Truly, truly
The double "truly" (Greek: "Amen, amen") is a solemn affirmation, underscoring the truth and authority of Jesus' words. This phrase is unique to the Gospel of John and is used to introduce significant teachings. It reflects Jesus' divine authority and the certainty of His message, demanding the listener's attention.

I tell you
This personal address highlights the direct communication between Jesus and His audience. It signifies the importance of the message and the personal responsibility of the listeners to heed His words. Jesus often used this phrase to convey teachings that required personal reflection and response.

I am the gate
This metaphor identifies Jesus as the sole means of access to spiritual safety and salvation. In the cultural context, sheepfolds often had a single entrance, and the shepherd would act as the gate, protecting the sheep. This imagery connects to Old Testament themes of God as the protector and guide of His people (e.g., Psalm 23). Jesus' claim echoes His exclusive role as the mediator between God and humanity, fulfilling prophecies of the Messiah as the way to God.

for the sheep
The sheep represent believers, those who follow Jesus and recognize His voice. In biblical symbolism, sheep are often used to depict God's people, highlighting their need for guidance and protection. This phrase emphasizes Jesus' role as the shepherd who cares for and leads His flock, contrasting with false leaders who exploit the sheep. The imagery aligns with passages like Ezekiel 34, where God promises to shepherd His people directly, fulfilled in Jesus' ministry.

Verily, verily, I say unto you.--Comp. Note on John 10:1.

I am the door of the sheep.--Taking these words in connection with John 10:1-2, they seem to mean not "the door for the sheep," but "the door to the sheep," "the door into the sheep-fold." Our Lord returns to the words, and explains them more fully, in John 10:9.

(2) Allegory of the door and the fold, in which Christ claims to be "the Door of the sheep." Verse 7. - Jesus therefore (οϋν, with its resumptive force, introduces the effect upon Christ of the unsusceptible character of the Pharisees). Some pause may have occurred, during which these men displayed their bitter feeling and utter lack of appreciation, and he proceeds first to give them an explanation of the words, which should leave them in no doubt as to one emphatic meaning which they contained; Said again unto them, I am the Door of the sheep, This exposition of the allegory is introduced by the solemn Amen, amen. Christ first calls attention to the "door" into the sacred fellowship of men with God. On a subsequent occasion (John 14:6), he said, "I am the Way" to the Father; "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The parable as it stands refers to true and false teachers of the people, and to just and unjust claims to confer upon the sheep of God's pasture safe and sure access to God, and all privileges of Divine life. In interpreting it, he declares first that he is the one Door, not of "the fold" so much as of the sheep, in their individual capacity. This corresponds with every claim made by him and made in his Name, that he, in all the fullness of his Personality, had always been the one Medium by which, in the theocracy or beyond it, men have drawn near to the Father. The Logos is the Angel of the covenant, the Rock in the wilderness, the great High Priest, the Veil over the holy place, the propitiatory Sacrifice, the Prophet, the King. He it is who ever and always has given consolation and peace to his people. He is the one method, agency, reality, by which not only the shepherds, but the sheep, enter into the fold, and go forth thence to pasture.

Parallel Commentaries ...