Jesus, the Door of the Sheep and the Good Shepherd

John 10:1–13 (NKJV)

“I Am the Good Shepherd”

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the 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 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear 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 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.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

Message

I. Jesus, the Door of the Sheep (1-10)

See v1-6.

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the 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 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

What v1-5 means is in the following verses. See v7-9.

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Before Jesus came to the world, the sheepfold was without the door! So, anyone and everyone who approached the sheep was a thief and a robber. Jesus came to the world and now the sheepfold got the door (=Jesus) which a shepherd can enter through! The sheepfold could be the Jewish sheepfold or a Gentile sheepfold. For the Jewish sheepfold, the Pharisees were the religious leaders of the sheep (=the Jews). The Pharisees before Jesus came or without knowing Jesus were not shepherds but thieves and robbers! The disciples of Jesus are the shepherds! Jesus is the door of salvation for the sheep and the shepherds. ‘pasture’ is the word of eternal life (John 6:68).

¹⁰ 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.

The thief may steal their blessings, (heavenly) gifts (or prizes), and possessions. He may kill their (spiritual) life and destroy their future (happiness). But Jesus came that they might have life in its fullness. See v11-13.

II. Jesus, the Good Shepherd (11-13)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

In v1-10, Jesus is the door of the sheep. In v11-18, Jesus is the good shepherd. The shepherd is one who enters through the door of the sheep, Jesus (John 10:2). Now Jesus shows what is the ‘good’ shepherd. The ‘good’ shepherd gives His life for the sheep (11). Obviously, the ‘good’ shepherd is not a selfish person. He must be a merciful, considerate, sympathetic and sacrificial person. When one is busy satisfying one’s flesh (=sinful nature), one may not be selfless, but selfish, idiotic, rebellious, and deceptive. But, a godly person who puts the will of God first and follows the Spirit of God may not be selfish but do what is good, right and fair. Further, let us think about how much one should love someone so that one may sacrifice one’s life for the person. One must extremely value, care and love the person. The ‘good’ shepherd’s love touches my heart and my tear falls down. Jesus compares the ‘good’ shepherd with a hireling (12). A hireling is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep (12^a). So, when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and flees (12^b). And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them (12^c). In this illustration, ‘giving life for the sheep’ is not simply ‘dying’ but rather ‘providing appropriate protection against the predators’. It takes skills, bravery, commitment, tools, awareness, vigilance, wisdom, and everything it takes to protect the sheep. Jesus gave us the word of eternal life, the Holy Spirit, the Apostles, and His Churches and He is with us till the end of the age. To save us from sin and condemnation, Jesus has done the ultimate sacrifice required by the law. He did what it took to protect us from the wolf (the sin & death, the accuser, the tempter). The hireling flees because he is hired for money and does not really care about the sheep. The Pharisees might be hired by a Synagogue or the Temple for money but they didn’t really care about the sheep who needed protection from sin and death.