JOHN CHAPTER TEN
The Good Shepherd
John 10:1-11

Some years ago a “Candid Camera” TV program took place at an exclusive prep school where all of the students were well above average intelligence. The “Candid Camera” people posed as career consultants who were going to advise these brilliant young men concerning the careers that would be best suited to them, on the basis of “tests” and “interviews” that seemed (to the students) quite authentic.

One young man who was eagerly awaiting the “counselor’s” verdict, was pretty confident that the adviser would tell him to be a college president or a bank president, or perhaps even president of the United States. But, no, the “counselor” had something else in mind. You should have seen the look on the boy’s face when the “counselor” said: “Son, after evaluating your tests and interview, I’ve decided that the best job for you is—a shepherd.”

The student did not know whether to laugh or cry. After all, who in his right mind would want to be a shepherd? Why devote your life to taking care of a bunch of “stupid sheep” who do not seem to have sense enough to find their way home?

Perhaps he did not realize at the time that the most famous person in all of history had been a shepherd. Perhaps the “counselor” should have suggested the young man read John chapter 10. John 10 focuses on the image of sheep, sheepfolds, and shepherds. It is a rural and Eastern image, to be sure; but it is an image that can teach us a great deal, even in today’s urban industrialized world. Paul used this image when admonishing the spiritual leaders in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:28ff). The truths that cluster around the image of the shepherd and the sheep are found throughout the Bible, and they are important to us today. They are symbols that Jesus used to help us understand who He is and what He wants to do for us.[fn]

John 10:1-11 NAS
1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, "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 hear them.
9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through 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.
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Comparing people to a shepherd and his sheep was common in the Middle East. Kings and priests called themselves shepherds and their subjects sheep. The Bible makes frequent use of this comparison. Many of the leaders in the Old Testament were shepherds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David). As national leaders, Moses and David were both “shepherds” over Israel. Some of the most quoted passages in the Bible emphasize this shepherd/sheep relationship: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23); “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6).

Let us talk about sheep for a few minutes. “They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.” Sheep are helpless and defenseless animals that will wander about aimlessly unless they are led.[fn] They cannot find their own food and water and therefore depend on the shepherd for this. The shepherd would often fight off wild animals to protect his sheep and he would carry an injured sheep over his shoulders.[fn]

Philip Keller also tells us that:

“The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways . . . Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance. Yet despite these adverse characteristics Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own and delights in caring for us.”[fn]

We can therefore see the importance of a good shepherd and we can also see that probably not every shepherd was so conscientious with looking out for his flock of sheep.

It is interesting to see how Jesus developed this comparison in chapter 10 between the good Shepherd and false shepherds. In the previous chapter (chapter 9), the Pharisees who were spiritually blind claimed that they were the ones who had all knowledge regarding spiritual things (John 9:41). They were therefore considered to be false shepherds by Jesus. As the good Shepherd, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

Christ’s ministry was for the salvation and overall benefit of the Jews. Those Jews who truly loved God would hear Jesus’ voice, recognize it to be that of the Messiah, and they would follow Him.

Let us now take a detailed look at what Jesus is teaching in this chapter:

John 10:1-6 NAS:
1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

The beginning of John 10 is certainly an outgrowth and continuation of John 9 where the healed blind beggar had been involved in a confrontation with the Jewish leaders, which resulted in his excommunication from the synagogue. You hopefully recall that Jesus had declared Himself to be the “light of the world” and that the Jewish leaders were living in darkness. “Living in darkness” means that they were ignorant and would not accept the truth even when it ran over them like a truck. They preferred their way to the right way. They preferred to continue struggling the way they had been for centuries rather than living in peace and joy.

And for the most part that continues to be the way people respond to Jesus today. Unless one opens himself or herself up to God’s Word in the Bible they will live in darkness. For those who do sincerely open themselves to the teaching of God’s Word in the Bible, they usually come to see the light and desire to bask in it.

So after speaking to them about light and darkness Jesus gave them something else they could readily identify with, a shepherd and his sheep. As we mentioned earlier, the Jews considered a shepherd to be anyone in authority. People looked at kings and prophets as shepherds. Israel was privileged to be “the flock of the Lord” according to Psalm 100:3.[fn]

3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Jesus opened His sermon here with a familiar illustration (John 10:1–6), one that every listener would understand. The sheepfold was usually an enclosure made of rocks, with an opening for the door to prevent thieves and beasts of prey from entering. The shepherd (or a porter) would guard the flock, or flocks, at night by lying across the opening. It was not unusual for several flocks to be sheltered together in the same fold. In the morning, the shepherds would come, call their sheep, and assemble their own flocks. Each sheep recognized his own master’s voice.

