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I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
  • KJV I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
  • BSB I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
  • NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
  • NLT Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus repeats that He is the door: whoever enters through Him is saved and finds secure provision. Salvation, safety, and pasture come through Him alone.

Overview

To go 'in and out' and 'find pasture' pictures the freedom, security, and nourishment of the saved. Jesus offers not only entrance but ongoing life and provision. The exclusivity of 'by me' underscores that there is no other way to be saved.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
  • Eph 2:18For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
  • John 10:7Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
  • John 10:1“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
  • Rom 5:1–2Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
  • Ps 100:3–4Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
  • Ps 95:7for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
  • Ps 23:1–6A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
  • Ezek 34:12–16As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
  • Isa 40:11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
  • Isa 49:9–10saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
  • Heb 10:19–22Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
  • Zech 10:12I will strengthen them in Yahweh; and they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.
  • Ps 80:1–3For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm by Asaph. Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 10:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 10:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.