Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (4.5)

The Gospel Of John

John 10:1-42 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

Parable of the Good Shepherd

v.1 Chapter 10 is a continuation of the incident recorded in chapter 9. In chapter 9 the "false shepherds" (i.e., Pharisees) reject a true child of God (the blind man), therefore Jesus uses that incident to contrast them with the "good shepherd" who receives God's children.

Jesus uses the allegory of the sheepfold to teach lessons about false pastors, election, and spiritual discernment.   A sheepfold is an enclosure, generally made up of a high wall of rough stones with a strong gate. Shepherds would bring their flocks at night into the sheepfold for safekeeping, and return in the morning to take their sheep to pasture. Often several shepherds shared one sheepfold. The relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is a good example of the relationship between Jesus and us. Christians, like sheep, are vulnerable, foolish, and prone to wander and much in need of a "shepherd."

The legitimate shepherd would naturally enter by the door, unlike thieves and robbers who would climb up over the wall. The thieves and robbers are the Pharisees. Unlike Jesus who is chosen by God to be the Shepherd, the Pharisees are robbers who try to rob Jesus of His sheep. They robbed by using the threat of excommunication to frighten the blind man away from Jesus. They also used the man-made traditions, and prejudices to turn their followers from Jesus. Jesus' blunt exposure of the Pharisees as thieves and robbers, teaches us that it is good and right to expose false preachers.

v.2 The doorkeeper of the sheepfold would only allow legitimate shepherds to enter the sheepfold (v.3). The door is Christ (v.7). Therefore, a true shepherd is one who serves God with faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary, and with the aim of glorifying God through Christ. Those who do not do so are thieves and robbers.

v.3 Sheep are able to recognise their shepherd's voice (v.4). Similarly, Christians have the Spirit-given instinctive ability to recognise God's voice (i.e., the Bible). As oriental shepherds knew their sheep by name, Jesus knows us personally. Oriental shepherds lead their sheep by walking before them (v.3). Unlike other religions which use fear to frighten men to believe, Christ uses love to lead us to follow Him. The sheep in this sheepfold refer to the Jews. Only some of these Jews (eg. the   blind man) are led to salvation by Jesus, the others belonging to other shepherds are not led out.

v.5 Sheep not only follow their shepherd instinctively, but are also instinctively frightened by another shepherd's voice. Similarly, Christians will be "uneasy" with false doctrines and false preachers ( 1 JO 2:20).

v.7 [1] Jesus now switches to another aspect of His ministry. Besides being the Shepherd, He is also the Door (JOH 14:6). This is one of the seven I am’s. In other words, every single sheep must enter through Jesus if they are to enter into God's flock ( JOH 14:6 ). No prophet or apostle ever made such a bold claim.

v.8 This does not mean that all the prophets that came before Jesus were thieves. Jesus is here referring to the Pharisees standing before Him, therefore He says they "are thieves and robbers. " Jesus' sheep were instinctively suspicious of the Pharisees (i.e., they did not hear them comfortably).

v.9 The only way into God's presence is "by" Jesus. A door allows entry and exit. Through Jesus we enter into eternal life (pictured by the sheep entering into the safety of the sheepfold at night), and through Jesus we find all the true pleasures and joys of life and truths of His Word (pictured by the sheep being led out – to find pasture in the day). To go in and out, is a Hebrew way of referring to a man's whole life.

v.10 Instead of leading men to find life, these false religionists lead man to eternal damnation (i.e., to steal, and to kill, and to destroy). On the other hand, Jesus came that we might have eternal life and also that we "might have if more abundantly. ” [2]

v.11 "Good' means excellent. This is another of the seven I am's . Jesus uses this allegory of the shepherd to teach another aspect of His ministry, namely His substitutionary atonement (i.e., giveth his life for the sheep). [3]

v.12 Jesus uses the allegory of an "hireling" (i.e., one who merely does a job for wages) to describe the Pharisees. [4]

v.14 There is a mysterious unity between Jesus and His people.

v.15 Jesus uses the mysterious unity between His sheep and Himself as an "allegory" of the unity between the Father and Himself. [5]

v.16 The earlier sheepfold referred to is the nation of Israel. Jesus now refers to another sheepfold, namely the Gentile world.

