"Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance." John 10:7-10
Interestingly enough, the Pharisees didn't understand the Shepherd metaphor. They understood sheep and shepherding well enough, but they were not grasping the correlation to the truth Jesus was speaking. He provides them with another illustration. It is still regarding sheep, shepherds, and sheep gates; but this time some of the images hold a slightly different meaning than previously. Jesus begins with the key to understanding the metaphor, "Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep." and a restatement that He alone is the true Messiah as all those who came before are thieves and robbers who were unable to gain the ear of the sheep.
In the previous analogy, Jesus said the thieves and robbers would climb over the wall instead of use the gate like the true shepherd of the sheep would. In that illustration we can see the true shepherd, the one who uses the gate and is recognized by the gate keeper as well as his sheep, represents Jesus. In this metaphor, the True Shepherd has become the gate itself. The impostors who came before Jesus, trying to claim the title of God's Messiah that rightfully belongs to Him alone, took no part in God's kingdom and His promised salvation because they refused to use the gate, instead they opted to steal, kill and destroy. Perhaps some of them were even well intentioned and highly patriotic, however the end result of their attempt to steal God's plan and make it conform to their own ended in death and destruction. Perhaps patriotic for the nation of Israel, but they refused to enter by the gate.
The Gate is the only way into the fold. It's the only way to find protection from the predator. It is the only way in and out. Jesus promises protection and provision to all those who enter through Him. If any man enter through Jesus, he will be saved. The True Shepherd is also the Only Gate. The True Shepherd calls His sheep, and the Only Gate is the way His sheep enter into protection or pass through as they head to feed places where the True Shepherd leads them. In both illustrations, the thieves and robbers are intent on slaughtering the sheep while The True Shepherd and The Only Gate are set on providing life for the sheep. Jesus states plainly, "I have come that they [the sheep] may have life and have it in abundance."
His purpose is set, and it is with this goal that He calls His sheep, as in the first metaphor. He calls His sheep and He leads them out, going ahead of them. Even in their following they are engulfed in His mercy as it is through Him (the gate) they must go to get to Him. He is the giver of life. Not a meager existence, not mere survival; but abundant life. Jesus doesn't expound to the Pharisees on what that abundant life entails, but He makes it very clear that if one is to live the life the Creator has designed mankind to live, then that is only done through Him. Jesus has made it clear that there are those desiring to deal death to the sheep, and He is not only their protector of life (the first metaphor), but also their provider of life (the second metaphor). Jesus, The True Shepherd and The Only Gate, will draw one more illustration for the Pharisees as he makes his final point…
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