“I Am the Door”

The 2nd century Christian writer Hegesippus gives one of the earliest detailed traditions about James the Just—Jesus’ brother. He wrote that the religious leaders brought James to the pinnacle of the temple during Passover and asked him to publicly deny Jesus or face death. The way they sought to make him deny Jesus was by asking him, “What is the door of Jesus?”

This question has to do with what Jesus claimed about himself in John 10:1-10.

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:1–10)

An illustration depicting Hegesippos, printed using woodcut techniques in the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493.

Here, Jesus claimed to be the “gate” or the “door”. In fact, John 10:6 tells us that even the people who heard it did not understand such that Jesus had to repeat it twice.

What does it mean when Jesus says, “I am the door”? Many preachers assume that when he says “door”, he is just using a general spiritual or religious metaphor to express that he is the only valid way by which we can have salvation and a restored relationship with God.

Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:11–12)

While it is true that Jesus is the only name by which we may be saved, we can tell that Jesus is not just making a general claim about salvation because of what Jesus says at the beginning of his discourse in John 10. Jesus says:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)

This scripture is not a scripture about salvation addressed to the sheep. It is a scripture addressed to the religious leaders who claim to be shepherds of Israel but whom Jesus says are thieves and robbers.

Which of them are thieves and robbers? According to Jesus, everyone who came before him!

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. (John 10:8)

This claim is so potentially offensive that Bible commentators try to correct Jesus at this point by saying, “No, Jesus is only talking about the bad people. Other leaders like Samuel and David were good shepherds.  Or maybe he is talking about the religious leaders who kicked the blind man out of the synagogue in John 9”.

But, if Jesus meant to say any of those things, he would have said it. Instead, he said “all”. “All” means “all”. Jesus is never careless with his speech. He knows exactly what he is saying, and he always says what he means. The reason we and other people don’t understand what Jesus is saying is not because Jesus was unclear. In fact, it is because Jesus was too clear, and we simply have trouble believing that he means what he says.

In fact, Jesus’ secondary claim is also outrageous, that “the sheep have not listened to them”. Note that Jesus didn’t say, “All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, and the sheep were misled by them”. He said that the sheep have not listened to them.

Who are the sheep? They are those who only listen to the voice of the shepherd and run away from all other voices.

Who is the shepherd? First, we must see what Jesus says about what the shepherd does. According to Jesus, the shepherd is the one who enters by the gate. The gatekeeper hears his voice, opens the door, and the shepherd leads the sheep out.

Then who is the door? Jesus is the door.

Again, this scripture is not just about salvation. It’s about sheep who are going in and out by the door between the sheep pen and the pasture. This is the normal daily life of sheep: Going in and coming out.

Whoever enters by the door, who is Jesus, will be saved. But this is not a one-time gathering into the sheep pen. Jesus says that “they will come in and go out, and find pasture”. This means that the sheep pass through Jesus daily, every day of their lives. This parable is about Jesus as the daily door.

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:3)

The doorkeeper hears the shepherd’s voice and opens the door. Who is the doorkeeper? The doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit.

Here, in John 10, we see the relationship of the Son and the Holy Spirit in daily life in the form of a parable. But later Jesus reveals the relationship openly to his disciples.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)

Only the doorkeeper opens the door. Only the Holy Spirit opens Christ to the sheep. And the Holy Spirit opens only Christ to the sheep. Irenaeus described the Son and the Holy Spirit as the Father’s two hands.

We may be interested in whether the sheep pen is heaven, Israel, or the church, or something else. But, if Jesus doesn’t highlight something, we shouldn’t highlight it. If we are highlighting something that Jesus does not, it means that we are not focusing on what Jesus wants us to focus on, and we risk distorting his parable. Jesus wants us to focus on the door, the doorkeeper, the sheep, the thieves and robbers, and the shepherd. It is not important where the sheep are located, but what they are going through (the door), who opens it (the doorkeeper), and whose voice they hear (the shepherd’s).

Now we come to the central question: Who is the shepherd? According to Jesus, everyone who came before him is not the shepherd, but a thief and a robber. Instead, Jesus says:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

When we hear this, we may say, “But what about Jacob, Moses, or David? Surely they were good shepherds!”

But Jacob, Moses, and David never call themselves shepherds. And the Lord never called Jacob or Moses shepherds (we will come back to David).

Jacob called God his shepherd, not himself.

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, (Genesis 48:15)

Moses is also not called a shepherd. He is called a servant in God’s house while God is called the shepherd.

