Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has extended his condolences following the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, calling him a “legendary revolutionary and orator.” The prime minister went on to say that “Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.” (http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/justin-trudeau-on-fidel-castro-a-legendary-revolutionary-who-improved-education-and-healthcare) The people of Cuba put their hope in Fidel to liberate them and their country. But the Cuba Archive project has documented almost 10,000 victims of Castro between 1952 and today, including 5,600 men, women, and children who died in front of firing squads and another 1,200 in “extrajudicial assassinations.” Thousands more Cubans also died trying to flee his repressive regime. He, kept his country poor with communist policies, repressed free expression, while he himself amassed a fortune and lived in luxury like all dictators who exploit their people. The utter blindness that many have had to this individual is shocking. (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-fidel-castro)
When Jesus taught in parables or, in this case, allegories, He did not intend to hide His teaching. His design was to expose the “blindness” of those who refused to hear (Matthew 13:13–15). On this occasion, among those refusing to hear were those Pharisees who, with self-imposed blindness, cast the blind man whom Jesus healed out of the synagogue (John 9:22–31). Jesus, using three exemplum’s, exposes the wickedness of the Pharisees. One shows the blindness of the self-proclaimed shepherds/teachers of Israel (John 10:1–5). Another serves to contrast the mercenary spirit of these men with the love and genuine care of Jesus, who gives His life for the sheep. The other reveals to these enemies of righteousness that Jesus, The Door, receives, and does not cast out, those who believe (John 10:7–9) (Bronger, J. R. (1990). “I Am the Door.” (D. Bowman, Ed.)Christianity Magazine, 7(5), 17.).
Many people who reject God often reject a caricature of God that is not real. When we ask them who it is they are rejecting, they often express the notion of a God who is uncaring, distant and cruel. They often have these misconceptions from poor representations of those who claimed to be followers of God. Unlike the uncaring leaders of Israel, Jesus is the prime example of the one being sent by the father in love to care and tend to His flock. He is the long-awaited messiah, prophesied in the Old Covenant, to bring hope and liberation to His people.
Followers of Christ can have hope since they have a gatekeeper that knows them, their needs, will protect them, and care for them. He explains 1) Entering by The Door (John 10:1-6) and 2) Identifying the Door (John 10:7-10)
1) Entering by The Door (John 10:1-6)
John 10:1-6 [10:1]"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. [2]But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3]To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4]When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5]A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." [6]This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. (ESV)
To explain how he was The Gate, Jesus used the common imagery of the shepherd and the sheep. He explained how anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the door/gate but as it says in John 10:1, climbs in by another way, was a thief and a robber. Since the gate/doorkeeper obviously would not let strangers in, would-be rustlers had to climb the wall of the sheepfold to get at the sheep. The phrase amēn, amēn (truly, truly) introduces a statement of notable importance. Jesus began this discourse by identifying Himself as the true Shepherd, in sharp contrast to all false shepherds. Each village in the sheepherding regions of Palestine had a sheepfold where sheep were kept at night. The shepherds would graze their flocks in the surrounding countryside during the day, and then lead them back to the communal sheepfold in the evening. There the shepherds would stop each sheep at the entrance with their rods and carefully inspect it before allowing it to enter the fold (cf. Ezek. 20:37–38).
Only the one as it says in John 10:2 who entered by the door was a shepherd of the sheep. The one who enters the sheepfold by the door is seen to be the shepherd. He has the right to enter, and this is recognized when the gate/doorkeeper opens to him. In the case of a small flock there would be no such official, but what is apparently in mind here is a large fold where several flocks find shelter. One gate/doorkeeper can thus look after a large number of sheep (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (446–447). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Each of those common elements of everyday life had a symbolic meaning in the Lord’s metaphor. Though some argue that the sheepfold represents the church or heaven, the context (cf. v. 16) indicates that it represents Israel. In addition, it is hard to see how thieves could break into either the church or heaven and steal sheep (cf. vv. 27–29). The door is Jesus Himself (vv. 7, 9), who alone has the authority to lead out of Israel’s fold His own elect sheep. The thieves and robbers represent the self-appointed (cf. Matt. 23:2) Jewish religious leaders, who, doing the work of the devil, not God, climbed the walls of the sheepfold to spiritually fleece and slaughter the people.
