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1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. ~ John 10:1-6
In the days when the Lord Jesus walked this earth, shepherds brought their flocks into one central sheepfold every evening where half-a-dozen flocks gathered together and were guarded by a gatekeeper behind locked doors. In the morning the shepherds returned and each called his own sheep. Although the flocks had been mingled together, each flock knew its own shepherd's voice, and each would follow its own shepherd and no other.
In today's text, we learn the marks of the True Shepherd of the sheep.
The first is given in v.1 which reads, "who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber." The true Shepherd of the sheep enter by the door. He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. He was born in Bethlehem predicted by the prophet Micah in Micah 5:2. He was also born of a virgin as predicted by Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14. The Lord Jesus followed the complete path as laid out by His Father in the Old Testament.
The second mark of the True Shepherd is found in v.3 which reads, "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him." The "gatekeeper," of course, was John the Baptist. He opened the door. He was the "voice crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord,'" (John 1:23). John the Baptist identified Jesus in the words, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," (John 1:29).
The third mark of the True Shepherd is also found in v.3 which reads, "the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." His own recognize His voice, and the more time we read His word, the more we will recognize His voice.
In addition, today's text reveals the process involved in following the Lord Jesus.
In John's gospel, every encounter with the Lord Jesus is on a personal basis. In John 3, the Lord Jesus met Nicodemus alone at night. In John 4, He met the woman at the well after His disciples went to town. In John 9, He met the man born blind alone. In each of these encounters he met the individual personally, alone.
The significance of this is we come to know the Lord Jesus on a one on one basis. The Lord Jesus never takes a group in at once. It is always one at a time. What we believe in the silence and loneliness of our own hearts about Him is what makes the difference.
At the end of v.3, we read, "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." When the Lord Jesus called me, He led me out of my blindness. He gradually corrected my thinking as to what was real reality. In addition, He slowly showed me that He had the best life for me. And, in time, He has showed me that my life is about sharing with others that He can be trusted.
In v.4, we read, "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." When He leads us out He does not leave us alone; He goes ahead of us. There have been many times over my thirty eight years of following the Lord Jesus that I have wanted to stop following Him. But, I could not, largely because He is with me. His abiding presence does not leave us by ourselves.
According to v.5, the sheep "But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." The sheep will recognize the voice of danger because he is getting to know the voice of the Shepherd. The nearest example of this is found in John 9 where the man born blind recognized the false voices of the religious leaders.
Finally, as indicated in v.6, those who are not following the Shepherd will not understand His leading. The Pharisees, whom he had called "thieves and robbers," had stolen the truth. In the case of the man born blind they had robbed him of the true meaning of the Sabbath, the true meaning of the Law, and the meaning of the shepherd. So here the Lord Jesus is saying, "I am the way to understand truth about life."
