have been reasonably expected, or than we are able to ask or think; that whatever measure of spiritual life in union with God, through Christ, of conformity to his image, or participation of his nature, we may have received, we may still desire and expect larger measures thereof; or to whatever degrees of holiness and usefulness we may have attained and manifested, we may still proceed to higher degrees, preparing and qualifying us for still higher degrees of future glory.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 9
Pasture; food, spiritual support.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10:9 {3} I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall {d} go in and out, and find pasture.
(3) Only Christ is the true Pastor, and those only are the true Church who acknowledge him to properly be their only Pastor: opposite to him are thieves who do not feed the sheep, but kill them: and hirelings also, who forsake the flock in time of danger, because they feed it only for their own profit and gains.
(d) That is, will live safely, as the Jews used to speak (see De 26:6-10 ), and yet there is a special reference to the shepherd’s office.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus described Himself as a passageway (cf. Joh 14:6). His sheep could enter and leave the sheepfold through Him. Obviously the sheepfold here does not refer to Israel as it did previously (Joh 10:1-5). People could not go in and out of Judaism at will through Jesus. It probably represents the security that God provides, and the pasture outside stands for what sustains their spiritual health and growth. Jesus provides for His people’s security needs and for all of their daily needs 24 hours a day.