Seeing Jesus as the Door

“What we have seen of the Lord Jesus as the awesome truth about ourselves and our sins prepares us for the next sight of Him, the sight which the Holy Spirit longs to give to the convicted heart – that of Jesus Christ as the door” (Roy Hession).

As we continue our journey through Roy Hession’s book, We Would See Jesus, I am filled with hope at the truth of Jesus Christ being the door (see John 10:7). There is so much truth presented in this chapter, I couldn’t help but use several quotes in trying to unpack it.

“The very fact that the Lord Jesus said He was the door presupposes that there is a wall, a barrier, which excludes us from God. There is indeed. Who of us has not found it so? This wall has withstood our most earnest moral endeavors and thwarted our every resolution. We go to pray, but it is there. We seek His help, but it is still there. Our very worship of Him is always from a distance….The Bible tells us the nature of this barrier. It tells us it is sin, and only sin, that separates man and God (Isaiah 59:2)” (Roy Hession).

This wall separates the unsaved sinner from God as well as the saved sinner! It separates the unsaved from having a relationship with God. For the saved, it separates from having fellowship with God. Either way, sin separates us from God.

Roy defines sin as “the attitude of self-centeredness and independence of God which is common to us all, and the many acts of transgression which have issued from that attitude.” I love this definition. Too many times in my own life, I seem to separate myself from “sin” like the righteous Pharisee. God continues to show me that it is me (not the other guy) that stands in the need of prayer! How often I miss that sin starts with an insecure, self righteous, self centered, and independent attitude of my heart. When I allow that attitude to take root without immediately bringing it to the cross, the wall stands tall and my fellowship with God is broken.

When we realize the wall has broken our fellowship with God, the temptation is to try to scale the wall and get over it by “doing better next time.” This will only lead to failure and frustration! Instead, we must humble ourselves before God – admitting our failure and inability to Him. What freedom this brings our weary hearts when we realize we don’t have to scale the wall, but instead enter through the Door (Jesus)!

Jesus does not merely show us a door; He Himself is the door (Roy Hession).

“In simply coming to Him we have passed from one spiritual condition to another, for He is Himself both the blessing needed and the door to it….The gospel does not call us to try to be like Christ, but rather to come through Christ. We are presented with a door rather than an example.”

What a beautiful picture of the veil being torn at Calvary! This veil, “for centuries had hung as an excluding barrier between the Holy of Holies and the rest of the temple, was rent at that very moment from top to bottom. In that way the separating barrier of sin between man and God was declared breached, and the door for sinful man declared open.”

As you read through chapter 5, you will come to see Jesus as an open door, open on street level – “open for the failed man as a failure.” Wherever you find yourself today, Jesus is immediately available to you!

“It is not a matter of straining to attain the heights, nor artificially trying to abase ourselves to the depths. His blood has made Him available to the sinner as a sinner, and to the failing saint as a failing saint, if he will only admit that that is what he is.”

Faith is the key. This door is wide open on street level to us but it is a low and narrow door. The only way to enter is by faith, humbly admitting what we’re not.

John 10:1 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.” There are many ways we attempt to climb the wall. Roy says, “while we are climbing so hard, the Lord Jesus stands immediately available to us as our door, open on street level, and we could so quickly enter in if we were willing to bow our heads at His cross.”

As I bring this post to a close, I encourage you to think about all the ways you are attempting to scale the wall by your own efforts! The only way to fellowship with God is through the door of Jesus Christ! True repentance means a changing of the mind. What is God asking you to change your mind about today? Have you had a heart attitude of insecurity, self righteousness, independence from God or self centeredness? As He reveals this to you, confess it to Him by agreeing with Him that He is right and you are wrong. 1 John 1:9 brings the wonderful promise that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”(NASB). As we come to Him this way, our works will be born of faith and not a “righteousness derived from the law” (see Philippians 3:9).

“When we come down from our unrepentant strivings to those dear pierced feet of His, and in a matter of moments we have entered by faith into a peace and rest of heart that has eluded us for so long. Truly, to see Jesus is to lose our burdens and to enter into satisfaction” (Roy Hession).

Chapter 5: Daily Reflections

Day 1: The Door & the Good Shepherd

1. Read John 10:1-18 and write down everything you learn about Jesus being the door. How does this relate with Jesus being the Good Shepherd?
2. What two I AM statements does Jesus make in this chapter? (Hint: v 7 & 9).
3. List everything you learn from these 18 verses about Jesus being the Good Shepherd.

Day 2: The LORD is my Shepherd

1. Today we are going to spend some time in Psalm 23.
2. Read Psalm 23. How does verse 1 relate to Week 3’s study on Jesus being all that we need?
3. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and really does provide for us everything we need. From your reading of Psalm 23, list all the things our Good Shepherd provides for us.

Day 3: The low Door

1. Read Galatians 2:19-21. How does it compare to John 1:17?
2. How does the law and trying to be justified by “works” (instead of faith) relate to “climbing the wall”?
3. I love how Roy refers to the Door as being low and being on “street level.” Read 1 Peter 5:5-7. What do you learn about humility and how do you think it relates to entering the low Door? How does this affect our relationships with each other? (Hint: verse 5) How does this remind you of dying to self?

Day 4: The Sufficiency of Christ’s Sacrifice

1. Read Hebrews 10:1-18. Write down everything you learn about the law, sacrifice, and what Jesus did for us.
2. What comparisons do you see with the idea of entering humbly through the low Door and trying to climb up by the works of the law?
3. What does verses 16-17 teach you about the New Covenant?

Day 5: A New & Living Way

1. Read Hebrews 10:19-25.
2. Have you been trying to “climb up some other way” than going through the low Door? Let your heart be encouraged from the Truth of God’s Word.
3. Write down every encouragement and promise given to us in these verses. Take some time to thank God for coming right to where we are. We don’t have to climb a ladder to heaven to reach Him! His door is on street level. Oh that we would humble our hearts enough to crawl through it!

As you reflect on God’s Word this week, prayerfully answer the following questions.

• What attitudes of your heart reflect independence from God? Pray and ask God to reveal these attitudes to you.
• What are some ways you have tried to “climb the wall” in order to achieve greater fellowship with God? How has God spoken to your heart about entering through Jesus, the door?

“Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come! Into Thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to Thee!”

Please note that unless stated otherwise, all italicized quotes that are not directly cited from an author or Scripture are direct quotes from the book, We Would See Jesus, by Roy Hession.