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.
A “thief” (kleptes- (from which we get keptomanic) means a petty thief – is one who would break into your house and steal your things without your knowledge. The Pharisees were thieves who were jealous of Jesus’ popularity among the people and wanted to steal away as many of His followers as they could.
A “robber” (lestes) one who uses violence - the word is used of Barabbas (John 18:40) - they are violent and hold you at gunpoint and make you give up your valuables. The Pharisees fleeced people spiritually, destroying their souls for personal, financial or social profit. They did every-thing but what spiritual shepherds should do which was guard, guide and nurture God’s people.
Both words describe a dishonest person and the way he makes his entrance points to someone who has no business being there.
Jesus says you can tell a man’s business by the way that he gets to where the sheep are. If you are driving down the street and you see someone trying to get into your neighbor’s home through a broken window your first inclination would be to call the police because obviously, they are entering a place that they did not belong. (Although there have been times that people have entered their house through a window because the door is locked and they did not have their key. – Hopefully they did n0t have to break a window though.)
In the same vein Jesus is saying if the man does not use the door but climbs over the fence or the wall then he has no right to be there. The idea is that there is a “door,” a proper way to gain entry. Not everyone who stands among the sheep comes that way. Some climb “up some other way.” The religious leaders gained their place among God’s people – the “sheep” spoken of here – through personal and political connections, through formal education, through ambition, manipulation, and corruption.
It really does not matter much what that “other way” is, so long as it is another way, it is an ignoring and a denial of Him who is the Door—and of Him who is the Porter—a denial of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit.
The Church in every age has had to deal with those who try to crawl over the fence to take over the flock, claiming to be the door or the guide to the door. In our day of confusion and absolute toleration we confront everything from the Unification Church of Rev. Moon to the New Age movement gurus’; they are all false prophets promising life, but in the end bringing only death and destruction.
• The True Shepherd
The true shepherd is characterized by two important factors.
1. Familiarity with the Sheep (vv. 2-3a)
“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (3) To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice;…”
We need to avoid confusion here Jesus is referring to himself as “the” legitimate shepherd of the sheep.” Using the figure of the sheepfold in the town or city, He says He enters the fold by the door which is in fulfillment of the prophetic Scripture of the Messiah and is admitted by the doorkeeper who is the Holy Spirit.
In the two subsequent lessons we will see that in 10:7-10 he will speak of Himself by comparison to the sheepfold in the countryside and present Himself as “The Door” and then in 10: 11-18 we will see Jesus is presented as the “The Good Shepherd.”
Verse two makes some notable claims about Jesus being the true shepherd - “he enters by the door” and “the gatekeeper opens” to Him. But what is the door that Jesus enters and who is the gate-keeper? Jesus is demonstrating the legitimacy of his claim to be the Messiah. “The sheepfold is Israel, the door, as we will see later is Jesus and the porter or doorkeeper undoubtedly represents the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The porter is the one who stayed with the sheep, and was their only comforter during the weary hours of night? It is the porter, who alone had the power to admit a shepherd into the fold? Jesus came to Israel in fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the Messiah and doorkeeper opened to Him as the true shepherd so that He could call His sheep out of the fold of Judaism. (Some see John the Baptist in this role). His sheep were all from Israel whom the Father had given Him (6:37, 39, 10:29). He later reveals that He has other sheep (the Gentiles) whom He will gather into one flock under Him as shepherd (10:16). And in so doing, prove Jesus’ credentials to be the true Shepherd.
2. Relationship with the Sheep (v. 3b)
“…and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
• He Knows his sheep
Jesus knows us in the most profound ways. He knows our past with all its failures, its hurts. He knows our present, our unrealized longings. He knows us in the most intimate ways. He knows our quirks.” [R Kent Hughes. Preaching the Word: John. p. 266]
It is a wonderful thing to be known by the God of the Universe. He knows you with all your failures and sin, but He also knows what He is going to make of you.
The truth that is stated in verse three is stated even more explicitly in verse fourteen, “I know my sheep and they know me!”
• He Calls His sheep by name.
In Jesus’ time, sheep were not given identifying colors, and several flocks were often put into the same sheepfold for the night. In the morning, the shepherds would call their own sheep, some-times with a whistle or a song, but often only with a distinctive call and eager to be with him, they would follow him out.
“During World War I, some soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep from a hillside near Jerusalem. The sleeping shepherd awoke to find his flock being driven off. He couldn’t recapture them by force, so he called out to his flock with his distinctive call. The sheep listened, and returned to their rightful owner. The soldiers couldn’t stop the sheep from returning to their shepherd’s voice.
When Jesus talks about the sheep knowing His voice, He is talking about that kind of relation-ship. When we know Jesus as the sheep know their shepherd, our lives are made whole in Him.
In fact, it goes on to explain that He does not just know His flock in general but He knows each individual sheep intimately “by name.” The shepherd calls the “sheep by name”, showing that the shepherd has a personal connection with the sheep.
Jesus know His sheep and if you belong to Him He knows you by name. I have discovered that as I get older I have more and more trouble remembering things and especially names. But unlike me with a limited storage capacity (even when it was at its best) and seemingly diminishing, Jesus never forgets your name.