Continuing with the figure of speech in John 10:3, when the shepherd comes in he calls the sheep, who know his voice. The Eastern shepherd often has an individual call for each of his sheep, and it is this that is in mind here. The sheep know their shepherd and recognize the call he gives his own. The sheep hear the shepherd’s voice with understanding and appreciation. The shepherd does not call sheep in general, but his own sheep. He has a call that they (but not other sheep) recognize (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (447). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Christ said that His sheep hear His voice when He calls them out of Israel and into His messianic fold. His imagery pictures the human response to the effectual, divine call to salvation (John 6:44, 65; 17:6, 9, 24; 18:9; Rom. 1:7; 8:28–30; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:2, 23–24; Gal. 1:6, 15; Eph. 4:1, 4; Col. 3:15; 1 Thess. 4:7; 2 Thess. 2:13–14; 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Peter 1:15; 2:9, 21; 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3; Jude 1). Jesus calls his own sheep by name, because they are His. Their names were “written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev. 13:8; cf. 3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; Phil. 4:3), and they have been given to Him by the Father (John 6:37). The shepherd calls his own sheep by name, that is, individually rather than collectively, which contrasts with the general call issued to the entire flock (Carson 1991: 383). In Jesus’ case, the “sheep” are called out of Judaism (Carson 1991: 383; Barrett 1978: 369) (Köstenberger, A. J. (2004). John. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (301). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic.).
When he has put all his own sheep out of the fold the shepherd leads them out of the fold to their destination by walking before them. This is a very different picture from that of driving the sheep (which is more familiar in lands like Australia today). The word does have about it the air of force. Left to themselves the sheep might not go in the right way, but the shepherd constrains them. He uses force if necessary to ensure that their best interests are served (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (447). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
• This refers not only to salvation, but also to daily guidance (cf. vv. 4 & 9) (Utley, R. J. D. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (96). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)
Once in the fold, the sheep were in the care of the gate/doorkeeper who would keep watch over them during the night. He would give only the shepherds access to the sheepfold. There is considerable disagreement as to the identity of the gate/doorkeeper in this verse. Some think this expression refers to the prophets of the OT who foretold the coming of the Christ. Others believe it refers to John the Baptist, since he was the forerunner of the true Shepherd. Still others are equally sure that the gate/doorkeeper in this verse is the Holy Spirit who opens the door for the entrance of the Lord Jesus into hearts and lives. Based on how Jesus represents himself in John 10:7, it is most likely Jesus Himself. (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jn 10:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Regardless of who exactly this gate/doorkeeper was to represent, in general terms he was the undershepherd, who has been given the charge of a portion of God’s flock (see 1 Pet. 5:2) (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version (Jn 10:3). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.).
Please turn to Hebrews 6 (p.1003)
John 10:4 notes that when he has brought out all his own, he goes before/ahead of them, and the sheep follow him. In the Near East the shepherd went ahead of his flock, alert to any potential dangers, making sure the trail was safe and passable, and leading the sheep to feed in the green pastures he had already scouted. So it is in salvation. Jesus savingly calls His sheep and leads them out of the fold where they were kept, taking them to the “green pastures” and “quiet waters” of God’s truth and blessing (Ps. 23:2).
