Dear New Hope,
Last week I had the opportunity to tour the Vatican in Rome. As we wandered through the Vatican Museum, we marveled at the historic sculptures, stood in awe beneath Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and ended our tour at the front doors of St. Peter’s Basilica. That was the moment when I unexpectedly encountered the beautiful simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our tour guide pointed to one of the entry doors to the church called the Porta Sancta, or Holy Door. It is located near the main entrance of St. Peter’s church where thousands of visitors pour in daily to the cathedral. But the Holy Door is unique because it remains unopened, sealed by mortar and cement from the inside. It’s a door that, since about the year 1300, is only opened every 25 years, during what the church considers Jubilee years. The last time the Holy Door was opened was in 2015 when Pope Francis broke with the typical 25 year tradition and opened it for a special year of mercy dispensed by the church. Initially, the Pope entered through the doorframe and prayed, and then, over the course of the next year, an estimated 10 million pilgrims followed him across the threshold of the door of mercy.
It was there, last week, that this evangelical pastor was told by a tour guide that if a pilgrim walks through the Holy Door, they receive a special dispensation of mercy and forgiveness. If, perchance, someone missed previous opportunities to walk through the doorway, we were given comfort that the door will open again in 2025, and again in 2050. In other words, time remains to walk through a holy door of forgiveness.
“I am the door.”
While I appreciate the symbolism of walking through a doorway to receive forgiveness, I can’t help but look to the simple and beautiful words of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John records 8 famous “I am” statements of Jesus:
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life.”
John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.”
John 8:58 “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd.”
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life.”
John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
John 15:1 “I am the true vine.”
As it pertains to the “Holy Door” at the Vatican, Jesus’ words in John 10:9 should remind us of the beautiful simplicity of the gospel:
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
The reminder over and over again in the Scripture is that Jesus is the only door of salvation. If anyone enters by Him, young or old, and walks across the threshold by faith, they receive His grace and salvation. As an added benefit, this offer of mercy is not only available once every 25 years, it is an offer which is available at any moment to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
Jesus is the Holy Door. He is the Porta Sancta. He is the one and only entry into the resurrection and the life. By His own confession, Jesus said that nobody can come to the Father except by Him. Jesus alone is the mediator between a Holy God and sinful man. He alone has the qualifications to redeem humanity and be the threshold of forgiveness. When He was pierced upon the cross, His sacrifice was the payment for sin we needed to receive mercy and find salvation from our sins. When He rose from the dead, He broke the seal of the grave, cracking the mortar and cement from the inside, and walked through with resurrection power. And the good news for humanity is that any pilgrim from any nation who follows Him by faith will also receive mercy at the resurrection.
In your lifetime you may want to enjoy a trip to the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. But should you come to the front door of the church and see the Holy Door sealed and unopened, may it be a reminder that Jesus is the door to eternal life and in Him, you have already received forgiveness.
You are loved,
Craig Trierweiler
