John 10:1-3 — Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

This is a familiar passage — but have you considered the porter?
There are those who consider the porter to be a more or less negligible figure, no more than a symbol confirming that free access to the sheepfold is granted by authority of the owner to those to whom access is permitted.
There is another view of the porter that I find more compelling. It’s well expressed by the English Puritan Evangelist A. W. Pink:

“To him the porter openeth.” The “porter” was the one who vouched for the shepherd and presented him to the sheep. As to the identity of the “porter” in this proverb there can be no doubt. The direct reference was to John the Baptist who “prepared the way of the Lord.” He it was who formally introduced the Shepherd to Israel: “that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing” (John 1:31), was his own confession. But, in the wider application, the “porter” here represented the Holy Spirit, who officially vouched for the credentials of the Messiah, and who now presents the Savior to each of God’s elect.

I am convinced because what Mr. Pink writes fits both my understanding of the roles of John The Baptist and the Holy Spirit. More importantly, I am convinced because I do not believe that Jesus was careless in His choice of words to His disciples. I believe every word was precisely meant. The porter is not some insignificant accidental bystander.
In this Advent season it seems right to consider the role of John the Baptist … The one who was born before our Lord, went before Him to proclaim His coming, and like Him, was murdered.
In this time before Christmas it’s worth contemplating John and remembering that He was intimately bound up with Jesus before either of them was born. Each of them was announced by an angel. There’s no evidence that they were close in boyhood, but they were cousins … their ministries touched vitally. Each of them was bound to sacrifice … and each loved and admired the other.
I think Jesus and John both knew that the Shepherd needs the Porter, and the Porter’s job has no point without the Shepherd … and the sheep need them both.