True and False Shepherds

John 10:1-6

It seems like every new chapter that we come to in our study of the Gospel of John becomes my favorite. Chapter 1 outlined the great themes of the Gospel as John presented Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh, the light shining in the darkness, the Lamb of God who gives His life for the sheep, and the Christ, the Son of God. Chapter 2 portrayed Christ’s mission and authority as He turned the water into wine and cleansed the temple. In chapter 3 we heard the crucial conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus about the need to be born again. Chapter 4 brought us to Samaria where Jesus transformed the life of a whole village through His words to the woman at the well. In chapter 5 Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, demonstrating His relationship to the Father and His authority to give life. Chapter 6 not only brought us the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on the sea but also His monumental teaching about being the bread of life. In chapter 7 Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles and invites anyone to come to Him and drink saying that whoever believes in Him will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart. John 8 gave us Jesus’ loving forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world, and His claim to be the “I AM” even before Abraham. We just finished chapter 9 where Jesus proved He is the light of the world by healing the man born blind and indicting the Pharisees for their spiritual blindness.

So today we begin our study of chapter 10 where Jesus presents Himself as the Good Shepherd. There is probably no picture of the Lord that is more cherished by Christians than that of the Lord as our shepherd. This image is woven into the tapestry of the Bible. From Abel in Genesis 4, the first shepherd in the Bible, all the way the throne room of heaven in Revelation 7:17 where “the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters,” the metaphor of sheep and shepherd is abundant throughout the scriptures.

In the Old Testament God is often pictured as the shepherd, and the people as his flock. David writes “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want” (Psalms 23:1) and “Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever,” (Psalms 28:9).  Psalms 80:1 asks the Lord to save His people saying, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! ”  (Psalms 95:7 and 100:3 remind us “For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.”

The leaders of the people are also described as the shepherds of God’s people and nation. Moses prayed in Numbers 27:16-17, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” Later the Lord said to King David, “You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel,” (2 Samuel 5:2).  The prophets also indicted the evil leaders as bad shepherds: ““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:1). Ezekiel 34 is a whole chapter of indictment against the wicked shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” (Ezek. 34:2).

God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, is also pictured as the shepherd of the sheep. “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young,” (Isaiah 40:11). In Ezekiel 34:23-24 the Lord promises “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them–My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. David My servant [shall be] king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.” (see Barclay)

So in John 10, Jesus draws a sharp contrast between the false shepherds, whom He calls thieves and robbers (10:1), and Himself as the true shepherd. This first half of John 10 falls into three sections: In John 10:1-6, Jesus contrasts Himself as the true shepherd with these self-centered false shepherds. In John 10:7-10, He presents Himself as the door of the sheepfold, who came to give abundant life to His sheep. In 10:11-21, He explains how as the Good Shepherd He lays down His own life for His sheep.

Today in John 10:1-6 we learn the marks of the True Shepherd of the sheep. Listen for those as I read John 10:1-6,

1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2 “But he who enters by the door is the 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 “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5 “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Our Lord describes a typical pastoral scene that is familiar to all in His audience. The Israelites were sheep herders all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Genesis 46:31-34). Some of this had to do with the topography of Judaea. The main this land was a central plateau, stretching from Bethel to Hebron. The ground, for most part, was rough and stony. It was therefore much more a pastoral than an agricultural country. The most familiar figure of the Judaean uplands was the shepherd.

In any city or village, there would be a number of flocks of sheep. For convenience, at night they would all typically be herded into a common sheepfold, a simple enclosure where the sheep could be kept safe from thieves and predators. The sheepfold had walls surrounding it on all four sides but only one door, one gate through which the sheep would enter and exit. Early in the morning, each shepherd arrived at the sheepfold and entered to lead his flock out to pasture. Then, at the end of the day, he brings his sheep into the sheepfold for safekeeping through the night. One shepherd is assigned as the doorkeeper for the night. The doorkeeper stations himself in the doorway, keeping the sheep safely inside and any danger to the sheep outside. In the morning, each shepherd reports to the doorkeeper, who recognizes him and lets him into the sheepfold. Once inside the fold, each shepherd calls out his own sheep and leads them outside the fold. Knowing the voice of their shepherd, the sheep of each flock go to their own shepherd when called by name, and then they follow him out to pasture.