You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:20)

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. (Hebrews 3:5)

As for David, David called the Lord his shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1)

David was called a shepherd in Psalm 78.

from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (Psalm 78:71–72)

But this is only inasmuch as he foreshadows Jesus. In fact, in 2 Samuel 12:1-7, using a parable, Nathan calls David a sheep-stealer.

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:16)

There is only one flock and one shepherd, who is Jesus.

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. (Matthew 23:8–10)

This is extremely important because, as Jesus said in John 10, the Holy Spirit opens only to Christ.

These days in church we often call pastors or even small group leaders “shepherd” or “under-shepherd”. Sometimes, in the New Testament, people are encouraged to “shepherd” the flock of Christ, or are even called “pastor”. But the apostles always held up Christ as the shepherd or “chief shepherd” and called themselves servants and slaves of Christ. Even in 1 Peter 5:2, what is translated “be shepherds” is actually in the Greek a call to “shepherd”–shepherd here, in other words, is a verb, not a noun.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; (1 Peter 5:2)

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5:4)

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:11–12)

How can Jesus be both the shepherd and the door? Because Jesus is both the teacher and the content of the teaching. And the sheep only respond to his voice. This means that church leaders are only authorized to pass on Christ’s teaching, not to create or deliver their own teaching, or the teaching of anyone else.

Christ never delegates his shepherding responsibilities to pastors or church leaders. For us, to shepherd means to point the sheep back to Christ, his words, and his teachings. We are meant to be more like sheep-dogs than shepherds.

In John 21, Jesus told Peter, “feed my sheep”. Feed them what? As he had told Peter and the other disciples earlier:

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53)

What we feed the sheep is Christ.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t open the door to those who believe that they are authorized to speak on behalf of Jesus or speak in his name. This means that we are either passing on Christ’s teaching or we are thieves and robbers who are trying to reach the sheep by a means other than the door.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t open the door to “Christian teachings” about “Christian things” by ordained pastors “in the name of Christ”. The only thing we are authorized to administer to the sheep is Christ.

We understand that we are to lead people to Christ for their salvation. But, after that, because of our fallen nature, our teachings tend to lead people from Christ’s words to our own words. We even wrongly think that is what preaching is: moving from Christ’s words to our own stories, explanations, and opinions instead of leading the sheep more deeply into Christ’s words. In this way, Jesus becomes less like the one whom we feed to the sheep and more like a mascot or an inspiration, the one whose authority we claim, or merely the way we end our prayers. And, instead of Christ, we end up feeding ourselves to the sheep through our stories, experiences, thoughts, teachings, and doctrines.

Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t warn the sheep against us in John 10. He simply says that his sheep will not listen to any Christ-less interpretations. Jesus says his sheep will run away from anyone other than him. This means that our churches are filled with sheep, but they are not his sheep. They are our own sheep. They respond to the sound of our voice.

Why are there so many Christians who are not in churches? Because they will only listen to Jesus’ voice.

It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. (John 6:45)

Pastors may not be able to tell the difference between their teaching and his teaching. But, according to Jesus, his sheep can always tell the difference.

Jesus says he leads his sheep in and out. He even leads them out of the church. Look around. You can see it happening today. Don’t blame the sheep for that. Jesus doesn’t. Jesus knows that his sheep will follow him all the way to the cross. They just need to hear his voice.

Hegesippus wrote that the religious leaders said to James:

We entreat you, restrain the people, for they are gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat you to persuade all who have come here for the feast of the Passover concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in you. For we and all the people testify to you that you are just and show partiality to none.

Persuade, therefore, the people not to be led astray concerning Jesus; for all the people and we also have confidence in you.

Take your stand, then, on the pinnacle of the temple, that from that lofty position you may be clearly seen, and your words may be plainly audible to all the people; for all the tribes have come together on account of the Passover, with some of the Gentiles also.

James answered:

Why do you ask me concerning Jesus the Son of Man? He himself sits in heaven at the right hand of the Great Power, and will come on the clouds of heaven.

Hegesippus continues:

And when many were fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” then again the scribes and Pharisees said to one another, “We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid and not believe him.”

And they cried out, saying, “Oh! oh! the Just himself is in error.”

And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah, “Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome to us; therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.”

So they went up and threw down the Just. And they said to one another, “Let us stone James the Just.” And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall.

But he turned and knelt down and said, “I beseech you, Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

And while they were thus stoning him, one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, a son of the Rechabites, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, cried out, saying, “Stop! What are you doing? The Just is praying for you.”

And one of them, a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the Just on the head.

And thus he suffered martyrdom.

