The Good ShepherdJohn 10:1-21

You’ve heard of Laurel and Hardy, Batman and Robin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto … Well this morning it’s Justin and I attempting to ‘team preach’ John 10:1-21. If we can make this work, and it’s been fun to work together, we’ll do more of it as the Lord leads.

I’m going to read the passage that we’ll look at here in a moment. Immediately after reading the passage we’re going to spend just a couple of minutes giving you the opportunity to share any questions that may have surfaced in your preliminary reading and study of the passage and we’ll record those questions on the white board up here on the front. So be prepared to throw out some questions in just a few minutes.

Now to get a running start on John 10 this morning we’re going to pick up the seven verses at the end of John 9 leading into John 10. (You’re aware I’m sure that were no chapter divisions or verse numbers in the original text.) And this is a case where it’s helpful to get a running start into the chapter. So I’ll begin reading in John 9, verse 35, John 9, verse 35.

{And one final comment before I begin: In our passage this morning Jesus does most of the speaking. It might be helpful, therefore before I begin reading, to remind ourselves who may be listening in on Jesus’ words. You may remember that it was in John 9 that a blind man—a man born blind from birth—was healed on the Sabbath and subsequently cast out of the synagogue. It’s very likely that this healed blind man is listening to Jesus in our passage. He is a sheep that has heard the shepherd’s voice. It’s also likely that Jesus’ disciples are there. And finally it’s likely that the Jewish religious leaders, specifically the Pharisees mentioned in the very last verses of chapter 9, are listening too.1 }

Follow with me as I begin reading in John 9, verse 35….

35 Jesus heard that they (“they” are the Pharisees) had cast him (“him” is the blind man) out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

1 Andreas J. Kostenberger, John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), pg. 297: “Chapter 10 follows chapter 9 without transition...; thus, Jesus’ audiences are likely the same.”

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10 “Truly, truly, I say to you2, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “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 listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by 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. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own 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 cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

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Wasn’t the video adorable? The kids reciting Psalm 23 that way is a lot of fun. Let’s see how the adults do. Can we all say the first line of Psalm 23 together? “The LORD is my shepherd.” That’s great! So, who is my shepherd? “The LORD is my shepherd.”

In the Middle Ages, a period of about 1000 years, most Christians would not have known Psalm 23 started like that. The Latin Vulgate was the official Bible in the majority of the world. In the Latin Vulgate, the first line of Psalm 23 sounds like this:

Dominus reget me...

2 Ibid., pg. 299: “[The truly, truly] construction never begins a discourse in this Gospel, which suggests that the present pericope represents a continuation of events recounted in the previous chapter.”

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Dominus means “the Lord”; me means “me.” But what about the word reget? From reget, we get the English word “regal.” It means “to rule.” Thus, the first line of Psalm 23 in the Latin Vulgate would be translated into English as, “The Lord rules me.”3

Why does that idea fit? How do we get from “my shepherd” to “rules me”? King David did use the Hebrew word for “shepherd” in Psalm 23. So, where did Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate, get the idea of “ruling” from? Well, in the ancient world, in places like Egypt and Canaan, ideal kings were supposed to rule their people like shepherds cared for their sheep. The Old Testament writers made this connection several times, as well. So, when David speaks of Yahweh, the Lord, as his own shepherd, he is speaking of Yahweh as his King. David’s divine King cared for him personally as a shepherd cares for his sheep. He provided David’s needs. He led David to the places he needed to go. He protected David in dangerous situations. He remained with David. He provided victory for David. He promised ultimate and eternal good to David. Yahweh was David’s shepherd-king.

There are lots of other passages in the Old Testament that use shepherd imagery to describe kingship or leadership. Numbers 27, Ezekiel 34, and Jeremiah 23 provide some helpful background to our passage this morning in John 10. We read the passage already, and we started with John 9:35-41 to be reminded that the Pharisees are Jesus’ primary audience and that Jesus has just healed the man born blind.

We begin with verses 1-5, where Jesus paints a general picture: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus describes a sheepfold, an enclosure, a walled-in space where flocks of sheep are kept.

