He Is The Door
Did you know that a shepherd will care for a flock of about a hundred sheep? Because he stays with them all day, they recognize him. Because sheep tend to nibble themselves outside of their safe perimeter the shepherd will often call to them to bring them back together. They know his voice.
At night, the shepherds would herd their flocks into a sheepfold that had walls all around it to keep the sheep safe from outside predators. There was only one entrance into the sheepfold. It didn't have a door. One shepherd would stay behind to guard that entry while the other shepherds went off to rest for the night. It was that shepherd's duty to stay alert and keep the enemy out and the hundreds of sheep inside.
In the morning, the shepherd at the entrance would allow the shepherd to enter the sheepfold and that shepherd would walk through the many sheep and call to HIS sheep. As they heard his voice and recognized him they would make their way out of the opening, past the shepherd that kept watch over them at the entry, to follow their own shepherd.
The shepherd that guarded the only entry to the sheep inside acted as a door. So when Jesus talked about being the Good Shepherd in John 10 there is more to what he was saying than just a parable about sheep.
In John 10:9 (ESV) Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." Knowing the culture of the day makes Jesus' parable about the sheep more personal to us. He guards us...and He calls us. When we belong to Jesus and hear Him calling us... we know Him... and He knows us.
Read more devotions written by Denise Harper at Treasured Inside
https://deniseharper.blog
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