The Door of the Sheep — The Good Shepherd

INTRO

In John 7, Jesus began to talk about the Spirit of God. This teaching really began to stir the pot. Jesus said, “If anybody is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink . . . streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37–38). At this point, Jesus began to emphasize the relationship, not the religion. The Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t like it when Jesus said all the things they studied pointed to Him. Jesus called people not to be led astray by the religious leaders, but to follow Him. Jesus then made two more “I am” statements.

TEACHING

John 10:1: “Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door . . . is a thief and a robber.” Let’s talk about this image of sheep and shepherd. Isaiah 56:9–12 condemned Israel’s leaders: “Israel’s watchmen are blind . . . and love to sleep. [They] have fierce appetites . . . no discernment; all of them turn to their own way . . . for his own gain.” If you’re a shepherd who isn’t concerned about the sheep, then you don’t care who gets into the pen. You’re only concerned for yourself. Ezekiel 34 serves as a backdrop for all of John 10. God condemned the shepherds who cared for themselves instead of their flock: “You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd . . . My flock went astray on all the mountains . . . and there was no one searching or seeking for them” (Ezekiel 34:3–6). A shepherd who doesn’t care does not defend the sheep against the thief or the robber. In contrast, Psalm 23 describes how God shepherds His people. “The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack” (Psalm 23:1). Isaiah 40:11 says, “He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.” These verses describe a relationship with God, not a religion. In Jeremiah 3:15, God said: “I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me and they will shepherd you.” Which type of shepherd do you want to care for you? Nelson’s Commentary indicated that a thief is quiet and sneaky, while a robber tends to be more vocal and violent.¹Either way, the Shepherd has your back.

John 10:2–3: The shepherd enters the pen by the door, which the doorkeeper opens for him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The calling is personal. The shepherd will always call his sheep by name. Psalm 147:4 says, “He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.” Isaiah 40:26 also says that God calls every star by name. This Shepherd calls every sheep by name.

John 10:4–5: “He goes ahead of the sheep.” In Western culture, the shepherd walks behind the sheep and often uses dogs to guide the sheep. In Eastern culture, the shepherd walks in front and leads the sheep.²John the Baptist and Jesus did this— they prepared the way for us to follow. “The sheep follow because they recognize his voice.” The sheep never follow strangers. Instead, they run away because they don’t recognize the voice. How do you know His voice spiritually? You have to be in the Word of God. The Spirit of God inside you responds to Him as you read the Bible.

John 10:6: Jesus gave them this illustration of sheep and shepherd, but they didn’t understand Him. How do you learn to hear from the Holy Spirit? You always have good models to follow—mentors who model for you how to hear from God, who allow you to watch as they listen and follow God.

John 10:7–8: Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep” (v. 7). This was Jesus’ third “I am” statement (and the first in John 10). “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them” (v. 8). At night, the shepherds would lay their bodies in the open gap before the door of the sheep pen to protect the sheep.³Nothing could get to the sheep because the shepherd was between them and danger.

John 10:9: Jesus repeated His statement: “I am the door.” He saves the sheep. Jesus is the only way to be saved. Jesus repeated this in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is the only option.

John 10:10: “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.” The thief is the enemy: Satan and anyone who wants to harm the sheep. The enemy wants to constantly steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus gives sheep abundant life. He wants us to experience the abundance that He promises.

John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd.” This is Jesus’ fourth “I am” statement (and the second in John 10). “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus came to give up Himself so we can have life. Let’s dig deeper into this. In 1 John 3:16, John explained: “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us.” We must give up our lives for somebody else.

John 10:12–13: Here’s the religious picture: “The hired man . . . leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming.” The religious leaders were chickens who were afraid to engage the world and love people unless it benefited them. They didn’t care about the sheep.

John 10:14–15: Again, Jesus repeated His statement: “I am the good shepherd.” Twice, Jesus made both statements in the same chapter: I am the door and I am the good shepherd. “I know my own sheep and they know Me, as the Father knows Me.” Jesus makes Himself known to us. Wiersbe pointed out: Jesus knows our names. He knows our nature, just as He knew Peter was impulsive, Thomas doubted, and Judas would betray Him. He knows our needs because He knows everything about His sheep. He makes Himself known to us so that we learn to love Him and trust His voice.⁴

John 10:16: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold.” He welcomes all sheep and brings them together. This referred to the Gentiles, who had the chance to respond to the gospel and His voice. In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” They will become one flock with one shepherd, according to Ephesians 2:16: “He did so that He might reconcile both to God in one body.” Christ did this so we would be one. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus died for all. This fold is meant for both Jew and Gentile. First Corinthians 12:13: “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.” Those who believe in Jesus are part of the body of Christ.

John 10:17–18: “This is why the Father loves me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own.” See the repetition again? Jesus chose to lay down His life so that He might give us abundant life.

CLOSING

Jesus is the good shepherd who was willing to give up His life to be the door for the sheep so we could have life; that’s how this works. After Jesus revealed this to the religious leaders, a division took place among the Jews. The tension increased between the religious and those who wanted a relationship with Him.