In the incarnation, Christ comes ahead of us. This is the Hope of Advent, the fulfillment of God’s promises:
Hebrews 6:13–20 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)
• Here Abraham is shown to be an example of one who, through patience and faith, “inherited the promises” (vv. 13–15; cf. vv. 11–12). God’s promises are guaranteed by God’s own perfectly trustworthy character (vv. 16–18). Therefore the promise of salvation through Jesus’ high priesthood is a secure and trustworthy hope (vv. 19–20). The Christian hope is in the person and saving work of Christ (pictured here as the high priest). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2370). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
The reason the sheep follow the Shepherd is because they know his voice. The recognition of Jesus' voice is likened unto the call of His disciples. “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him” (Matthew 9:9). The Shepherd called him; he recognized His voice, and promptly followed Him (Pink, A. W. (1923-45). Exposition of the Gospel of John (515). Swengel, Pa.: Bible truth depot.).
Actual sheep recognize the voice of their own shepherd, and will not respond to that of another. In the Word of God the true shepherd addresses his sheep. They know his voice, and follow — i.e., trust and obey — him (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 1-2: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to John. New Testament Commentary).
• This means that they do not quibble over God’s Word: they accept it as is. They do not regard certain texts as not meaning what they say, nor do they bypass certain doctrines because they dislike them: His sheep hear His voice. Their authority is not their own verdict concerning God’s Word, but God’s Word as it is (Rushdoony, R. J. (2000). The Gospel of John (128). Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books.).
John 10:5 notes that a stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for/because they do not know the voice of strangers. Travelers in modern Palestine have sometimes been able to document this. It appears that strangers, even when dressed in the shepherd’s clothing and attempting to imitate his call, succeed only in making the sheep run away. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice but do not know and do not respond to that of a stranger (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (448). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The word for know and recognize are the same word in Greek (oida), so the sheep will be known by whom they know. Here is a beautiful picture of both divine sovereignty in the shepherd’s call and the human response in the hearing, knowing and following by the sheep. We also find the theme of discernment, since there are more voices calling to them than just their own shepherd’s. Following Jesus means refusing to follow (false) shepherds (Whitacre, R. A. (1999). Vol. 4: John. The IVP New Testament commentary series (256). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.).
Those who are Christ’s do not leave Him to follow those who deny the truth. The apostle John concluded this first metaphor with a footnote in John 10:6: This figure of speech Jesus used/spoke to them, but they did not understand what (those things were which) He was saying to them. The Greek word translated figure of speech (paroimia) describes veiled, enigmatic language that conceals a symbolic meaning. It denotes language of which the meaning is not obvious, but which conveys to those who probe deeply enough spiritual truths of importance (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (448). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
This picture Jesus has drawn is not simply a comparison or an allegory. His illustration is a general parable, called a mashal, “a mysterious saying full of compressed thought.”( W. B. Westcott, The Gospel According to John, p. 215.) Those whose eyes have been opened spiritually, such as this new disciple healed of blindness, would see the truth hidden in the figurative language. But the spiritually blind, those who had cast the healed one out, would be baffled and angered (Fredrikson, R. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). Vol. 27: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 27 : John. The Preacher's Commentary series (175). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
Though the figure of speech was presented plainly enough to the religious leaders, they failed to grasp its significance. So ingrained was their belief that as Abraham’s descendants they were part of God’s flock that they completely missed Jesus’ indictment of them when He stated that He was the true Shepherd and they were false shepherds to whom the sheep would not listen. Like His parables (Matt. 13:10–16), this figure of speech served a twofold purpose: It revealed spiritual truth to His followers, and concealed it from those who rejected Him.
