Gates – Being a Pilgrim

“Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.”
Psalm 24:7-10 NIVUK

Theologians have determined that the “gates” and “ancient doors” refer to the gateways to Jerusalem, and the context of this Psalm applies to the courtesies rolled out for special guests, perhaps royalty from other nations. Important people required special measures being applied so that royal entries could be achieved through the gates and doors. Some gates were portcullis affairs that were lifted much higher than usual, so that their tops, their “heads”, appeared over the top of the City walls. Sometimes doors were removed from their hinges, “lifted up”, making the opening in the wall as wide as possible. Quite a lot of fuss, probably, but then we stop and think about the importance of the King of Glory, “the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle“. David made the point about the importance of the “King of Glory” because he repeated verses 7 and 8 again in verses 9 and 10. The phrase “king of Glory” was mentioned four times in these four verses.

In our Western cities, there are a few with some residual parts of medieval city walls that had gates to keep out the more undesirable elements of society. London once had a city wall, with seven gates into it, although they weren’t used after the mid-eighteenth century. Southampton still has its “Bargate” located at the end of the High Street and a remaining part of the old sea port’s city wall. In the walled parts of cities, there are occasions when certain traditions are re-enacted, reminding observers, mainly tourists, of how things used to be, but in modern Britain gates are of little use for security purposes.

But this Psalm is far more than being just an architectural nicety connected to ancient royal customs. Jesus used the analogy of a door or gate when He said, “ … I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” (John 10:7-9). This illustration would have been easily understood by the common people of Jesus’ day. The shepherd would have positioned himself at the entrance way to a walled pen, a sheepfold, where the sheep would have gone for safety at night, and no-one would have been able to steal or harm the sheep without the shepherd knowing about it. Jesus’ illustration confirmed that there is only one sheepfold and only one Shepherd; there is only one way to be saved and only through one Person can it be achieved. Later, in John 14:6, Jesus said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. Of course, there are many who would claim other ways to get to Heaven and experience eternal life, pointing to other religions as the alternatives. There are even others who claim that they can get there just by being good, without needing any knowledge of Jesus at all. Still others claim that everyone will go to Heaven one day regardless of how they behave or what they think. But there is only one way, as we pilgrims know and understand. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it”. By God’s grace, we found the narrow gate leading us on a journey that at times is difficult. At times it seems to be populated by people on a broad highway, who are coming towards us and trying to get us to turn round and journey with them to the place we call hell. It is hard to find ourselves swimming against the tide sometimes. But we stick it out, persevering along the narrow road that leads to Glory.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends”. The believers in Laodicea were admonished for being neither hot or cold in their faith. They claimed that they needed nothing but failed to realise how spiritually impoverished they were. But after giving them a hard time, Jesus’ grace prevailed with an invitation to listen for His voice and open up their hearts to allow Him to minister to them once again. But what an invitation it was, and one we can receive personally! Think about it. That Jesus would deign to share a meal with us, if only we would cast aside our pride and arrogance and in all humility bow at His feet. We must open up our gates and ancient doors before Him so that the King of Glory can be admitted. Jesus is waiting, but we have to do the opening.

Father God. You are the King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

“Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.”
Psalms‬ ‭118:19-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Gates. What picture comes into our minds when we think about gates? There’s the wooden gate at the entrance to someone’s garden. Or the motorised gate that can be triggered remotely to allow a vehicle through. Wrought iron fancy gates are sometimes fashionable. Or perhaps a substantial oak door complete with cast iron studs. The picket gate in the gatehouse, perhaps, at the entrance to a churchyard. But whatever pictures we form in our minds, the Psalmist highlights three things about the gate that is set before him. Firstly, he has to ask someone else to open it – its not something that he can do. Secondly, he has to be righteous to go through it, and thirdly, once through the opened gate, he can join the godly to enter God’s presence. And the reason he wanted to go through it was to thank the Lord. What a gate that must have been!

But many years later, Jesus made an astonishing statement. He said, as recorded by the Apostle John in John 10:9, “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” But is Jesus the Gate described in Psalm 118? Is this a prophetic glimpse of the coming Messiah? Well, Jesus is the Gate, the Someone who opens the gate for us. I once was shown around the cash handling hall in a major British bank. To get in was difficult. It needed someone to vouch for me, and sign me into the compound in which the cash hall was located. And this analogy aptly describes what Jesus does for us. He vouches for us, and because we have been saved through His blood shed for us at Calvary, we can securely and confidently enter His gate. You see, to enter the Gate that is Jesus we meet the qualifications required to get in. And the essential qualification is righteousness. Only the righteous can enter into God’s presence. Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthian church, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God“. Because Jesus took on Himself all our sins, past present and future, we can receive the gift of God and stand righteously before Him. Lastly, when we pass through the Gate we enter into God’s presence. In Hebrews 10:19 we read, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.”

The Psalmist asked for the gates to be opened. Tick. The Psalmist said the righteous can enter. Tick. We can go into God’s presence. Tick. So what the psalmist said in Psalm 118 was confirmed many years later by the first coming of Jesus. However, there is just one more thing we must do once we are in the presence of the Lord. That is, we must thank Him, and never stop thanking Him. Joining with many saints around the world and in past, present and future times. Thanking God for all He has done for us. Must be worth an amen?