Jesus is the Gate – April 30, 2023

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:7-10

Jesus is the Gate

Fences have become a way of life. People put up privacy fences to keep others from seeing into their yard. Farmers put up fences to keep the cattle in the field. Businesses put up fences to keep thieves away from their warehouses. But every fence has a gate—a passageway for those who are supposed to get to the other side of the fence.

Jesus says he is the gate–not into a yard or a field–but into the presence of God and eternal life. Sadly, there are people who try to convince us that we can receive eternal life by relying on something other than Jesus, such as the good things we do. But try as they might, they are unable to establish another way through the fence. The only way to eternal life is through Jesus. He opened the way to God by removing all of the barriers that stood in our way: our sins, our guilt, and the accusation of the devil. He prepared us for life with God by washing us with the water of baptism and assuring us that our sins are forgiven. He leads us through the gate as he gives us his Word, which nourishes us and causes our faith to grow. What is more, he protects us from those thieves who would urge us to ignore the only gate and try to reach eternal life by jumping the fence.

Through Jesus, we have life, the fullness of eternal life with God!

Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, in your mercy you opened the way to eternal life. Guard me from those who seek to lead me astray. Establish my faith in you, my only Savor. Amen.