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Reading the Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

VOICE OF THE MARTYRS KOREA DELIVERS PETITION TO RUSSIAN EMBASSY ON BEHALF OF MISSIONARY PARK TAE YEON

Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley delivered a 5,000+ signature petition to the Russian Embassy in Seoul last week calling for the immediate release of Missionary Park Tae Yeon. The Foleys addressed the media across the street from the Embassy before entering the Embassy.

“Missionary Park faithfully shared the love of Jesus with Russian children for 33 years,” says Pastor Foley. “She continues to be in good spirits in detention and says she reads her Bible daily. But she says, ‘I just want to go home.’ We are thankful for the 5,000 people around the world who signed the petition calling for Russia to just let Missionary Park go home.”

Park Tae Yeon is a Korean missionary who was arrested in Khabarovsk, Russia January 15, one week before she was scheduled to return home to Korea to retire at age 70. The missionary continues to be held at an immigration detention center in Khabarovsk. She faces a maximum of 17 years in prison on a total of three immigration-related charges. The Foleys said Missionary Park’s initial court hearing on these charges is now likely to occur in May.

Authorities have also seized Missionary Park’s house in Russia and fined the missionary for overstaying her visa, despite the overstay being due to her detainment by Russian authorities. Pastor Foley calls these actions “serious violations of the law that demand remedy by the court and the action of Christians around the world on Missionary Park’s behalf.” Pastor Foley said a court hearing on these matters should happen this month.

On February 4 Voice of the Martyrs Korea posted a petition online calling for Missionary Park’s immediate release. More than 4,000 people in Korea added their names to the petition, along with more than 1,000 people from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Africa, Finland, Zimbabwe, Poland, Hungary, Indonesia, Romania, Nigeria, Scotland, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

The petition reads as follows:

PETITION FOR URGENT RELEASE AND REPATRIATION

TO:        His Excellency Georgy Zinoviev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Korea
43 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

CC:        The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

DATE: February 4, 2026

SUBJECT: Urgent Petition for the Release of Ms. Park Tae-yeon

We, the undersigned, call upon the Government of the Russian Federation to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Park Tae-yeon, a citizen of the Republic of Korea currently detained in Khabarovsk, Russia. 

1. Personal Details of the Detainee

  • Name: Park Tae-yeon
  • Age: 69
  • Nationality: Republic of Korea
  • Case/Detention Number: 1260208004800001
  • Date of Detention: January 15, 2026
  • Place of Detention: Khaborovsk, Russia

2. Grounds for Release

  • Exemplary Service: Park Tae-yeon has been living with a sincere love for the country of Russia and its people since her arrival in 1993. She has no prior criminal history. She has lived her whole life as a single person and has devoted herself to the locals for 33 years, to the point where she says she is married to Russia. She has practiced a life of caring for her neighbors, and her pure spirit of service has become an example for many people around him. Park Tae-yeon is a transparent and good person like a child, without political ideology or impure purpose.
  • Health and Safety Risks: Park Tae-yeon purchased a flight ticket to return home to the Republic of Korea in order to retire and receive care from her family due to her age but was prevented from departing due to her arrest.
  • Lack of Consular Access: The prisoner has been denied consular access, violating Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
  • Wrongful Detainment: Park Tae-yeon has been charged with an immigration-related offense; however, a report on January 23, 2026 by the state-affiliated Russian media outlet RIA, cites a Khabarovsk city official who reports a months-long investigation by law enforcement agencies into religious camps for children in Khabarovsk. The report says, “As a result of the investigation, the activities of a citizen of the Republic of Korea, who carried out missionary work while hiding behind plausible goals, were stopped.” Ms. Park is clearly among those targeted. By legally charging her with an immigration-related violation but prosecuting a much broader case against her through state-affiliated media, authorities prevent Ms. Park, her family, and her representatives from (1) understanding the full scope of the case against her and (2) accessing appropriate legal resources for her defense. Further, the immigration charge against Ms. Park shields the Russian Federation from international accountability for its growing crackdown on basic religious freedoms in violation of established international norms.

3. Petitioners’ Request
We urgently request that the relevant authorities:

  1. Immediately release Ms. Park Tae-yeon from detention.
  2. Ensure Ms.Park Tae-yeon receives immediate consular access.*
  3. Allow Ms. Park Tae-yeon safe passage back to the Republic of Korea. 

We, the undersigned, believe that the continued detention of Ms. Park Tae-yeon is an injustice that violates fundamental human rights.

