This year, I’m utilizing the 7 I AMs to navigate Lent. I needed something different and thought that they carried the plot lines of Lent well. Jesus faces more and more antagonism as the I AMs progress. The final I AM (I am the Vine) occurs on Maundy Thursday.

Today I was exploring “I am the Gate of the Sheep” together with “I am the Good Shepherd” which begins here:

Very truly I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:1-3, NRSV, emphasis mine

Who is the gatekeeper?

I’ve heard the concept of the gatekeeper many times before and have read this passage many times before. But only now have I attributed the gatekeeper to this passage.

Who opens the gate for Jesus? Is it John the Baptist? The Holy Spirit? The Father? Disciples?

Some help please.