Lisa deGraffenried, on very short notice, sketched this excellent portrayal of our passage. You can see that the sheepfold has one entrance, a gate or door. The shepherd sits in that entryway. You also see

3 Or, “The Lord governeth me,” as Wycliffe translated it.

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different groupings of sheep and even a couple of black sheep within the sheepfold. Also notice that there is a group of sheep outside the sheepfold. Out in front, we have a wolf hoping for a fluffy white snack and chasing away a frightened hired hand. Off to the side, you see a thief preparing to climb into the sheepfold, and you can see a robber hiding over here. All of these pieces become important in Jesus’ teaching. But, initially, Jesus doesn’t tell who he is really talking about. So, his hearers would have wondered: Who is the shepherd he speaks of? And who are the thieves? Who is the hired hand? And who is the wolf?

But the first question Jesus appears to be addressing is: Who has the right to enter the sheepfold?4 Jesus begins with a negative statement; he describes a thief or robber who would come to steal or harm the sheep. Thieves sneak in; they don’t come through the front door. Only the shepherd has the right to enter the sheepfold because his own sheep are waiting for him inside the pen.

Theft remains one of the greatest dangers to shepherds in the Middle East today. I read an account of one shepherd who lives in Israel today and has had his sheep stolen three different times, including one time having 250 sheep stolen.5 As a matter of public record, on the Italian island of Sardinia, over 100,000 sheep were stolen over a 9-year period.6

Verse 3 introduces another character, not depicted in this drawing. He only serves to open the door to grant the shepherd access to his sheep, and then he’s not mentioned again in the passage.7 The focus remains on the identity of the shepherd and his relationship with the sheep. The sheep that belong to that shepherd will hear his voice; the shepherd will call them individually by name and they’ll respond. The shepherd won’t have to force them out of the pen; he’ll call them with his voice and they will come out.

That Jesus calls “his own sheep” suggests that the picture he’s painting includes multiple flocks of sheep within the one sheepfold.8 That raises the question of whether the sheepfold itself has a “real life” referent. Many students of Scripture have suggested that Jesus is painting a picture of Judaism, the

4 Cf. N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-10 (London: SPCK, 2004), pg. 149, who specifies the point more directly: “Jesus is posing the question: how will you tell God’s true, appointed king when he comes?”

5 Timothy S. Laniak, While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks: Reflections on Biblical Leadership (Matthews, NC: ShepherdLeader Publications, 2007), pg. 139.

6 Ibid., pg. 140.7 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2012), pg. 801. Cf. also

Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), pg. 447, who writes, “Various attempts have been made to find a meaning for the doorkeeper, but none has won wide acceptance and none, it would seem, should. In an allegory not all details are significant; some are included as necessary parts of the picture even though they have no part to play in the symbolism. So here with the doorkeeper.” However, I’m not sure “allegory” is an appropriate label for Jesus’ teaching here.

Others have suggested that the gatekeeper represents God; see Douglas C. Estes, “The Shepherd’s Door: An Incarnational Reading of John 10:1-5,” Faith and Mission 24:1 (Fall 2006): pg. 8.

And still others have suggested that the gatekeeper represents the Pharisees as they should be or as they would have thought of themselves. See the discussion of Gary T. Manning, Jr., Echoes of a Prophet: The Use of Ezekiel in the Gospel of John and in Literature of the Second Temple Period (New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), pgs. 104-111.

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Jewish people as a whole, ethnic Israel.9 Thus, Jesus summons his sheep from among the Jews, and his Jewish sheep follow him. The blind man is one of those sheep that belonged to Jesus in the sheep pen of Judaism, and when Jesus called him, he came out and followed Jesus.10 I think we have to recognize that Jesus seems to indicate that these sheep, in some sense, belong to him already before he calls them out.11 And, there are sheep that remain in the sheep pen of Judaism, sheep that Jesus does not call out to follow him.12 Presumably, they remain unbelieving Jews.13 Jesus’ Jewish hearers would not like these implications, if they understood them, because Jesus seems to describe himself as the great Shepherd-King who has a genuine flock, a genuine community, and these Jewish leaders are not included.14

Describing the shepherd in terms of his leading his sheep out and going before them, and the sheep’s heeding the voice of their shepherd, Jesus probably intends to point back to Num. 27:16-23. Yahweh had just told Moses that he was going to die before the people of Israel would enter the promised land, and Moses becomes concerned that the people will be like “sheep that have no shepherd.” Moses says in Num. 27:16-17, Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of Yahweh may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. Do you know who Yahweh tells Moses to appoint as the next shepherd after him?15 Joshua. Did you know that the name Joshua in Hebrew and Greek is the same name as Jesus?16 It’s funny that we use two different English names, Joshua and Jesus, but they’re really the same name.