Do you always recognize the voice of Jesus? When we have a personal relationship with Christ and spend a lot of time reading and studying His Word, the Bible, His voice becomes very familiar to us. Then when we hear many voices calling to us, “Do this,” “Try that,” or “Walk this way,” we can recognize which voice is our Lord’s and we can ignore or turn away from those other voices.

Consider that only the shepherd has a right to enter the sheep pen. The true shepherd comes in through the door, and the watchman recognizes him. The watchman (doorkeeper or porter) opens the gate (door), and the shepherd comes in to call his own sheep by name out from the other flocks. Shepherds knew their sheep well and gave them names. As sheep hear the sound of their owner’s familiar voice, they go to him. He leads them out of the pen till his flock is formed. Then he goes out toward the fields with the sheep following him.

The thieves and robbers could never enter through the door, so they have to climb over the wall and enter the fold through deception. If a stranger enters the pen, the sheep run away from him because his voice is not familiar. Similarly, people come to God because He calls them.[fn] Their proper response to His call is to follow Him.[fn] But this spiritual lesson was missed by many who had heard Jesus, even though they certainly understood the local shepherd-sheep relationship. In their blindness, they could not see Jesus as the Lord who is the Shepherd.[fn]

The setting for this lesson was the excommunication of the beggar from the synagogue (John 9:34). The Jewish leaders, the false shepherds, did not care for this man; instead, they mistreated him and threw him out. But Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to him and took him in (John 9:35–38).

When Jesus came to the nation of Israel, He came the appointed way, just as the Scriptures promised. Every true shepherd must be called of God and sent by God. If he truly speaks God’s Word, the sheep will “hear his voice” and not be afraid to follow him. The true shepherd will love the sheep and care for them.[fn]

God’s sheep (the Jewish people) were taken advantage of by their own leaders and by the Romans and neither had any concern for the welfare of the people. Jesus came as Israel’s rightful Messiah and came openly and honestly.

We might ask, who are the “strangers” who would try to lead Christians astray today? There are many including, but not restricted to, TV personalities, New Age philosophies and beliefs, the lyrics of much modern music, movies, even, unfortunately, certain trends in public schools or within the Church. The strange voices are so many and so loud that it is impossible to name them all. The worst tragedy is that so few people are familiar enough with the voice of Jesus that they do not recognize many voices as those of strangers. That is scary, just as in verse 6 where we read that the people did not understand what Jesus was saying to them.

John 10:7-11 NAS:
7 So Jesus said to them again, "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 hear them.
9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through 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.
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Jesus makes 3 statements about Himself in John 10. The first, “I Am the Door” (John 10:9), gives us another illustration of how Jesus sees Himself relating to the people as compared to the Jewish leaders.

Now Jesus condemns the leaders of Israel, saying, “All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers. Such men care nothing for the sheep.” Jesus, on the other hand, is the Good Shepherd. The Palestinian shepherd commonly slept in the single opening to the fold through which wild animals might attack. As “the door” Jesus protects His own, by placing His body between the sheep and their enemies. The Good Shepherd guides His sheep to pasture, concerned not only that they have life, but that they “have it to the full.” How deep is the commitment of the Good Shepherd to His sheep? “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

In fact, at another time and in another place Christ told another parable to show how important one lost sheep is to the Shepherd. Let us look at it for a moment.

Luke 15:1-7 NAS:
1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
3 So He told them this parable, saying,
4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5 "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

One lone, lost sheep is important to a shepherd. One lone, lost human soul was worth a great deal to The Good Shepherd. Christ came to earth to seek us out and to die for us so that He might save us from the penalty for our sins.  And we learn that when we respond to Christ and receive Him as our Savior, all Heaven rejoices. So here in John 10 when Christ said to the Jewish leaders that He was the Good Shepherd who would lay down His life for His sheep, how clearly this must have spoken to the men and women of Israel. Their rulers, like religious leaders of many times and many faiths, were quick to demand respect and obedience. They were quick to lord it over others; quick to judge, advise, and condemn. But no one in Israel would imagine for a moment that one of the authorities would lay down his life for one of the common people, although those leaders might lay down their lives for truth. More than once the men of Israel had refused to fight on the Sabbath, and had been killed easily by pagans. More than one Israelite had offered his body to Roman swords rather than permit a statue of Caesar to enter Jerusalem. To die for one’s convictions was something they knew about and were willing to do. But to die for love of the sheep? Never! Truth was important to the authorities; people were not. But to Jesus, the sheep—sinners not worth the contempt of the righteous—were worth dying for![fn]

