091. Chapter 32 - The Good Shepherd
Chapter 32 - The Good Shepherd
John 10:1-21 Impact on the Man This beautiful sermon on the Good Shepherd is like a calm after a terrible storm, when contrasted to the bitter debates which preceded it. The reader is immediately inclined to speculate whether the sermon was delivered where the man born blind could hear or whether he received it by repetition from some hearer. The tender sympathy in the sermon makes one think of the man in his excommunication. Although he was shut out of all the glories of the temple worship, he yet received blessed assurance of a secure fold and a precious fellowship with Christ and His followers which made the temple services cold and barren by contrast. This sermon is in two divisions: (1) The Good Shepherd and the Sheep (John 10:1-6); (2) The Good Shepherd and the Hirelings (John 10:7-18). The aftermath of the sermon is recorded in John 10:19-21. The two key words are shepherd and door.
Sheep Folds For the protection of sheep from wild animals and robbers or even from wandering off in the night and becoming lost, it was necessary to construct folds for their protection. Bernard supposes that Jesus refers to the “open court yard in front of the house, where the sheep were folded for the night,” but the description is general and would fit a fold built out in the desert as well as one in a village. Where a fold was constructed in the desert or an open field, stones so abundant in Palestine would be generally available for a solid wall. Long branches of the dom tree with wide reach of their fearsome thorns placed on top of the wall would deter even a wolf from attempting to surmount. The wall surrounding a courtyard in a village could be more easily scaled. Peril from both thieves and wild animals enters into the sermon. The Robber
“He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). Any person with natural rights or good purposes would seek entrance by the door. The very act of climbing over the barrier during the night to gain entrance would show violation of right and would indicate evil purposes. In this opening sentence of the parable Jesus gives no hint of what the application is to be. As in Galilee when the multitude had been puzzled and baffled by His sudden turn to parables for instruction, so here in Jerusalem the people do not comprehend His meaning (John 10:6), until He proceeds with explanation and application (John 10:7-18). The Shepherd
“But he that entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep” (John 10:2). Both central elements of the sermon are introduced in this verse. Christ is the true Shepherd; and God’s way for man’s redemption (the door of the fold) is also identified with Christ. The sharp contrast between the shepherd and the thieves, robbers, and hirelings is also seen in Jeremiah: “Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture….And I will gather the remnant of my flock….I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 23:1-5). Thus the prophet Jeremiah had predicted the coming of the Good Shepherd, whose presence Jesus announced. The Sheep
“To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (John 10:3). The porter is merely part of the scenery of the parable and does not represent a definite person or object. One wonders whether the man born blind recalled, as he heard this, how he had recognized Jesus by His voice, while he himself was still blind, and how Jesus had tenderly sought him out after his excommunication. Through the centuries every faithful follower of Christ has found infinite comfort in the promise of this intimate fellowship with our Lord. The life of a shepherd in Palestine is lonely. By the same token his knowledge of the characteristics and needs of each sheep is shown in giving each a name. Undoubtedly the humor of “the red-nosed reindeer” would also appear in the affectionate names given to sheep. Their knowledge of the voice and habits of their shepherd would be like unto his knowledge of them. The Comradeship
“When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:4). The procedure in leaving the security of the fold is again part of the scenery of the parable. The shepherd leads the way because he knows where the best pastures are to be found. If there are dangers to be faced, he will meet them first. The sheep follow in the trust which experience has developed. “A stranger will they not follow” (John 10:5). A traveler in Palestine tells of seeing three shepherds enjoying conversation while their flocks became hopelessly intermingled in the adjacent pasture. The traveler wondered by what difficult process the separate flocks could ever be assembled with no misunderstanding of possession. But after a time one of the shepherds raised his voice in his own peculiar cry; all over the field sheep could be seen lifting their heads and starting to obey his summons. Then another shepherd gave his call, and his sheep responded in like obedience. Soon the three shepherds and their flocks were on their separate ways.
True and False Leaders The parables usually dealt with familiar facts of life. This parable was so general in its nature that the hearers did not as yet comprehend the particular application which Jesus would make (John 10:6). “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). In other parables Jesus also gives more than one application. He is both the door and the shepherd in the explanation. He is both the builder of the church and its foundation in the various comparisons that He made. Jesus continually represented the salvation He offered as unique and solitary. He is not one of many doors; but He is the Door, the only one. “All that came before me are thieves and robbers” (John 10:8). This seems to refer to the present false leadership, the false teachers, such as the Pharisees, who have led the nation astray by their hypocrisy and perversion of the Scripture. Also included may be false Christs, who continually sought to lead the nation into fatal rebellions, and all false teachers since the days of the Old Testament prophets four hundred years before. If all is to be taken in an absolute sense then the meaning would be that the authority of the Messiah and the uniqueness and finality of His revelation are supreme and all other preceding messages fade into insignificance.
