John 10:1-21:

The Shepherd and the Sheep--Part I

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

November 29, 2009

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 10:1. 

B.  While you are turning....  Sheep are the most familiar animal in the Bible.  Scripture mentions sheep about seven hundred and fifty times.  Sheep are suited for a nomadic life style.  However, they are not very bright.  Sheep are prone to wander and are often unable to find their way into a sheepfold even when it is in plain sight.  Therefore, they are very dependant on the shepherd for food, water, and protection.  Shepherding is the first profession in the Bible (Gen 4:2).  Many of the great men of the Scriptures were shepherds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David).  However, greatest of all shepherds is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.[1]

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  We are still in Jesus' public ministry (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  We are in Judea and the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah is very near.

3.  We are studying Jesus' seventh discourse in John's gospel.

a.  This discourse may continue the exchange that Jesus was having with the Pharisees at the end of chapter nine or it may introduce the Feast of Dedication.[2]

b.  This discourse falls into two parts both chronologically and thematically. 

1)  Chronologically.

a)  The discourse begins immediately before Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication (see John 10:22). 

b)  The second part takes place soon afterwards during the Feast of Dedication. 

2)  Thematically.

a)  The first part of the discourse focuses mainly on the Shepherd (John 10:1-21).

b)  The second part focuses on the sheep (John 10:22-39). 

B.  Exposition: The seventh discourse: the Shepherd and the sheep (John 10:1-39)--Part I: The Shepherd (John 10:1-21)

1.  Sheep and robbers (John 10:1-6)

                ^10:1 "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.  ² But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  ⁴ When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  ⁵ A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."  ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them (John 10:1-6).

 

a.  "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."

1)  Jesus began His figurative statement by pointing out that those who enter a sheepfold by something other than the proper entrance have evil purposes. 

a)  "Truly, truly"--Jesus uses the double amen to mark a very solemn pronouncement.[3] 

b)  The Gk. word translated "door" also means "gate."[4] 

c)  Additionally, the Gk. word translated "the fold of the sheep" means "an area open to the sky, freq. surrounded by buildings, and in some cases partially by walls, enclosed open space, courtyard."[5] 

i)  Harris comments that "this one seems to be a courtyard in front of a house, surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection). 

ii)  Sheep were kept inside at night, particularly during the colder winter months, and taken out during the day to pasture."[6] 

d)  The Gk. word translated "robber" means "one who seizes by violence," but a "thief" (kleptēs) "uses stealth."[7]

2)  False teachers such as the Scribes and Pharisees or political figures like false messiahs all fall under the categories of thieves and robbers. 

a)  Paul wrote that false teachers "must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain" (Titus 1:11). 

b)  Peter warned that "in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep" (2 Pet 2:3).

b.  "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep."

1)  Jesus continued to explain that the one who entered, as he should, by the gate was the sheep's shepherd. 

2)  Robertson notes, "Jesus uses the verb poimanō, to shepherd, to Peter (John 21:16) and Peter uses it to other preachers (1 Pet 5:2) and Paul uses it for bishops (elders) in Acts 20:28.  Our word pastor is simply Latin for shepherd."[8] 

3)  Nonetheless, Jesus alone is "the great Shepherd of the sheep" (Heb 13:20).

c.  "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

1)  The one guarding the sheepfold admits the shepherd. 

2)  His sheep respond to his voice when each one hears his name and the Shepherd leads them out to pasture. 

a)  ME shepherds commonly named their sheep with descriptive names.[9] 

b)  The shepherd would know, not only the count, but also each individual sheep.

d.  "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice."

