In this week’s Faith at Work sermon from Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren, Pastor Harry Jarrett reflects on John 10:1–10 and Jesus’ surprising words, “I am the gate.” Rather than treating the image of the gate mainly as a boundary marker for who is in and who is out, this sermon returns to the physical world behind Jesus’ metaphor: a sheepfold with stone walls, thorn-covered edges, and no hinged door. The shepherd himself became the gate by lying across the opening, placing his own body between the sheep and whatever threatened them.

From there, Pastor Harry invites us to hear Jesus’ claim as a promise of protection, freedom, and abundant life. The gate is not a theological toll booth. The gate is a person. Jesus stands in the vulnerable place, resisting thieves, bandits, false shepherds, abusive religious power, and everything that steals, kills, and destroys. In light of Easter, the cross becomes the ultimate expression of Jesus as the gate, the one who places himself between the flock and death, and the resurrection becomes the promise that the gate still holds.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt penned in by religion, wounded by spiritual authority, or unsure whether Jesus came to control us or set us free. The good news of John 10 is that Jesus is not here to lock the sheep away. He is here to keep them safe, lead them into pasture, and bring them into the fullness of life.

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