The freedom of the believer, in contrast to their situation in Judaism, seems hinted at in the going in and out, and their new satisfaction (shall find pasture) was a welcome change from the boring teaching to which they had been subjected.[fn]

Jesus Christ is the door, and as such He leads the sheep “in and out.” The blind man in chapter nine was “cast out” (excommunicated) by the false shepherds because he trusted Jesus, but he was taken into the new fold by Christ. Theologian Arthur Pink points out that there are really three doors spoken of in this chapter, and we must distinguish them if we are to get the full meaning of this explanation:

(1) “The door into the sheepfold” (v. 1). The sheepfold here is not Heaven but the nation of Israel (see Psalm 100). Christ came to Israel through the way appointed in Scripture; the porter (John the Baptist) opened the door for Him.

(2) “The door of the sheep” (v. 7). This is the door that leads people out of their present fold, in this case, Judaism. Christ opened the way for multitudes to leave the old religious system and find new life.

(3) The door of salvation (v. 9). The sheep using this door go in and out, which speaks of liberty; they have eternal life; they enjoy the pastures of God’s Word. Satan, through his false teachers, thieves and robbers, wants to steal, kill, and destroy the sheep; but Christ gives abundant life and cares for the sheep.[fn]

These interpretations given by Arthur Pink are all scripturally sound. And that shows us again the supernatural depth of the Word of God. A single Bible verse can have any number of meanings that can all be correct. No human author has ever been capable of producing such writing.

When Jesus said, “All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers,” Jesus was referring primarily to the religious leaders of that day (John 10:8). He referred to those leaders who had no concern for the spiritual good of the people but only for themselves.[fn]

The statement “are thieves and robbers” (not “were”) makes it clear that He had the present religious leaders in mind. They were not true shepherds nor did they have the approval of God on their ministry. They did not love the sheep, but instead used and abused them. The blind beggar whom Jesus had healed was a good example of what the “thieves and robbers” could do to the sheep.

In verse 10 we read a phrase that gets quoted a lot, and which is often misunderstood. Jesus said that He had “come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  What comes to your mind when you think of “the abundant life”? According to preachers of the prosperity gospel, it means you will have plenty of money, no problems, no illnesses, and that all will always go well for you. Yet that is not scriptural. Throughout the New Testament we see that persecution, affliction, and trials were common among faithful believers. Peter tells us that such afflictions polish up our faith so that it can be shiny gold (1 Peter 1:7). James tells us to rejoice when troubles come into our lives (James 1:2). Paul speaks often of trials and persecutions and how they actually minister in our lives. Peter, James, and Paul tell us how through such problems our faith is strengthened and we develop qualities such as patience, endurance, faith, love, and more.[fn] The abundant life that Christ wants to give us is a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-24. It is a life lived with the “peace that surpasses human understanding” (Philippians 4:7) because it is both peace with God and the peace of God. The abundant life is a life of deep-down inward joy, no matter how difficult the outward circumstances.

It is clear in the Gospel record that the religious rulers of Israel were interested only in providing for themselves and protecting themselves. The Pharisees were covetous (Luke 16:14) and even took advantage of the poor widows (Mark 12:40). They turned God’s Temple into a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13), and they plotted to kill Jesus so that Rome would not take away their privileges (John 11:49–53).

The good Shepherd came to save the sheep, but the false shepherds take advantage of the sheep. Behind these false shepherds is “the thief” (John 10:10), probably a reference to Satan. The thief wants to steal the sheep from the fold, slaughter them, and destroy them. We shall see later that the sheep are safe in the hands of the Shepherd and the Father (John 10:27–29).

When you go through “the Door,” you receive life and you are saved. As you go “in and out,” you enjoy abundant life in the rich pastures of the Lord. His sheep enjoy fullness and freedom. Jesus not only gave His life for us, but He gives His life to us right now! [fn]

As we have seen, shepherds have full control over the lives of their sheep. They find the good pastures and clean water for their sheep. Shepherds protect sheep from predators, and provide medication for their wounds.

When Christ is our Good Shepherd, we should give Him full control of our lives: where we go, what we do, what we say. When we put our lives in the hands of the Good Shepherd we also enjoy His protection and provision; we can receive His comfort for our wounds. He brings us into His kingdom (sheepfold) and brings healing to our souls. I trust you have already made Jesus the Shepherd of your soul. But if not, we encourage you to enter into His sheepfold today.

