ACC ~ John 10 v7

WHO IS THE ONE WHO ENTERS BY THE GATE?

AUGUSTINE: Our Lord just said now that he was a shepherd. He also said he was a gate…. He is the gate in the head and the shepherd in the body. You see, he says to Peter, whom he singles out to represent his [body the] church, “Peter, do you love me?” [1] … as though to say, What will you give me, what proof will you provide me with that you love me?… If you love me, feed my sheep; enter in by the Door and do not go up another way…. Who is the one who enters by the door? The one who enters by Christ. And who is that? The one who imitates Christ’s passion, who understands Christ’s humility, understands that while God has become man for us, he himself as a human being is not God, just a man [person]. I mean to say, anyone who wishes to play God while he is just a man is not imitating the one who, while he was God, became a man. SERMON 137.3-4. [2]

[1] Jn 21:15.

[2] WSA 3 4:373-74**.

JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF LEADERSHIP

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus sees that the foolish Pharisees wanted to be rulers and that they were unwisely boastful of the name and character of leadership. And so it is good that he teaches them that he himself is the one who confers leadership in the church. And he bestows this authority without difficulty. For since Jesus is “the door” of the sacred and divine fold, he will both admit the one who is fit for leadership but also will block the entrance to the one who is unfit to lead the flock. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.1. [1]

[1] LF 48:67**.

THE PRINCIPLE OF ACCESS TO TRUTH

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: He says that he is the door of the sheep because he is the principal access to truth for everyone. His doctrine that he has uniquely established calls everyone that is summoned by it. He established laws, as was his prerogative, so that we might live through them according to his will. And he was the Word through which all might know the Father. Therefore let us abandon the works of the law and apply ourselves to obey the precepts of Christ. Let us devote our entire being to the principles of the gospel and employ all diligence in fulfilling his laws. Thus, he very appropriately called himself the door of the sheep, since there is no other way to seek out the truth except by believing first of all in our Lord, and by drawing near to the entrance of truth through his commandments, finding pleasure in the good things we possess because of our nearness to God the Father. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 4.10.7. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:200.