John 10:1-6

¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them.

This chapter includes Jesus’ monologue after restoring the blind man’s sight and His later teaching at the Feast of Dedication. He calls Himself the gate, or the door, and the good shepherd; and He explains His authority to both lay down His life and take it back up again. And the audience is still divided and in suspense over His identity. In our tabernacle tour, we’re gazing at the golden lampstand, as Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness.

The first half of this chapter (21 verses) has clear ties to the previous one. The Pharisees, considered shepherds of the people of Israel, did not care for the blind man but harshly “drove” him – rather than “leading” him – out of the synagogue. Jesus found and brought the man to saving faith and then addressed the Pharisees who were with Him (the disciples were presumably with Him as well). After explaining that the Pharisees were truly the blind ones, Jesus then speaks this parable to everyone in earshot. John included very few parables in his Gospel – and even this parable is different from the typical parables of the synoptic gospels. For one thing, there is not one single point of similarity that Jesus is emphasizing, but He makes use of several different images of the illustration to apply to Himself in different ways. He speaks in v1-6 of three primary features: first, the door to the sheepfold, second, the good shepherd, and third, the good shepherd’s sheep.

The Pharisees were the thieves and robbers who were destroying the sheep by failing to enter the sheepfold through and lead the sheep (the children of God) to the gate, or the door, as other translations declare, which is Jesus Christ. The true shepherd, also Christ Himself, cares for the sheep and leads them to Himself as the only valid entrance to the sheepfold. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Some have said that the shepherd here can also be equated with the faithful Pastor or Minister or layman who leads people to Christ. It is certainly true that we (pastors, ministers, and laymen) are to shepherd the flock, but the context here is speaking of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

The watchman in v3 is God the Father, who opens the door for the Good Shepherd (Jesus has earned the “open door” by His works, unlike mere men), and the sheep (God’s children by election) listen to Jesus (efficacious grace), who knows them each by name (intimate foreknowledge) and leads them (rather than drives them) on the path to righteousness. The sheep (namely the blind man healed in this context) do not follow the stranger’s voice (the Pharisees), but they follow the Good Shepherd, because the Holy Spirit, who has regenerated them, gives them discernment. The elect cannot be led astray (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; 1 John 2:19). Though this truth does not prohibit warnings or encouragements.

When the Pharisees – and the rest of the audience – heard this parable, they did not understand. They should have thought of Ezekiel 34. There, God berates the religious leaders of the Jews as wicked shepherds who destroy the sheep. Therefore, God Himself, in the Person of the Son of David, will come to shepherd the sheep. Jesus is basically telling the Jewish leaders that this prophecy is coming true; they are the wicked shepherds of Ezekiel 34 for failing to enter the sheepfold through the gate and lead the sheep through the only door.

Calvin says of v1-6, “It is useless, I think, to scrutinize too closely every part of this parable. Let us rest satisfied with this general view, that, as Christ states a resemblance between the [true] Church and a sheepfold, in which God assembles all His people, so He compares Himself to a door [or a gate], because there is no other entrance into the Church but by Himself. Hence it follows that they alone are good shepherds who lead men straight to Christ; and that they are truly gathered into the fold of Christ, so as to belong to His flock, who devote themselves to Christ alone.” In v7-21, Jesus comments on those three features, explaining them in order.