The thief, that is a false shepherd, cares only about feeding himself, not building up the flock. He steals sheep in order to kill them, thus destroying part of the flock. But Christ has come to benefit the sheep. He gives life that is not confined but overflowing. The thief takes life; Christ gives it to the full.[fn]

What Does A Good Shepherd Do?
John 10:11-21

What is the difference between the authentic and the imitation? Between the real and the fake? And why is it important to distinguish between the real and the fake? For instance, does it matter to you whether your physician really graduated from an accredited medical school or whether his/her degree is a fake?

Some years ago Congress listened to the testimony of Pedro DeMesones, who was at the time serving a prison sentence for mail fraud and conspiracy. It seems that Pedro had provided about 100 clients with false transcripts showing they had fulfilled medical requirements of schools they had never attended. He testified that those clients paid him anywhere from $5225 to $27,000 for the fake degrees, and he had pulled in about $1.5 million dollars for the venture. It was estimated at that time that approximately 10,000 physicians had phony foreign medical degrees. How would you like to be seeing one of those doctors?[fn]

It is kind of important to be sure you have the real thing, isn’t it? If it is important in physical medicine, it is even more important in the spiritual area. We will now continue to explore what Jesus had to say about the contrast between Himself as the authentic Good Shepherd and those who would be false shepherds.

We have already observed Jesus laying the foundation for telling Jewish leaders again and in a fresh new way just who He was and what His mission was while on earth. Next we will go on to get the specifics of His mission. In order to do this in a way the people of His day would understand He continues to make the comparison between a shepherd and his sheep.

John 10:11-21 NAS:
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
18 "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."
19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him.
20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?”
21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

What a picture Jesus paints here. He talks about something most of his listeners were quite familiar with. They Had hired someone to do a job taking care of sheep. And what happens? As soon as the going gets tough the hired worker takes off. This hired person was supposed to feed and water the sheep and to protect them from harm. But lo and behold a vicious wolf comes creeping in, growling and snarling as he comes. Instead of the worker grabbing his rod and staff and beating off the wolf, he grabs his coat and runs away leaving the sheep to fend for themselves. Needless to say they are killed and carried off by the wolf. Christ makes a strong contrast between that hired hand and the owner of the sheep, the true shepherd. The true Shepherd would fight off the wolf, even to the point of giving up his own life to save the sheep. Jesus is saying that He is the Good Shepherd who will die for His sheep.

This is the fourth of Jesus’ I AM statements in John’s Gospel.[fn] Stating that He is the Good Shepherd is one way of comparing Himself with the false teaching of the false Jewish shepherds who had become the leaders of the Jewish religion at that time. The hired workers represent the Pharisees: religious leaders who are not really invested in caring for the souls in their flock. Under their leadership the Word of God had been distorted by men in order to satisfy their own personal needs for power and wealth. They were teaching things that were in direct contrast to the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament.

Unfortunately today we also have religious leaders who are also not really invested in caring for the souls in their flocks even though God gives them instructions that are crystal clear.

1 Peter 5:2-4 NIV
2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

It is a serious thing for a pastor not to be the shepherd that God wants him or her to be. The Good Shepherd has called pastors today to shepherd the flock, which is the church. To “feed” them the Word of God, to lead them in paths of righteousness, and to bind up their wounds. But God has also promised, as we see here in 1 Peter, a reward to those pastors who are faithful shepherds of the flock that God has entrusted to them. The Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking in John 10 were not of the sort who would be receiving a reward.

Jesus had already called these leaders “thieves and robbers,” and now He would describe them as mere “hired hands,” which suggests that they would only do what they needed to do to provide for their own needs, but when it came to the sheep being in danger or need, the sheep were on their own. Not so with Christ. He was willing to sacrifice His life for the sake of the sheep.

The word “good” that Jesus used here meant to be perfect, and there is only One who is perfect. Mark describes who that is in Mark 10:17-18 NAS:

17 As He [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

Jesus is letting them know that He is God. And now He wants to tell these people exactly what He is to provide them as their Good Shepherd.

Five times in this chapter (John 10) Jesus says that His death will be sacrificial in nature.[fn] That means He died in our place to pay for our sin. He willingly laid down His life for us so that we would never experience spiritual death. There may be many questions in your mind regarding what the Bible means by death and we hope that what follows will give you a rather simple explanation that will help clarify any confusion.