Yahweh then tells Moses that the people of Israel, the sheep of God’s flock, will follow Joshua, their new shepherd. Yahweh says in Num. 27:21: At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation. “At his word.” We’re getting ahead of the story a bit, but we know that Jesus is the shepherd, and we know that, ultimately, the sheep are those who become Christians, followers of the shepherd, subjects of the king. How does that

8 A point pressed by many students of Scripture. See, e.g., D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), pgs. 381-382.

9 See Carson, John, pgs. 383, 388. Cf. Rodney A. Whitacre, John (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series 4; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1999), pg. 257, who writes, “Judaism is described as a sheep pen, but not all the sheep in the pen belong to Jesus’ flock. They are separated out as they recognize his voice and follow him out from the sheep pen. Jesus is gathering his flock together from the pen of official Judaism.”

10 Cf. Keener, John, pg. 805, who writes, “The healed man thus becomes paradigmatic for Jesus’ sheep, who ‘know’ him, that is, are in relation to him.”

11 Cf. Kostenberger, John, pg. 301.12 Cf. Morris, John, pg. 447 n. 16, who writes, “The shepherd does not call sheep in general, but his own

sheep. He has a call that they (but not other sheep) recognize.”13 So argues Carson, John, pgs. 383, 388.14 Cf. Andreas J. Kostenberger, “Jesus the Good Shepherd Who Will Also Bring Other Sheep (John 10:16):

The Old Testament Background of a Familiar Metaphor,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 12:1 (2002): pg. 74, who writes, “[A]t the heart of Jesus’ message in John 10:16 is a ‘paradigm shift’ with regard to the Jews’ place in God’s plan: considering themselves to be safely ‘inside the fold,’ they all of a sudden find themselves ‘out in the cold,’ outside of God’s redemptive sphere, replaced by select ‘other sheep’ (that is, Gentiles).”

15 Cf. Keener, John, pg. 811, who writes, “But the sheep and shepherd image remains primary here, alluding especially to Num 27:16-17, where Moses prays for a successor (Joshua, Num 27:18) to come in and out and lead the people as a shepherd.”

16 Cf. Kostenberger, John, pg. 304.

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happen? The sheep hear his voice and follow him. That sounds a bit like John 5:24: Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. It is the powerful voice of Jesus that gives us the life of his sheep, causes us to be born again as a sheep, and leads us throughout our lives as his sheep. He speaks; we follow.

Barry and I read a story that illustrates what this looks like in the world of sheep and shepherds. “During the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s the Israeli army decided to punish a village near Bethlehem for not paying its taxes....The officer in command rounded up all of the village animals and placed them in a large barbed-wire pen. Later in the week he was approached by a woman who begged him to release her flock....He pointed to the pen containing hundreds of animals and humorously quipped that it was impossible because he could not find her animals. She asked that if she could in fact separate them herself, would he be willing to let her take them? He agreed. A soldier opened the gate and the woman’s son produced a small reed flute. He played a simple tune again and again—and soon sheep heads began popping up across the pen. The young boy continued his music and walked home, followed by his flock of twenty-five sheep.”17

But Jesus’ sheep will hear and recognize and obey the voice of their shepherd. Jesus comes as the Shepherd-King, fulfilling Yahweh’s dual promise that he himself would shepherd his people and that he would appoint David as king over his people. Look at Ezek. 34:15: I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares Lord Yahweh. But then, just a few verses later, the Lord adds these words in verses 23-24: And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am Yahweh; I have spoken. Yahweh will be their shepherd, and David will be their shepherd. Jesus is the divine-human shepherd; when he calls, his sheep answer. Notice the emphasis in this passage on “his own” sheep. In the Old Testament, the phrase “my sheep” only occurs in Jer. 23 and Ezek. 34, and in both cases Yahweh is the speaker. Jesus will refer to “my sheep” in verses 26-27, which we’ll look at, Lord willing, next week. But Jesus’ ownership of certain sheep is a prevalent theme throughout John 10.

But Jesus indicates in verse 5 that his sheep will not follow a stranger, and it sure sounds like he’s got the Pharisees in mind here. They’re strangers to Jesus’ sheep; Jesus’ sheep won’t follow the Pharisees in their rejection of Jesus. They actually already revealed their true character in their rejection of the blind man Jesus healed; they reviled him and rejected him.

