In our Women’s Development class, we are working through the seven “I Am” statements in the Book of John. This week, we are thinking about how Jesus described Himself as the door or the gate.
The image of the “door” or “gate” holds deep symbolic significance throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Accordingly, it often represents access, protection, and salvation.
Let’s trace how this idea develops as God reveals his narrative.
From The Torah (Pentateuch)
Genesis 3:24: “After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
While a door or gate is not identified, access to the Garden was shut firmly after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. God protected them from living forever in their sin.
Exodus 12:27: “They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.”
The blood on the door protected them from the angel of death, symbolizing divine protection and salvation.
Exodus 26:33: “Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.”
This curtain (or door) separated the Most Holy Place, prohibiting access except once a year by the High Priest, a mediated access to God. It is this “door” that is torn in two as Jesus dies on the cross – access to God is no longer limited.
The Wisdom Books
Psalm 24:7-10 “Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”
This imagery suggests that the temple doors eagerly provide access to the glorious divine warrior king, specifically coming to his worshiping people with hope and joy.
The Prophets
Ezekiel 10:18-19, 43:4-5: “Then the glory of the Lord moved out from the entrance of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim. … And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gateway. Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.”
In Ezekiel, the gate represents the entrance to and from the Temple – God’s glory enters and departs through the eastern gate.
Jeremiah 7:1-3: “The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.”
Jeremiah delivers his warning at the “gate of the Lord’s house,” where worshippers enter, creating a confrontation between God’s invitation and Israel’s rebellion.
Ezekiel 47:1: “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east…”
The door of the Temple, from which life-giving water flows, symbolizes the spiritual renewal that comes from God’s presence—blessings and healing flow from entering God’s kingdom.
The Gospels
John 10:7, 9: Jesus declares, “I am the door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus presents Himself as the exclusive means of salvation, the only door to finding life, protection, and sustenance.
Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
In his teachings, Jesus refers to the “narrow gate” that leads to life, contrasting with the wide gate that leads to destruction. Jesus is the narrow gate through which individuals pass when they accept his invitation to the kingdom of heaven. The journey of discipleship spans one’s earthly life and culminates in attaining eternal life.
Acts
Acts 14:26-27: “From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
Paul and Barnabas report how God had “opened a door of faith” to the Gentiles. The metaphorical door is God’s way of extending salvation to all people.
The Epistles
Hebrews 10:19-22: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
The veil of the Temple, Jesus’ body, is the ultimate door to God’s presence.
Revelation
Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
In ancient times, inviting an alienated person to share a meal signified a desire for reconciliation. Jesus offers to renew an intimate fellowship with individuals willing to repent. The door indicates passage into God’s presence.
Revelation 21:25, 27: “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. … Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
In the New Jerusalem, the gates will not be shut or locked because all who live there experience eternal security and access to God’s continued presence, and no sin or danger can enter.
Conclusion
The theme of the door, from the guarded gate of Eden to Jesus as the “door” of salvation and the ever-open gates of the New Jerusalem, illustrates profound spiritual truths about God’s holiness and the path to redemption through Christ.
The Gate, The Shepherd, My Access
Access, dark to light
A gate, open, inviting
New life born, transformedTransformed, by His death
Designed, created, redeemed
To be me, set freeSet free, green pasture
Bread and wine; body and blood
Growing up in HimIn Him I am held
Joy and peace, all mine
Holy hope, wholly sustained.Original, 2009