In the New Testament age, the Gentiles would be led to Christ. The Gentiles would not be led into the "Church of Israel," but rather Jews and Gentiles would be led to a new sheepfold - the Christian Church, which shall be one fold, and have one shepherd.

v.l7 Jesus again describes the unspeakable love between God the Father and God the Son in understandable earthly language. When Jesus died on Calvary, the Jews thought that He was forsaken of God. Jesus foretells them that the Father loves Him because He lay down His life. [6]

v.18 Jesus re-emphasises the voluntary nature of His coming death. [7]

v.20 [8] Instead of seriously considering what Jesus had said, they accuse Him of being possessed with a devil.

v.21 The more reasonable Jewish leaders (eg. Nicodemus, Joseph ofArimathaea), though they could not understand the message, reasoned that since Jesus had the power of God, they ought not to dismiss what He had said.

Jesus Asserts His Deity

v.22 From this verse onwards, another incident that occurred three months later at the Feast of Dedication is described. [9]

v.26 [10] Even miracles cannot convince those who are not given the faith to believe (i.e., who are not the sheep).

v.27 See verses 4 and 14.

v.28 Jesus claims that He gives unto His sheep eternal life. This is a plain claim of divinity     because only God can give life! They had asked Jesus to tell them plainly, so He does, but again they do not, they will not, and they cannot, understand.

Jesus now teaches the doctrine of preservation of believers, i.e., neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. Notice that the word "man" is added by the translators. It is God who elects us (v.29, ROM 8:29,30 ) and “gives eternal life .” Therefore, no one can undo His work (v.29).

v.29 Salvation is described as God choosing us, "plucking" us out of this world with His hand, and giving us into the hands of Jesus. Though it is all God's work, God works in and through us. Obviously, no one is strong enough to pluck us out of either the Father's or the Son's hands.

v.30 Both Jesus and the Father will never allow any one to pluck us out of their hands because they both have the same mind, namely, that of preserving the sheep for eternity. [11]

v.31 Obviously, if Jesus merely meant that His views were one with God's, they would not have attempted to stone him. [12]

v.32 Jesus reminds them to reconsider their actions, since He had done many good works   which were obviously of divine origin.

v.34 Jesus quotes from PSA 82:6 where the judges (who had been given God's word and the responsibility to judge on His behalf) are called "gods" because they were ordained of God, derived their authority from God, and acted on behalf of God.

v.35 If they had no objection to these judges being called "gods" because they had been given God's commission (i.e., unto whom the word of God came) and service, why were they so offended when Jesus who had been given God's power claimed to be the Son of God? [13]

v.38 Though the Jewish leaders hated Him and desired to kill Him, Jesus pleads with them to reconsider His claim.

v.39 Jesus' escape was probably miraculous.

v.42 [14] Whether they really believed on Jesus, or did so only intellectually, we are not sure.



-----------------------------
Footnotes

[1] v.6 The word "parable"' is better translated as allegory (i.e., a parallel in the physical realm to describe the things in the spiritual realm). There are no parables (in the strict sense of the word) in John's Gospel. As with parables, not every aspect of the allegory parallels the doctrines taught.

The O.T. is full of references to the Messiah being the Shepherd and the Jews being the sheep (PSA23, 79:13, 80:1, 95:7). Most likely the listeners understood this aspect of Jesus' message, but they understood not the things which he spake unto them about election and spiritual discernment.

[2] Though the Jews were aware of the hope of eternal life before Jesus' coming. His sacrifice at Calvary made the hope clearer and surer (i.e., they had eternal life more abundantly). Because of this sure hope of eternal life, our enjoyment of the present life is also more abundant.

