John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²  by the door, ³  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ⁴  and find pasture. ⁵ 

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ⁶  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ⁷  No one comes to the Father except through me.

Ephesians 2:18

2:18 so that ⁸  through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Drawing Near to God in Enduring Faith

10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ⁹  since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 10:20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us ¹⁰  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ¹¹  10:21 and since we have a great priest ¹²  over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ¹³  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ¹⁴  and our bodies washed in pure water.

[10:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ² sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ³ tn Or “entrance.”

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ⁵ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[14:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[14:6]  ⁷ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Or “for.” BDAG gives the consecutive ὅτι (Joti) as a possible category of NT usage (BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c).

[10:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[10:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.

[10:20]  ¹¹ sn Through his flesh. In a bold shift the writer changes from a spatial phrase (Christ opened the way through the curtain into the inner sanctuary) to an instrumental phrase (he did this through [by means of] his flesh in his sacrifice of himself), associating the two in an allusion to the splitting of the curtain in the temple from top to bottom (Matt 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Just as the curtain was split, so Christ’s body was broken for us, to give us access into God’s presence.

[10:21]  ¹² tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.

[10:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”

[10:22]  ¹⁴ sn The phrase our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience combines the OT imagery of the sprinkling with blood to give ritual purity with the emphasis on the interior cleansing provided by the new covenant: It is the heart that is cleansed and the conscience made perfect (cf. Heb 8:10; 9:9, 14; 10:2, 16).