Jesus uses this familiar scene to demonstrate how He is Israel’s true Shepherd, and how the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders are evil shepherds. It is, as John 10:6 points out, an illustration, a paroimia (literally, a wayside saying). It is a figurative saying (16:25, 29). Here in chapter 10 it is an extended metaphor or an allegory that show us a picture of who Jesus is and what He does.

Very briefly I just want to point out three ways to distinguish the true shepherd from the false shepherds.

1. By the way He enters the sheepfold. (John 10:1-3)

Jesus begins this teaching with that familiar phrase, “Most assuredly, I say to you.” It is His way of getting the attention of His listeners. It connects what Jesus is going to teach with what He has just said at the end of chapter 9. The Pharisees who were the religious leaders in Israel, should have been faithful shepherds over God’s flock, but they had failed. They were blind to the truth of who Jesus was and used their power to keep the people in fear rather than caring for the flock. The sheepfold here is Israel and the false shepherds are the Pharisees and religious leaders.

He says about them and all false shepherds (John 10:1), “… he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” The false shepherds are shown to be thieves and robbers because of the way they enter the sheepfold. They cannot enter by the door like the true shepherd because the doorkeeper does not recognize them as the shepherd. So instead they must “climb in some other way.”

Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15), “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” The metaphor pictures the deceit and the self-centered destruction of false prophets. They fool the sheep into thinking that they are sheep, and thus gain access to the flock. But their aim is not to build up and care for the flock, but to ravage them for their own selfish purposes (see also, 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2; and 1, 2, & 3 John).

Thieves use cunning and deception. They break into your house when you’re gone or are asleep and steal without your knowing it. Robbers are more aggressive. They hold you up at gunpoint and force you to give up your valuables. But in both cases, they don’t care about you. They only want to profit at your expense. They want to use you to further their own selfish ends.

Satan’s aim is never to build up or care for people! He always seeks to destroy (John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy”; 1 Pet. 5:8). And he often uses as his agents men or women who pose as true believers to cause destruction in the church. They seem to know the Bible and teach the Bible, which gains them a hearing among those who profess to know Christ. But their teaching and their practices do not lead people toward godliness, but toward destruction.

By contrast, the true shepherd enters by the door (John 10:2), “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” What is the door? Better, “Who is the door?” Jesus will make it clear in John 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep.” He is both the true shepherd (John 10:11) and the door of the sheep. As the door Jesus fills the Messianic office as described and prophesied in the Old Testament. The Bible promises that the Messiah would be born of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), a descendant of David (Isa. 9:7; Jer. 33:17). He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2) to a virgin (Isa. 7:14). He would give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and cause the lame to walk (Isa. 35:5-6). He would be the prophet greater than Moses (Deut. 18:15). He would be a light to shine on all who are in darkness (Isa. 9:2; 42:6; 49:6). He would provide the water of God’s Spirit to thirsty souls (Isa. 44:3). John has proved how Jesus fulfilled many of these and other Old Testament prophecies. These biblical qualifications are the “door” to which Jesus refers in verses 1-5, and through which He passed by meeting every one of them. So He Himself is the “door” for the sheep because He fulfills all the prophecies about the Messiah.

While not all would agree with this, it seems to me that the “doorkeeper” must be John the Baptist. As David was designated the king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, so also Jesus, the Son of David, was designated Israel’s King by the prophet John the Baptist. He was the predicted messenger, who cried out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23; Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1). John pointed to Jesus and said (1:29), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He opened the door for Jesus to enter the fold of Israel.