1)  The shepherd leads the sheep, and the sheep follow the Shepherd because they are familiar with his voice. 

a)  One writer described a scene that he witnessed:

Thousands of sheep and goats were there, grouped in dense, confused masses.  The shepherds stood together until all came out.  Then they separated, each shepherd taking a different path, and uttering as he advanced a shrill, peculiar call.  The sheep heard them.  At first the masses swayed and moved as if shaken by some internal convulsion; then points struck out in the direction taken by the shepherds; these became longer and longer until the confused masses were resolved into long, living streams, flowing after their leaders.[10]

 

b)  In the West, shepherds drive sheep using sheep dogs.  ME practice is different with shepherds leading the flocks by their voice.[11] 

2)  It has been said that one drives cattle, but one leads sheep.[12]

e.  "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

1)  Sheep will not follow the unfamiliar voice of strangers, but will run from it. 

a)  The Gk. words translated "simply will not" are a "strong neg[ative], certainly not!"[13] 

b)  Here the sheep run from a stranger, in verse 12 the hired hand flees from the sheep. 

2)  As sheep, we should run from strangers with strange teachings.

f.  "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them."

1)  John explained that Jesus had been using a "figure of speech," but His hearers did not understand. 

2)  The Gk. word translated "figure of speech" means "a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning."[14] 

3)  Robertson considered it an allegorical parable.[15] 

4)  It has been translated "illustration" (NLT) and "parable" (NET).

2.  I AM the door of the sheep (John 10:7-10).

                ⁷ So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  ⁸ All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  ⁹ I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:7-10).

 

a.  "So Jesus said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.'"

1)  Therefore, Jesus gave an additional explanation. 

2)  Jesus solemnly announced, in His fourth "I AM" statement, that He is the gate of the sheep.[16] 

a)  "Truly, truly"--Jesus again uses the double amen here to note a very solemn pronouncement.[17] 

b)  In the Gk., the "I" is emphatic. 

c)  Therefore, Wuest translates, "I alone, in contradistinction to all others" (NTET). 

d)  This is clearly a metaphor as is bread for the body of Christ in communion.[18] 

3)  When sheep are gathered into a sheepfold, the shepherd will lay down across the opening so that nothing can get in or out without crossing over his body.  Truly, he becomes the door for the sheep.[19]

b.  "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them."

1)  Jesus explained that those who preceded Him with messianic claims were thieves and robbers. 

2)  The false teachers of the Scribes and Pharisees would also fall under this condemnation. 

3)  Power hungry political figures like Herod or Pontius Pilate also are thieves and robbers. 

4)  Anything else claiming to be our God and Savior will ultimately turn out to be a thief or a robber that will steal from us by stealth or by assault; nonetheless, they will steal from us.

c.  "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

1)  Jesus reiterated His "I AM" statement that He is the gate, the way in for the sheep. 

a)  Jesus will later say, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). 

b)  Robertson commented that "one can call this narrow intolerance, if he will, but it is the narrowness of truth."[20] 

c)  Jesus is the only way to the Father.

2)  Our Lord promised that anyone entering through Him would find liberation, liberty, and liberality. 

a)  The safety or liberation from peril is due to the presence of the shepherd, not the sheepfold.[21]  Sheep must go out to pasture; they must leave the sheepfold. 

b)  Sheep experience a great deal of liberty ranging freely while always under the watchful eye of the shepherd. 

c)  Sheep experience the liberality of the shepherd as he guides them to abundant grass and water.  The shepherd looks after the sheep's every need. 

d)  Our Lord takes responsibility for all those who trust in Him.

d.  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

1)  Jesus then contrasted Himself with those others.  He said that the intent of the thief was to steal, kill, and destroy. 

a)  Robertson noted, "Stealing is the purpose of the thief, but he will kill and destroy if necessary."[22] 

b)  The Gk. word translated "kill" means "slaughter."[23] 

c)  The Gk. word translated ""destroy" "includes injury of a violent nature, destruction, and ruin."

2)  Jesus said that His purpose in coming was that we might have abundant life. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "life" (zōē) means "supernatural life" as contrasted with bios ("earthly life").[24] 

b)  The Gk. word translated "abundantly" means "being extraordinary in amount, abundant, profuse."[25] 

i)  The Gk. historian, Xenophon, used it as "to have a surplus."[26] 

ii)  Wuest translates this word as "superabundance" (NTET). 

iii)  Williams translates, "I have come for people to have life and have it till it overflows" (NTLP). 

c)  Both of the Gk. words translated "have" are present tense verbs. 

i)  Jesus was not saying that we would live forever someday in the future, though that is true.[27] 

ii)  He was offering that superabundant supernatural life right now as a present possession.

