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The Porter in John 10:3 and Its Significance

John 10:3 states, "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" [1]. This verse is part of Jesus' discourse on the Good Shepherd, delivered in Jerusalem, likely during the Feast of Dedication [4]. The passage uses the imagery of a sheepfold to illustrate the relationship between Jesus, the true shepherd, and his followers, the sheep.

The term "porter" in this context refers to a gatekeeper, not a carrier of burdens, deriving from the Latin portarius [3]. In ancient Israel, porters were often Levites appointed to guard the doors and gates of the temple, and sometimes served as musicians [2]. In the parable, the porter's role is to grant access to the sheepfold.

The identity of this "porter" has been a subject of varied interpretation among commentators. Augustine of Hippo, in his Homilies on John, acknowledges the question of the porter's identity but defers a definitive answer, focusing instead on Christ as the door and the shepherd [9]. He also connects the idea of the porter opening to the study of divine scriptures, suggesting that the hidden sense of the scriptures is opened by the porter [11].

John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, notes that Christ's own explanation of the parable does not explicitly identify the porter. Gill dismisses the idea that the porter is like a doorman for a great man, emphasizing the context of the sheepfold. He suggests the porter is someone who had care of the sheepfold door and opened it as needed [5].

Other interpretations propose different figures for the porter. Adam Clarke, a Methodist/Wesleyan commentator, suggests that the porter represents the ministers of the Gospel, who are to watch for the safety and welfare of the flock [10]. He also cites Sir Isaac Newton's observation that Jesus' parable might allude to sheepfolds near the temple where sheep were kept for sacrifice, and that the porter would open to the true shepherd [7].

The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary (Presbyterian) suggests that the porter signifies "right of free access is given, by order of Him to whom the sheep belong," preferring not to give the allusion a more specific interpretation, a view shared by Calvin, Meyer, and Luthardt [6]. This interpretation emphasizes the divine authorization for the shepherd's entry.

Regardless of the specific identity of the porter, the act of opening the gate signifies legitimate access. The true shepherd enters through the proper channel, in contrast to thieves and robbers who attempt to enter by other means [9]. This distinction is crucial to the parable's message about discerning true spiritual leadership from false.

Following the porter's action, the sheep's response is central: "the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out" [1]. This highlights the intimate relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. Middle Eastern shepherds were known for their close knowledge of their flock, leading them with various calls or songs [13]. The sheep recognize and respond to the shepherd's unique voice. This concept is echoed by Calvin, who states that if believers hear Christ's voice, they are among his sheep [12]. Augustine also emphasizes that the sheep hear the shepherd's voice and are called by name, signifying a personal relationship [9].

The shepherd's action of calling his sheep by name and leading them out signifies guidance and protection. Augustine interprets the "leading out" as entering into the temporal life of faith, and later, passing out by the door of Christ's faith into an abundant eternal life [8]. This imagery underscores the shepherd's role in guiding his flock to safety and provision. The entire passage, particularly verses 1-5, is understood by many, including the Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary, as Jesus drawing a portrait of himself as the true shepherd [6].