Look now at verse 6: This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. This is an important reminder. We as Christian readers enjoy Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels; we love how he uses illustrations from nature, how he seems to take everyday things and turn them into lessons about God and life with God. But...we must remember that his original hearers hardly ever understood these things! Our favorite stories—like this one—his original hearers didn’t understand at all. I think this is particularly important to remember with this story; if the point of the teaching was the pastoral, shepherd imagery, they might have gotten the point.18 But, in Jesus’ day, shepherds were

17 Gary M. Burge, John (The NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), pg. 302.

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vagabonds, “wild people,” uncivilized outcasts.19 We remember that fact about them when we tell the Christmas story; remember how the angels appeared to shepherds, and we marvel that dirty, poor, uncultured shepherds got to be the first people to hear the gospel announcement and see the baby Jesus.

But, Jesus is drawing on an older background, an older meaning of shepherds. Jesus is drawing on the Old Testament imagery of God as shepherd and David as shepherd-king. And, speaking of the Christmas story, remember the prophecy that the Jewish leaders informed Herod about, when he nervously asked where the Messiah was to be born; they quoted parts of two verses from Micah 5; here’s how Matthew records it in Matt. 2:6: And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Jesus is the true king of Israel, and he tells them that in this passage, but they can’t see past the imagery. Jesus is doing what Yahweh said he would do in Ezek. 34; Jesus has come as the true king, the sovereign shepherd, to lead his people, provide for his people, protect his people.20

Jesus goes on to explain further, but how he seems to change the imagery adds more complexity to the picture. Look at verses 7-8: So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” This is not what I would expect as a reader. I would expect Jesus to say, “I am the good shepherd” right here. But he doesn’t. First, he claims to be the door or the gate. From the picture painted in verses 1-5, I would not have expected the gate itself to be a major character in the story! This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time that Jesus sets up a difficult image like this. Back in John 6, he said “I am the bread,” but he also said that he gives bread; in John 8, he said that he speaks the truth, but later in John 14 he is going to say, “I am the truth.” So, here Jesus is the door that grants access to shepherds, and he is the shepherd himself!21

In verses 7-10, it seems that Jesus concerns himself with entry into the sheepfold; how do you get into the sheepfold legitimately? As it turns out, in the ancient world and still today in shepherding settings all over the world, a shepherd will often position himself in the entryway of his sheepfold.22 So, if a shepherd or a predator wants to get in, or if a sheep wanted to get out, they’ve got to go through the shepherd, who serves as the door. And it seems that Jesus actually looks at this question from both of those angles. First, how do shepherds enter the sheepfold?

18 Cf. Morris, John, pgs. 445-446, who writes, “His audience no doubt is familiar enough with the general pastoral picture, but it does not discern the spiritual meaning behind the words.”

19 Cf. Kostenberger, John, pg. 300.20 Cf. Wright, John, pg. 149. See also Morris, John, pgs. 443-445, who writes, “The shepherd was an

autocrat over his flock, and passages are not lacking where the shepherd imagery is used to emphasize the thought of sovereignty. Jesus is thus set forth in this allegory as the true Ruler of his people in contrast to all false shepherds.”

21 Morris, John, pg. 445 n. 5.22 Cf. Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 141, who writes, “In Bible times a shepherd would sleep in the opening of a

desert pen to personally guard the only access to his precious livestock. With this cultural context in mind, Jesus could as easily say, ‘I am the gate’ as ‘I am the Good Shepherd.’ As a symbolic gate, the shepherd was the only means by which someone could have access to the fold....Only when the shepherd moves, do the sheep move out in safety.”

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Now, if shepherds are leaders or kings, it seems strange that Jesus would refer negatively to “all who came before him.” Does that include shepherds like Moses and Joshua? Or what about David himself? I think we can exclude these faithful shepherds of old because they pointed away from themselves and toward the Good Shepherd, the good king, Jesus.23 But Jesus is referring, I think, to the Pharisees of his day, and we could extend that to any previous people who stepped up to be leaders in Israel, but led the people away from God and, ultimately, away from looking toward Jesus as the shepherd who was to come. But Jesus’ sheep don’t listen to those who lead away from Jesus. If Barry or I or the elders of KBC stop leading you toward Jesus, don’t follow us.