Scripture is full of examples of Jesus calling His sheep by name. In John’s gospel are numerous examples of Jesus calling his sheep by name and on each occasion, it is a turning point in their lives.
Perhaps the most spectacular was the call to Lazarus (John 11) Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days when the Lord appeared at his tomb and called out “Lazarus come out” (v. 43) and the dead man came out.
Mary Magdalene (John 20) She ran to the tomb with the expectation of anointing the body of Jesus but He was not in the tomb “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus… (until) Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Master!’ ” (John 20:16).
Thomas was not present at the first appear-ance of the Lord to his Disciples and when was told of it he doubted and said “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. When He appeared again “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
When Jesus was arrested Peter in fear denied that he knew the Lord with oaths and curses (Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus restored Peter. The Lord asked him , “Peter do you love me.” (Jn. 21:15) And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).
Marvin Rosenthal, writing in Israel, My Glory (in his article "Elohim"), tells about a mother who was asked by a census taker how many children she had. She responded, "Well, there's Billy and Harry and Martha and—" "Never mind the names," the man interrupted. `Just give me the number!" The mother, becoming indignant, replied, "They haven't got numbers, they've all got names." That's the way it is in our relationship with the Lord. Paul, writing to Timothy, gave the assuring word that "the Lord knows those who are His" (2Tim. 2:19). And Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep" (John 10:14). We're not just numbers to Him. He calls us by name!.
• He Leads them out.
A middle Eastern Shepherd does not drive the sheep he leads them; they go before them. The shepherd does not ask the sheep to go where he has not gone. He is the pathfinder, and the guardian of the way. It is natural for the sheep to follow the shepherd because they have learned that He watching over them, and they trust him with their lives.
The last of verse three says He leads “them out.” So, he led them from what and to what. What is the sheepfold a symbol of? It is not Heaven for then the thieves and robber would not able to climb into Heaven. It is not the church, for the shepherd does not lead his sheep out of that. The sheepfold is Judaism.
And since that day He has been leading His sheep out every kind of false sheepfold; out of paganism, idolatry and every kind of false religion, out of materialism and sensualism, out of ignorance and false philosophy. And into inclusion into the His body – the Church.
Third, Response of the Sheep. (vv. 4-5)
“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (5) Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
• His True Sheep Follow Him.
Western shepherds drive their sheep ahead of them, using sheep dogs; But Near-Eastern shep-herds always lead theirs. Christ never requires us to go anywhere He hasn’t already gone, nor subjects us to any danger/temptation He hasn’t known.
• His True Sheep Recognize His Voice.
In verse three Jesus says his sheep “hear his voice” and his sheep “know his voice.” He is not here referring to His audible voice, as when peoples say, “The Lord told me, to tell you!” In that case why would He not just speak to me! Rather we hear His voice through His written word, properly interpreted and applied. I do believe that some-times the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually by impressing a particular verse on our hearts as read in the Bible or we hear a sermon or a read a book. But we should avoid the strange interpretations of a verse taken out of context. The Lord’s sheep recognize His word because they feed often on it.
• His True Sheep Flee from Thieves. (v. 5)
We will talk more about sheep in the subsequent lessons but sheep are pretty defenseless, they don’t have sharp teeth or claws, what they can do is flee. Verse five says that “a stranger they simply will not follow” - “Not” in Greek is the strong double negative (NO, NOT EVER) indicat-ing that the sheep absolutely will refuse to follow after someone who is not their shepherd.
But who are the “strangers” that who would try to lead Christians astray today? There are many and they include;, T.V personalities, New age philosophies, lyrics of modern music, movies. And unfortunately, trends in public schools and sometimes even with in local congregations. There are so many “strange” voices in our world today it is impossible to name them all. The real tragedy is when people within the church are not familiar enough with the voice of Jesus to recognize that many of the voices as strangers.
A man in Australia was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep. But he claimed emphatically that it was one of his own that had been missing for many days. When the case went to court, the judge was puzzled, not knowing how to decide the matter. At last he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom. Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal. The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened. The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep bounded toward the door. It was obvious that he recognized the familiar voice of his master. CASE CLOSED! Brian Bell
Fourth, Failure to Understand. (v. 6)
“Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.”
Since sheep and shepherds were common in Palestine, they should have known how to apply what Jesus was teaching. They understood the nature of the tending of sheep, but they did not understand the spiritual point he was making! By their very lack of understanding the Pharisees proved that they were false shepherds and were not even among Jesus’ sheep.
How to Know the Shepherd
John 10:1-6
First, Understand the Context – Sheepfolds. (10:1)
. Two kinds of sheepfolds - in the countryside and
in the towns and villages.
Second, Distinguishing between Shepherds. (10: 2-3)
1. False Shepherds - Distinguished by Entrance and Motivation. “Thieves and Robber” are two words for dishonesty - “thief” means a petty thief – “robber” one who uses violence -
2 The True Shepherd.
• Familiarity with the Sheep (vv. 2-3a)
• Relationship with the Sheep (v. 3b)
? Knows his sheep intimately.
? Calls His sheep by Name.
? Leads Them out. – Out of what
Third, Response of the Sheep. (10:4-5)
• His True Sheep Follow Him.
• His True Sheep Recognize His Voice.
• His True Sheep Flee from Thieves
`Fourth, Failure to Understand (10: 6)
