Bible Commentaries

Jesus Is The Good Shepherd
- John Ten -

Jesus described the blessing that belonged to those who are His sheep. He knows His sheep, they hear His voice and they follow Him. As we face the dangers of thieves, robbers and wolves we too stand in need of the True Shepherd. We are called by the gospel to be the Lord's sheep and our part must be that of obedient faith. In 2 Thessalonians 2:14 we read, "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Good Shepherd protects His sheep. As long as we remain in His hands nothing can harm us. If we fall it will be because we have not used the resources that God has made available to us. We still have the power of choice and we cannot be protected against ourselves.

In John 10:1-42 Jesus again claimed Deity. He said, "I and my Father are one." If we are to accept Jesus as the Messiah we must understand that He is the Divine Son of God. The Jews were not expecting a Messiah who shared in God's divinity. Earlier in His personal ministry Jesus had slipped away when He was challenged about His claim of Deity. Now His time has come and so He boldly faces the charges of His accusers. They were standing there with their stones ready to kill him and He calmly said that His works prove Him to be both the Messiah and God. These Jews are seeking to kill the one who is offering them eternal life. They had no answer as to how Jesus could do such great miracles so they said, "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." (John 10:33) Who is this Jesus? He is the "Son of God." His proof of Deity was the deeds that He did. His miracles are in keeping with God's character and they manifest the love of God. Jesus said that from these miracles they should "know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:38) Jesus left Jerusalem and went back across Jordan to the place where John had baptized in the early days. The narrative of our Lord's earthly ministry closed at the spot where it began. John was indeed correct, "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." (John 1:34)

A lesson about sheep -- John 10:1-6 : Jesus said that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the door or gate to the sheep pen. He is actually talking about Himself as Shepherd and His followers as sheep. He also will teach us that He is the door into the sheep fold. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." (John 10:7) In John 10:9 we read, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Jesus said the porter of gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. He recognized the Shepherd and allowed Him to enter. The Jews rejected and killed the Good Shepherd. The sheep know their shepherd's voice. He calls each of them by name and they follow Him. His sheep follow Him because they recognize His voice. The Jews should have recognized the voice of Jesus as being from God, yet they did not know Him. Jesus said, "The sheep will not follow strangers. They do not recognize a stranger's voice, and they run away." Jesus told the people this parable. Sadly, they did not understand what He was talking about.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd -- John 10:8-21 : Jesus claimed to be both the door of the sheep and He claimed to be the Good Shepherd. It is through Jesus alone that man can be saved. Jesus refereed to the scribes and Pharisees as thieves or robbers. They pretended to show the way of salvation to the people but in fact they stole into the fold, clothed themselves with the fleece, and devoured the sheep. Jesus is the door and those who come to God through Him can obtain salvation. Those who go with Jesus will find pasture. Many religious leaders came to rob, kill and destroy. Jesus came so that His children would have life to the fullest. Jesus profoundly said, "I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep." Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice to save us from eternal damnation. The scribes and Pharisees were hireling and when they saw a wolf coming, they ran off and left the sheep. They allowed God's spiritual flock to be scattered. Jesus knows and loves the sheep and they know and love Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus laid His life down as an atoning sacrifice for sins. He died in our place to redeem us from sin and spiritual death. Jesus said He had other sheep that were not of this Jewish fold. This is a great announcement that the gospel was also to be preached to the Gentiles. Jesus willingly gave His life for our sins. Concerning His life He said, "No man taketh 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 commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10:18) Some said Jesus had a demon. Others said, "These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?"

Jesus was rejected by the Jews -- John 10:22-38 : That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast of the dedication. In Solomon's Porch the people gathered all around Him. They asked Jesus to tell them plainly if He was the Messiah. Jesus said, "I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me." The Jews did not believe Jesus because they were sheep who refused to accept Him as Shepherd. They were guilty of the sin of unbelief. On the other hand Jesus" sheep hear his voice and obey or follow Him. Based upon the fact that these hear and obey Jesus said, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." "The utmost security of the saved in Christ lies in the fact that no external power shall ever be able to dislodge them from the Master's love and protection. Yet, it must be remembered that a believer himself may turn away from the truth, become entangled with sin and overcome. The sovereign right of choice is never taken away from any man." The Jewish leaders sought to kill Jesus because He said, "I and my Father are one." He refereed them to Psalms 82:1-8 where judges were called gods. "You are gods?" "The psalm is actually a condemnation of the judges for not exercising their responsibility faithfully, thus corresponding both to the condemnation of these Jewish leaders in John 10:1-42 and to Jesus as the true judge." Psalms 82:1-8 was scripture. God spoke to those people and called them gods and you cannot argue with Scripture. Jesus said He must do what the Father prepared Him to do and sent Him into the world to do. He said, "The Father is in me, and I in him."

People put their faith in Jesus -- John 10:39-42 : Again the Jewish leaders wanted to arrest Jesus. But he escaped. Just how Jesus avoided capture we are not told. Jesus crossed the Jordan to the place where John had earlier been baptizing. The people there were humble people who had responded to the preaching of John. They repented of their sins and believed what he said about Jesus, the Messiah. John had identified Jesus saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) They said, "John did not work any miracles, but everything he said about Jesus is true." Many believed on Jesus there." This means that they had living faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Those who have living faith hear His voice and follow Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.