Now, I think Jesus shifts to address the other side of the question of access to the sheepfold: how does a sheep get into the sheepfold? Earlier, I said it’s possible to think of the sheepfold as Israel, so that Jesus calls his sheep initially out of that fold, summoning Jews to follow him during his ministry. In these verses, Jesus seems to have taken possession of the sheepfold as his own, so that the only sheep inside are his sheep. Look at verse 9: I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. Now, Jesus pictures himself as the door that the sheep pass through.24 If this is now Jesus’ own sheepfold, it might be possible to consider that Jesus has “remodeled” the sheepfold, so that it is more appropriate for a single flock. Many sheepfolds that held a single flock were attached to the shepherd’s home. Thus, following from Barry’s sermon last week, and to quote Pastor Scotty Smith “to enter the sheepfold was to come home. As the ‘door of the sheep,’ Jesus is the only means of coming home to God—of becoming a member of the household of faith.”25

Each sheep26 must enter the sheepfold through Jesus; there’s no other way for a sheep to get in. There’s no other way to get into God’s household, God’s family, than through Jesus. Notice the promise to the sheep who enters through Jesus: he will be saved. Within the picture, I think Jesus is promising protection and safety for all of his sheep, the protection and safety only a good king can provide for his subjects. Then, he promises that each sheep will “go in and out and find pasture.” Hear the echo of Ps. 23:2: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Yahweh. The divine king. Now, Jesus says that’s what he provides for his sheep. Pastures. Sheep go into the sheepfold to find safety and rest for the night, and they travel outside the sheepfold to find nourishment. But both are only found passing in and through Jesus himself.

Finally, Jesus adds a famous contrast; look at verse 10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Often, this verse is quoted and applied to Satan. But, we must notice that Satan is nowhere mentioned in this passage. From the context, we

23 Cf. Whitacre, John, pg. 258, who writes, “The reason Moses, the law, the prophets and John the Baptist are not included in this condemnation is precisely because they bear witness to Jesus. All who do not bear witness to Jesus, who alone has seen the Father and makes him known (1:18), are not of the truth. They do not bring blessing but rather take it away, like a thief or a robber.”

24 Cf. Morris, John, pg. 450, who writes, “There is but one door to a fold, and sheep and shepherds alike must enter by this door....It seems that the thought here is primarily that Jesus provides the door by which the shepherd must enter (see the next verse). In verse 9 the emphasis is rather on the door as the way by which the sheep go in.”

25 Scotty Smith, “John,” in Gospel Transformation Bible (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), pg. 1426.26 Cf. Kostenberger, John, pg. 301, who writes, “The shepherd calls his own sheep by name, that is,

individually rather than collectively, which contrasts with the general call issued to the entire flock.”

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must assume that “the thief” Jesus is speaking of is the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, and perhaps anyone who leads people away from Jesus. Of course, that fits what we know about Satan from the Bible, but Jesus is particularly honing in on these false shepherds in his audience. This description is probably drawn from Ezek. 34; though Yahweh doesn’t call the wicked shepherds of Ezekiel’s day “thieves” directly, they feed themselves, apparently stealing the sheep’s food and drink, and they even clothe themselves in the sheep’s wool,27 probably killing the sheep in order to eat them!28 They’re more like predators themselves than shepherds, and Jesus will speak of wolves later in this passage, probably still referring to the Pharisees.29

Jesus, as the good shepherd, provides life, abundant life, full life, eternal life, for his sheep. Abundant life is not to be assessed by a person’s possessions or wealth; abundant life is not to be assessed by a person’s lack of trouble or lack of sickness. For a sheep to have abundant life points to satisfaction with the shepherd’s provision. The food the shepherd provides is always abundant. Following the shepherd-king, Jesus, always makes life abundant, but you can’t evaluate that abundance with standards of this world.

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So we’ve seen in verses 7-10 that Jesus depicts himself as the door for the sheep. In verses 11-18 He takes the sheepfold imagery further and boldly places himself as the shepherd of the sheep30--and not just any shepherd but the good shepherd.

Look at verse 11…

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus is not only the bread of life.31 We saw that in John 6. He’s not only the light of the world 32 . We saw that in John 8. He’s not only the door or gate for the sheep (here in John 10) but now he is the good shepherd. The book of John is all about the identity of Jesus.

