This is the last post in The Door Keeper Mini-Series! You can read Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four by clicking on the links. Feel free to share your impressions or memories of a Door Keeper!

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10

The flock of sheep on the hillside would answer to one voice; that of their Shepherd.

He was so acquainted with his flock of fluffy creatures that each one knew his particular voice and would ignore all others.

The shepherd had two choices of where to bed down his sheep for the night, depending on where they were at the time. The public sheepfold was in the city and villages and it would hold several flocks of sheep at once. This sheepfold was guarded by a porter or Door Keeper. His duty was to make sure that the sheep didn’t get out at night and to let in the other shepherds in the morning. The shepherds would then come, one by one, and call for their sheep. Amazingly, each little lamb knew the voice of his own shepherd and followed him out to pasture.

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.” Psalm 120:8.

The other sheepfold was out in the fields. This pen was simply a circle, a fold, which they made with rocks piled into a tiny wall with one small space to come and go. There was no gate so how did he keep them in? The shepherd would literally stretch himself out at the opening of the pen and go to sleep…he became the Door Keeper.

Pastors are oftentimes referred to as shepherds today and even in the Old Testament, “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15 NIV.

And this one, “…they shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” Numbers 27:17.

They are Door Keepers! “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit [to them]: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this [were] unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:17 ASV.

A pastor guards the door to the sheepfold, they protect, lead and guide the flock, or the Church, for they will stand and give an account for our souls.

“This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’” John 10.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” John 10:18 NLT.

Not only does The Good Shepherd provide for His flock but He goes so far as to lay down His life! Jesus GAVE His life, no one took it from Him. He did it for all of us.

The Lord God, “…tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young…” Isaiah 40:11.

“We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3.

There is only one Door to eternal life and salvation for our souls. Only one Door into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is that Door! In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Shepherd of the Church and the only Door Keeper to eternal life! He took off His crown of royalty and laid down, literally, in the gap, the opening, the only way in and out, for each one of us, His sheep.

This week we have met Door Keepers in the temple; they lived there and were responsible for the day-to-day activities and care for the house of God. They decided who could enter and who could not.

We met Obed-Edom who was privileged to care for the Presence of God…the Ark of the Covenant and his entire household was blessed because of this Door Keeper.

We met Jacob, a.k.a. Door as we referred to his name-tag. He is an overcomer, a humble example of what a Door Keeper looks like today: one who aspires to be like Christ, welcoming, inviting and loving.

Yesterday I introduced you to my first recollection of a Door Keeper in the little church I grew up in. He reminds me even today to keep striving for the goal, with a smile on my face.

Today?

We see Jesus.

The Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. That means you. That means me. All who desire to enter into the Kingdom are welcomed…through the Door.

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