Sources

  1. John “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. -- John 10:3”
  2. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Porter — A gate-keeper (2 Sam. 18:26; 2 Kings 7:10; 1 Chr. 9:21; 2 Chr. 8:14). Of the Levites, 4,000 were appointed as porters by David (1 Chr. 23:5), who were arranged according to their families (26:1-19) to take charge of the doors and gates of the temple. They were sometimes employed as musicians (1 Chr. 15:18).”
  3. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Porter — This word when used in the Authorized Version does not bear its modern signification of a carrier of burdens, but denotes in every case a gate-keeper, from the Latin portarius, the man who attended to the porta or gate.”
  4. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: John The Apostle — was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee, and of Salome, and brother of James, also an apostle. Peter and James and John come within the innermost circle of their Lord's friends; but to John belongs the distinction of being the disciple whom Jesus loved. He hardly sustains the popular notion, fostered by the received types of Christian art, of a nature gentle, yielding, feminine. The name Boanerges, (Mark 3:17) implies a vehemence, zeal, intensity, which gave to those who had it the might of sons of thunder. [[739]James] The three ”
  5. John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 10:3: To him the porter openeth,.... There is nothing in the explanation of this parable given by Christ, that directs to the sense of this clause; the allusion cannot be, as some have thought, to great men, who have porters at their gates, to open them, and let in persons that come and knock; since the parable is concerning the sheepfold, and the shepherd, and the sheep that go into it; and therefore must refer to one that at least, at certain times, stood by the door of the sheepfold, and had the care of it, and opened it upon proper occasions: by whom is designed not Micha”
  6. John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 10:3: To him the porter openeth--that is, right of free access is given, by order of Him to whom the sheep belong; for it is better not to give the allusion a more specific interpretation [CALVIN, MEYER, LUTHARDT]. and the sheep hear his voice--This and all that follows, though it admits of important application to every faithful shepherd of God's flock, is in its direct and highest sense true only of "the great Shepherd of the sheep," who in the first five verses seems plainly, under the simple character of a true shepherd, to be drawing His own portrait [L”
  7. John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on John 10:3: To him the porter openeth - Sir Isaac Newton observes that our Lord being near the temple, where sheep were kept in folds to be sold for sacrifices, spoke many things parabolically of sheep, of their shepherds, and of the door to the sheepfold; and discovers that he alluded to the sheepfolds which were to be hired in the market place, by speaking of such folds as a thief could not enter by the door, nor the shepherd himself open, but a porter opened to the shepherd. In the porter opening the door to the true shepherd, we may discover the second mark of a true minister”
  8. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER X. 1-10. (part 14): fold, to the temporal life, which is lived in faith. Therefore, He saith, "I am come that they may have life," that is, faith, which worketh by love;(8) by which faith they enter the fold that they may live, for the just liveth by faith:(9) "and that they may have it more abundantly," who, enduring unto the end, pass out by this same door, that is, by the faith of Christ; for as true believers they die, and will have life more abundantly when they come whither the Shepherd hath preceded them, where they shall die no more. ”
  9. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER X. 1-10. (part 4): is, as carried off by stealth, for the purpose, not of saving, but of slaying them. Therefore is he a thief, because what is another's he calls his own; a robber, because what he has stolen he also kills. "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep: to him the porter openeth." Concerning this porter we shall make inquiry, when we have heard of the Lord Himself what is the door and who is the shepherd. "And the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name." For He has their names written i”
  10. Mark (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Mark 13:36: He find you sleeping - A porter asleep exposes the house to be robbed, and well deserves punishment. No wonder that the man is constantly suffering loss who is frequently off his guard. Our Lord shows us in this parable: 1. That himself, ascended to heaven, is the man gone from home. 2. That believers collectively are his family. 3. That his servants are those who are employed in the work of faith and labor of love. 4. That the porter represents the ministers of his Gospel, who should continually watch for the safety and welfare of the whole flock. 5. That every one ”
  11. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 9: Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Origen's Commentaries — 3. PERSONAL APPEAL.: Do you then, sir, my son, study first of all the divine Scriptures. Study them I say. For we require to study the divine writings deeply, lest we should speak of them faster than we think; and while you study these divine works with a believing and God-pleasing intention, knock at that which is closed in them, and it shall be opened to thee by the porter, of whom Jesus says,(1) "To him the porter openeth." While you attend to this divine reading seek aright and with unwavering faith in God the hidden sense wh”
  12. CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 79: has committed us to Christ, whom he has appointed to be the only Savior of all his people. Then, if we doubt whether we are received into the protection of Christ, he obviates the doubt when he spontaneously offers himself as our Shepherd, and declares that we are of the number of his sheep if we hear his voice ( John 10:3 , 16 ). Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, who is kindly offered to us, and comes forth to meet us: he will number us among his flock, and keep us within his fold. But anxiety arises as to our future state. 505 5”
  13. John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 10:3: 10:3 the sheep recognize his voice: The Middle Eastern shepherd is well known for having intimate knowledge of the sheep. Sheep are led with flute tunes, songs, or verbal commands.”
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