The Meaning of John 10:7 Explained

John 10:7

KJV: Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

YLT: Jesus said therefore again to them, 'Verily, verily, I say to you -- I am the door of the sheep;

Darby: Jesus therefore said again to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

ASV: Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  said  Jesus  unto them  again,  Verily,  verily,  I say  unto you,  I  am  the door  of the sheep. 

What does John 10:7 Mean?

Study Notes

I am the door of the sheep
The shepherd work of our Lord has three aspects:
(1) As the "Good" Shepherd He gives His life for the sheep John 10:11 and is, therefore, "the door" by which "if any man enter in he shall be saved." John 10:9 . This answers to Psalms 22.
(2) He is the "Great" Shepherd, "brought again from the dead" Hebrews 13:20 to care for and make perfect the sheep. This answers to Psalms 23.
(3) He is the "Chief" Shepherd, who is coming in glory to give crowns of reward to the faithful shepherds 1 Peter 5:4 . This answers to Psalms 24.

Context Summary

John 10:7-18 - Jesus The Good Shepherd
He who came in by the door which John the Baptist opened has become the door. It stands open to all comers-if any man. The salvation here mentioned refers to the entire process of soul-health: go in for fellowship; go out for service.
Wherever destruction is uppermost in speech or act, you may detect the presence of the great enemy of souls. Christ is ever constructive, saving, life-giving. Let us not be content until our life has become abundant life. Our life cost the Shepherd's life. He did not hesitate to interpose Himself between the sheep and the wolf of hell. There is possible between our Lord and ourselves an intimacy of knowledge which can be compared to nothing less than that which subsists between the Father and Himself.
Note how our Lord looked beyond the hurdles of the Jewish fold and thought tenderly of the Gentile sheep that were far away. In the revelation committed to the Apostle Paul He gave vent to His love, and through the succeeding centuries He has ever sought them. There may be many folds, but there can be only one flock. Men die because they cannot help it; Christ was born that He might die; He died because He would. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 10

1  Jesus is the door, and the good shepherd
19  Diverse opinions of him
23  He proves by his works that he is Jesus the Son of God;
31  escapes the Jews;
39  and goes again beyond Jordan, where many believe on him

Greek Commentary for John 10:7

Therefore again [ουν παλιν]
Jesus repeats the allegory with more detail and with more directness of application. Repeating a story is not usually an exhilarating experience. I am the door of the sheep The door for the sheep by which they enter. “He is the legitimate door of access to the spiritual αυλη — aulē the Fold of the House of Israel, the door by which a true shepherd must enter” (Bernard). He repeats it in John 10:9. This is a new idea, not in the previous story (John 10:1-5). Moffatt follows the Sahidic in accepting ο ποιμην — ho poimēn here instead of η τυρα — hē thura clearly whimsical. Jesus simply changes the metaphor to make it plainer. They were doubtless puzzled by the meaning of the door in John 10:1. Once more, this metaphor should help those who insist on the literal meaning of bread as the actual body of Christ in Mark 14:22. Jesus is not a physical “door,” but he is the only way of entrance into the Kingdom of God (John 14:6). [source]
The door of the sheep []
Meaning the door for the sheep; not the door of the fold. “The thought is connected with the life, and not simply with the organization.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 10:7