Death of course can mean the end of the body’s capability to function. In that regard everyone dies. But when the Bible refers to death in relationship to sin, we find it is referring to spiritual death or what is frequently referred to as the “second death.”

Revelation 2:11 NAS:
11 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'

Revelation 20:6,14 NAS:
6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 NAS:
8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Simply defined the “second death” is the “Lake of Fire.” It is the place where dead people go for eternity if they have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. You might think of death as a state of being rather than a conclusion to life. You see, everyone who has ever lived will go on living for eternity after his or her physical death. There will be, however, a very big difference as to where they spend that eternity. Those who have asked Christ into their life as Savior and who have a personal relationship with Him will go straight to Heaven; those who have not will go to a temporary holding area which could be called Hell and will stay there until God’s final judgment of the unsaved. That will occur at the end of the Millennium, and all of those unbelievers there will be sentenced to the “Lake of Fire.” It will be the most horrible existence imaginable and there will be no opportunity for parole or a shortened sentence. That is what is known as the second death, the spiritual death that is associated with one’s sin in the Bible. We hope this clarifies the term “death” as we find it used in Scripture.

We must remember that although Jesus did lay down His life for the sheep, the Jews, He also laid it down for the entire world as well (John 6:51). But even though His death was for the whole world, it would only be given by God’s grace to those who believed in Jesus’ work, to those who consciously asked Jesus to be their Savior.

Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, contrasts His willingness to die for the sheep to the behavior of the Jewish leaders, whom He compares with a hired hand who keeps watch over the sheep, but when trouble comes immediately looks out for his own self-interest. He flees to safety because there is not enough money in the world to pay him for putting his life in danger merely to save a bunch of sheep. The Shepherd, however, purchases the sheep because He is willing to die for them. Consequently He also cares for them. If you ever have had any experience around sheep you probably know they are not God’s brightest creatures and they can get themselves into difficult situations without much effort. It is little wonder than that God’s people are frequently compared with sheep. Sheep are also unable to protect themselves. Psalm 23 gives us a picture of the relationship between a sheep (person) and God its shepherd.

Psalm 23 NAS:
1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Sheep also have a tendency to wander off and get themselves in trouble. Then it is necessary for someone to go and rescue them.

Luke 15:3–7 NAS:
3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' 7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Pharisees were in no way like Jesus, but were more like babysitters. They should have rejoiced over the healing of the blind beggar but instead they tried to use him to prove their charges against Jesus. Then they excommunicated the beggar from the synagogue when he would not agree with them. Jesus, however, went to find the beggar and then took care of him.

John 10:14-15 NAS:
14 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

In the Gospel of John, the word know means much more than intellectual awareness.[fn] It speaks of an intimate relationship between God and His people (see John 17:3). He knows His sheep personally and consequently knows what is best for each one individually.
.
Jesus knows our names as we learned in John 10:3. He knew Simon (John 1:42) and even gave him a new name. He called Zaccheus by name in Luke 19:5, and when He spoke Mary’s name in the garden, she recognized His voice immediately (John 20:16). Not only does our Shepherd know our names but He also knows what we are like. Perhaps one sheep has unwarranted fears; another may have a propensity to fool around too much with sheep of the opposite sex; another might be prone to certain addictive behaviors; another may be lazy; and yet another may have a combative nature. A “good shepherd” will know each of these things about each sheep and be able to care for their individual special needs.

Now before proceeding we would like to clarify something that is rather puzzling to most people reading the Bible. The name, “Mary,” was quite common in biblical times, and we have several different Mary’s mentioned in the Bible. It can get a little confusing at times, so we would like to give you some information about the various Mary’s so that you will know who each one is as you encounter them in the coming pages.

1. Mary —  Hebrew Miriam. The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus[fn]
2. Mary Magdalene, i.e., Mary of Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Lake of Tiberias. She is for the first time noticed in Luke 8:3 as one of the women who “ministered to Christ of their substance.” Their motive was that of gratitude for deliverances he had wrought for them. Out of Mary were cast seven demons. Gratitude to her great Deliverer prompted her to become his follower.[fn]
3. Mary the sister of Lazarus is brought to our notice in connection with the visits of our Lord to Bethany. She is contrasted with her sister Martha, who was “cumbered about many things” while Jesus was their guest, while Mary had chosen “the good part.” Her character also appears in connection with the death of her brother (John 11:20,31,33). On the occasion of our Lord’s last visit to Bethany, Mary brought “a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus”[fn]
4.  Mary the wife of Cleopas is mentioned (John 19:25) as standing at the cross in company with Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Jesus. By comparing Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40, we find that this Mary and “Mary the mother of James the little” are on and the same person, and that she was the sister of our Lord’s mother. She was that “other Mary” who was present with Mary of Magdala at the burial of our Lord (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47); and she was one of those who went early in the morning of the first day of the week to anoint the body, and thus became one of the first witnesses of the resurrection (Matt.hew28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1).[fn]
5. Mary the mother of John Mark was one of the earliest of our Lord’s disciples. She was the sister of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), and joined with him in disposing of their land and giving the proceeds of the sale into the treasury of the Church (Acts 4:37; 12:12). Her house in Jerusalem was the common meeting-place for the disciples there.[fn]
6. Mary, a Christian at Rome who treated Paul with special kindness (Romans 16:6).[fn]

