1“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2“But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5“A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. 7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in [enters] and out and find pasture. 10“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12“He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” 19A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”
Interesting Words
thief
(κλέπτης Greek) – kleptés ► a thief who steals by stealth (in secret), rather than in the open with violence – Matt 6:19-20; Luke 12:39-40; 1Thes 5:4;
robber
(λῃστής Greek) – léstés ► thief (“robber”), stealing out in the open (typically with violence), one who plunder or pillages – an unscrupulous marauder (malefactor), exploiting the vulnerable without hesitating to use violence. – Matt 21:13; Luke 10:30;
shepherd
(ποιμήν Greek) – poimén ► a feeder, protector, and ruler of a flock, shepherd (“pastor” in Latin); (figuratively) someone who the Lord raises up to care for the total well-being of His flock (the people of the Lord). – Matt 9:36; Matt 25:32; Mark 6:34; Heb 13:20;
door
(θύρα Greek) – thura ► door, opportunity, entrance, gate – Matt 24:33; Luke 13:24; Rev 3:20;
enters
(εἰσέρχομαι Greek) – eiserchomai ► go in, come in, enter, aorist subjunctive [point in time, hypothetical] – Acts 14:22; Heb 4:1, 10-11; Heb 6:19, 9:24;
abundantly
(περισσός Greek) – perissos ► (adverb) more, greater, excessive, abundant, exceedingly, vehemently, (from perí, “all-around, excess”) – properly all-around, “more than” (“abundantly”) – Eph 3:20 (prefaced with huper, exceedingly);
(περισσεύω Greek) – perisseuó ► (verb) abound – Matt 13:12-13; Luke 12:15; Rom 15:13; 1Cor 15:58; 2Cor 4:15, 9:8; Eph 1:7-8;
(περίσσευμα Greek) – perisseuma ► (noun) abundance – Matt 12:34; 2Cor 8:14;
Cross References
▪︎ John 14:6 – Jesus is the way.
▪︎ Phil 2:20-21 – Good shepherds care about the sheep.
▪︎ Acts 20:28, 29-30 – Wolves come into the flock as disguised shepherds.
Discussion Questions
1. What impact do thieves and robbers have on the church today?
▪︎ Its a hidden but still devastating problem.
▪︎ Children and adults are lulled into thinking it is all about them having fun with each other.
▪︎ Worship involves man’s intellect and God (3 in 1), and includes deep commitment.
▪︎ Instead, they float from church to church following friends and entertainment.
▪︎ The false shepherds fail to protect the sheep (John 10:12).
2. Multiple shepherds vs. the Good Shepherd, why the redundancy?
▪︎ No one is perfect. It takes multiples to fill in the gaps.
▪︎ Men can fall into sin after years of fruitful ministry. They need to be replaced to allow the church to continue to grow.
▪︎ Spiritual life is broad, broader than any one person can excel at, thus requiring a variety of ministry experiences, even in the same body.
▪︎ Only the Good Shepherd can manage this level of complexity for each believer.
3. What are the characteristics of the Good Shepherd?
▪︎ He is God; He knows all, sees all, and loves and cares for his children, believers (Eph 1:4).
▪︎ He knows His own and they know Him (John 10:4, 14).
▪︎ He knows each of us intimately, calling each by name and leads each of us through our day (John 10:3).
▪︎ He does all of this in complete righteousness, without flaw or error (John 10:1-2).
▪︎ He provides sustenance, abundance for His sheep… life a higher plain (John 10:9-10).
▪︎ The Good Shepherd goes after a single lost sheep to bring it back (Luke 15:4).
▪︎ He has given (1Peter 2:24) and continues to give His life for the sheep through his church (John 10:11, 17; Col 1:24).
▪︎ The Good Shepherd is all powerful, as proven by the resurrection (John 10:17, 18).
4. Why are false shepherds so dangerous?
▪︎ Their work (wittingly or not) is directed by the god of this world, the father of lies, Satan. They are covert spies and saboteurs.
▪︎ They are enemies of God and His flock (Eph 6:11, 12).
▪︎ They are more concerned about their own financial gain rather than the welfare of the flock (1Peter 5:2-3).
▪︎ False shepherds fail to protect the sheep (John 10:12).
5. What is the significance of the aorist subjunctive parsing of the verb “enter” in John 10:9?
▪︎ There is the potential (subjunctive) for sheep to enter into the sheep fold, but it is not guaranteed.
▪︎ If one does enter it is based on a one-time commitment (aorist) made at a specific point in time based totally on the faith provided by God (Eph 2:8-9).
▪︎ The door is the one, the only true and righteous way to enter the Kingdom (John 6:44, 14:6), for all of mankind (John 10:16).
6. What is the difference between the Prosperity Gospel and the meaning of John 10:10?
▪︎ Abundant life does not mean getting everything you want.
▪︎ It does not in involve material things per se. It is not even about happiness, although that does happen. Jesus is talking about life on a different level.
▪︎ It is life on a higher level, an exceedingly greater amount or quality of life.
▪︎ A higher level of life… not longer, not richer, just exceedingly better.
7. Why do hired hands abandon the sheep in John 10:12-13? Compare to Phil 2:20-21.
▪︎ Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:7), when we first commit our lives to Jesus.
▪︎ Our lives are transformed into His likeness over a period of time (2Cor 5:17). Some areas are transformed faster than others.
▪︎ Care for others’ spiritual wellbeing should be part of the early transformation process, but not always, and maybe not immediately.
▪︎ Paul in Phil 2:20-21 saw this as a trait of Jesus that works it way out into our personal ministries.
▪︎ If you are not experiencing this you may want to be concerned about it since it is an attribute of the Holy Spirit. Consider putting a high prioity on studying God’s word (2Tim 2:15; 2Peter 1:3-8)
▪︎ Some consider ministry to people as a lower priority, maybe even frivolous. When things get serious people stop thinking about frivolous things, and only worry about what is most important to them. Unfortunately, wealth and money may also be a conflicting priority.
▪︎ I would recommend putting the highest priority on the personal study of God’s word before you consider a leadership role in God’s Church.
8. What do the last several verses tell you about our relationship with Christ?
▪︎ Jesus intensionally laid down His life as payment for the sins of the world. It was no accident, or miss-calculation (John 10:18).
▪︎ The plan always included the resurrection. That, too, was no after-thought, trying to recover from a grave mishap (John 10:17).
▪︎ Jesus death and resurrection is the focal point of God’s love… Father to Son (John 10:17) and Father to the world (John 3:16).
▪︎There are only three possibilities resulting from Jesus claiming to be God, the Messiah:
► He was demon possession or inheriantly evil (John 10:20).
► He could also just be insane (John 10:20).
► However, the Jews pointed first to His astonishing teaching which was contradictory to the above assessment (John 10:21).
► Secondly, His was performing great and magnificent miracles, not the least of which He just did, healing the blind man (John 10:21).
▪︎ In conclusion, the only other rational deduction would be that of the Jews in John 10:21… Jesus is who He claimed to be, the Savior of the world. Additional evidence is in fact that He predicted His own resurrection and ultimately changed the world. Other evidence will be provided when He returns as predicted, and will rule the world as God’s Messianic King. Turn and follow Jesus now, while there is still opportunity!