1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a 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 When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Message: The Door of the Sheepfold
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: As I read this passage, I think about the last lesson from Jesus that I really enjoyed. Jesus comes into the world so that people will make a decision about Him - some will follow, some will not. Everyone will be divided into those two realms. 9:39 mentions (1) those who do not see may see and (2) those who see may become blind. The seeing and the not seeing seem to represent those that will be open to Jesus, discovering who He is, and moving into a relationship with Him. Those who are blind already have their mind made up on what they see and what they see is not Jesus necessarily. They are hardened.
That is a great lesson for me. It speaks of the reality of our world. And also makes me wonder as we share the Gospel, and figuring out our audience and where they are at in that relationship. I listened to our missionary that serves in Lisbon today state that it takes 3 years for a seeker in this post-modern world to come to Christ. They have to see people and watch them for a while before they will make that decision to follow Christ. This doesn't mean we are not to evangelize and share our faith, but we need to realize that for many people it won't be a quick process, like maybe it was in the 80s.
Now, in chapter 10, we have a story that Jesus tells that many will call an allegory. Jesus speaks of a door. The door is an entryway or a port in which people will walk into. A door is a place to transition from one world to another. I think of the CS Lewis series, Chronicles of Narnia, that mentioned at many times this transition from one world to the next. And so Jesus begins with this idea of coming through a door. But he first starts with those that don't enter by the door, those that don't go past the door to be with the fold of other sheep. Fold here is speaking of a group or community of other sheep. Rather than going through the door, they are trying a different way. Those that go about in a different way are thieves and robbers.
In this story, not just anyone can enter through the door. The door is reserved for the shepherd to come through. And at the other side of the door is the sheep, the lost. Jesus also mentions the doorkeeper which must be the Father as Jesus has been charged by the Father. It seems the sheep are trying to get out. The door opens, the shepherd speaks and calls the sheep to come out (verse 3). After calling "his own" (verse 4), which doesn't mean calling all but only his own, the shepherd walks ahead of them and the sheep follow him. His voice being the one they know. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd. And verse 5 mentions strangers. The sheep are not following a stranger but someone they know.
The disciples response to Jesus telling this story is one of question. They don't understand. So Jesus offers the explanation. Jesus says I am the door. Those before Him were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. Enter through Me and be saved. Thieves come to steal and kill and destroy but Jesus comes to give abundant life.
Tabletalk mentions the context of this passage: Raising sheep in first-century Palestine: Individual flocks were led by particular shepherds during the day, but in the evening, various flocks would be gathered into one large, walled sheepfold for safety. The sheep would intermingle during the night, but when the shepherds returned the next day to retrieve their sheep, it was easy for each shepherd to find his flock. Each shepherd uttered his call, and only the sheep that belonged to him would come.
Reading this changes my understanding of the passage. The sheep have only a shepherd but others will try to get to the sheep, thieves and robbers or false prophets. Jesus is the only source of eternal hope and security. Only Jesus is the gateway to eternal life.
Summary: Jesus provides an allegory of sheep that hear the voice of the shepherd and follow Him while strangers try to get to the sheep.
Promise: All of us must be alert and watch out for false teaching and false teachers who may try to infiltrate our churches.
Prayer: Thank you God for the message of the sheep and You being the door, the good shepherd that we follow. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit guiding us into truth and helping us navigate our way. As those thieves and strangers come, give us the grounding in your word to withstand those and instead help us keep our eyes on you the Shepherd. Thank you for this truth and providing us abundant life. Help me to show others the door that opens up to following You.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
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