Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-42)

Context

In chapter 9 Jesus has been expounding what it means for Him to be the ‘light of the world’. Primarily it means that He gives spiritual ‘sight’, or understanding, to those who are being rescued. Simultaneous with this work of rescue is the exercising of God’s judgement on those who oppose His purposes, and this takes the form of blinding. Despite the negative reaction of the Jews, in chapter 9, the story of the blind man has assured us that people can and will be saved.

The harsh treatment that the blind man received from the religious authorities in chapter 9 (he was driven out of the synagogue) provides a significant link between chapters 9 and 10. In chapter 10 Jesus draws on the traditional imagery for the people of God and its leaders – sheep and shepherds – to provide a framework that both criticizes the behaviour of the religious authorities (the bad shepherds) and sets up His own contrasting role as the Good Shepherd who will lay down His life for His sheep. In this way, Jesus picks up the prophecy in Ezekiel 34, in which

God had promised that when He came to rescue His people, He would provide a true shepherd from the house of David who would call out and rescue God’s true people (Ezek. 34:23). This chapter therefore explains how Jesus is the true Shepherd, and begins to explain how He will effect His rescue - by laying down His life. It also demonstrates how, in the conflict between Jesus and the Jews, Jesus is in the right and the Jews are in the wrong.

Structure

10:1–21 The Good Shepherd:

1–6 The parable.

7–18 The explanation:

7–10 ‘I am the door’ – not like the thief.

11–13 ‘I am the good shepherd’ – not like the hired hand.

14–18 ‘I am the good shepherd’ – and all my flock know me.

19–21 The response from the Jews.

10:22–39 The Jews prove that they are not God’s sheep. In spite of the miracles that Jesus has worked before them, the Jews prove by their actions that they are not God’s sheep.

10:40–42 Jesus goes back across the Jordan.

Old Testament Idea

The Good Shepherd:

Back in Numbers 27:12-23 when Moses is about to die, he prays that God will provide another leader like Moses for His people so that they will not be ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. In the immediate context, Joshua is that man, but from that moment on, God’s word often refers to the leaders of God’s people as ‘shepherds’ and to the people themselves as ‘sheep’ (see e.g. 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chronicles 18:16; Zechariah 10:2; Jeremiah 3:15; 10:21 etc.). Chief among such ‘shepherds’ however remains David ‘the shepherd who was taken from tending the sheep to become the shepherd-king (cf. 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7-8; 1 Chron. 11:2; Psalm 78:70-71) and who becomes the model for the future messianic shepherd king (Ezek. 37:24; Micah 5:2-4)’ (Lincoln).

Whatever the state of the flock, however, the one true shepherd of His people is God Himself – the one who rules, judges, rescues and tends for His sheep (e.g. Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps 23:1; 28:9; 74:1; 80:1; 95:7; Isa. 40:11; Jer. 23:3; 31:10; Micah 2:12; 7:14).

All of these themes are drawn together within the Old Testament in the crucial passage of Ezekiel 34. Within the book of Ezekiel, chapter 34 represents a turning point. Up to this point Ezekiel has been preaching judgement on God’s people and the destruction of Jerusalem. But, just when God’s people appear to be doomed, God promises a Good Shepherd who will rescue His true sheep. The chapter promises two things. First, judgement on God’s failed shepherds, who should have been feeding the sheep but who have in fact exploited them, with the result that the sheep had become scattered. Secondly, God promises to rescue the sheep who have been lost and scattered among the nations. When He has done this He will provide a shepherd to tend His flock. At times, this shepherd is described in human terms - he will come from the family of David; at other times, it is clear that the Shepherd will be none other than God Himself.

John 10 confirms for us that Jesus is indeed God Himself, the true Shepherd of His people. He will effect their rescue by laying down His life for them, and then taking it up again.

The Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21)

The Parable (John 10:1-6)

The ‘figure of speech’ (v. 6) employed by Jesus in these verses contains five metaphors: the sheepfold, its gate, the sheep, their shepherd, and the intruders. These metaphors serve to contrast the religious leaders of chapter 9 (the intruders) with the true Shepherd of God’s people (Jesus Himself) who leads His people by His voice. The door is the correct (and only legitimate) entrance to the sheepfold. Verse 6 shows that this discourse is still part of the response to the sign of chapter 9 – Jesus’ audience includes the Pharisees of chapter 9:40 and others, and probably the blind man too. Whereas the religious leaders ‘cast out’ the blind man from the synagogue (9:34), the Good Shepherd will ‘bring out’ (same word) His sheep into the pasture of God’s blessing (10.4).

The explanation (John 10:8-17)

Jesus’ listeners fail to understand the meaning of verses 1–6, so He explains His meaning to them in 3 sections, each of them marked by at least one ‘I AM’ saying:

I am the door (John 10:7-10)

and not like the thief (vv. 7–10). Jesus has already told His disciples that when they come to Him they will see ‘heaven opened’ (1:51). This metaphor of the door may pick up on that idea, with its resonance of Genesis 28. Alternatively, it may have its background in Psalm 118:19-20. Either way, the verses again contrast Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees are ‘thieves and robbers’ who are unable to provide salvation for God’s people. Ultimately, they are able only to steal and kill and destroy. They have already sought to destroy the blind man by casting him out of the synagogue – it won’t now be long before they seek to kill Lazarus (12:10) and Jesus Himself. By contrast, Jesus is the genuine doorway into salvation – everyone who enters through Him will find rescue and security.

