But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The way of the Messiah, prepared by the Father, prophesied in Scripture, culminating in suffering, and vindicated by the resurrection passed through a gate which Jesus alone could enter. The gate was made specifically for the Messiah. Scriptures were about Jesus, for, as he said, Moses wrote about him (see John 5:46). The whole story of revelation was a preparation for his arrival, with John the Baptist being the last and most direct part of that revelation. False prophets could perhaps cherry pick a verse of Scripture here or there, but they could not make sense of the whole of it in the way that Jesus did. To them the Father did not testify. They were not free to suffer for their followers. Indeed it was more often the case that their followers were made to suffer for them.
We might say more specifically that the door was the Paschal mystery, a door through which only Jesus could pass, a door finally opened by the Father in his resurrection and ascension from the dead. The shepherd was at first the only one who could go through that door. But having done so, he is now able to lead us through the same Paschal mystery.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
The Father draws us, the Shepherd guides us, and the Spirit teaches us. This dark valley is not one in which we would dare to walk without the rod and the staff of the Shepherd to give us courage. But with him close at hand and guiding us by his words we have the courage and protection we need to follow him.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
We enter in when we let our old and pre-Christian ways of viewing the world and living die. We go out when we walk by faith, exercising the gifts we have been given and bearing fruit for the Kingdom. We enter in finally at our death, finding the same Shepherd there waiting to guide us to everlasting pastures.
Thieves and robbers may make promises but they are ultimately out to serve only their own interests. Jesus could pass through the gate, and was thereby revealed as the true Shepherd, because he had no concern for himself and was filled to overflowing with love for others.
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
This verse is a principle of discernment. In our thought life there are thieves and robbers as well. We often take them extremely seriously and sacrifice ourselves and others to obey them. But let us instead learn to agree with thoughts that agree with the shepherd, thoughts that open us more to the abundant life Jesus desires for us. We often need help with this renewal of the mind because we tend to cling to old ways of thinking. We need help because we need to die a little more to self in order to live more the life we are meant to live.
‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’
This happened three times
Jesus wants to open us up so that we can more freely go in and come out, so that obstacles to the establishment of the Kingdom can be removed from us. His Spirit leads us along this path one step at a time, as we saw with Peter. First he saw the vision, then he met the representatives of the Gentiles, then he spoke and saw the Spirit fall upon them. One step at a time his mind was opened and he was able to set aside his former way of thinking, able to choose and believe in the more life-giving belief God proposed.
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
“God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
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