Jesus came to Israel through the door of prophetic Messianic Scripture and the doorkeeper opened to Him as the true shepherd so that He could call His sheep out of the fold. 

2. By His voice. (John 10:3-5)

John 10:3, “…the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” The picture here is of a Near Eastern shepherd who spent much time with his flock and who knew each sheep personally. One writer gives an account of this sort of thing (H. V. Morton, cited by Morris, p. 502, note 17):

Early one morning I saw an extraordinary sight not far from Bethlehem. Two shepherds had evidently spent the night with their flocks in a cave. The sheep were all mixed together and the time had come for the shepherds to go in different directions. One of the shepherds stood some distance from the sheep and began to call. First one, then another, then four or five animals ran towards him; and so on until he had counted his whole flock.

His own would recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name. Isn’t it nice when someone knows you by name? As the under-shepherd of this flock it is important to be to know you by name and to pray for you by name.

Have you noticed all the encounters with Jesus in this gospel are very personal? He met Nathanael and knew him instantly. He talked with Nicodemus intimately by night; He got very personal with the woman at the well of Samaria; He saw the man born blind and touched Him personally. Through all the centuries since, to every believer Jesus has come personally. It is always you and He alone. “He calls his own sheep by name.”

And the sheep recognize His voice. John 10:4, “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” It is the voice of Christ through words of Christ by which we are drawn to Him. The Samaritans in chapter 4 said, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world,” (John 4:42). Jesus said in John 8:31, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

Those who are not His sheep do not recognize His voice. They do not listen to His word. Again in John 8:37 Jesus said, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.” Then in John 8:43 He asked, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.”

It is still true that Jesus’ sheep recognize Him by His voice, by His word. We hear His voice through His written Word, properly interpreted and applied. The Lord’s sheep know His voice through His Word because they graze often in it. It is our daily bread.

By contrast, John 10:5 says, “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” The Lord’s sheep know better than to follow any false shepherd. Instead, they avoid such “shepherds” by fleeing from them. One mark of the Lord’s genuine sheep is that they persevere in sound doctrine. The more we listen to the voice of our shepherd by reading, studying and living God’s word in the Bible, the more we will recognize and flee from false teaching.

We know the true shepherd by the way He comes, by His voice, and third:

3. By His leading. (John 10:3-5)

Look again at John 10:3-5. Notice He “leads them out,” and “he goes before them.” That verb “to lead out” literally means to “put out.” It is the same phrase used in Chapter 9 of the man who was born blind. The Pharisees “cast him out” of the synagogue. The false shepherds of the Pharisees may have “cast him out” but at the same time it was the true shepherd, Jesus, who “lead him out.” Jesus led that man out of the false teaching which they had used to keep him in spiritual blindness. This is what it means to us as well. When Jesus calls, us He leads us out of the blindness and darkness of the world.

Note, too, that Jesus doesn’t drive His sheep from behind. He leads. When He leads you out He does not leave you alone; He goes before you. In every situation you have to face He has been there first. He has been tempted in all the ways we are tempted, yet He was without sin (Heb. 4:15).

With such a caring, personal Savior who always has our best interests at heart, we can submit to and follow Him, trusting Him even in life’s most difficult trials. He has chosen for you every circumstance of your life as a believer. That is the great truth of Scripture that helps us handle the pressures, the dangers, and the pitfalls of life: He has gone before us. What a beautiful picture that is! The Shepherd goes before. In the words of David in the 23rd Psalm, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me,” (Psalms 23:4 KJV).

John concludes this passage with the comment (John 10:6), “Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.” What Jesus said was not hard to understand, even for us today who have rarely seen sheep and shepherds. But the Pharisees who had rejected Jesus and His words could not comprehend what He taught them. Their hearts were far from Him and they weren’t ready to receive His words. The same is true today. Simple childlike faith is all that is necessary for salvation and yet many refuse to believe. Jesus is the true Shepherd and He is the door of salvation. Hear His voice, follow Him receive the gift of eternal life.

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