The ‘life to the full’ that is offered by Jesus (v. 10) is the summary of the blessings promised by Jesus in verse 9. Anyone who ‘enters by Jesus’ will ‘go in and out and find pasture’ (v. 9), which is a picture of security and provision for those who have been rescued – shorthand for Ezekiel 34:11–16. It is likely that Psalm 23 is also in view which means that this is definitely not a promise of an easy life (we will still ‘walk through the valley of the shadow of death’), but a promise of God’s presence (‘you are with me’), His blessing (‘surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life’) and His gift (‘and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.’)

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-13)

and not like the hired hand (vv. 11–13). The first ‘good shepherd’ statement contrasts the genuine shepherd with the hired hand. The key distinction is about commitment to the sheep. The thing that will ultimately authenticate Jesus’ ministry is that He will never abandon the sheep; more than that, He will lay down His life for them because He is the ‘good’ (in the sense of ‘beautiful’, ‘noble’, ‘honourable’ or ‘ideal’) shepherd. As so often in John, Jesus is here making an astonishing claim and doing so almost in passing: in the Old Testament, and especially in Ezekiel 34, it is God who is the Shepherd of His people; now here Jesus sees Himself as taking the divine role of seeking, rescuing, guiding, feeding and caring for the sheep. In contrast is the hired hand, who is like the false shepherds of Israel (Ezek. 34:1–6) – despite appearances to the contrary, the Jewish authorities are only interested in taking care of their own interests.

The Good Shepherd and His flock (John 10:14-18)

The second ‘good shepherd’ statement expands on the Shepherd’s vital relationship with His flock. The Good Shepherd knows His flock, and they know Him, as intimately as He and His Father know each other. A second time, Jesus speaks of laying down His life for the flock. The extent of His flock goes beyond the ‘sheep pen’ of Israel but, importantly, whatever ‘pen’ the sheep come from, the genuine response to the Shepherd is still that of listening to His voice.

Jesus’ Self-Sacrifice (John 10:17-18)

Verses 17-18 focus on the death of Jesus: His self-sacrifice is quite voluntary – ‘I lay it down of my own accord’ – because He really does love the sheep; He retains absolute control over His death and resurrection, since He is no puppet or robot, and He submits to death out of perfect obedience – ‘This command I received from my Father’ – because He always submits fully to His Father. This is the Shepherd whom the Father loves, and whom the sheep know and listen to. [The statement establishes the right way for us to understand the cross from this moment on in John: we are to look out for the theme of Jesus’ sovereign control over His death.]

The Jews Respond (John 10:19-21)

The response from the Jews. The Jews’ response again highlights the divisive effect of Jesus’ teaching, and especially His teaching about His own death (a theme that we noticed at the end of chapter 6). Many of the Jews simply refuse to ‘listen’ to His voice: this is the first of 3 explicit rejections of Jesus in the chapter:

(i) in verse 20 they regard Him as demon-possessed and insane;

(ii) in verse 31 they ‘again’ pick up stones to stone Him, and

(iii) in verse 39 they ‘again’ try to arrest Him. As Jesus draws to the end of His public ministry, ‘many’ of the Jews want only to be rid of Him. The only glimmer of hope is that some appear intrigued by both the ‘words’ and the ‘sign’ of Jesus. Perhaps the blind man is not the only one who can now see?

The Jews are not the sheep of Jesus (John 10:22-39)

The Jews of Jerusalem repeat the question that they asked the Baptist (1:19ff). In the discourse that follows the issue that has kept the Jews from turning to Jesus becomes sharply focused: they are not His sheep. In answer to their question about His identity Jesus makes it quite clear that His miracles, which have been done in public, speak for Him. These miracles have one clear message, which Jesus twice puts into words: He is one with God the Father (vv. 30 and 38).

The Jews do not object to the miracles (works) – they are happy with a miracle-working Messiah! But they will not accept what these miracles imply about Jesus, even though they have clearly understood it (vv. 31, 39). When Jesus makes the point of the miracles explicit, they want to kill Him. The Jews want ‘a Christ’ of their own devising, not ‘the Christ’ who challenges their practices and presuppositions!

This proves that they are not His sheep, for His sheep listen to His voice and are rescued and kept by the Shepherd. Jesus maintains that their objections are entirely unreasonable, both in view of scripture (vv. 34–36) and in view of the clear public message of His works. In Psalm 82:6 God addresses His people as ‘gods’ and ‘sons of the Most High’. If God can call His people His son (cf. Exodus 4:21–22) then it is entirely reasonable for Jesus to speak of Himself as ‘God’s Son’. But His authority to do this is all the greater in view of His works and words which make Him uniquely the Son of God.

Jesus goes back across the Jordan River (John 10:40-42)

This geographical note is a significant marker, showing us that this section is now being drawn to a close. The reference to John the Baptist reminds us of his purpose (see 1:7), the purpose that is now being fulfilled as people come to believe in Jesus, on the strength of the testimony of the Baptist.

Application

To us now:

Believe Jesus is the true Rescuer and Shepherd of his people.

He is the rescuer and shepherd only for those who recognize Him.”My sheep hear my voice.”

Rescue from God’s condemnation.

Shepherding in this life towards the fullness of eternal life and in heaven will bring all the blessings of Ezekiel 34.