I am the good shepherd. Given all of the Old Testament passages where God himself is called Israel’s shepherd33 (and there are many), it could seem that Jesus is again claiming divinity—God is Israel’s shepherd; Jesus says, I am Israel’s shepherd. If he is, no one seems to notice. At least they don’t pick up stones (like they have in past chapters)

27 Cf. Manning, Echoes, pg. 120.28 So suggests Morris, John, pg. 452.29 Cf. Manning, Echoes, pg. 122.30 Carson, John, pg. 385.31 John 6:35,48, 51.32 John 8:12; 9:5.33 Kostenberger, John, pg. 299. See Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 23:1; 28:9; 77:20; 78:52; 80:1; Is. 40:11; Jer.

31:10; Ez. 34:11-31.

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Now our English word good isn’t really big enough for what Jesus would seem to be communicating here in verse 11. When you and I think of someone being a good person we’re generally thinking about the fact that they are moral—they are kind and honest and responsible. But the Greek word here is bigger than that; clearly it includes morality but it definitely includes more. Some suggest that the word noble carries the meaning well-- Jesus is the noble shepherd34. Others suggest that authentic would be a good word to use here. Jesus is the authentic35 shepherd. Still others suggest the word genuine36 or model37 might be most appropriate.

Since the contrast in the verses to follow, verses 12-13, is between the “hired hand” and the “good shepherd”, each of those adjectives—noble, authentic, genuine—would seem to communicate the idea well.

And even the adjective model has its merits. Remember Jesus’ disciples are probably listening. And we know that Jesus was always trying to bring his disciples along.38 It’s easy to think that Jesus wants his disciples to follow his example rather than the example of the Jewish religious leaders who cared nothing about the blind man. Jesus clearly wants his disciples to be good shepherds! In fact think forward to the beach scene at the end of the book of John where Jesus, the smell of grilled fish in the air, looks Peter in the eye three different times. (The bible doesn’t say that Jesus looked Peter in the eye but I have to believe that he did). Do you remember what Jesus says to Peter? What does he say? Feed my lambs…Tend my sheep…Feed my sheep. “Peter… be a good shepherd”

Now would it ever be the intention for a shepherd to lay his life down for the sheep? I don’t think so. Why? Wouldn’t that leave his flock exposed?39 But it seems that Jesus’ shepherding is uniquely characterized by the laying down of his life. What does it mean to be the noble shepherd? What does it mean to be the model shepherd? It means the laying down of his life for his sheep. Such an action, Jesus will tell us later in John 15:13, is the ultimate expression of his love. Look at John 15:13 on the screen:

34 Carson, John, pg. 386.35 Gerald L. Borchert, John 1–11 (New American Commentary Series 25A; Nashville: Broadman & Holman,

1996), pg. 333.36 George R. Beasley-Murray, John (Word Biblical Commentary 36; Dallas: Word, 1999), pg. 170.37 Timothy S. Laniak, Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible (New

Studies in Biblical Theology; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006), pg. 211.38 John 4:34-38; 14:12; 17:20; 20:21-23; 21:15-19.39 Carson, John, pg. 386.

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You see when the predators of the sheep are alive and well, that can mean death for the flock. But for Jesus’s flock of sheep to be alive and well it must mean death for the shepherd. Isn’t it clear that “the shepherd in John’s gospel is also a sacrificial lamb?”40

And having asked that question, didn’t John the Baptist, back in John 1, see Jesus, and say? “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”41

The good, noble, authentic, genuine, model shepherd is the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.42

In verse 11, the words “for his sheep” there do suggest sacrifice; the preposition translated ‘for’ is always used in John in a sacrificial context43.

The picture of a dying shepherd is ironic isn’t it? It’s not what we would expect, is it? But we’ll find out in just a few verses that the irony is diminished because Jesus ‘has authority and intention not only to lay his life down but to take it back up’44

Let’s continue in verse 12… 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own 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 cares nothing for the sheep.

At times a hired hand would fill in for the shepherd. He didn’t own the sheep. He didn’t care for the sheep. And he would never defend the sheep with his life. And whereas the thieves and

40 Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 216.41 John 1:29.42 Borchert, John 1–11, pg. 334.43 Carson, John, pg. 385. John 6:51; 10:11, 15; 11:50 ff; 13:37-38; 15:13; 17:19; 18:14.44 Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 216.

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robbers in Jesus’s story are decidedly wicked, the hired hand isn’t necessarily so—he’s simply more committed to his own well-being than the well-being of the sheep.45

Well who is the wolf in Jesus’ story who snatches the sheep and scatters them? 46

Wolves are often symbols in the Bible for destructive leaders—destructive princes (Ezek. 22:27), destructive judges (Zeph. 3:3) and destructive false teachers (Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29).47 Perhaps you remember in our study in Acts that Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Well in verse 14, Jesus repeats his refrain about being the ‘good shepherd’ again and he describes the relationship he has with his sheep as one that is very intimate.

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

The word “know” is used four times in verses 14-15 and the Greek word used in each case describes an ‘experiential knowledge.’48 It’s much more than factual knowledge. 49 There is an intimacy between Jesus and his flock that is modeled after the intimacy that Jesus has with the

45 Pointed out by Carson, John, pg. 387.46 Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 215: “He has been interpreted as symbolizing the devil (Euthymius and others,

Olshausen), heretics (Augustine and others), “every anti-theocratic power” (Lücke); “every anti-Messianic power, whose ruling principle, however, as such, is contained in the devil” (Meyer)....It may be significant that ‘wolf’ is singular. In Jewish law a shepherd was liable for any losses due to the threat of a single wolf but losses to two or more would constitute an unavoidable accident.”

Kostenberger, John, pg. 305: “According to OT legislation, the hired hand was not required to make restitution for an animal torn to pieces by a wild beast (Exod. 22:13).” Kostenberger, John, pg. 305, n. 40: “Later Mishnaic law stipulated that if one wolf attacked the flock, the hireling must protect it. However if two wolves threatened the sheep, no blame attached to the hired man if he ran.”

47 Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 216.48 Carson, John, pg. 387.49 Borchert, John 1–11, pg. 335.

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Father. This ought to give us pause. As the Father is intimate with the Son and the Son is intimate with the Father, so Jesus is intimate with his flock and his flock is intimate with Him.

As we continue in the book of John we’ll see this intimacy expressed more frequently. We’ll see it in John 14 ( Listen to John 14:23  Jesus answered him (one of the disciples) “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him… the obedient disciple will experience home with Jesus and the Father). We’ll see it John 15 (“I am the vine and you are the branches” –isn’t there an intimacy between a vine and its branches? Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…. and later in John 15 Jesus will call his disciples friends … “You are my friends if you do what I command you…I don’t call you servants I call you friends” …. The shepherd king calls his lambs ‘friends’). 50 And we’ll see this intimacy expressed in John 17 ( where Jesus will say these amazing words “I in them and you in me, that they may be perfectly one”)

Just as the Father and Jesus know each other, just as they have an intimate knowledge of each other, so will our shepherd king have an intimate knowledge of us and we of Him. Look at verse 16… 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Our Mormon friends use verse 16 to argue that “Jesus was here referring to North America and Indian ancestors on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean.”51 It seems that they are reading a lot into this text, aren’t they?

Who are these other sheep that Jesus is referring to? I think Jesus is referring to the Gentiles.52

And there’s a couple of significant points here. First notice the present tense verb—I have other sheep. This points to the idea that Christ currently possesses these sheep despite their absence from fold. 53

And then notice Jesus’s confidence that these other sheep, these Gentiles will one day in the future come into the fold I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

50 Laniak, Shepherds, pg. 217; Borchert, John 1–11, pg. 335.51 Borchert, John 1–11, pg. 335.52 Kostenberger, John, pg. 306: “So the vast majority of commentators including Barrett, Beasley-Murray,

Burge, Carson, Maloney, Morris, Ridderbos, Schnackenburg, and Witherington.”53 Kostenberger, John, pg. 307.

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I must bring them also—do you hear the determination in these words, determination that would seem to fuel Jesus’ great commission… Go make disciples of all nations…

I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice… I can’t help but see the book of Acts here, thousands of people hearing Jesus’ voice in the gospel preaching of the disciples. The Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8, will hear Jesus’ voice. The Philippian jailor in Acts 16 will hear Jesus’ voice. In 1977 I heard Jesus’ voice.

Isaiah had predicted it:

There will be one flock, one shepherd.