 

You may not relate to this but there are times when we do not think we know what we need or who we are supposed to be. How comforting it is during such times to call on our Shepherd to show us the right path. Psalm 23, which we just read, is about as good a description of how the “Good Shepherd” cares for His sheep. No matter where we, the sheep, may wander, we need not fear, because the Shepherd will always be at our side to care for us and to guide us. The more we experience that care, and trust in Him, the more intimately we get to know Him. We are better able to recognize His voice and follow His direction by submitting more completely even in difficult situations. What a wonderful comforting relationship to have the King of the universe love you so much. We read of Christ’s deep love for us in John 13:1 NAS:

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

This is better than any fairy tale you can imagine yourself in, because this relationship is real and not just imaginary. If by any chance you do not have that kind of relationship with Christ and would like to be part of His flock, you can do so right now by simply confessing to Jesus that you are a sinner who needs a Savior and tell Him that you believe He died for your sins so that you might have eternal life. That is all it takes if it is done from a sincere heart. If you have now done that sincerely, then you are part of the family of God, the Holy Spirit is now living within you, and you have the assurance of eternal life that will never be taken away by anyone or anything. Congratulations!

John 10:16 NAS
16 "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

This verse has caused much discussion and confusion for some people. They feel called to debate and explain who the other sheep are, the ones who “are not of this fold.” Even though Christ makes it clear who the other sheep are, some cults have tried to re-interpret this Scripture.[fn]

The “fold” is Judaism (John 10:1), but there are other sheep that were not included in the promises and covenants of Israel. These sheep are the Gentiles (all people who are not Jews). When Jesus began His ministry He went first to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The two folds are simply that: Jews or Gentiles. Do not be led astray.

Matthew 10:5–6 NAS:
5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15:24-27 NAS:
24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27 But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

The people converted at Pentecost were Jews and Jewish proselytes (Acts 2:5, 14), but the Church was not to remain a “Jewish flock.” Peter took the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10–11), and Paul carried the message to the Gentiles in the far reaches of the Roman Empire (Acts 13:1ff).

There is but one flock, the people of God who belong to the Good Shepherd. God has His people all over this world (see Acts 18:1–11), and He will call them and gather them together.

The missionary message of the Gospel of John is obvious: “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16). Jesus Himself defied custom and witnessed to a Samaritan woman. He refused to defend the exclusivist approach of the Jewish religious leaders. He died for a lost world, and His desire is that His people reach a lost world with the message of eternal life.[fn]

Jesus continues to save people as they hear His voice in the Scriptures. One flock and one Shepherd speaks of the Church with believers from Jewish and Gentile “sheep pens” in one body with Christ as Head (Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:6)[fn] We see again, as we do often in the New Testament, that has always been God’s plan for all people all over the world to come together as one, protected by one Shepherd, and loving and caring for each other. Because of people’s sinful nature that plan has not been workable, but one day it will.

Jesus now goes on to spell out some important facts.

John 10:17-18 NAS:
17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again.18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

Jesus makes it clear to the Jewish leaders that He knows that God loves Him. Further, Jesus makes it clear that He knows it will soon be time for Him to give up His life and He wants to make it perfectly clear that He is not going to lose His life because He is abandoned by His Father or because of their power. It is precisely because of the fact that He is willing to give up His life voluntarily for the sins of the entire world that God loves so much. God could easily save Jesus, but then none of us could be saved. It was necessary for Jesus to be put to death and He went willingly. No one took Jesus’ life. He gave it up of His own accord, by His own choice. But He also let them know that He would prove His power to them by rising from the dead.

In other words, because Jesus was willing to obey the command of His Father for Him to die for the sins of the rest of the world, God gave Him the power to rise from the grave. By saying this, He was also once again affirming His special relationship with His Father, God.

