“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9

In this pregnant one-sentence parable of Jesus, Christ is in a pivotal place. Jesus is the gate by which we enter into presumably the kingdom of God, but then once we are saved and in a new relationship with Him, He is the means by which we experience the kingdom of God everywhere we go.

This parable is much more complex than it first appears. It is almost like a riddle that begs to let its secret out.

Think about it. If Jesus is the gate that lets us into the kingdom of God, wouldn’t you think we would want to stay in? If we were once outside the gate, and if by our salvation we were brought in, why does Jesus have us coming in and going out repeatedly through that same gate? It must mean that the gate is not something that closes us in anywhere, but it opens up even more to us. It would appear that the kingdom of God is not only on one side of the gate; it is on both sides, and our salvation, more than bringing us into a new place, opens our eyes to see everything anew.

In the context of this passage, Jesus is the gate leading us into His fold, but also leading us out to find pasture where we were before. I find this to be a rather compelling statement of worldview. Once we come into a relationship with Christ, we find a new perspective that allows us to discover His truth both inside and outside the fold. God doesn’t shut us in anywhere; He opens our eyes so we can go anywhere and find that which can nourish our spirits. Faith is not a fence, it’s a swinging gate.

This interpretation would dismiss from Christian thinking, any sense of exclusivity, isolation or separation from the world. It dismisses any form of being “insiders” or “outsiders.” Christ is moving us both in and out and providing us with sustenance and companionship everywhere we go. Being a Christian does not constitute a removal of ourselves from the world; it is all about following Christ into the world — a much needed form of engagement.

“The purpose of gates is to define what is inside and what is outside. Jesus as a gate, however, marks an open passage – a following of Jesus through the death of our old identity as insiders or outsiders – into a new freedom to move in and out between pasture and shelter so that we can be fed without needing to be confined or defended against others. Our identity defined by insider vs. outsider collapses.” – John Kirkley