The Good Shepherd, Part 1 (John 10:1–10)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 10:1–10

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: November 4, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

The Bible compares the work of spiritual leadership to that of shepherding sheep. That’s because the loving care and vigilance needed for spiritual leadership finds many parallels to the ancient practice of shepherding, especially when we consider how much care sheep require and how vulnerable they are to attack. As such, it’s fascinating to consider how many leaders began as shepherds, starting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord arranged forty years of it in the wilderness for Moses before he was ready to lead the people. King David also began life as a lowly shepherd. Even God Himself is described as a shepherd for the people (cf. Gen. 48:15; Psa. 23:1).

Sadly, we see false leaders in Scripture, as well, who take advantage of God’s people for their own gain. One commentator notes that “while the metaphor of a shepherd suggests tender care, it can also depict harsh, abusive, autocratic rule.” We could consider, for instance, the sons of Eli the High Priest in Judges 2. In vv. 12–14, we read that they were “worthless men” (or “sons of Belial,” wicked), not knowing the Lord or the customs of the priests; “When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself.” They would take the food, making themselves fat, not offering it as the Lord had commanded. We also read in v. 22 that they were doing more, like laying with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Scripture is full of examples, and the Lord calls out those who fleece the flock. For instance, Ezekiel 34 is a lengthy prophecy against such false shepherds. Jesus warns in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” There are those who strive for their own personal gain, willing to hurt God’s people to achieve it.

The Pharisees exemplify this, those Christ addresses in this chapter. This account immediately follows the previous chapter, where the Pharisees were trying to deny the reality of Jesus healing the blind man. Jesus essentially calls them blind at the end of the chapter, and we’ll see here that He implies they’re deaf, too!

This image-rich chapter is full of theology, such as penal substitution (Christ dying in the place of His people). Overall, this is one of the great chapters attesting to who Jesus actually is, an identity false shepherds are trying to deny! In this section, two truths about His identity stand out: First, He is the true shepherd of the sheep. Second, He is the true protector of the sheep. Let’s consider that first point together.

First, Jesus is the True Shepherd of the Sheep (vv. 1–5)

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.

Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep. He will say as much in v. 11 — “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” He fulfills prophecy, and He will later note an application of Zechariah 13:7, “ ‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ‘Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones’ ” (cf. Matt. 26:31). That’s talking about His arrest, though, and we’re not there yet.

Jesus begins by saying one of His “truly, truly” (double amen) statements. This adds weight to the address that He’s giving to these Pharisees who claimed they are not blind in the previous chapter. He’s about to show them some truth.

First, though, there are some differences with their world and ours, so we’ll have to define some terms. The first item is to define a sheepfold. This is an uncovered area that would have been fenced in, like a pen. The high fencing, sometimes walled in, and sometimes within a cave wouldn’t just serve to hold the sheep in place overnight, but also serve to discourage thieves and predators. Of course, it wasn’t absolute security, considering that thieves can climb fences and walls under the cover of darkness.

At some point in the enclosure would obviously be a door. This would sometimes be a gate and sometimes a simple opening where a watchman would sit. This doorkeeper was often times the shepherd himself, but he might hire someone to watch the sheep while he accomplished other tasks.

Consider now the sheep themselves. We have folks here who handle sheep, so this is perhaps the most familiar aspect to us. They are, as one commentator noted, “the most helpless, defenseless, straying, and dirty of animals. They require constant oversight, leading, rescue, and cleaning or they will die.” If their wool isn’t trimmed, they can become so matted down with mud and debris that they become immobile, and unsupervised, they may walk off cliffs or become lodged in ditches or crevasses. Because they don’t have claws or large teeth, they cannot defend themselves against predators. That doesn’t stop them from becoming combative at times, creating difficulties for a weary shepherd.

Throughout Scripture, people (good and bad) are compared to sheep. This isn’t to offend, though it’s an apt description of the number of times we get ourselves into trouble and then resist help when it comes. Yet, there are also good qualities to emulate here, too; as one commentator notes: “meek and quiet, without noise; patient as sheep under the hand both of the shearer and of the butcher; useful and profitable, tame and tractable, to the shepherd, and sociable one with another, and much used in sacrifices.” In any event, as we’ve noted, the religious leaders of Israel are also often referred to as shepherds for the flock of God’s people.