John 6:35 I am the bread of life []
A form of expression peculiar to John. See John 6:41, John 6:48, John 6:51; John 8:12; John 10:7, John 10:9, John 10:11, John 10:14; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 15:1, John 15:5. [source]
John 10:1 Verily, Verily [Αμην αμην]
Solemn prelude by repetition as in John 1:51. The words do not ever introduce a fresh topic (cf. John 8:34, John 8:51, John 8:58). So in John 10:7. The Pharisees had previously assumed (Vincent) they alone were the authoritative guides of the people (John 9:24, John 9:29). So Jesus has a direct word for them. So Jesus begins this allegory in a characteristic way. John does not use the word παροιμια — parabolē but εις την αυλην των προβατων — paroimia (John 10:6), and it really is an allegory of the Good Shepherd and self-explanatory like that of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He first tells it in John 10:1-5 and then explains and expands it in John 10:7-18. Into the fold of the sheep (αυλη — eis tēn aulēn tōn probatōn). Originally αω — aulē (from αναβαινων — aō to blow) in Homer‘s time was just an uncovered space around the house enclosed by a wall, then a roofless enclosure in the country where flocks were herded as here and John 10:16. It later came to mean the house itself or palace (Matthew 26:3, Matthew 26:58, etc.). In the papyri it means the court attached to the house. Climbeth up (αναβαινω — anabainōn). Present active participle of αλλαχοτεν — anabainō to go up. One who goes up, not by the door, has to climb up over the wall. Some other way (αλλοτεν — allachothen). Rare word for old εκεινος — allothen but in 4Macc 1:7 and in a papyrus. Only here in N.T. The same (κλεπτης εστιν και ληιστης — ekeinos). “That one” just described. Is a thief and a robber (κλεπτω — kleptēs estin kai lēistēs). Both old and common words (from ληιζομαι — kleptō to steal, κλεπτης — lēizomai to plunder). The distinction is preserved in the N.T. as here. Judas was a kleptēs (John 12:6), Barabbas a robber (John 18:40) like the two robbers (Matthew 27:38, Matthew 27:44) crucified with Jesus erroneously termed thieves like “the thief on the cross” by most people. See Mark 11:17. Here the man jumping over the wall comes to steal and to do it by violence like a bandit. He is both thief and robber. [source]
John 10:9 The door [η τυρα]
Repeated from John 10:7. By me if any man enter in Condition of third class with εαν — ean and second aorist active subjunctive of εισερχομαι — eiserchomai Note proleptic and emphatic position of δι εμου — di' emou One can call this narrow intolerance, if he will, but it is the narrowness of truth. If Jesus is the Son of God sent to earth for our salvation, he is the only way. He had already said it in John 5:23. He will say it again more sharply in John 14:6. It is unpalatable to the religious dogmatists before him as it is to the liberal dogmatists today. Jesus offers the open door to “any one” He shall be saved Future passive of σωζω — sōzō the great word for salvation, from σως — sōs safe and sound. The sheep that comes into the fold through Jesus as the door will be safe from thieves and robbers for one thing. He will have entrance Future (linear future) indicative of ευρισκω — heuriskō old word from νεμω — nemō to pasture. In N.T. only here and 2 Timothy 2:17 (in sense of growth). This same phrase occurs in 1 Chronicles 4:40. The shepherd leads the sheep to pasture, but this phrase pictures the joy of the sheep in the pasture provided by the shepherd. [source]
John 14:6 I am the way, and the truth, and the life [Εγω ειμι η οδος και η αλητεια και η ζωη]
Either of these statements is profound enough to stagger any one, but here all three together overwhelm Thomas. Jesus had called himself “the life” to Martha (John 11:25) and “the door” to the Pharisees (John 10:7) and “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He spoke “the way of God in truth” (Mark 12:14). He is the way to God and the only way (John 14:6), the personification of truth, the centre of life. Except by me There is no use for the Christian to wince at these words of Jesus. If he is really the Incarnate Son of God (John 1:1, John 1:14, John 1:18), they are necessarily true. [source]
John 15:1 The true vine [η αμπελος η αλητινη]
“The vine the genuine.” Assuming that the Lord‘s Supper had just been instituted by Jesus the metaphor of the vine is naturally suggested by “the fruit of the vine” (Mark 14:25; Matthew 26:29). Αμπελος — Ampelos in the papyri (Moulton and Milligan‘s Vocabulary) is sometimes used in the sense of ο γεωργος — ampelōn (vineyard), but not so here. Jesus uses various metaphors to illustrate himself and his work (the light, John 8:12; the door, John 10:7; the shepherd, John 10:11; the vine, John 15:1). The vine was common in Palestine. See Psalm 80:8. “On the Maccabean coinage Israel was represented by a vine” (Dods). Jesus is the genuine Messianic vine. The husbandman (τεου γεωργιον — ho geōrgos) as in Mark 12:1; James 5:7; 2 Timothy 2:6. cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9, theou geōrgion (God‘s field). [source]
John 6:35 I am the bread of life [Εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης]
This sublime sentence was startling in the extreme to the crowd. Philo does compare the manna to the τειος λογος — theios logos in an allegorical sense, but this language is far removed from Philo‘s vagueness. In the Synoptics (Mark 14:22; Matthew 26:26; Luke 22:19) Jesus uses bread He is the bread of life in two senses: it has life in itself, the living bread (John 6:51), and it gives life to others like the water of life, the tree of life. John often has Jesus saying “I am” As also in John 6:41, John 6:48, John 6:51; John 8:12; John 10:7, John 10:9, John 10:11, John 10:14; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 15:1, John 15:5. He that cometh to me The first act of the soul in approaching Jesus. See also John 6:37. Shall not hunger Strong double negative ου με — ou me with first aorist (ingressive) active subjunctive, “shall not become hungry.” He that believeth on me The continuous relation of trust after coming like πιστευητε — pisteuēte (present tense) in John 6:29. See both verbs used together also in John 7:37. Shall never thirst So the old MSS. the future active indicative instead of the aorist subjunctive as above, an even stronger form of negation with πωποτε — pōpote (John 1:18) added. [source]
Revelation 3:8 I have set [δεδωκα]
Perfect active indicative of διδωμι — didōmi “I have given” (a gift of Christ, this open door). See Luke 12:51 for a like use of διδωμι — didōmi door opened Perfect (triple reduplication) passive predicate participle of ανοιγω — anoigō (Revelation 3:7) accusative feminine singular. The metaphor of the open door was a common one (John 10:7-9; Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3; Revelation 3:20; Revelation 4:1). Probably it means here a good opportunity for missionary effort in spite of the Jewish hostility. [source]

What do the individual words in John 10:7 mean?

Said therefore again to them - Jesus Truly I say to you - I am the door of the sheep
Εἶπεν οὖν πάλιν ‹αὐτοῖς› Ἰησοῦς Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι θύρα τῶν προβάτων

Εἶπεν  Said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
πάλιν  again 
Parse: Adverb
Root: πάλιν  
Sense: anew, again.
‹αὐτοῖς›  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
Ἀμὴν  Truly 
Parse: Hebrew Word
Root: ἀμήν  
Sense: firm.
λέγω  I  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ὅτι  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
θύρα  door 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: θύρα  
Sense: a door.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
προβάτων  sheep 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: προβάτιον 
Sense: any four footed, tame animal accustomed to graze, small cattle (opp. to large cattle, horses, etc.), most commonly a sheep or a goat.