The Gospel of John: The Good Shepherd John 10: 1 – 42

 John 10 falls naturally into two halves. From v 1 – 21 we have Jesus’ teaching about the Good Shepherd; and then from 23 – 42 we have another section which could be called, ‘The Jews reject Jesus’.

 To understand the ‘Good Shepherd’ section we have to give careful attention to the context and the background from the Bible.

 The context.

 There is no introduction here. We just dive straight into Jesus’ teaching. But it is possible to work out the context. This is happening after the healing of the blind man. This caused a lot of division, and you will remember that the Jews who opposed Jesus, they expelled the beggar And at the end of chapter nine, Jesus rebukes those Jews. When the New Testament was first written there were no chapters, it was one text. So it is best to see 10:1 as being a continuation of what Jesus is saying at the end of chapter nine.

 Jesus’ rebuke of those Jews continues, and when you put the end of chapter nine together with the start of chapter ten, it is obvious who Jesus means when he starts talking about thieves and robbers. He is talking about these Jews. They are not good leaders, and so Jesus compares them with his ministry. That then is the context of this passage. It is Jesus wanting to show that his type of leadership is completely different from the religious leadership that is operating from the temple – a leadership that had ignored the miracle of the blind man being healed, and, worse, had expelled the beggar. He is attacking the religious leaders, and he is causing more division. That has been the dominant theme from chapter 7 when Jesus first arrived in Jerusalem.

 There is something else about the context that is important to understand. This is the reference to the Feast of Dedication in v. 22. In Jesus’ time this was fairly new. It happened in December – and v. 22 affirms this, it says it was winter. This festival was in memory Judas Maccabaeus.  Judas and all the Maccabean family were military heroes and their way was the way of the sword. In 167 BC, they had risen up against the pagan king Antiochus from Syria and driven him out of Israel. Antiochus had desecrated the temple, and so it had to be cleansed until it was fit for worship again. This is what the Feast of Dedication celebrated. The cleansing of the temple. And it was celebrated by everyone lighting candles in their homes. The whole of Jerusalem was full of light.

 If all of Jesus’ talk about the Good Shepherd is happening during this feast then He is directly attacking the way the Maccabean family fought. He is saying, the way of violent resistance, that’s that’s not the way.

 That is a very brave thing to do as the Maccabees were very popular and there were many who wanted to overthrow the alliance of the Jewish religious leaders and Rome by force.

 That’s the context, let’s look now at the background

 The background

 We have seen in John that the stories he tells about Jesus connect back to something in the Old Testament. Remember John 1 and Jacob’s ladder), or John 3, the bronze serpent or John 4, and the marriage of Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.

 One of the dominant images for God in the Old Testament is that of a shepherd. Jacob in Genesis 48 says that God has been his shepherd, all his life long, David is the Shepherd – King who famously says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd’. And Psalm 80 says that God is the Shepherd of Israel.Isaiah 40:11 says that the Messiah will come like a shepherd.  And in Jeremiah and in Ezekiel we hear the same message – God is angry with the shepherds of Israel, the leaders, who have not been looking after the people but themselves, and so will come Himself and be the shepherd. All of Ezekiel 34 is about this. It is well worth reading it to understand this passage in John. You will see how directly this connects with what Jesus is saying. We also have the same message in Zachariah, so in 11:17 we have, ‘Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts his flock’,  – but, as in Isaiah, we also see that the one who comes as Shepherd is also going to suffer. So we read in 12:10 about how people will ‘look on the one they have pierced’.

 Reading about this background in the OT we can understand how significant it is when Jesus says he is the good shepherd. As it says in Ezekiel, the Jewish shepherds are not feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or healing the sick. No, they are just thinking about themselves. Jesus says that is what is happening in his day. So God rejects their ministry and decides that He will come Himself to look after the sheep So, Jesus is the good shepherd who has come. The bad shepherds must go.

 The context of the passage is Jesus rebuking the Jewish leaders for expelling the beggar born blind; the background is all of this Old Testament teaching of how God will judge the bad shepherds and send his own.

 We are nearly ready to look at the passage but first I would like to correct something that is often wrongly said about John 10:10. Jesus says that ‘’The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy. I come that they may have life and have it abundantly.’

 Then there is this dogmatic assertion that Jesus is talking about Satan, that Satan only comes to steal and kill and destroy. There are two problems with this teaching. First of all that is not what the verse says, and this is not what this passage is about. We cannot go to a verse and make it say whatever we want. We have to let the verse speak for itself, in its context. There is no mention of Satan in this verse or in all of Chapter 10. It is clear from the context and the background who the thieves are: the religious leaders of Israel. This is the context, supported by the obvious background in Ezekiel 34, where again there is no mention of Satan. It’s all about Israel’s leaders. That’s the first problem. It is not in the text.

 The second is that with this interpretation there is a danger that we can get the impression that Satan is out of control. That he is on a rampage, stealing, and killing and destroying. And from this the idea comes that all suffering and death is because of Satan’s activity – which God cannot control. This undermines the sovereignty of God. That is not the view of the Bible. Read Job, read Revelation. Satan is completely under God’s control. We have to fight in this spiritual warfare, but it is important that we do not overemphasize Satan. That is what can happen when we misinterpret this verse.

 Now let’s look at Jesus’s teaching about the good shepherd. A good way to look at this passage is to focus on the three subjects that Jesus focuses one.

 Jesus talks about the gate, he talks about the shepherd, and he talks about the sheep.

 Let’s see then what Jesus says about the gate, v. 1 – 10

 The gate is the entrance to all that is safe and full of provision for the sheep (v. 9), and this is the gate that the true shepherd will use, and this gate will be opened by the ‘gatekeeper’. This picture was very normal in Jesus’ day. The shepherd would have a ‘gatekeeper’ who would guard the sheep pen and he would open the gate for the shepherd. Then in v. 7 Jesus spells out that He is the gate. He is the only way to life and safety, to salvation.

 Jesus is the gate for the sheep. But there are others who try to use another way. They are thieves. Jesus says this, three times. In v. 1, v. 8, and v. 10. As said, this is talking about the religious leaders – and if this is happening during the Feast of Dedication. Jesus is talking about the Maccabees – who came before him. And therefore about Herod the Great who married into the Maccabean family.

 It is important to take in what Jesus is saying here. He is calling all those who use violence in the cause of nationalism ‘thieves and robbers’ because they do not use the only gate that brings life, His gate. Anyone who promises life and health apart from Jesus, according to this passage is a ‘thief and a robber’.

 Let us now look and see what Jesus says about the good shepherd (1 – 18)

 He has a voice (v.3), and He knows all of his sheep, by name. And so, with his voice, He leads them. Then in v. 11 Jesus says ‘I am the good shepherd’. Another word for good could be noble. Again note the claim to divinity here, Jesus is using ‘I am’ and a title that Jews connected with God from the Old Testament. The first time God is called Shepherd is in Genesis.

 Jesus defines what He means by good, and we swiftly see how it contrasts with the thieves and robbers. He will give his life for his sheep. Of course in the usual work of a shepherd, that would not have been normal. What is important is the attitude. Just like David when he fought with a lion and a bear that was attacking his sheep, so Jesus is always ready to give his life for his sheep. There is also perhaps a reference here to how a shepherd would lay  across the door of the sheep pen at night, guarding the sheep.

 But there is more here. Four times in just seven verses Jesus talks about laying his life down (v.11, 15, 17, and 18), and He connects it with his relationship with God. It is something God the Father and the Son are involved with. It is impossible not to conclude that Jesus is talking about the cross and the resurrection, which he refers to in v. 18. This is typical of the Gospel. We start at one level, but then we see there is another level.

 Here is a clear contrast. The thieves and the hired hands, they are just involved with the sheep for what they can get out of it. For the thieves that involves stealing and killing. For the hired hand, that means running away. But the true shepherd. He stays with the sheep, always ready to lay down his life for them.

 Let’s now look at the sheep in this passage (1 – 18)

 The sheep know the voice of the true shepherd. They will follow him. In v. 3 Jesus leads them out. This is referring to the sheep that are Jewish. Jesus is going to lead them out from Judaism. And these Jews do not listen to the political saviours people like the Maccabees who think that the only thing that matters is a different political order. The true follower of Jesus does not follow that type of teaching. There is no safety in any political solution. There is only safety with Jesus. And since Jesus taught that most people will follow the broad path, not the narrow path, the idea that a whole country will become Christian is not true. It is just nationalism using Christianity.

 In v. 16 Jesus talks about having other sheep that do not belong in the fold of Judaism. They are the Gentiles. They must come in too. Just like the Jewish believers, they too will recognise Jesus’ voice. So Jesus leads his Jewish followers out, and then they are joined by other followers of Jesus. This is exactly what has happened. And at the end of v. 16 we have the declaration that there is only one flock. This teaching of Jesus is very important because there is a teaching in the church that directly contradicts this teaching of Christ.

 This teaching says that Jesus has two flocks, two peoples – the Jews and the church. This view is supported by people who call themselves Dispensationalist and another group are Christian Zionists. They tend to put a lot of emphasis on the Jewish people being in the physical land of Israel. This teaching is wrong. It is not in the New Testament. There is only one flock – the church, and it is through the church that God is working out his purposes. The apostle Paul also emphasizes this, especially in Ephesians where he talks about the wall being broken down between the Jews and the Gentiles so God has made the two groups one (Ephesians 2:14).

 In v. 19-21 we learn that this teaching about Jesus being the good shepherd divides the Jews. Some say he has a demon and is mad; others talk about how the blind man was healed. That is not the work of a demon.

 The Jews are divided, and so the writer is asking us the reader– well, where are you when it comes to Jesus Christ?

 From 22 – 39 we have the second section, ‘Jesus rejected’. We can picture Jesus walking in the temple and then being surrounded by Jews. They have one question. ‘Are you the Messiah? Tell us plainly.’ (24) It is true that Jesus has only told his disciples (1:41) and the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (4:26). He has never used this title with the crowds. That is almost certainly because the title was very dangerous politically. He would have been immediately arrested. So – he hasn’t used this title…but all that He has done shows that He is the Messiah. That is what he says in v. 25.

 So there is some irony when they ask for Jesus to tell them plainly. What could be plainer than the healing of the blind beggar, especially when Isaiah had said that this is what the Messiah would do.

 In v. 26 – 30 Jesus explains why these Jews do not believe. They are not his sheep. So, they don’t hear his voice. The ones who hear Jesus’ voice, they are his sheep. There is a relationship, the sheep following the shepherd. And Jesus gives them eternal life. No enemy can take these sheep from Jesus.

 Now Jesus spells out his divinity. He says it is God the Father who has given these sheep to Jesus, and that is why they are completely safe. Because who is greater than the Father? And so to v. 30, ‘The Father and I are one’. This does not mean that Jesus and the Father are one person. It means they are one in their activity – so all Jesus’ miracles have been – with the Father; so this work of the sheep coming to Jesus and being kept by Jesus, this is also the Father’s work.

 When we read about God giving sheep to Jesus, and those sheep being the only ones who can come to faith, we are taken to the difficult question of God choosing us and our free will. There is no time here to discuss that properly, but I believe it is normal for God’s truth to have two wings. Jesus is fully man. Jesus is fully God. So here – God chooses his sheep; his sheep must repent, or believe, which means repent in John’s Gospel.

 And remember what we learned in John 6 – v. 44 and 45. Verse 44 says nobody can come to faith in Christ, unless the Father draws them but then in v.45 Jesus says we can all be taught by God, and if we learn from God – we will come to faith. It’s the same in 7:45 Anyone who wants to do the will of God – will know if Jesus’ teaching is true or not.

 Jesus has done what the Jews asked. He has told them plainly. And they don’t like it. They want to stone him – again. Again, because in chapter 8 they had wanted to stone him after he said, ‘Before Abraham was, I am’. The response of the Jews is instinctive– but that is not enough for a human being. God asks us to use our understanding, and that is what Jesus does now. There are, stones in their hands – and Jesus says, wait, use your minds. Think. And He gives two reasons as to why they should think more.

 1. In Psalm 82:6 God says that the people of Israel – who received the Word of God at Sinai – He says they are ‘gods, children of the Most High’. Jesus has quite an argument here. He says, look at your own Scriptures. You children of Israel, you are called sons of God. But you are not stoning yourselves. So, I, who have been sent by God, I can call myself ‘God’s Son’.

 2. And again, think about the miracles. The healing of a lame man (5), the feeding of 5,000 (6), giving sight to a blind man (9). Only God can do these miracles, so that is why I say I am working with God, that I and the Father are one in our activity. This is not blasphemy. This is truth.

 Sadly the Jews only listened to their feelings. They did not think carefully. And so they want to arrest him, but Jesus’ hour has not come and he escapes. Jesus goes to where the story began, with John’s ministry. And many come to him and believe in Him.

 The chapter ends with a reference to John. In Jewish culture nobody was called a prophet if they did not work miracles. John though is an exception. He is called a prophet by many, even though he worked no miracles. What then is so special about John? We have the answer in v. 41. ‘Everything that John said about this man – Jesus – was true’.

 All through these chapters the writer is underlining how Jesus divides. Either he is the illegitimate son of a peasant girl who has learned to use evil powers to trick people with miracles. Or He is the Son of God, the Word of God, the King of Israel, Immanuel – God with us.

 There is no middle ground with Jesus. He is either from above or from below His either the light or the darkness. The truth or a liar. From God or from the devil. This Gospel is saying to us – you must choose.

 We have come to the end of another chapter, full of good things. Let me remind  you of just three.

 1. Jesus has a voice. He speaks. We must listen, and follow. And we must be very careful about listening to voices that are nationalistic.

 2. Jesus only has one flock. Be careful of any teaching that denies this. Our focus must always be Jesus, following Him, witnessing for him, serving in the church, serving the poor.

 3. Jesus’ enemies did not use their minds. They reacted without thinking. God allowed that to happen. We too must use our minds. The believers who do this will be blessed; the people who are controlled by their feelings will not be blessed.

At the end of this chapter Jesus is safe; but in the next a desperate message comes from Bethany, on the outskirts of dangerous Jerusalem - 'Our brother is very sick, please come.' 

For chapter eleven, click here - https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-gospel-of-john-resurrection-and.html