Illustration: (Ira Sankey (Moody’s Song Leader)
Christmas Eve 1875, Ira Sankey was traveling on a Delaware River steamboat when he was recognized by some of the passengers. His picture had been in the newspaper because he was the song leader for the famous evangelist D. L. Moody. They asked him to sing (a) hymn. Sankey (sang) William B. Bradbury’s hymn, “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” As he sang, one of the stanzas began, “We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way.” When he finished, a man stepped from the shadows and asked, “Did you ever serve in the Union Army?” “Yes,” Mr. Sankey answered, “in the spring of 1860.” Can you remember if you were doing picket duty on a bright, moonlit night in 1862?” “Yes,” Mr. Sankey answered, very much surprised. “So did I, but I was serving in the Confederate army. When I saw you standing at your post, I thought to myself, ‘That fellow will never get away alive.’ I raised my musket and took aim. I was standing in the shadow, completely concealed, while the full light of the moon was falling upon you. At that instant, just as a moment ago, you raised your eyes to heaven and began to sing… ‘Let him sing his song to the end,’ I said to myself, ‘I can shoot him afterwards.’ He’s my victim at all events, and my bullet cannot miss him.’ But the song you sang then was the song you sang just now. I heard the words perfectly: ‘We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way.’ Those words stirred up many memories. I began to think of my childhood and my God-fearing mother. She had many times sung that song to me. When you had finished your song, it was impossible for me to take aim again. I thought, ‘The Lord who is able to save that man from certain death must surely be great and mighty.’ And my arm of its own accord dropped limp at my side.” (K Hughes, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, Tyndale, 1988, p. 69)
2) Identifying the Door (John 10:7-10) (John 10:7–10)
John 10:7-10 [7]So Jesus again said to them, "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 listen to them. [9]I am the door. If anyone enters by 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. (ESV)
Here Jesus changed the metaphor slightly. In the first figure of speech, He was the Shepherd; here He is the Door to the sheepfold. This is the third of seven statements in John’s gospel where “I AM” is followed by a predicate nominative (v. 11; 6:35; 8:12; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). Now Jesus becomes very specific and personal in illuminating the meaning of His illustration. There is a singleness, an exclusiveness, about His solemn declaration, “I am the door of the sheep.” One theologian has called this “the offense of the particular.” He is the one entrance by which the sheep can enter the fold and join the flock. There is no other way for them to have access to the full treasure of life (Fredrikson, R. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). Vol. 27: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 27 : John. The Preacher's Commentary series (175). Nashville, Tennessee:).
Since the religious leaders had failed to understand His first figure of speech, Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” “Door” is used metaphorically in other places in the New Testament (e.g., Luke 13:24; Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9,) but this is the only passage in which Jesus himself is seen as the door. It gets its force from the imagery of the sheepfold. There is but one door to a fold, and sheep and shepherds alike must enter by this door. There is no other way for them (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (450). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Please turn to John 14 (p.901)
Sometimes the shepherd slept in the opening of the sheepfold to guard the sheep.No one could enter or leave except through him. In Jesus’ metaphor He is the door through which the sheep enter the safety of God’s fold and go out to the rich pasture of His blessing. It is through Him that lost sinners can approach the Father and appropriate the salvation He provides;
John 14:1-7 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (ESV)
• Jesus alone is “the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him]” (John 14:6; cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 1:30; 3:11; 1 Tim. 2:5). Only Jesus is the true source of the knowledge of God and salvation, and the basis for spiritual security.
• Why is this exclusivity so offensive? Human pride desires that the individual is the one choosing the options.
• Imagine going to the parent of a family whose son or daughter just died in combat and say that is not enough. Why could you not have other children who could have died for freedom. I desire to have another option of another son to look up to.
• Consider this from God's perspective: He had one Son. He sent His only Son to die to pay the penalty of sin. He had no more to give and He gave all that He had. It fully accomplished the redemption for a people who do not deserve it.
The Lord’s assertion in John 10:8 that “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers,” does not, of course, include Israel’s true spiritual leaders (such as Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, among many others) Jesus’ attitude to the people of the Old Testament is clear in 5:46; 8:56) He must have in view the whole of the Jewish hierarchy of his day. They were not interested in the well-being of the sheep but only in their own advantage. The Sadducees in particular were known to make quite a lot of money out of temple religion, and there are denunciations of the Pharisees (Luke 16:14) and the scribes (Mark 12:40) for covetousness. We should almost certainly take “before me” as part of the imagery rather than as indicating Jesus’ predecessors the religious leaders. The shepherd comes to the fold for his sheep (vv. 2–3) the first thing in the morning. All who came before/preceded him accordingly must be thieves and the like, working in the darkness. All the more is this likely to be the case in that Jesus does not say that they “were”, as the NIV translates (the verb is εἰσίν.), but that they “are” thieves and robbers. The emphasis is on his own day (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (451). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Jesus was referring to Israel’s false shepherds—her wicked kings, corrupt priests, false prophets, and pseudo-messiahs. However, the true sheep did not listen/hear them; they did not heed them and were not led astray by them.
