Davar Kingdom Of God

I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep (lit. the gate of the sheep). All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them (John 10:7-8). This passage is known as an “I am” passage in John’s gospel. There are seven ‘I am’ passages in the gospel (the number varies depending on how you count them), and they are all related to the life-giving work of God’s redemption through the death and resurrection of Christ. The ones in John 10 particularly reveal Christ as the shepherd who leads the sheep out of the sheep pen (vv. 1-5). Two kinds of predicate “I am” statements are used to show this role of Christ: “I am the gate (particularly, the sheep gate),” and “I am the good shepherd.” It is interesting to note that there was actually a gate called “Sheep Gate” in the northeast corner of Jerusalem near the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2, cf. Neh 3:1, 32). I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes on