Let's start today by simply reading John 10:1:
(1) Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering through the gate/door into the inner courtyard of the sheep,
but going up from some other place-- that one, a thief, he is, and a robber.
When we read this, we should notice something, immediately. Other than the shiny new number "10," and the white space in our Bibles, and the heading that tells us what the chapter is about, there is nothing here to make us think we are starting a new section in John. AJ doesn't give us any transitional piece-- there's no "after these things," "on the next day." We don't even get a "Now,".
Now, let's skip down to verse 19-21:
(19) A division/schism again happened among the Judeans because of these words.
(20) Now, many of them were saying,
"A demon, he has,"
and he is out of his mind.
Why, him, do you hear/listen to?
(21) Others were saying,
These words are not from a demonized man.
A demon isn't able, the eyes of the blind, to open, right?"
When we read verse 21, it's clear that we are still working in the same story as last week. So chapter 10, at least through verse 21, builds on chapter 9. We are still talking about Jesus being the light of the world, and giving light to people, and healing the man born blind. We are still seeing what it looks like, when people refuse to come to Jesus, and follow him, and walk in his light. And we are still seeing how Jesus' words lead to divisions among the people. "Many" reject Jesus, and conclude that he has a demon. Some, though-- a minority-- focus on what Jesus does, and know that this can't possibly be right. Because demons can't give people sight.
So let's do this. Let's turn back to John 9, starting in verse 24. We'll just read through, and then just keep reading, when we get to chapter 10:
(24) Then, they called the man a second time-- who was blind --
and they said to him,
"Give glory to God.
We know
that this man, a sinner, he is."
(25) Then, he answered--that man--
"If a sinner, he is, I don't know.
One thing I know:
that blind, being, now I see.
(26) Then, they said to him,
"What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?"
(27) He answered them,
"I told you already,
and you didn't hear.
Why again do you want to hear?
You don't also want, his disciples, to become, right?"
(28) They reviled/abused him,
and they said,
"You, a disciple, you are of that one.
Now, we, of Moses, we are disciples.
(29) We know
that to Moses He has spoken-- God.
Now, this one, we don't know from where he is."
(30) The man answered,
and he said to them,
"This is remarkable/amazing:
that you don't know from where he is,
and he opened my eyes.
(31) We know that, sinners, God doesn't hear,
but if someone/anyone, God-fearing/devout, he is, and His will he does, this one He hears.
(32) From time immemorial it hasn't been heard
that someone opened the eyes of one born blind.
(33) Unless this man was from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything."
(34) They answered,
and they said to him,
"In sin you were born completely,
and you teach us?,"
and they threw/expelled him outside.
(35) He heard-- Jesus--
that they had thrown him outside,
and finding him, he said,
"Do you give allegiance to the Son of Man?"
(36) That one answered,
and he said,
"And who is it, Lord/master/sir,
that I may give allegiance to him?"
(37) He said to him-- Jesus--
And/also you have seen him,
and the one speaking with you, that one, he is.
(38) Now, he said,
"I believe/give allegiance, Lord/Master/Sir,"
and he worshipped him,
(39) and he said-- Jesus--
"For judgment I into this world have come,
in order that the ones not seeing would see,
and the ones seeing, blind, would become."
(40) Some from the Pharisees heard these things-- the ones with him being--
and they said to him,
"Not also we, blind, we are, right?"
(41) He said to them-- Jesus--
"If blind, you were, you wouldn't have sin.
Now, [because] you say now that 'we see,' your sin abides."
So that's the kind of ugly note we left off on, last week. The Pharisees are blind. They've hardened their hearts against the truth. And with that blindness, also comes cruelty. They falsely accuse the man, and his parents, of being sinners. They expel the man born blind from the synagogue. They reject him, and Jesus. But Jesus, out of kindness, goes and finds the man born blind, and guides him to himself, and to the truth.
And then Jesus, after helping the man born blind, turns to the Pharisees and tells them that they are the ones with sin. And the reason for this, is because they think they can see. They think they've correctly analyzed Jesus, and the man born blind, and they've made a good decision about all of it. But all they've shown, is peak stupidity, and sin.
This brings us to chapter 10. Here, in verses 1-6, Jesus is going to paint a picture of the normal shepherd's life. And as we listen to Jesus paint this picture, we are supposed to look backward to chapter 9, and think about the Pharisees, and the man born blind, and Jesus:
(1) Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering through the gate/door into the inner courtyard of the sheep,
but going up from some other place-- that one, a thief, he is, and a robber.
(2) Now, the one entering through the gate/door, the shepherd, he is, of the sheep.
(3) For this one the door/gatekeeper opens,
and the sheep, his voice, they hear,
and his own sheep he calls by name,
and he leads them out.
(4) Whenever all of his own sheep, he sends out, before them he goes,
and the sheep, after him, they follow,
because they know his voice.
(5) Now, after a stranger they will absolutely not follow,
but they will flee from him
because they don't know the voice of the strangers.
(6) This riddle/figurative saying he spoke to them-- Jesus.
Now, those ones didn't understand what it was that he was speaking to them.
Do you get it? Or is this a little fuzzy?
There are lots of different images, and people, and things, in these verses. Think of them like a sandbox for kids, filled with toys. Jesus is now going to grab different things out of the sandbox, and use those things to talk about himself, and the Pharisees, and people like the man born blind.
And why does he do this? For whom does he do this? For the Pharisees. Even though the Pharisees are blind, and think they aren't, and have kicked the man born blind out of the synagogue, Jesus is still trying to help them.
And, when he does this, he will also help us. Because verses 1-6 are truly a "riddle" of sorts.
Explanation #1: verses 7-10
(7) Then, he spoke again to them-- Jesus--
"Truly, truly, I say to you
that I am the door/gate of the sheep.
(8) All who came before me, thieves, they are, and robbers,
but the sheep didn't hear (=listen to) them.
(9) I am the door/gate.
Through me, if anyone enters, he will be saved,
and he will enter in,
and he will go out,
and pasture, he will find.
(10) The thief doesn't enter unless/except only to steal and to kill and to destroy.
I came
in order that life, they would have,
and abundantly, they would have [it].
Every night, Jewish shepherds would lead their flocks back to safety-- through the gate, to an inner courtyard, connected to the house, surrounded by a wall. And every morning, that same shepherd would lead his flock back out, through the gate, so that they could find pasture.
In verses 7-10, Jesus says he is the "gate" for the sheep. And what that means, concretely, is two things: (1) protection, and (2) provision.
(1) Protection: Inside those walls, there is nothing that can touch the sheep. They are safe from all of their enemies. And how do you find this salvation? What do you have to do? You have to go through the gate. It's only through Jesus that salvation is found. He is the one single gate.
(2) Provision: Jesus is the gate as well, for when you go out into the world. He is the means by which you find what you need for life. And then, Jesus says, he came to give people abundant life. We are not a people who struggle our way through life. We are not a people who have just enough, or a little less than enough. We are a people who have an abundance to our lives. There is a richness to it. There is nothing stingy about the life that Jesus gives. And we've seen that, over and over, throughout the gospel of John. We saw the abundance of wine at the wedding. We saw Jesus heal the lame man in John 5. And we saw Jesus heal the man born blind last week, in chapter 9. At most evangelical churches, those people would've been told to settle. To be content with a single glass of wine. To be content with their lameness, and blindness. To know that there is a better life coming, eventually, someday, when Jesus returns. But Jesus came to give people an abundant life, now. Jesus is not stingy.
The other thing I want to point out about Jesus' first explanation of his sandbox, is what he says about all of the ones who came before him. Everyone who came before him is... what? A thief, and a robber.
Now, when Jesus says this, I don't think he's talking about people like Abraham, or Moses, or David. I think we are supposed to understand that Jesus is talking about the Pharisees here. They are a people who "take" from the sheep. They are a people who drove out the man born blind, and rejected him. This is not the kind of thing Jesus does. The Pharisees "take" from people's life. Jesus "gives" a more abundant life.
Explanation #2: verses 11-13
(11) I am the shepherd-- the good/noble one.
The shepherd-- the good/noble one-- his life, he lays down on behalf of the sheep.
(12) The hired worker--
and the one not being the shepherd--
whose they aren't his own sheep--
he sees the wolf coming,
and he leaves the sheep,
and he flees,
and the wolf seizes them,
and he scatters them,
because a hired worker, he is,
and it isn't a concern to him about the sheep.
So, in verses 11-13, Jesus grabs different images out of the same sandbox, and uses them to teach us other things about himself, and the Pharisees, and the man born blind. All of us are like sheep. We maybe don't want to think of ourselves that way. Especially in this day and age. We tell ourselves, we don't trust the media. We own guns. We know our rights. We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. "We're not sheep." Right?
But Jesus calls us sheep here. So, let's just swallow our pride, and accept this for a minute, okay?
Jesus says that he is the noble shepherd. He is the one who will stand between you, and your enemy, and fight for you. Except, that's not what he actually says, right? It's close. But it's not right. What Jesus says, is that he will lay down his life for the sheep.
Throughout the gospel of John, what we've seen, more and more clearly, is that everything Jesus does, is slowly leading to his death. Lots of people have rejected him. Lots of people want to kill him. And the only reason he is still alive, at this point, is... what? It's not yet his hour. His Father, at this point in John, still has things that He wants Jesus to do and say. But Jesus knows what's coming. He knows what's going to be asked of him. And here, he says that he is willing to do this. Jesus will lay down his life for the sheep.
Jesus then goes on to contrast his shepherding, with that of the hired hand. And when we read about the hired hand, we should find ourselves thinking about the Pharisees. The Pharisees are the kinds of leaders who will abandon you, when you need them the most. They see the wolf coming, and they know that this job isn't worth it. Hired hands are a hollow form of protection. They carry the same rod (Psalm 23:4); they look the part. But you can't count on them.
And we saw, in John 9, that this is absolutely right. We saw the Pharisees reject a sheep-- the man born blind-- and cast him outside. Rather than protecting him, and helping him, they rejected him.
Explanation #3: verses 14-18
(14) I am the shepherd-- the good/noble one--
and I know my own,
and they know me-- my own--,
(15) just as He knows me-- The Father--
and I know the Father,
and my life, I lay down on behalf of the sheep,
(16) and other sheep, I have,
which aren't from this courtyard,
and those ones, I must bring,
and my voice, they will hear,
and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
(17) For this reason , me, The Father loves:
because I lay down my life,
in order that again I will receive it.
(18) No one takes away it (=my life) from me,
but I lay down it from myself (=freely).
Authority/power I have to lay it down,
and authority/power I have again to receive it.
This command/order I received from my Father.
Sometimes, parents need to get their kids' attention while they are in a busy, crowded place. You can be in a food court at the mall, surrounded by hundreds of people. But when you call your children by name, they hear your voice, and recognize it, and come to you.
This works exactly the same way with Jesus. Jesus' sheep know his voice, and they know Jesus. When Jesus calls, we hear him. And then, we "follow" him (John 10:4), as he leads us.
Now, let's reread verse 16:
(16) and other sheep, I have,
which aren't from this courtyard,
and those ones, I must bring,
and my voice, they will hear,
and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
I'm pretty sure this is a key verse for Mormons. I remember being a kid, and watching a tv commercial about this verse, with a 1-800 number you could call to find out more information about how you can join the one flock. Which is sort of scary, actually. (But at least I don't remember the number).
Jesus here, is not talking about Mormons. He is talking about us Gentiles. The day is coming, when Jesus will gather sheep from a different courtyard, and bring them, and we will all become one flock, with one shepherd. The goal, is that there will be one single flock. One single people, who follow Jesus. A unity.
With this, we leave our sandbox picture, and continue our regularly scheduled story. Verse 19:
(19) A division/schism again happened among the Judeans because of these words.
(20) Now, many of them were saying,
"A demon, he has,"
and he is out of his mind.
Why, him, do you hear/listen to?
(21) Others were saying,
These words are not from a demonized man.
A demon isn't able, the eyes of the blind, to open, right?"
Not everyone "hears" Jesus' voice. Not everyone is part of his flock. Not everyone has accepted Jesus as shepherd. And people who refuse to do this, will maybe not understand you at all. People who don't hear Jesus' voice, but instead willfully reject him, will think this is crazy. Of all the people to listen to in life-- of all the people to follow-- you pick Jesus?
Why him?
And when we hear that question, we should find the answer comes quickly to our lips.
We listen to Jesus because he is the gate. He is the only way to God. He is the means of our protection. He is the means of our provision.
And we listen to Jesus because he is the noble shepherd. He died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. He did all of this freely, in obedience to the Father.
Jesus has given us everything we could possible need. He gives us an abundant life. In all the ways that matter, it's no hardship to follow him.
We understand that all of these words, are not the words of someone who is demonized. Demons have limits on what they can accomplish. And anyone who can open the eyes of a blind man, is worth listening to.
---------------------------------------------
I struggled with how to wrap this up with an application today. So let me just try to make this sound, how it would've been heard by AJ's original readers. And you can grab the parts out of this that seem helpful.
AJ is writing to a people who know what it's like to suffer. They are part of Jesus' flock. They hear Jesus' voice. They follow Jesus. And doing this, has resulted in their persecution. They, like the man born blind, have been kicked out of the synagogue (John 12:42-43; John 16:1). And that would be incredibly painful. Imagine getting kicked out of this church-- being told that what you think about Jesus, is wrong, and dangerous. Being told that you are a sinner (which meant, someone living outside of the covenant with God-- should really explain that). Being told you can have no part in God, or in his promises, or in his people.
If this was you, John 9-10 would be a huge encouragement. You've lost the synagogue, for sure. But what is it, really, that you have lost?
You've lost your cruddy leaders. You were led by thieves, and robbers. By people who preyed on you, and didn't care about you. Who stand ready to abandon you, at the first sight of trouble. Are those the kind of people you should miss?
That's what you've lost. And what have you gained?
As sheep, what you've done, is upgrade your shepherd. You moved from following hired hands, and robbers, and thieves, to following the good and noble shepherd. The shepherd who willingly laid down his life for you. Who offers you protection. Who provides for you.
So if you feeling sorry for yourself, and if you're wondering if the persecution is worth it, just think about your shepherd. You are listening to the right voice. You are following the right shepherd. You are part of God's one true flock. You have entered through the one true gate. And how do you know all of this? In part, you know this, because Jesus healed the man born blind, and then guided the man to himself. In every possible way, Jesus is the good shepherd.
Translation:
(1) Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering through the gate/door into the inner courtyard of the sheep,
but going up from some other place-- that one, a thief, he is, and a robber.
(2) Now, the one entering through the gate/door, the shepherd, he is, of the sheep.
(3) For this one the door/gatekeeper opens,
and the sheep, his voice, they hear,
and his own sheep he calls by name,
and he leads them out.
(4) Whenever all his of his own sheep, he sends out, before them he goes,
and the sheep, after him, follow,
because they know his voice.
(5) Now, after a stranger they will absolutely not follow,
but they will flee from him
because they don't know the voice of the strangers.
(6) This riddle/figurative saying he spoke to them-- Jesus.
Now, those ones didn't understand what it was that he was speaking to them.
(7) Then, he spoke again to them-- Jesus--
"Truly, truly, I say to you
that I am the door/gate of the sheep.
(8) All who came before me, thieves, they are, and robbers,
but the sheep didn't hear (=listen to) them.
(9) I am the door/gate.
Through me, if anyone enters, he will be saved,
and he will enter in,
and he will go out,
and pasture, he will find.
(10) The thief doesn't enter unless/except only to steal and to kill and to destroy.
I came
in order that life, they would have,
and abundantly, they would have [it].
(11) I am the shepherd-- the good/noble one.
The shepherd-- the good/noble one-- his life, he lays down on behalf of the sheep.
(12) The hired worker--
and the one not being the shepherd--
whose they aren't his own sheep--
he sees the wolf coming,
and he leaves the sheep,
and he flees,
and the wolf seizes them,
and he scatters them,
because a hired worker, he is,
and it isn't a concern to him about the sheep.
(14) I am the shepherd-- the good/noble one--
and I know my own,
and they know me-- my own,
just as He knows me-- The Father--
and I know the Father,
and my life, I lay down on behalf of the sheep,
and other sheep, I have,
which aren't from this courtyard,
and those ones, I must bring,
and my voice, they will hear,
and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
(17) For this reason , me, The Father loves:
because I lay down my life,
in order that again I will receive it.
(18) No one takes away it (=my life) from me,
but I lay down it from myself (=freely).
Authority/power I have to lay it down,
and authority/power I have again to receive it.
This command/order I received from my Father.
(19) A division/schism again happened among the Judeans because of these words.
(20) Now, many of them were saying,
"A demon, he has,"
and he is out of his mind.
Why, him, do you hear/listen to?
(21) Others were saying,
These words are not from a demonized man.
A demon isn't able, the eyes of the blind, to open, right?"
