Recognizing The Good Shepherd Series

Recognizing the Good Shepherd

John 10:

1 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the person who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Recognizing the Good Shepherd

3 The one who guards the door opens it for him. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he brings all his sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.

Recognizing the Good Shepherd

5 But they will never follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” 6 Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.

7 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep. 8 All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd who owns them. When the worker sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 The man runs away because he is only a paid worker and does not really care about the sheep.

14-15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me, as I know the Father. I give my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this flock, and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I give my life so that I can take it back again. 18 No one takes it away from me; I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”

19 Again the Jews did not agree with each other because of these words of Jesus. 20 Many of them said, “A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “A man who is crazy with a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus points out that the good shepherd is known by three distinctives

If there is a good shepherd then there must be a bad shepherd

The teaching given here (vv. 1–21) took place right after the casting out of the man in 9:34. We see much the sheep and the good shepherd. We also see much here about the hireling, the thief, and the robber – the bad shepherd. So who is the bad shepherd?

This text is clearly a continuation of John 9 where we see Jesus making the blind man see and pointing out that the seeing Pharisees were blind – which they were more than a little upset about.

In Ezekiel 34 there is a grim description of bad shepherds and how they used and abused the sheep that belong to God. In the same passage there is also a promise – the promise that God will take care of His sheep by raising up the good shepherd.

Ezekiel 34:11-12: “ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them. As a shepherd takes care of his scattered flock when it is found, I will take care of my sheep.

Jesus points out that the good shepherd is known by three distinctives

False shepherds and strangers, who are thieves and robbers, try to get into the fold some subtle way, but the sheep will not recognize or follow them.

The Good Shepherd IS the door

The Good Shepherd KNOWS his sheep and is known by his sheep

The Good Shepherd LEADS the sheep to the green pastures and still waters

The Good Shepherd IS the door

John 9:7

7 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep.

The Sheepfold

The Middle Eastern sheepfold was very simple: a stone wall, some as high as ten feet high, surrounded it, and an opening served as the door. Since the building of such a corral was not easy not inexpensive an entire village would build a sheepfold for all the inhabitants to use together.