John 10:1-21

Read John 10:1-21 The Good Shepherd

Jesus uses several different analogies in this passage to describe his relationship with us.

Verses 1-6 what a true shepherd does, compared to those who want to harm the sheep

To understand this passage, we need to know that a sheepfold was an outdoor space enclosed by a low stone wall.  It had a single entryway.  If it was large enough, it was used by more than one shepherd and controlled by a gatekeeper.   In a smaller sheepfold, the shepherd would lie in the doorway at night to prevent any predators from entering and any sheep from wandering off.  The entryway is here called a “gate” (or “door,” in some translations).  In verses 2-4, what does a true shepherd do?

In contrast to a true shepherd, Jesus describes two sources of danger for the sheep.

• In verse 1, what does Jesus say about the thief and robber?

• In verse 5, what does Jesus say about the stranger?

Verses 1-6 immediately follow a passage where Jesus described the Pharisees as blind, and in verse 6 John says that they did not understand what he was trying to tell them.  What does Jesus appear to be saying about the Pharisees and religious leaders here?

What is Jesus saying about himself here?

In verse 3, Jesus says that the shepherd calls his own sheep by name.  Throughout history, shepherds and people who care for livestock have often given their animals names and called them by name.  In what ways does Jesus call you by name?  How do you experience him doing that, and what does this tell you about him or about your relationship with him?

In verse 4, Jesus says that the shepherd walks ahead and his sheep follow because they recognize his voice.  How is that a good description of the Christian life?

How do you learn to follow Jesus, and in particular, how do you learn to hear his voice so that you can follow?

Verses 7-10 Jesus is the gate

What does Jesus mean when he says that he is the gate?

In what ways is Jesus a gate for us, and what does this gate lead to?

His gate leads to salvation, where we can find pasture (verse 9).  It allows us to find abundant life (verse 10).

In verse 9, Jesus says that his sheep find pasture.  What does that look like in your life?  How does Jesus help you find spiritual “pasture”?

In verse 10, Jesus says he came so that people might have “abundant” life.  What do you think it means when Jesus says he provides abundant life to his followers, his “sheep”?

In what ways have you experienced an “abundance” of life with Jesus?

Different people experience this in different ways.  We may find an abundance of life in our inner experience of God, in the peace and joy we experience despite trials, in positive relationships with others, etc.

There is more to come on this point.  In chapter 11, Jesus will say that he is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25); and in chapter 14, he will say that he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

What does Jesus say about the thieves and robbers in verses 8 and 10?

The Old Testament describes the Lord God as the shepherd of the people of Israel (Gen. 49:24 and Psalm 23).  In Ezekiel 34, God denounces the leaders of the people as bad shepherds who don’t care about the people but instead fatten themselves at the people’s expense (Ezek. 34).  God says that the people are scattered for lack of a shepherd, so he will take the sheep from the leaders and shepherd them himself.  At the end of the oracle, God says to the people, “You are my flock . . . the flock of my pasture” (Ezek. 34:31). 

In verse 8, Jesus says that those who came before him were thieves and robbers.  This refers to Israel’s long history of poor leaders, who were often denounced by the prophets.  In what ways were the religious leaders of Jesus’s time like spiritual “thieves”?

Verses 11-15 Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd”

In verse 11, how does Jesus describe what a good shepherd does?

In what ways is Jesus like a good shepherd?

How do you see Jesus acting as a good shepherd in your life?

How is a hired man different from a good shepherd (verses 12-14)?

In verse 12, Jesus refers to the wolf.  When the wolf comes, the hired man runs away and does not protect the flock, so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters the flock.  In the New Testament, the wolf is often used as a metaphor for false prophets who lead the people astray or people who persecute Christians (Matt. 7:15; Matt. 10:16; Acts 20:29).  Where are Christians vulnerable to “hired hands” and “wolves" today, if they do not listen to the voice of Jesus and follow him?

In verse 14, Jesus says that he knows his sheep and they know him.  What do you think it means when Jesus says he “knows” his sheep, and how does that apply in your life?

What do you think Jesus means when he says that his sheep know him, and how does that apply in your life?

When Jesus says he knows his sheep, it suggests a very personal relationship.  His flocks are not run by a far-off corporation.  He knows each sheep – each one of us – by name.  How can you cultivate that personal relationship with Jesus that he has with you?

What does it mean to you personally when Jesus says that he lays down his life for the sheep?

Verses 16-21 Jesus says he also has other sheep, but there will be one flock, one shepherd

In verse 16, Jesus refers to “other sheep” that are not part of “this fold.”  This most likely refers to the Gentiles, who are not yet part of the “fold” of Jesus’s followers at the time he is speaking, but it may also refer to future generations.  And in John’s mind, it may refer to Christians who are not in the Johannine tradition of Christianity as practiced in John’s community but are still followers of Christ (like our different denominations today).  Jesus says that the sheep in those other folds will also hear his voice and there will be “one flock, one shepherd.”  In our time, who might be some of those groups of Christians whom we might think of as “not part of this fold” but who are still part of Jesus’s “one flock”?

When Jesus refers to one shepherd, he is referring to himself.  Why is it important that there be “one flock, one shepherd”?

In the Nicene Creed, which has been the definitive statement of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity for more than 1500 years, Christians profess that they believe in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” church.  Christianity is so fractured today.  How can we work to restore the unity intended by that word “one” that Jesus uses and our common creed uses?

In verse 17, Jesus makes a startling point.  He already said that he lays down his life for his sheep.  Now, he says that he lays down his life that he might take it up again.  In verse 18, he emphasizes that he has the power to take up his life again.  Many people throughout history have realized that they were on a path to martyrdom and they would have to lay down their life for their cause.  But no human can claim that he or she would “take it up again.”  What does this mean, and what does it tell us about who Jesus really is?

Does the fact that Jesus says he has the power to lay down his life and to take it up again offer you any new perspective on the crucifixion?  Although in one sense Jesus was being obedient to the Father, in another sense the Second Person of the Trinity, having taken human form as Jesus, had the power to lay down his life and take it up again – and he willingly did so.  What does this tell you about Jesus’s love for us?

We see in verses 19-21 that people are again divided about Jesus, with some saying he is possessed by a demon and out of his mind (i.e., insane), and others saying that a person who is possessed by a demon could not have healed a man born blind.  When you hear that Jesus says he has the power to lay down his life and take it up again, what is your conclusion about him?

Looking at the whole passage, what does Jesus’s description of himself as the Good Shepherd say to you personally?  What insights does it give you into Jesus’s role and work in your life?

How might you adjust something in what you do or say or think, based on your insights about how the Good Shepherd is at work in your life?

Take a step back and consider this:

In verse 17, Jesus says that he lays down his life and takes it up again.  Other New Testament passages say that the Father raised Jesus from the dead (for example, Acts 2:24; Romans 4:24).  People sometimes get hung up on terminology.  Who raised Jesus from the dead?  From a human perspective, God raised the man Jesus.  But Jesus is also God.  God exists as three divine Persons, one of whom is the Son, who is (a) fully human by his choice to become incarnate and (b) also fully divine.  From the perspective of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son takes up his life by the command he has received from the Father.

The Father and the Son are one (we see that in the next passage, in John 10:30) in sharing one divine will.  So it is true both that the Father raised Jesus and that the Son of God has all power and takes up his life again.

Jesus made it very clear that his death was not an accident and did not happen because he was powerless to prevent it.  He is God and had power over his life even as he submitted to death on the cross for our sake.  If we look at it from the perspective of the human Jesus, the Father raised him.  If we look at it from the perspective of the divine Second Person of the Trinity the preexistent Son who was made incarnate in Jesus, he had the power to lay down his life and take it up again.  But he is the same person: the God-man Jesus Christ.  So there is no contradiction.  Both statements are true.  Nevertheless, one perspective or the other might speak to your heart at different times.  What special insights do you see at this moment in your life as you ponder this mystery?  What does Jesus’s total power as he chose the cross and his total submission as he gave up his life, his total power to take up his life again and his total submission to the Father who raised him from the dead, say to you today?