There are, unfortunately, thieves and robbers prey upon God’s people. There’s a subtle but important difference between these. Thieves are those who sneak over the walls and abscond with sheep. They plunder in secret, like Judas taking from the disciple’s money bag around this time (John 12:6).

Yet, a robber is a man of violence. He might even come through the doorkeeper, slaughtering him to obtain the whole flock. Later, we’ll read of Barabbas, a man sentenced to crucifixion for being a robber (John 18:40), and Jesus took Barabbas’s place between two other robbers (Matt. 27:38, 44). (As one study notes, we sometimes in error refer to the “thief of the cross,” but it was a robber, a man likely guilty of violence and murder.)

If the sheep are God’s people, then who are the thieves and the robbers? That would be the false leaders such as the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’s day. As one study notes, “The Pharisees had secured their power by illegitimate means.” They turned the house of prayer into a robber’s den (Mark 11:17).

Yet, Jesus comes as the true shepherd. He doesn’t climb over the wall. Rather, He’s walking through the temple door.

Shepherding is a term applied to Christian ministry today. As one study notes, Peter applies this same term “to other preachers (1 Peter 5:2) and Paul uses it for bishops (elders) in Acts 20:28. Our word pastor is simply Latin for shepherd.” The difference between Jesus as shepherd and pastors today is that we are but under-shepherds. In fact, we’re but sheep ourselves, those who help lead the rest of the sheep, as it were; Jesus is the voice of our commands.

We’re like the doorkeeper or porter in v. 3 here, opening the door to the true shepherd. This is ultimately a role of the Holy Spirit, opening our hearts. We’re simply to be faithful in the discharge of our duties, being instruments of the Lord’s use.

Now, in any setting, there are both believers and unbelievers. As one resource notes, “Several flocks might be herded in the same fold overnight. But the shepherd knows his own.” Those who are the Lord’s, though, will hear His voice. There is much of hearing the voice of the shepherd in this chapter (vv. 4–5, 16, 27). What does it mean to hear the voice of the shepherd?

First, sheep can distinguish voices. They will not listen to a stranger, even if he speaks the same commands they hear from their shepherd. They know the nuances in the voice of their true shepherd.

Yet, it means more than that. Remember that, often in Scripture, the term “hear” means to obey. We understand this when we tell our children to listen to us; we know it is possible to hear and not obey. Scripture classifies that as not hearing! In this case, the sheep or Christians hear the voice of the Lord, meaning that they respond to His Word in faith and obedience.

Those who belong to Christ by divine election will respond to His voice when they hear it. They may not have been his sheep before in practice, but they are the ones that the Father has given to the Son (John 6:37). Once the Lord calls to them, they respond in faith and obedience, and He will never cast them out.

And He even knows them by name. In ancient shepherding, the owner would give each sheep a name, and in the same way, the Good Shepherd calls each of us. As Revelation 13:8 says, these are the names “written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” He knows us and sets His love on us before we were even born!

We read here that He “leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them.” Rather than taking advantage of the people of God, He leads His sheep to pasture. As He says clearly in v. 9, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” And unlike we see in modern, Western practices, He doesn’t drive the sheep forward but leads them from the front, as the Master leading His disciples. He gives a lesson for pastors and all leaders — we lead from the front, we don’t push from behind!

The sheep know their shepherd. They won’t follow the voice of another, which Jesus says emphatically in v. 5. This is a comfort to believers, for Scripture warns us that there are many false voices wanting to lead us astray (2 Pet. 2:1). It also warns of not just one, but many antichrists (1 John 2:18). Jesus also warned that false Christs and prophets would give signs and wonders to try to mislead the people of God (Matt. 24:24). We return to Scripture to ensure that we’re following the true voice of our shepherd.

How do sheep respond to a false voice? They try to get away from the unfamiliar! As one Bible teacher of the past noted, the sheep should run away from “the strange voices that call them to false philosophy, false psychology, false ethics, false religion, false life.” We must study to show ourselves approved, as our AWANA verse says (2 Tim. 2:15).

These are the sheep that the Father has given to the Son. And Jesus says, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:39). In other words, He’ll protect them, as we see next.