In John 10:9, Jesus reiterated the vital truth of verse 7: “I am the door;” and He added the promise, “If anyone enters by/through Me, he will be saved” from sin and the wrath of God (Rom. 5). Christ’s sheep will experience God’s love, forgiveness, and salvation; they will go in and out freely, always having access to God’s blessing and protection, and never fearing any harm or danger. They will find satisfying pasture as the Lord feeds them (cf. Ps. 23:1–3; Ezek. 34:15) on His Word (cf. Acts 20:32). The sheep come in, as to a place of safety and out, as to “green pastures and still waters” (Ps 23:2) for nourishment and refreshing, and (finally) at the close of this earthly scene (Rev 7:17) (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Jn 10:9). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
In John 10:10 we see the utter contrast to the thieving false shepherds who, like their father the devil (8:44) came only to steal and kill and destroy the sheep. The world still seeks its humanistic, political saviours—its Hitlers, its Stalins, its Maos, its Pol Pots—and only too late does it learn that they blatantly confiscate personal property (they come ‘only to steal’), ruthlessly trample human life under foot (they come ‘only…to kill’), and contemptuously savage all that is valuable (they come ‘only…to destroy’It is not the Christian doctrine of heaven that is the myth, but the humanist dream of utopia (Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (385). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.)
Jesus came that they may have life (cf. Jn. 6:51-65) To “Have life” means “to have eternal life,” that is, “to be saved” (see 10:9). Importantly, however, this does not merely entail participation in the age to come (as was the general view among Jews); according to John, Jesus gives a full life already in the here and now (which does not imply the absence of persecution [cf. 15:18–25]). In the Old Covenant, it is especially the prophet Ezekiel who envisions pasture and abundant life for God’s people (cf. 34:12–15, 25–31). As the good shepherd, Jesus gives his sheep not merely enough but more than plenty (cf. Ps. 23; Ezek. 34; see Ridderbos 1997: 359). That is what Jesus meant when he said that His believers would have life abundantly. Perissos (abundantly) describes something that goes far beyond what is necessary. Our English word “abundance” comes from the two Latin words ab and undare which mean “to rise in waves” or “to overflow.” The first translation gives a picture of the unceasing rise of the waves upon a seashore. There the waves rise again and again. One wave surges forward and exhausts its force on the sand, but another follows and another and another. Thus it will continue as long as time lasts. The other picture is of a flood. This makes us think of a river fed by heavy rains, rising irresistibly until it overflows its banks. The abundant life is, therefore, one in which we are content in the knowledge that God’s grace is more than sufficient for our needs, that nothing can suppress it, and that God’s favor toward us is unending. The Greek word for “abundance,” perissos, has a mathematical meaning and generally denotes a surplus (Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John : An expositional commentary (Pbk. ed.) (748). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).
• The matchless gift of eternal life exceeds all expectation (cf. John 4:10 with 7:38; see also Rom. 8:32; 2 Cor. 9:15) (Köstenberger, A. J. (2004). John. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (304). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic.).
Jesus is the Door, the means by which one may repent of their sins, and enter into abundant eternal life, through him. He is the one sent by the father in love to care and tend to His flock. He is the long-awaited messiah, prophesied in the Old Covenant, to bring hope and liberation to His people.
(Format Note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur New Testament commentary : John 1-11 (422–431). Chicago: Moody Press).