Well look at verse 17 and 18… 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

We’ve said that Jesus’ ‘laying down his life’ is his death on the cross, his giving his life sacrificially for the sheep. Well what does he mean when he says he will ‘take it up again’… he even says he has authority to take it up again. He’s speaking of the resurrection. Jesus’ death was always with the resurrection in view. He died in order to rise. And he rose in order to ascend to the Father and be glorified where he could pour out the Spirit so that others might live. It’s all part of God’s plan. And, finally the irony of a shepherd dying for his sheep is resolved!

What do we do with verse 17 though? Look at it closely. It seems to say that because (or when) Jesus agreed to die on the cross and be resurrected, that the Father finally loved Him. But that can’t be. The Father and Son have loved each other from eternity past. The Father eternally loves the Son. And Jesus eternally submitted to the Father’s plan without qualification.

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One author attempts to get the heart of Jesus’ words this way: “What an instance is this of God’s love to man, that he loved the Son the more for loving us”54

“Jesus’ continuing love for the world deeply pleased the God who ‘so loved’ the world”55

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How did we do on answering your questions?

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The passage closes summarizing the reaction of his listeners; look at verses 19-21: There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” C. S. Lewis famously argued that, whatever you conclude about Jesus, you cannot conclude that he was just a good man or a good moral teacher. Let me quote that famous passage from Mere Christianity:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.56

The Jews who listened to Jesus claim to be the good shepherd did not conclude that he was Lord and God. They almost combine both of Lewis’ other options, saying that he was a lunatic and a satanically-inspired liar.57 They raise the rhetorical question, “why listen to him.” That’s ironic and revealing. It’s ironic because Jesus has just been teaching them that to have eternal, abundant life, they’ve got to be sheep who listen to him! He’s just told them many great reasons that they ought to listen to him. It’s revealing in that it shows that these people are not Jesus’ sheep. They refuse to heed his word, to listen to his voice, and to follow him.

54Frederick Dale Bruner, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012), pg. 626.55 Bruner, John, pg. 626.56 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2002), pg. 51.57 Really, they’re probably only making one accusation, since insanity was usually thought in the ancient

world to be the result of demonic influence. See Carson, John, pg. 390, who writes, “The charge is not double-barrelled: the idea is that he is demon-possessed (cf. 7:20; 8:48) and therefore raving mad.” And cf. Whitacre, John, pg. 267, who points out, quoting Raymond Brown, “To this they now add that he is raving mad, ‘since madness was thought to be the result of demonic possession (Brown 1966:387; cf. Mk 3:20-30; 5:1-20).”

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That’s the call of this passage to all of us. Are you one of Jesus’ sheep? How can you tell? Do you know the voice of your shepherd-king? Do you care what he has to say about every area of your life? Does his word govern every area of your life? Jesus paints a beautiful picture in this passage of who he is and what his kingship is like. Hearing his voice and following him wherever he leads are pictures of what it means to believe in Jesus.58 If you can’t sing the words of Psalm 23 and think specifically of Jesus as your personal shepherd-king, consider this picture. Don’t conclude that Jesus was just a good man who lived 2000 years ago and has a nice story to study in history books. That’s not an option. Don’t reject him as evil either. See him as he really is; a wondrously kind shepherd, a powerful and gentle king who has come to save lost sheep and restore broken lives. He is the only person who can fulfill whatever you think your deepest longings are. He provides only green pastures, only the kind of pastures we really need. He knows what we need better than we do.

If you are one of his sheep, I urge you to consider how well you listen to his voice today. Are there areas of your life you think Jesus doesn’t speak to? Maybe you think Jesus doesn’t speak about what TV shows or movies you watch, or how you spend and save your money, or how you eat, or what games you play, or where you work. If Jesus is your king, you should really consider what he has to say about how you live every area of your life. Maybe you think there are other voices that speak to these areas more specifically and more helpfully than Jesus. Beware of other voices. Everything must be filtered through the lens of the shepherd-king’s word. How do you do that practically? You read this book, from cover to cover, repeatedly. This is Jesus’ voice. This is the call of the shepherd; this is the decree of the great king.

It is our destiny to heed the Good Shepherd’s voice and to follow him forever and ever. Barry alluded to the wonderful truth that the Good Shepherd is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Let’s close with that truth as it is expressed in Rev. 7:17: For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Follow him now even while the tears still flow, and you’ll be following him forever having no more tears to shed.

58 Cf. Manning, Echoes, pg. 130.

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