Of What Fold Are You?

Of What Fold Are You? John 10:1-21

1 "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. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 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."
19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" 21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"




Do not be too surprised that the Jews didn’t understand Jesus (v.6). Only God can open the eyes of the blind. Only God can illuminate the meaning of scripture to us. Only God can help us grasp this interpretation of this allegory. Only God can make us understand the gospel.

In Chapter 12 (vv. 39-43) John explains why the people did not understand Jesus; quoting Isaiah 6:10, he writes:
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 "[God] has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Let us pause therefore to pray that God will help us to understand what Jesus means here….

I. The Shepherd and the Sheep
You might read verse 6 and wonder “how could anyone misunderstand it?”: Jesus is the shepherd and the sheep are his followers- Christians; the two flocks of sheep are Jews and Gentiles; the door is the means of salvation, the hirelings are pastors or Pharisees who are not called to shepherd but seek the position for the status and recognition; and the wolf is the false teacher- “What’s so difficult about that?”

1. Maybe they didn’t understand exactly what Jesus meant by calling himself the “Good Shepherd”. This is a rich theological assertion and an obvious contrast to the bad shepherds whom he calls hirelings, thieves and robbers. A hireling is there for his wage and does not care what happens to the sheep; unlike the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, the hireling flees at the first sign of trouble. A thief comes by stealth, under the cover of darkness and a robber uses violence and force. These are antithetical to the good shepherd- they define the ministry of the Pharisees.

To Jesus, the Pharisees were usurpers, climbing over the fence to get into the fold rather then entering by legitimate means because the gatekeeper would have kept them out. In the gospels, Jesus reserves his strongest denunciations not for sinners, but for religious hypocrites and the self righteous. In Matthew 23:13 Jesus says, “…woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

The key word is that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Because according to Jesus there is none God. And the claim to being good is a claim to divinity. “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Mk 10:18). Jesus isn’t just good, he is very very good! He is God.

2. Perhaps what the Jews missed about Jesus sheepfold analogy was the allusions here to the pastoral theme of the Old Testament.

In previous chapters, the Jews tried to stone Jesus for claiming equality with God. If they had understood Jesus’ claim in verse 11 (his fourth “I am Statement): “I am the good shepherd,” they would certainly have tried once again to stone him because in the Old Testament, Yahweh is the Good Shepherd of Israel. One of the most familiar texts perhaps of the whole Bible bears this out: Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

The Psalms also say, “…we [are] Your people and sheep of Your pasture…” (79:13). And, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth” (80:11).

Jesus is claiming to be the fulfillment of the promised deliverance of God’s people in Ezekiel 34: in verse 34:2 Ezekiel is told to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel and accuse them of their failure to shepherd the sheep. God says,
(v. 2) …Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?... 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."…. 11 'For thus says the Lord God: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land….

Jesus’ claim to being the Good Shepherd is no small thing; it is perhaps one of his strongest self-assertions to divinity in the Gospels.

II. What a Shepherd does[1]
Jesus gives us a job description of the Good Shepherd. Let me just point some of the qualifications of a Good Shepherd:

1. A Good Shepherd enters by the door- v. 2. He doesn’t sneak in; he doesn’t whisper in corners and place well chosen words in the minds of others to undermine established leadership starting rumors without basis- he comes in humbly, he comes in legally, he comes in biblically!

When Gerda and I were in a little Pentecostal church plant in the valley, a young man who had been newly converted came into the church. He was charismatic and passionate and made a lot of friends because he was so charming. He was like most new Christians, he thought he had it all figured out and within a short period of time, he had begun a church in his home and was secretly recruiting people from our church to join him. When he was confronted he denied it, he refused accountability, mocked any kind of religious education, and gravitated towards fringe Christian teachers in the health and wealth gospel. His church is still running today and he’s a full fledged prosperity preacher. Its really sad. The Good Shepherd enters lawfully.

2. The Good Shepherd is recognized and welcomed by the door keeper (v. 3). This is the work of the Holy Spirit- he unifies the flock and points them to Jesus.

3. The Good Shepherd calls his sheep by name (v. 3). He calls them by name because he has known their name since before the foundations of the world. He calls them by name because it is his sovereign choice to do so. He calls them by name and they hear him because his calling effectual- it accomplishes what it is intended to do: He calls them by name and they follow. Perhaps when a human shepherd calls his sheep by name, a few might resist. But even then the shepherd would coerce his resistant sheep until it followed. Not so with the Good shepherd- it is inconceivable that a sheep who is called by the Good Shepherd by name could ever or would ever resist that call.

When the Lord says your name it is like he is flicking the switch to your soul and giving the light of reason and saving faith to see who he really is. For example:
· (Luke 19:5) 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
· (John 11:43) Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out…
· (John 20:15) Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!"
· (Acts 9:3) 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,"

4. He leads them out and goes before them (v. 4). This is the mark of a good leader- Jesus doesn’t sit behind and shout out orders, he goes ahead and leads by example.

5. He saves them and leads them into green pastures v.9. Not only doe she promise us life, but he promises it abundantly! This is (in this life) abundant sorrow, abundant sharing in his suffering in this life mixed with abundant love, abundant joy, abundant pleasure in Him.... But that shall pass. The green pastures and abundant life we have in him is an eternal everlasting life of abundant overflowing everlasting enjoyment of God unblemished by tears, or pain, or sadness, or boredom, or interpersonal conflict and petty jealousies.

(Aside) Jesus says we shall be one flock from two v.16: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” This is what God calls the mystery revealed in Ephesians 2:
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision… 12 remember that you were at that time… alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility …that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Do you get what Paul is trying to say? He is teaching the same thing Jesus taught in v. 16, that is, there is now neither Jew nor Greek, African or European, Asian or Arab- if you are a Christian, you are one new nation. Abraham’s true heir. And this new nation composed of Jews and Gentiles is indivisibly one flock indistinguishable from one another. That’s not replacement theology. The church doesn’t replace Israel. Its continuation theology- Israel continues as the Church. “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter” (Romans 3:28-29). That’s not my opinion, it’s the teaching of the Apostles and of the Lord. We are one flock!

6. Finally, he lays down his life v.14. This is perhaps the most remarkable qualification of the good shepherd. Instead of killing his sheep. This shepherd becomes one of them of them and is slain in their place as a sacrificial Lamb- that’s the gospel. John’s proclamation “Behold the Lamb of God” still echoes through this gospel. He will take away the sins of this world the only way he can- by laying down his life. That’s the good news. That’s the gospel and if you hear it, you’re his sheep. So, Of which flock are you?

Notes:

[1] From W. Hendrickson “John” Vol II, pp 98-99.