Instead of the synoptic gospels' familiar parables, John's gospel presents his readers with a number of dramatic "I am" statements in which Jesus speaks about himself and the reality of the kingdom. These "I am" declarations are neither an actual parable nor simply an allegory, although elements of both make up these utterances. When Jesus makes his declarative "I am" statements, he is offering a kind of "symbolic discourse" (see C.K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John, 2nd ed., [Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978], 367) that freely mixes together both symbolic and straightforward language.

Verse 11, which opens this week's gospel text, introduces a new and dramatic idea from the images of Jesus as gate, shepherd and gatekeeper. After declaring himself the "good shepherd," Jesus …