3.  I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18).

                ¹¹ "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  ¹² He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.  ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  ¹⁶ I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.  ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.  ¹⁸ No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This commandment I received from My Father" (John 10:11-18).

 

a.  "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

1)  In His fifth "I AM" declaration, Jesus claimed to be the good shepherd, the one that lays down His life for His sheep.[28] 

a)  The Gk. word translated "good" here and in verse 14 has the basic meaning of "beautiful," but in this context means "unobjectionable, blameless, excellent."[29] 

b)  Ironside observes, "Of course, it refers to beauty of character--the shepherd who is absolutely unselfish and devoted to the will of the Father."[30]

2)  As do the others, this "I AM" saying points back to God's declaration to Moses that His name was "I AM" (Exod 3:14). 

a)  This saying would have reminded them of Ezekiel:

For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.  As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day" (Ezek 34:11-12).

 

b)  Of course, David would also come to mind:

The LORD is my shepherd,

            I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

            He leads me beside quiet waters. 

He restores my soul;

            He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.  

            Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

            Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

            You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows. 

            Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days

            of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23:1-6).

 

c)  This statement also points to the Jesus as the Messiah.  Micah prophesied:

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity....  And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.  And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.  This One will be our peace (Micah 5:2-5).

 

d)  Therefore, this "I AM" statement points to both the deity of Jesus and His role as Messiah.[31] 

3)  The divine Shepherd is the One who lays down His life for the sheep. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "for" (hyper) is "a marker indicating that an activity or event is in some entity’s interest, for, in behalf of, for the sake of someone."[32] 

b)  Wuest translates this as "on behalf of and instead of the sheep" (NTET). 

c)  This has been translated, "The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep" (NLT). 

d)  Jesus mentioned His sacrificial death three times in this discourse (John 10:11, 17-18).

e)  Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.

b.  "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them."

1)  Jesus explained that hired hands that are neither shepherds nor owners would run from danger and abandon the sheep to their fate. 

a)  Rabbinic law required the hired hand to defend the sheep against one wolf, but not against two or more.[33] 

b)  The Lat. Vulg. translates the term "hired hand" as mercennarius and the phrase "not a shepherd" as "non est pastor."

2)  Jesus graphically described the havoc that the wolf causes.[34] 

a)  The Gk. word translated "snatches" means "take suddenly and vehemently, or take away in the sense of ... to make off w[ith] someone’s property by attacking or seizing, steal, carry off, drag away."[35] 

b)  The Gk. word translated "scatters" means "to cause a group or gathering to go in various directions, scatter, disperse."[36] 

c)  This has been translated, "So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock" (GW). 

d)  Ezekiel prophesied:

            Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.  Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves!  Should not the shepherds feed the flock?  You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.  Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.  They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.  My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them"'" (Ezek 34:1-6).

 

3)  Jesus' words are a stinging indictment to all false shepherds, political and religious.

c.  "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep."

1)  The reason that the hired hand flees is that he is not concerned about the sheep. 

2)  He is concerned only about his wages.

d.  "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me."

1)  Jesus repeated His "I AM" declaration that He is the good shepherd. 

2)  He added that He knows His own and they know Him. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "know" "implies a personal fellowship here."[37] 

b)  Wuest translates it as "know by experience" (NTET).

e.  "Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."

1)  In the same way, the Father and the Son relationally know each other. 

2)  Jesus repeated that He lays down His life for His sheep. 

a)  Since "for" is the same Gk. preposition as used in verse 11, Wuest again translates this as "on behalf of and instead of the sheep" (NTET). 

b)  This has been translated, "So I sacrifice my life for the sheep" (NLT).

f.  "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd."

1)  Jesus said that He had other sheep, not of that fold, that He would add to His flock so that they would become one flock with one shepherd. 

a)  Ezekiel prophesied, "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.  And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken" (Ezek 34:23-24). 

b)  This saying had clear Messianic overtones.