John 10:19-21 NLT:
19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him.20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?”21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Some of the people reacted by saying Jesus must be demon-possessed to be talking this way. Others stated that these were not the words of one who was controlled by a demon. If He were controlled by a demon His words and actions would be evil. Instead He continually honors the God who sent Him and He behaves with the utmost humility and gentleness. In addition no one possessed by a demon could open the eyes of a blind man.

In this world you may be persecuted for doing good in the name of Christ just as Jesus was in doing good in the name of His Father. But He received the great reward because of His willing obedience and so will you if you endure to the end.

The question you must answer for yourself today is, are you a sheep in Christ’s fold? Is He in reality your Good Shepherd? As indicated earlier sheep are pretty dumb animals; yet God uses them to represent people. The implication is that people can do some pretty dumb things too. Like wandering away on their own and refusing to come into the fold. A sheep who did not follow the shepherd could get into all kinds of trouble. He or she could get stuck in thorns and brambles; he or she could fall over a ledge and break a leg; he or she could be attacked by some wild animal. Sheep are followers; they are not leaders. So they need a shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clean water. They need a shepherd to guide them through their whole life. People are the same. Without Jesus as our Shepherd, we wander into all kinds of trouble and stray down paths that are not good for us. 

We would encourage you today, even if you have asked Jesus to be your Savior some time ago, to examine your daily life. Are you daily being led by the Good Shepherd? Are you daily eating the food He provides by spending time reading and thinking about the Bible? Are you walking down the paths the Shepherd wants you to take by being obedient to everything He tells you in the Bible? He, as the Good Shepherd, already gave His life for you and now He is living in Heaven so that He can continue to be your Shepherd. Jesus wants to lead you, mend your wounds, and provide for you. Jesus knows the best path for you to take. When He sets up do’s and don’ts for you, it is because He knows that if you obey them you will be happy. You will still have problems, that goes with being alive, but when Jesus is your Good Shepherd and you are following in His paths you will lead a life that will be fulfilling and satisfying. And you will have the Good Shepherd to help you with those problems.

John 10:25-30 NAS:
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me.
26 "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 "I and the Father are one."

If I were in Jesus position here, my patience would have run out. I might have said something like:

“How many times do you dunderheads need to be told who I am. I have already made it clear not only by what I say but also by the miracles I have performed for those who might need further proof. Theses miracles alone speak of who I am. The problem with you guys is not one of knowing but one of believing. You just do not want to give up the god you have created in your own minds for your own comfort, and no matter what I say or do is going to change your mind.”

“If you belonged to God, you would know that I am the Good Shepherd because you would know Me just as a sheep knows His shepherd’s voice. Because you refuse to believe that I am from God, you will not be given eternal life in the way I give it to those who believe Me. Further, those who believe in Me will never lose their salvation. They are secure for eternity. Your refusal to believe is what will send you to Hell for eternity. It is your choice and you will have no one to blame but yourself when you find yourself there. And by the way, it will be forever. There are no paroles or second chances once your dead.”

Paul writes in Romans 11:29: “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” No one who ever accepts Christ as their Savior will ever be lost.

John 3:36 NAS:
36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

John 5:24 NAS:
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

If you are a believer, your place in Heaven is guaranteed, not because of how good you now are, but only because of how good Christ is. Paul confirms all of this again in Romans 8:38-39NAS:

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can you think of anything that is not included in this statement? Once you have salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in you and He is your guarantee of Heaven, and please do not ever lose sight of that.

Jesus concludes here with a statement that makes it perfectly clear that there can be no separation between Him and the Father. They are one in mind as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity. Jesus was telling them again that He is God.

It is important to keep in mind that Jesus was talking about His sheep—true believers—and not counterfeits. The dog and the pig will go back into sin (2 Peter 2:20–22); but the sheep, being a clean animal, will follow the Shepherd into the green pastures. The false teacher will talk about his faith and even his works, but he will never make it into Heaven according to Matthew 7:13–29 NLT:

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.
14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.
19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
26 But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.
27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Anyone who hears the truth of God and ignores it is a fool according to Jesus and they will be responsible for their own destruction and eternity in Hell.
 