Precious Promises
“He shall be saved, and shall go in and go Out, and shall find pasture” (John 10:9). A common expression in the Old Testament is “to go in and out,” which indicates following the ordinary procedure of daily living. Someone has pointed out that the three promises here given to one who enters in by the door are: security, liberty, and nurture. Safety from all the dangers of life has as its prelude the forgiveness of our sins and release from the bondage to the devil. The liberty which Christ offers enables every man to choose his own particular field of service to which personal gifts and bent may incline him. It does not offer liberty to disobey Christ or to substitute one’s own will against Christ’s. The promise of abundant nurture reminds one again of the twenty-third psalm. Undoubtedly all His hearers found themselves making mental comparisons with this psalm, concluding that Jesus was here making solemn claim to deity. The contrast between the thief, who seeks to profit himself by stealing and destroying, and the good shepherd, who has the great consuming desire to provide not merely life, but abundant life, now marks the second section of this sermon. The picture of Jesus as the tender Shepherd of the sheep has had a profound influence upon the life of the church. In times of dreadful persecution early Christians treasured this sermon. The catacombs at Rome with their pictures of the good Shepherd are typical.
Universal Invitation
Classified with the thief is the hireling who also is utterly selfish in character and life. The complete devotion of the good Shepherd is seen in the fact that he dies to save His sheep. The mysterious predictions of His voluntary sacrificial death must have given additional difficulty to understanding the profound meaning of the sermon. Sadler suggests that the devil is the “thief”; Godet says the hirelings are the Jewish leaders who believe on Him, but are afraid to declare themselves. More likely these are scenery of the parable which give general content of meaning without the necessity of specific identification.
“And other sheep I have” (John 10:16) indicates clearly the outreach of the gospel through all the world to every creature. Jesus had made no effort to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, but from the very beginning of His ministry in “Galilee of the Gentiles” frequent gleams of light had shone forth in His teaching that one day the whole world should hear the gracious invitation of God. With typical perversity modernists hold that Jesus, when He found that He had been rejected by Israel, changed His mind and His plans and projected a world-wide campaign among the Gentiles. Jesus Himself carried on no such campaign. The angel who revealed to the shepherds of Bethlehem the birth of the Savior predicted “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people” (Luke 2:10). The angelic chorus sang not merely of peace to Israel, but to all men of good will: “peace among men in whom he is well pleased” (Luke 2:14). Simeon, that aged saint who tarried in the temple until he should see the Christ, predicted that He would be “both a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32). Looking back over the earlier preaching of Jesus, we find the same universality inherent, even though not explicitly stated. Observe that John 3:16 offers salvation not merely to every Jew who believes, but to everyone. God so loved the whole world so that “whosoever believeth….” — no matter what race, place, or time. In the Sermon on the Mount we find this same universality. The earth is not promised only to Jews who are meek, but to any faithful soul; so with the remainder of the beatitudes. The Shepherd Dies for His Sheep The hearers must have wondered at this clear declaration that Jesus had other sheep which are not of this fold (the assembly of Jewish disciples He had thus far won). But the mysterious manner of the parable would have left them uncertain. Jesus gave strong emphasis to the singular authority He possessed and the necessity of unity among His followers: “one flock and one shepherd.” The sermon closes with the beautiful portrayal of the love and fellowship between the Father and the Son, and the unshrinking devotion to the will of the Father which leads Him to lay down His life for the sheep. His positive reiteration that His would be a voluntary self-surrender must have been a great bulwark to the faith of the disciples as they looked back from the glory of the resurrection of Christ to these many predictions He had given them.
Divided Counsel
“There arose a division again among the Jews” (John 3:19). It is not clear whether this is among the leaders, among the multitude, or both. “He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?” (John 3:20). This charge recalls the earlier accusation that Jesus was in league with the devil. The attempt of these leaders to break the spell of this wonderful sermon is extreme in the sneer that Jesus was demon-possessed and incoherent in His utterance. They would point to (he claims to deity inherent in this sermon. But those who were more open-minded and more favorable to Jesus responded with two solid points of rebuttal. (1) The marvelous content of His teaching was not incoherent; it revealed super-intelligence. (2) The marvelous miracle of healing a man born blind proved that He was authorized and empowered by God. “These are not the sayings of one possessed of a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (John 3:21).