With Dale Ratzlaff
John 10:1-10
“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.” 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 (Jn. 10:1-10).
Scholars have disputed the order of verses in this section of John. Some believe that the verses should be rearranged as the topics seem to be confused. However, after studying, I believe we should take them just as they appear. Several underlying realities must be considered before we can fully understand the truth of Jesus’ teachings.
First, the word translated, “figure of speech” in verse six is the Greek word, paroimia (παροιμίαν). Some Bible translations use “parable” however, that is not the exact meaning of this word. Instead, this word refers to a mystery, a riddle, a statement that has a hidden meaning that is designed to be contemplated and when discovered by its peculiarity will long be remembered.
Second, the listeners would be familiar with the methods of sheep herding. There would be a walled sheep pen where the sheep would spend the night. Usually, there would be several shepherds who kept their sheep in the one pen. A door-keeper would be there to guard the door at night and then open the door to the various shepherds in the morning. The shepherds may have taken turns sleeping in the doorway at night. In the morning each shepherd would call his sheep and lead them out to pasture. Jesus uses this picture with several variants which are designed to teach several different truths.
Third, there is a strong similarity to the Old Testament depiction of the shepherds of Israel—the false leaders who served themselves, rather than the people as recorded in Ezekiel 34. It is here we find the key to the “thieves,” “robbers” and “strangers.”
Fourth, the audience Jesus is addressing is the same as in John nine—the Pharisees who claimed to be seeing when they were blind.
And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains (Jn. 9:39-41).
Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?” (Jn. 10:20-21).
Fifth, the purpose of Jesus in this paroimia is to give the Pharisees yet another chance to discover and accept the saving truth of His mission. With this introduction, we now turn to the text. The Pharisees want to know who Jesus is, and He gives them the answer over and over again.
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.
Because the door is guarded, the thief and robber—the false shepherds or strangers must find another way to get the sheep. The thieves and robbers are, first of all, the wicked leaders of Israel long ago and also the very Pharisees who have just tried to stone Jesus because He said: “Before Abraham was born, I AM” (Jn. 8:58).
These thieves and robbers are described by the Lord using similar “shepherd” terminology in Ezekiel:
“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 (Eze. 34:2-5).
“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.”
Here we have the definition of a good shepherd—a leader of God’s people. He will enter by the door. Who is the “door”? Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep.”
Notice the relationship between the True Shepherd and His sheep.
- “The sheep hear his voice.” Like the man born blind, true believers in the crowd listen and accept what Jesus says. Today, we hear His voice as we read the word of God.
- The Shepherd calls them by name. God knows us individually.
- The Shepherd “leads them out,” and He puts forth all his own. He does not leave any behind.
- The Shepherd goes ahead of them leading the way.
- The sheep follow their Shepherd because they know His voice.
Next, we see that the Good Shepherd’s sheep have the discernment to avoid the call of the false shepherds.
A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.
John records that at this point the Pharisees did not understand this paroimia. Therefore, Jesus presents the truth in a more direct and forceful way by using a slightly different paroimia. Here we see that Jesus is reaching out for their souls.
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.”
Here we have another emphatic “I AM” statement in John. I, Myself, AM the door. Knowing who Jesus is—the eternal, self-existent God—is linked with salvation. We understand why Jesus, over and over again, speaks about the importance of knowing who He is. The offer of salvation is not just to “anyone,” but to “anyone” who “enters through Me.” Those who do enter will not only be saved from hell; our Lord will lead them out to find pasture on the green meadows where they will not want.
The false shepherds—wicked kings of Israel and unbelieving Jewish leaders to whom Jesus was speaking—were stealing from the people the truth, and in so doing were keeping the people from knowing and accepting the truth of who Jesus is. We are reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 23:15:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
In sharp contrast to the work of the scribes and Pharisees, we have the mission of Jesus.
I came that they may have life, and [continually] have it abundantly.
“I, Myself came”—He came from heaven. Jesus has already told them this truth. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Jn. 3:17).
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).
God desires that all men be saved, and He sent Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, as a means of their salvation. That very act placed all mankind under judgment. Now each person must accept the free offer of the grace of faith in Christ or reject God’s provision.
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil (Jn. 3:19).
Application
- Are we taking time to study and meditate on God’s word so that we might discover the rich truth embedded in the stories, paroimia, and parables of Jesus?
- Where do we fit into this paroimia? Have we entered by the one Door—faith in Jesus alone, or are we trying to climb over the fence by our works?
- Are we tuned to the voice of the Good Shepherd to the extent we will not follow false teachers?
- We can thank God for the promise: “I came that they may have life, and [continually] have it abundantly.
- The love for what the Good Shepherd has done in giving His life for us will be the motivation for us to continually follow Christ and experience the abundant life in His presence.
Prayer
Father, thank you for this description of Jesus work to save me. Help me in my study to hear your voice and better understand your Word. Keep me from following false teachers. Thank you for the abundant life I can continually have by following Christ.
In Jesus name.
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