2)  Jesus was saying that He would also reach Gentiles who were not of the Jewish flock and that they would together make up one flock, of which He would be the one shepherd.[38] 

a)  Isaiah prophesied, "'For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.'  The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, 'Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered'" (Isa 56:7-8). 

b)  When Caiaphas inadvertently prophesied about Jesus' death, John noted that "he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation [Israel], and not for the nation [Israel] only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (John 11:51-52). 

c)  Paul wrote:

            But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity (Eph 2:13-16).

 

d)  John has already noted that Jesus' mission was to save the entire world, not just Israel (John 3:16-17), and highlighted Jesus' mission to the Samaritans (John 4:4-42).

e)  Mormons misapply this verse to early Israelis that migrated to the Americas, and Jehovah's Witnesses claim that this verse refers to those who will live on Paradise Earth instead of heaven.  These interpretations are clearly reading a great deal into the text and not at all warranted.[39]

f)  Jesus' mission is to save the entire world, not just Israel.

g.  "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again."

1)  Jesus indicated that the Father loves Him because of His willingness to lay down His life. 

2)  His laying down His life makes its taking up again, the resurrection, possible.

h.  "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This commandment I received from My Father."

1)  Jesus taught that He was not a victim in that no one would take His life; rather He would lay it down voluntarily. 

a)  Chuck Smith comments:

            Who killed Jesus?  Many people have blamed the Jews for killing Jesus.  Generations of Jews have been persecuted and called "Christ Killers."  The Jews blamed the Romans because it was the Romans who executed Him.  We personalize it and say that, since it was our sins that sent Him to the cross, we are responsible.  But Jesus made it clear here: "I lay down my life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself."  Jesus offered Himself for our sins.  He took ultimate responsibility for His own death.[40]

 

b)  He explained that He had both a right and the Father's express command to do so. 

i)  The translation of "power" (ASV, KJV, NJB, NKJV, NRSV, RSV) is more correctly translated "authority" (ESV, GW, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT). 

ii)  However, the Gk. word translated "authority" also has the meaning of "a state of control over someth[ing], freedom of choice, right."[41] 

iii)  Thus, the best translations are "I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again" (HCSB), and "I have the right to give it and I have the right to take it back" (NTLP). 

2)  Jesus was in total control of His death and resurrection.

4.  Division (John 10:19-21)

                ¹⁹ A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words.  ²⁰ Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"  ²¹ Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed.  A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?" (John 10:19-21).

 

a.  "A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words."

1)  There was a division between the Jewish religious authorities. 

a)  As we have seen, when John uses the phrase "the Jews," he normally means the Jewish religious authorities. 

b)  The Gk. word translated "division" is schisma. 

2)  John notes again that the opposition to Jesus was not unanimous.[42]

b.  "Many of them were saying, 'He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?'"

1)  Some were accusing Jesus of having a demon and thus being insane. 

2)  They questioned the judgment of those who listened to Him.

c.  "Others were saying, 'These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed.  A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?'"

1)  However, others answered that Jesus made too much sense to be demonized, and that His miracle of healing the blind man was not the action of a demon. 

2)  The Psalmist said that "the LORD opens the eyes of the blind" (Ps 146:8). 

3)  The Gk. word translated "can he?" indicates grammatically that a negative answer is expected.[43] 

4)  Considering Jesus' words and works the charge of demonization must be false.

II.  Applications

A.  What this says about Jesus Christ ...

1.  Jesus Christ alone is the door of the sheep.

a.  He is the only way to the Father.

b.  Jesus Christ knows each one of us personally.

2.  Jesus Christ alone is the Great Good Shepherd.

a.  Jesus Christ, the divine Shepherd, is the One who lays down His life for the world.

b.  Jesus Christ was in total control of His death and resurrection; He was not a victim.

c.  Jesus Christ takes responsibility for all those who trust in Him.

B.  What this says to us ...

1.  Jesus Christ offers superabundant supernatural life right now as a present possession.

2.  Anything else claiming to be our God and Savior will ultimately turn out to be a thief or a robber that will steal from us by stealth or by assault; nonetheless, they will steal from us.

3.  We must listen for our shepherd's voice and not follow voices that do not sound like Jesus.