Respectfully Submitted,

Voice of the Martyrs Korea

Basement level, 26, Solsaem-ro, Seongbuk-gu

Seoul, Korea 02709

[email protected]

*Missionary Park was granted consular access following the posting of the petition

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:1-45)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)

In the beginning, when God created the world, he made light first and then life. But when human beings sinned, they lost first life and then light: They were swallowed up by death and then descended into darkness. When Christ came, he came as the light of the world to give life to the world.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

As modern Christians, we tend to think of words like “light,” “life,” “glory,” and “grace,” as metaphors which carry generally good news. But scripture has very specific meanings for these words.

We can see this when we read the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead in John 11.

The Raising of Lazarus, Oil on canvas, c. 1517–1519, Sebastiano del Piombo (National GalleryLondon)

At the beginning of John 11, Jesus was on the other side of the Jordan from Jerusalem (see John 10:40). When Jesus heard that Lazarus of Bethany was ill and had reason to return to the region of Jerusalem to potentially heal him before he died, that meant he would be returning to the place where twice there had been attempts to stone him. If he was to return to Bethany, near Jerusalem, it would likely end in his death.

But Jesus said in John 11:4, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

This trip back to Jerusalem would end not only in the deaths of Lazarus and Jesus, but also the resuscitation of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus. Lazarus’ death and return to life would serve as a sign of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is why Jesus waited two days for Lazarus to die before going to Bethany.

When Martha met Jesus, she complained that if Jesus had come earlier, her brother Lazarus would not have died. When Jesus told her that her brother will rise again, she affirmed her belief in the resurrection of the dead on the last day. But Jesus interjected:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)

Because Jesus was completely victorious over death, every person who has ever died, whether good or evil, will be raised from the dead. The good will go on to eternal life and the evil to eternal punishment. Martha knows about this resurrection.

But, here, Jesus tells Martha about two things she does not know regarding life and resurrection.

First, Jesus tells her that he himself is resurrection and life. Second, Jesus also tells Martha that we share in Jesus’ life when we believe in him. This makes us alive in Christ even when we are dead. Because Lazarus believed in Christ, he was present with Christ and sharing his life even as his body was in the grave.

It isn’t that we “go to heaven when we die”. Instead, from the moment we believe in Christ and are baptized into his death and life, we are already alive in him and are with him, wherever he is. At the present time, that place is heaven, where Ephesians says we are presently seated with him. But the present heaven is not the eternal dwelling place of Christ, and it is not ours, either. Our eternal dwelling place is with Christ, wherever he is.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)

For we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

We don’t discern whether Christ is present to us based on whether we can experience him through the senses of this body. Even though we are with Christ, we can’t feel it because we live by faith, not by sight.

When we die, the senses of the body will shut down, and we will, happily, see Christ face to face. But heaven is not our eternal resting place. When Jesus returns to judge the earth on the last day, we who have believed and been baptized into him will come with him. And we will be resurrected bodily.

This resurrected body is not just our old body brought back to life. It is a new body of which our old body is just a seed. In our old bodies, our life is inherited from our parents. But, in our new bodies, we will share directly in the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42–44)

The raising of Lazarus gives us a picture of what this resurrection will look like.

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:43–44)

At that time, Lazarus was not resurrected. He was restored to life in his old body. But imagine what Lazarus could testify. He could testify that Christ was with him even in death. But scripture does not record Lazarus’ testimony.

We know from scripture that there are certain testimonies which the Lord does not permit to be shared.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. (2 Corinthians 12:2–4)

And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” (Revelation 10:4)

This is why we should not watch Youtube videos or read books about people’s retelling of their experiences after death. Even the apostles were not permitted to share what happened to them after they died.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll, and if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. (Revelation 22:18–19)

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.” (John 11:47)

John 11 doesn’t end with everybody celebrating Lazarus resurrection and praising Jesus. Instead, it ends with the Sanhedrin meeting and passing a resolution that Jesus should be put to death.

This was not just a plot of a conspiracy. This was a legal decision described by John with legal terms. We see similar decisions and terms used in the Sanhedrin’s processing of the Apostles.

The process was as follows. First, the Sanhedrin meets. Second, they review the evidence. Third, they decide (in the absence of the criminal, whom they cannot yet catch) whether to put the criminal to death.

But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him. (John 11:57)

This is exactly the report that Judas made.

It isn’t that the Sanhedrin made a legal decision to put Jesus to death in the final hours before he went to the cross. They had already made a resolution to do so in John 11. What Jesus’ appearance before the Sanhedrin gave him an opportunity to do was to defend himself, which he opted not to do.

This means that when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he already had a warrant for his arrest. It also means that when Jesus came to resurrect Lazarus, he did it as the Good Shepherd, laying down his life for his sheep.

Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” (John 11:54–56)

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Reading the Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment