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Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees during the conflict that resulted from His controversial healing of the blind man on the Sabbath. The Lord affirms His deity and contrasts the granting of the man’s physical sight with the obscuring of the Pharisees’ spiritual sight. Despite being the religious leaders of Israel, they are blinded to the true things of God because of their inability to recognize and refusal to accept Jesus as the Christ. As chapter 10 begins, He turns to sheep tending as a metaphor to illustrate that He alone—not one’s Jewish ancestry, religious orthodoxy, or anything else—provides the only true connection to God.

There is little that is as vulnerable as a flock of sheep; the helpless nature of these wandering beasts invites predation and they are completely dependent on their shepherd for protection. To help defend the sheep in open country at night, first century shepherds would herd them into an aule, a roofless enclosure, pen or sheepfold. Someone would then stand guard at the door, allowing access for flocks and shepherds while preventing intrusion from thieves or predators. The door of the sheepfold would therefore be considered the sheep’s gateway to safety and preservation.

For that reason, and the precedent of God's people being symbolized in scripture as sheep and God's role as their shepherd, the sheepfold of John 10 is typically associated with man's salvation. The act of entering through its solitary door is equated with entering into God's protection and safety through faith in Jesus.

Beyond the implied security of the sheepfold and its one entrance, the Lord's teaching focuses on the dynamic between the sheep, shepherd and others. Remember that He is addressing the Pharisees, the self-appointed spiritual shepherds of God's people, who had nevertheless just excommunicated the formerly blind man for believing in Jesus, the true Messiah whom they reject. Clearly they have no perception of truth or concern for the welfare of their flock; they are fixated instead on their own authority and the preservation of it. Just like the Jewish leaders of old, they have enriched themselves at the expense of those they are responsible for, and the Lord brands them as thieves and robbers.

They are contrasted with a shepherd, understood here to be the true leader, protector and provider for the sheep. Only a shepherd will enter through the door to collect his sheep and lead them out to pasture, and anyone attempting to enter the fold by another way is counterfeit. Thieves and robbers represent false shepherds, among which are the faithless religious leaders of Israel during Jesus's day as well as the cavalcade of influential heretics and deceivers that have existed ever since.

In another claim to deity incomprehensible and abominable to the Pharisees, Jesus proclaims that He is the Door of the sheepfold. He is not just a door, but the Door; it is through Christ alone that one enters into the security of salvation. He is also the Shepherd, and “His own sheep” represent true believers. By His call He leads them in to God’s eternal life and protection, and out from the influence of the world to the green pastures and still waters of spiritual fulfillment. Through Him alone are these things realized.

To respond to the Shepherd—and enter through the only door—is to exercise saving faith in Jesus. Sheep have a sensitive and discerning sense of hearing; they are especially attuned to the voice of their shepherd and always recognize his call. This is a picture of God's sovereignty in salvation. His elect know and respond to His word, and because of this they are able to be collected, protected and sustained.

Thieves do not enter the sheepfold by the door. They breach the perimeter by other means and the shepherd’s sheep, not knowing them, will not respond to them. This again recalls the example of the healed blind man who, because of his faith, did not capitulate to the Pharisees’ harassment. The Lord warns that the aim of the thief is "only to steal and kill and destroy." Just as untended sheep are physically defenseless when faced with the threat of thieves and predators, people who do not know Jesus are spiritually vulnerable and susceptible to the influence and deception of false shepherds.

For ages, people have turned to organized religion of one type or another as they have sought spiritual refuge and connection to God. Some have been able to find that connection while others have been deceived by false teachers. However religion in and of itself does not impart salvation. There is only one way appointed by God through which man is redeemed, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the only Door through which His sheep may enter the fold and proceed to pasture. By His righteousness and intercession alone can man enter into eternal security and the abundant life of God.

Next: The Good Shepherd

 

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Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

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