¹ “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Thisfigure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

 ⁷ So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.   John 10:1-7

       As Jesus has noted before, He cannot plainly speak of heavenly truths, so He employs earthly analogies.  In this case the disciples miss the point of His teaching.  Be good listeners today!  (eisakouo means those who listen and obey)  If you understand this figure of speech all the other “I am” references will become clearer. 

     Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep” (7)  Jesus Himself is always our very first revelation.  The Father draws us to Him and further reveals Him to us.  Every spiritual truth you learn from this point forward is through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. 

      Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” (11)  Verses 3-4 reminds us that we all must know, recognize and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.  Why?  Jesus leads us places.  Our walk with Him is not static.  Finding pasture (9) is imperative for the believer.  Pastures are food sources, revelation.  All growing believers must feed on the food the Lord provides.  He leads us out to find good pastures to feed upon. 

      Please listen to what I am saying.  When I came to know Christ, I immediately wanted to feed myself.  I read the Bible and tried to pick-up as much knowledge as I could.  I craved spiritual nourishment.  As I grew though, I neglected spending time with the Lord.  The times I went without fresh revelations were the lowest points in my spiritual walk.  I quickly  learned you cannot operate with power on stale bread. 

        The reason the Lord uses these “I am” statements and more specifically calls Himself “The Door” and “The Good Shepherd” is so that you will always know He is in the present tense with you.  He is not the God of yesteryear.  I believe we do people a misservice always speaking about what the Lord did a hundred years ago.  Believers and nonbelievers alike need to know that the Lord is active and speaking in our lives today.  He is leading His sheep just as much today as He did back in the New Testament.  In fact I believe He is speaking more.  We must believe this.  Why?  If we do not we will miss hearing Him today.  Plan to spend time with the Lord today.  Make time for His presence.