How To Know The Shepherd

How to Know the Shepherd

John 10:1-6

From discussing “light” Jesus suddenly moves to the subject of shepherds. Once again, the timing is significant –the occasion of this teaching is the Festival of Hannukah (10:21) sometimes called the “The Feast of Dedication.” It is called Hanukkah (Heb. Chanukah) which means dedication because it commemorates the rededication of the Temple.

After the conquest of Alexander the Great (332 BC) the Greek influence had gradually assimilated the Jews into a Greek way of life. Against great odds, in the 160’s BC a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, (thus called the Maccabean War), captured the Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.

When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miracul-ously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity. To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the elders instituted the festival of Chanukah.

Perhaps most significant for this occasion was that it became a season that asked hard questions about failed leadership and false shep-herds. In particular they examined how the temple leadership lost it way during this Greek period. At the time when Jesus gave His good shepherd sermon synagogues were reading prophetic critiques of leadership such as (Ezek. 34:2-10) [Gary Burge. The NIV Application Commentary. 288]

Probably Jesus paints the picture in John 10 against the backdrop of Ezekiel 34, where the Lord rebukes the religious leaders of Israel for being self-centered, greedy shepherds who used the flock for their own comfort and gain, but failed to care tenderly for the hurting. The Lord pronounces judgment on those false shepherds and promises (Ezek. 34:23), “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.” That prophecy was fulfilled by the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd of His sheep (John 10:11).

In the wake of the healing of the blind man (9:1-6) the religious leaders had shown themselves to be callous and cruel to the man, his parents, and the common people in general. Because they “put him out” (9:22,34) or excommunicate him from the synagogue, Jesus felt it necessary to talk about the contrast between His heart and work as a leader to God’s people and the heart and work of many of the religious leaders of His day. Jesus used it as an opportunity to bring their attention to the duty of spiritual guides. They put blind man out, but Jesus found him and received him (Luke 15:3-7).

Building on this theme Jesus gave His great teaching on the Great Shepherd. He begins in verse one by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

Jesus begins his story with the words “most assuredly” or “truly, truly” or “verily, verily.” These words are always used to introduce something that is important and that one needs to listen and pay attention to. What follows is called a “parable” in the KJV – also translated as “figure of speech” (ESV, NIV) and “illustration” (CSB, NLT) but strictly speaking this story presents an allegory rather than a parable (paroimia)- perhaps better thought of as an extended proverb.

First, Understand the Context – Sheepfolds.

To understand 10:1-6, you need to have a mental picture of a sheepfold in that day. Although not obvious to the modern reader it is essential that you understand that there are two kinds of sheepfolds under consideration in these verses. The first kind is found in the countryside. It might be nothing more than a circle of rock into which the sheep would be driven at night. There was no door, and the shepherd would lay across the opening.

The second kind of sheepfold would be in the towns and villages and consist of an enclosure with a gate or door. Into this enclosure several shep-herds would gather their sheep when they returned to the village at night. The sheep would then be in the care of a porter or gatekeeper overnight.

Second, Distinguishing between Shepherds.

“… he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.’

• False Shepherds - Distinguished by Entrance and Motivation.

Political and spiritual leaders were often called shepherds in the ancient world (Isaiah 56:11, Jeremiah 3:15). Jesus explained that not everyone among the sheep is a true shepherd; some are like thieves and robbers. One mark of their being “a thief and a robber” is how they gain entry among the sheep. “Thief and Robber” are two words for dishonesty but they convey slightly different meanings.