The shepherd calls the sheep by name. They hear and recognize his voice. They know his voice. So, when he leads them out, they go.
I do not remember John 10 feeling this difficult. John 9, I love. The tight narrative and progressive return of sight, it is great. It culminates with the blind man seeing Jesus and declaring, “Lord, I believe.” John 11 is perhaps the most powerful moment in the Gospel of John besides Jesus’ own resurrection. Jesus weeps, He commands, and He raises Lazarus from the dead! But…John 10...
I hope my resonance with John 10:6 does not put me in league with the Pharisees as one blind and deaf. But I feel very much part of the “they” when it says, “This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.”
Let us take an inventory of some of the people, images, and actions here. There is a sheepfold which has sheep in it. This sheepfold has a door and a gatekeeper. The thief and robber climb into the sheepfold by some other means besides the door. But the shepherd enters by the door because the gatekeeper opens it for him.
My mind immediately starts to try and figure out who is who. It seems like Jesus is the shepherd and His people are the sheep. Sheep probably refers to Israel, but the “other sheep” of 10:16 seem to include the Gentiles. The thieves and robbers could be the Pharisees or bad teachers or anyone else who would try to harm the people of God. So, who is watching the gate? Is it God the Father? Or is Jesus talking about people stationed at the Temple’s various gates to control access into God’s presence? And what does it mean to be in the sheepfold? Is that a relational category or does it signify a place?
Then we get into some more specific actions. The shepherd calls the sheep by name. They hear and recognize his voice. They know his voice. So, when he leads them out, they go. And where he leads them, they follow. Why are they leaving the sheepfold? Where is he taking them? We will see in verse 9 they are being led to pasture. Pasture is nourishment. It is provision, sustenance. Is this a general reminder of God’s provision for His people? Or is it a promise about being nourished by the Word of God or the presence of God?
Thieves, robbers, and strangers sound scary to me. But Jesus does not seem so worried, since the sheep will not bother listening to them. In fact, despite the fact that all who came before Jesus were thieves and robbers, the sheep did not listen to them. But how can this be the case? The people of God seem to have always fallen for the enticements of false teachers and prophets.
After the recognition of confusion in verse 7, Jesus tries again. He tells us He is the door. By entering through Him one will be saved and will go in and out to find pasture. Notice the switch. Instead of emphasizing the valid shepherd who enters by the door to lead the sheep out (over and against the thieves and robbers), now he is talking about the sheep going in by the door unto salvation and also going out for pasture. Then He switches back again to the difference between the shepherd and the robbers: They came to steal, kill, and destroy, but He came that the sheep would have abundant life.
By entering through Him one will be saved and will go in and out to find pasture.
Is this reading a rebuke against faithless teachers in Israel? Is it a word of comfort for God’s people who are under siege? Is it about the purity of those who would enter the Temple to bring sacrifice? I honestly do not know (I also acknowledge how your understanding of the context and the images it contains might make all this much simpler for you than for me).
But here is what I do know. The Lord Jesus is my shepherd, and I shall not want. He knows me by name. He calls me with His own voice. He leads me, guides me, and provides for all I need, body and soul. Even though there are hostile forces around me, Jesus is with me. His rod and His staff, they comfort me. He meets me where I am and calls me to follow Him. Where He leads, I will follow, because He leads me to life. He brings me life. He Himself comes to me so I may have life and have it to the full. Jesus is not only the door by which I enter into His care and am led out to whatever journey He has prepared for me; He is also the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for me.
In sharing my struggles through John 10, I do not mean to imply we cannot understand Scripture or that God has not spoken clearly. This text has humbled me with respect to my comprehension of the Bible (and I have been studying Scripture formally and full-time for more than two decades). So, after all my wrestling with this week’s reading, I came to a refreshed pastoral understanding more than a better exegetical understanding. Sometimes God’s Word is difficult to grasp. In those moments, we cling all-the-more to what is clear and true: Jesus is crucified and risen, so we might have life and have it abundantly.
Therefore, rather than solve the text’s difficulties for my people, I think I might acknowledge my struggles, validate their own, and model for them what it looks like to cling to the simple and clear truth of Jesus, even when everything else feels uncertain.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out our previous articles on John 10:1-10.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 10:1-10.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 10:1-10.
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Charles Gieschen of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through John 10:1-10.
