In John 10 Jesus is still speaking with the same people as in the previous chapter and attempts to further distinguish between the teachings of the religious leaders of the day and the teachings of Himself. The religious leaders relied on a system of man-made rules and traditions to bring favor with God, but Jesus’ message is much different. Instead of relying on self-righteousness and obedience to a list of rules, Jesus teaches that He has been sent by His Father to call people to repentance and faith. Rather than trusting in their own good deeds for salvation, they should have humbled themselves in recognition of their sinfulness and believed in Jesus as their Savior. In order to illustrate that He was worthy to be trusted and believed above all others, Jesus begins to speak what is known as the discourse of the Good Shepherd.
…he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other
way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear
his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when
he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will
flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers (John 10:1-5)
Many who were listening would identify with Jesus’ illustration regarding sheep, a shepherd, and the doorkeeper of the sheep since eastern culture was surrounded by these images daily; however, those listening did not understand that His words were illustrative of a spiritual truth (10:6). As the True Shepherd, Jesus could enter into the sheep pen and call His own sheep (those who believe) and they would recognize His voice and follow Him (10:2-4). However, there were also others (false teachers) who attempted to enter the sheep pen to call out the sheep, but they were thieves and robbers (10:1). These thieves and robbers, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, wanted to steal the sheep from their shepherd and lead them astray through deception.
Since the people did not understand His first illustration, Jesus decided to use another metaphor using sheep ranching. This time instead of picturing Himself as the shepherd, Jesus is pictured as the door of the sheep (10:7-10). John records Jesus’ words,
I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and
robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters
by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John
10:7-10)
In brief, Jesus claims that belief in Him is the only way to be saved from eternal punishment in hell and to restore access to God the Father. Jesus’ proclamation of being the door is the third I AM statement in John’s gospel, which is his attempt to convince his readers that Jesus is the Son of God sent to deliver mankind from the power and penalty of sin. On the other hand, the religious leaders proved to be thieves because they only cared for themselves, but Jesus came to bring life to all who would believe (10:10).
In His fourth I AM statement, Jesus says “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (10:11). Men hired to watch the sheep (false teachers) will not risk their own lives to save the sheep from predators, but the true shepherd will “lay down [His] life for the sheep” (10:12-15). In a reference to His upcoming death, Jesus proclaims Himself as the One who will give up His life so the sheep can live. Jesus will not only give up His life for the sake of the Jews, but also for the Gentiles bringing them both together as the church (10:16). Although Jesus would give up His life to pay for the sins of the sheep (those who would believe), He also indicated that death would not be His final destination, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (10:17-18).
After hearing Jesus’ words, the Jews remained divided in their thinking about His true identity (10:19-21). Could they forsake their self-righteousness in order to trust in Jesus as the Shepherd and Savior who would forgive all their sins? This is a question all of us must answer.
Dear God, I trust in Jesus as the Door because He is the only way to have access to God. I also believe in Jesus as the Good Shepherd because He has given up His own life so that I may have eternal life.
