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The Good Shepherd - Lesson I, John 10:1-7
John 10:1-10, 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. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
In chapter nine the Apostle John recorded that Jesus had made a blind man whole.
This Jewish man was not only given physical sight but he was given spiritual sight by believing on Jesus Christ and in so doing he left the fold of Israel and joined the fold of the good shepherd.
Here we see Jesus as the great story teller and in this chapter He chooses to bring his listeners to remember King David’s Psalm about God being the shepherd of his life, the shepherd in whom he shall not want which means all his needs will be supplied.
David knew that all we like sheep have gone astray.
David knew that because men were like sheep they will therefore all be under a shepherd.
It will be a shepherd supplied by Satan or a shepherd supplied by God.
David choose God’s shepherd and therefore said the Lord is my shepherd.
Shepherds and sheep folds go together so Jesus in this simple story understandable by all who wish to understand, now compares the Jewish fold to his flock.
He calls us to picture a sheepfold which is an enclosed area of thorn bushes or stone designed to protect the sheep by keeping them together.
Each village had a sheepfold that was the common property of all the local shepherds.
It was usually enclosed by a wall of 10 to 12 feet high.
As night fell shepherds would lead their flocks into the sheepfold.
The shepherds would go to their homes leaving their sheep in the care of a porter who would protect the sheep against thieves and robbers.
In the morning each shepherd would return and call his sheep by name and they would respond to his voice and he would lead them out to pasture. Sheep would not go with another shepherd but wait for the voice of their own shepherd for each sheep knew his shepherd’s voice.
As with all parables Jesus Christ is telling this story to teach a spiritual lesson to spiritual ears.
Remember how Jesus said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Jesus has just received the man born blind from the fold of Israel.
The sheepfold he asks us to picture therefore is Judaism.
The door into the sheepfold is the lawful way of entrance for the shepherd to those of his sheep then found in Judaism.
In verse 2 he tells us that you can identify the true shepherd by how he enters the sheepfold.
He is the one that comes through the door of the sheepfold.
Jesus Christ says that if any come into the sheepfold any other way they are up to no good for the sheep and he calls them thieves and robbers.
Those who enter in unlawfully are not interested in the welfare of the sheep but only interested in using the sheep for their own welfare.
But Jesus Christ entered Israel in a completely lawful manner for he fulfilled the law.
He met all the conditions prescribed by God for the Messiah.
He came in the fullness of time, was born of a virgin, born a Jew, born in Bethlehem, and had come out of Egypt.
He was born under the law, circumcised the eighth day and presented to God in the temple.
He entered the fold of Israel the right way at the door.
No others came that way.
He came by the means which Old Testament prophesy had marked out beforehand.
In other words He came with all the credentials needed to identify the Great Shepherd.
And because of this the porter in John 10:3,4 admits him:
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
The porter is the doorkeeper of the sheepfold.
He vouches for the shepherd for all proof has been presented and therefore he prepared the way for the shepherd to enter the sheepfold.
John the Baptist was a type of a porter in that he prepared the way as a forerunner for Jesus Christ to enter the fold of Israel as the Shepherd of Israel.
The porter can also represent the Holy Spirit who vouches for the credentials of the Messiah and presents the Savior to each of his sheep.
But all the shepherd needs to do is to stand at the door and call his own sheep by name and they recognize his voice and come to him.
It is a come hither call, a come hither call that all who are Christ’s shall answer in days to come.
It reminds us of the call from the open door of Revelation 4:1, After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Now each sheep had a shepherd given name. There’s a new name written down in glory!
To the shepherd each sheep is an individual and he knows each one and calls each one out of the sheepfold by name.
Perhaps the name given was based on a special marking of the sheep or a characteristic of the sheep.
But each was known to the shepherd and each sheep knew the shepherd's voice. He did not round them up by the use of a sheepdog to bark at their heels.
He did not drive them; he led them.
He went before them and they followed him because they knew him and trusted him.
His sheep knew and heard his voice.
Remember how he told Matthew to follow him?
And Zacchaeus, make haste and come down!
Philip, follow me! Lazarus, come forth!
Our Lord Jesus was leading his sheep out of the fold of Judaism, the fold that constricted, the fold that used the sheep, the fold that had self-interest and not the sheep's welfare.
The man born blind who now had been given sight recognized the voice of Jesus and was now his devoted follower.
He was one of the called and he was one of the justified.
He was one of those who was given the hearing ear and the seeing eye.
The Lord was his shepherd!
For the Shepherd tells us in John 10:5,6, And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
This is a very important principle!
This is a mark of all the sheep of Christ.
They will not follow a false teacher.
They will not give themselves over to a strange shepherd.
Instead they will flee from him because they know the voice of their shepherd and know that the false shepherd's voice is not their shepherd's voice.
The sheep of Christ are discerning sheep.
Jesus tells us here that it is not possible to deceive the elect of God, the sheep of God.
but they (the Pharisees) understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
These were not his sheep.
If they were they would have been given the spirit of discernment.
Those who are not his sheep are unable to understand the truth even when it is plainly presented to them.
They were blind and deaf to this simple allegory.
The fold, the door, the sheep, the shepherd were all strange to them.
They were trained in the best schools of the day but they were not born again into the family of God.
The Word of God was sealed to them.
Men may gain the world's knowledge by their efforts but knowledge of God is by God's grace and that grace is through Jesus Christ and him alone.
John 10:7, Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Of a truth, of a truth, Jesus proclaims a truth that enlightens his sheep.
Not only does he call his sheep and they hear his voice but he tells them that he is the door of the sheep.
He is not the door of the sheepfold, but he is the door of the sheep. His sheep!
He is the door that secures, the door that opens and gives access to wonderful things.
He is the way out of the fold of dead religion into life everlasting.
He is the way to green pastures, he is the way to still waters.
He is the way to paths of righteousness and he is the way to goodness and mercy.
He affirms that he is the way, there is not a way, some proven steps or procedure that men may take, but he, he personally is the way, the door of the sheep.
The sheep must go through him to access life, true spiritual God centered life.
And he compares the true shepherd with those only in sheep’s clothing in John 10:8, All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Jesus continues to use strong language.
He does not couch terms in order to gain friends and supporters.
All that ever came before Jesus Christ includes false Messiahs and self-appointed teachers, Pharisees and scribes.
These were not interested in the welfare of the sheep.
They are sons of the first thief, the devil, who climbed into God's fold not through the door but by other means.
Being thieves and robbers, they were motivated by self-interest.
For example the rabbis substituted tradition for truth; the Talmud for the Torah; the oral law for the inspired written law.
They stole the key of knowledge and not only did not come in themselves but hindered others from coming to God.
They entered intrusively, clandestinely, under the mask of religion.
But they are ravenous wolves.
The true sheep would not hear them.
The true sheep hear the shepherd’s voice but will not hear the voice of the false shepherds.
How often we find severe denunciations of false teachers in the scriptures. |