[3] In a sense it is an imperfect allegory, because shepherds do not really "lay down their life" (v. 14) for the sheep, though they may sometimes lose their life protecting the sheep.

[4] The Pharisees had no love for the sheep (v.13), they merely pretended to love them to earn their religious wages. They would not sacrifice anything for them (but on the contrary they would take what they could from them). Certainly, on the Day of Judgment they would not be around to help those they misled to escape from God's wrath.

[5] The "knowledge" between the Father and the Son is of course infinitely greater than that which Christians have of Jesus.

[6] Jesus was not killed, but He lay down His life voluntarily for His sheep. Neither was He passively resurrected by the power of another, but rose by His own divine power (v.18). This verse destroys the theories of those who teach that Jesus came to this world to teach us a new morality, or to be an example of holiness and self-denial.

[7] Jesus is better than any other good shepherd, because a good shepherd fights for his sheep but still hopes to keep his life. Apart from its voluntary nature, Jesus' death would not have had any saving value. Though Jesus' sacrifice is totally voluntary, yet He did it in obedience to the Father's commandment. This contradiction can only be resolved by the mystery of the Trinity.

[8]  v.19 This is the third time that there was a division among Jesus' hearers (7:43, 9:16). The Jews (i.e., the Jewish leadership) were confused by what Jesus said on laying down of His life and taking it again.

[9] The Feast of Dedication was celebrated to commemorate the re-dedication of the Temple after it had been defiled by Roman Emperor. This incident is placed together with the previous passage because Jesus is teaching the same topic (i.e., the Shepherd). Chapter 10:1-21 is linked with chapter 9, because verse I begins with "Verily, verily...", and verse21 refers to the blind man that was healed in chapter 9.

[10] v.23 This porch was the only remaining part Solomon's Temple during Jesus' time. Religious teachers taught their students in these temple porches.

v.24 Jesus had often insinuated to the Jews that He was the Christ, but He had never stated plainly as He had done to the Samaritan woman (JOH 4:25,26), because the Jews had a wrong concept of the Messiah, believing that He would deliver them from the Romans (LUK 23:2). Therefore, if Jesus plainly claimed to he the Messiah, they would have immediately desired Him to save them from the Romans. Even with the Samaritan woman, Jesus was careful to tell her of the spiritual aspect of His ministry first.

v.25 Though Jesus had not implicitly claimed to be the Messiah in the Jews' presence. He had many times taught that He was from heaven, and sent of God. Jesus had made many claims of divinity (eg. the seven I ams) that no prophet ever made. Jesus was not unreasonable to expect them to believe His words if they were not backed up by His miraculous works (v.37).

[11] Though Jesus and God are distinct persons, they are one in essence. Jesus' claim of being essentially united to God in the Trinity, though not obvious to us by this statement, is obvious to the Jews (v.33).

[12] The punishment for blasphemy was stoning to death (LEV 24:14-16). The Jews also tried to stone Jesus when He said ''Before Abraham was, I am" (JOH 8:59). The phrase "took up" is better translated "carried." This implies that they were large stones, and also that they had to bring stones from some distance away because they were none available in the Temple.

[13] Jesus based His whole reasoning on one single word of scripture because the scripture cannot be broken (i.e., annulled) but every word must be reverently received as inspired of God. This teaches us the plenary inspiration of scripture (i.e., the divine authority of every word of scripture). If every word of a legal document is binding, how much more the Word of God!

[14]  v.40 The last time that Jesus was beyond Jordan was when He began His ministry when He was baptised by John the Baptist (JOH 1:28). Jesus abode here for three to four months, until He went up to Jerusalem al the Passover to sacrifice Himself.

v.41 This place was not too far from Jerusalem, therefore, many resorted unto Him there. John the Baptist never performed any miracles because He was only a "voice" announcing Jesus' arrival.