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Most of us know people who claimed to be saved and then went back into sin, but their doing so only proved that they never really trusted Christ to begin with. Jesus did not promise security to anyone but His true sheep. As you review Jesus’ teaching about His ministry as the Good Shepherd, you note that He has a threefold relationship to His sheep:

1) He has a loving relationship because He died for the sheep, as well as a
2) living relationship because He cares for the sheep.
3) It is also a lasting relationship, for He keeps His sheep and not one is lost.[fn]

John 10:31-42 NAS:
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
32 Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"
33 The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

Here they go again. You may remember that the Jewish leaders also wanted to stone Jesus back in John 8:59, when He claimed He had been alive even before Abraham and that Abraham had recognized Him even back then as the Messiah. This time they were going to stone Him because Jesus claimed to be God. This was no less than blasphemy in the eyes of the Jews because they refused to accept Jesus as One who had been sent from Heaven. Jesus again referred to the many miracles He had performed since His ministry began as adequate proof that He was who He claimed to be. What more could they possibly need to believe? John writes in John 20:30-31 ESV:

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

But the Jewish leaders completely ignored Jesus’ miracles. All they could or wanted to see was a man who committed blasphemy by daring to claim that He was God. To them Jesus was a man who had dared to make Himself out to be God. For this reason they felt justified in killing Him.

John 10:34-38 NAS:
34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law “I  said, you are , 'gods'?
35 "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
37 "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."

In this situation Jesus appeals to their own Jewish Old Testament Law since the Jews claimed the Law was the standard they lived by.

Psalms 82:1-7 NLT:
1 God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:
2 “How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked?
3 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
5 But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.
6 I say, ‘You are gods; you are all children of the Most High.
7 But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’”

God is speaking here to the Hebrew judges. God’s Word had delegated a certain status to these judges as His representatives. Jesus used Psalm 82:6 to deny their accusation and stop their actions. The picture in Psalm 82 is that of a court, where God has assembled the Hebrew judges, to warn them that they too will one day be judged. The Hebrew word elohim can be translated as “god” or as “judges,” as in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8–9. It is also one of the Old Testament names for God. The Jewish rulers certainly knew their own language and they knew that Jesus was speaking the truth. If God called human judges “gods,” then why should they stone Him for applying the same title to Himself?[fn]

John 10:36 is crucial because it gives a double affirmation of the deity of Christ. First, the Father sanctified (set apart) the Son and sent Him into the world, and second, Jesus stated boldly, “I am the Son of God.” He gave them the “plain answer” they asked for, but they would not believe it.[fn]

Could they have believed? Jesus invited them, urged them, to believe, if only on the basis of His miracles (John 10:37–38). If they would believe the miracles, then they would know the Father, and that would open the way for them to know the Son and believe in Him. It was simply a matter of examining the evidence honestly and being willing to accept the truth. Once again, they tried to arrest Him but He escaped and left the area completely. He did not return to Jerusalem until “Palm Sunday,” when He presented Himself as Israel’s King. [fn]

For Christ to have said less than to affirm that He was the Son of God would have been to tell a lie. To affirm his Sonship was certainly not blasphemy, it was truth. If the Jews could not test what He said, they could at least judge on the basis of His works. It should be possible to progress through the works of a person to faith in the person. We see this also in John 20:30,31.[fn]

John 10:39-42 NAS:
39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.
41 Many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true."
42 Many believed in Him there.

When things became this violent, Jesus knew it was time to get out of town because attempting to reason with them any further at this point would be futile. In addition His ministry was not yet complete and He needed to move on to other things. He made His way out of the city, beyond the Jordan, where John had once baptized new converts to Christianity.

Why did Jesus go there? For one thing, it was a safe retreat; the Jewish religious leaders were not likely to follow Him there. Also, it was a good place to prepare for His final week of public ministry when He would lay down His life for the sheep. As He remembered His own baptism by John, and all that He had experienced at that time (Matthew 3:13–17; John 1:20–34), it must have given Him strength for the suffering that He knew He must endure.[fn]

The common people continued to seek Jesus, and He continued to minister to them. It is worth noting that John the Baptist’s witness was still bearing fruit long after he was dead. Your witness for Jesus can do the same. His witness to Jesus Christ led many to salvation and eternal life. John was not a miracle worker, but he was a faithful witness who pointed to Jesus Christ. Have you responded personally to our Lord’s three great declarations recorded in this chapter?[fn]

He is the Door. Have you “entered in” by faith so that you are saved?[fn]

He is the Good Shepherd. Have you heard His voice and trusted Him? After all, He laid down His life for you.[fn]

He is the Son of God. Do you believe that? Have you given yourself to Him and received eternal life?[fn]

Remember His stern warning: “If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). [fn]

Isaiah

John

Romans

1 Peter


© Ron Teed - Used by permission. All rights Reserved.