Jesus’ claim in 10:7 starts with the setting back in 10:1 about the sheepfold. We need to understand the fold if we are to have any idea what he means by the door. From this introduction, we see that Jesus is calling out to sheep from the heart of a Shepherd. By verse 7 He is inviting us inside for salvation and taking us out for feeding. This sounds so much like the 23rd Psalm and will be a part of next week's look at Jesus the Good Shepherd. This week I will focus on Jesus the Door – the way in and out of the fold.

The physical aspects of the sheepfold are both simple and clear – from these, we will better understand the spiritual lessons Jesus wants to teach us. During the day flocks roamed the pasture, but at night they were corralled into a sheepfold. The sheepfold was an enclosure surrounded by a wall of rocks that was too high for the sheep to jump over. The shepherds sometimes put thorny branches on the tops of the walls to deter thieves from trying to climb over.

The opening in the wall allowed the sheep to enter and exit; and at night, the shepherd lay across that opening and became the door of the sheepfold. No animal could get out and no enemy could get in without the shepherd knowing it. On the outskirts of many villages, there might be a community sheepfold where all the shepherds brought their flocks each evening. In the morning, the shepherds would call their sheep, and each flock would follow its shepherd out of the sheepfold. The sheep knew the voice of their own shepherd and would follow nobody else. But this again is next week! Join me Sunday as we focus on the opening of the fold where Jesus is The Door – He is the only way in and the only one we can trust to lead us out into the World.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Mike