Second, Jesus is the True Protector of the Sheep (vv. 6–10)

This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

The false teachers of Israel here don’t understand the Messiah for two reasons. The first is that He speaks to them in a figure of speech, or an “illustration” (NKJV). The KJV has “parable,” though this isn’t the same term used in the other Gospels translated there “parable.” There’s some nuance in terminology here, but the main point is that Jesus is using rhetoric to illustrate truth to believers while hiding it from unbelievers. If you sometimes struggle with His meaning, then, you should take heart, for He is intentionally not speaking as plainly as He could (cf. John 16:25).

The Pharisees also didn’t understand everything He meant here because they were not His sheep (v. 26). If they were His, they would listen to His voice. By rejecting His words, they prove that they have another shepherd, the enemy.

So, in v. 7, Jesus explains again, with another “verily, verily” or “truly, truly” statement. As one commentator notes, He’s always “ready to explain.” This time, He also gives another “I am” statement: “I am the door.” This initially seems like a switch in images, but not at all! The shepherd would sometimes lie down in the doorway of the sheepfold rather than a hired hand, protecting the sheep himself from wild beasts and keeping the sheep inside. That is what our Savior does, as well.

He explains that He is the way to gain access into the sheepfold of God. The thieves and robbers are those false prophets in Israel’s past who tried to lead the people astray. They are the religious leaders before Him who perverted the religion of the people to tie heavy burdens upon them and to make the true Messiah appear as though He wasn’t the Law. In Jeremiah 23:1, the Lord declares, “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” Now, the true shepherd has come!

Thankfully, the Lord has always had His remnant who would not listen to the thieves and robbers. They become God’s people ultimately through the Messiah, leading us to the next way in which He’s the door. He also is the door in the sense that no one can come into the fold except through Him. He said that the He had sheep who were not there in the fold already in v. 16. He brings in all the people of God, and no one comes into the fold unless they enter through Jesus Christ.

So, in v. 9, the Lord says again that He is the door. He promises that, “if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” As Paul told the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). In Romans 10:9–10, he says that, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” This is a promise of spiritual salvation for every person who believes.

There is an implication of universal sin here. Only those who come to Christ will find salvation. That means that we are all in need of saving, and Jesus offers Himself as the means of salvation. This good news is limited only by the number of “doors”; Jesus later says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). There is only one way.

If you believe, though, His promise forms the peaceful image of a sheep strolling safely to pasture. The Good Shepherd leads us to true food and away from harm. He guides us to where we need to be, leading us in paths of righteousness. He then leads us back to sweet rest, knowing that our hearts and souls are secure under the watchful care of the Shepherd.

This picture of nourishment and safety leads to one of the most precious verses in Scripture, contrasting the care of the Lord to all others. In v. 10, He says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” A thief who comes to take what isn’t his, kill it (literally “slaughtering” the animal before eating it), and then destroying; Jesus provides abundant life for the sheep!

Very briefly, I should address something. There is a false teaching called “abundant life” doctrine or teaching. This is a teaching that says God just wants to give you a lot of things in this world, and just wants you to be happy above all else. However, that’s not a promise of Scripture, and this teaching usually comes from false shepherds who want you to give to them as an expression of your faith in this false doctrine.

So, what does Jesus mean? This is a promise of eternal life, marked by the good guidance of our eternal God. The Lord even “gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (Rom. 4:17). Jesus said back in John 5:39–40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” Theologians refer to the giving of life as regeneration, where He places a living spirit and heart within us, granting us eternal life.

This life is one of blessing. He offers good pastures! He grants all that we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). He gives grace in time of need (Heb. 4:16). He is “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).

Conclusion

Thieves take, but Jesus gives. It may be that false teachers have discouraged you from following Jesus in the past, either denying Him by their teaching or their conduct. They might have even claimed to follow Him, like the false prophets of Israel, but lived hypocritically and cheated people. You recognized that wasn’t right, and you wondered if it was all false.

But hear the voice of the Good Shepherd! He calls those who came before what they are: thieves and robbers. Yet, whereas they take, He gives today. He gives life, He gives grace, and He gives eternal security. Hear His voice and come to Him, entering into the true sheepfold under His loving care.