John 10:1 “Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 But one who enters in by the door 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 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
The religious leaders of Israel were appointed by God to shepherd his people, to teach God’s ways, to lead the nation in the ways of righteousness. However, because they had refused to acknowledge the Messiah and because they attacked the blind man that Jesus healed, even throwing him out of the synagogue, Jesus continued speaking to them by referring to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. Ezekiel 34:1-6
In ancient times pastures were free range and sheep folds were communal. There were not large fenced-in farms like today. A shepherd would stay with his flock in the pastures during the day, and at night all the shepherds would lead their flocks into the community sheepfold. All of the farmers would pool their resources and hire a gatekeeper to guard the door of the fold during the night from thieves and predators. The next morning, the shepherds would arrive and call their sheep by name, and having gathered their flock, each shepherd’s sheep would follow him back out to pasture.
With this as background, in speaking this parable to the religious leaders Jesus was comparing them to thieves, robbers, and strangers who didn’t really care for the sheep. When Jesus healed the blind man and told him that he was the Son of God, the man believed Jesus and followed him. However, when Jesus told the religious leaders who he was, they refused to believe him, and they refused to follow him. And even after telling the Pharisees this parable, they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
Not about to give up, Jesus continued:
John 10:7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I Am the sheep’s door. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture. 10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
Jesus explains that he is the only legitimate door into the sheepfold, the place where the sheep are safe. In other words, in this context, again making an exclusive salvation claim, Jesus reveals that he is the only way into the kingdom of God. As Jesus would say later, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 The only way to the Father is through Christ, not good works, not good intentions, not sincerity, not ancestry, not any of the world’s religions.
On the other hand, in a pointed rebuke of the religious leaders who are leading the people of Israel astray, Jesus says that just like their father, the devil, they steal, kill, and destroy. While these false teachers and their teachings only lead to death, Christ’s teaching alone is the truth that leads to salvation and life, and not only life, but to abundant life.
Isn’t it amazing that the Creator, your Creator, is holding the door to the kingdom open for all who want to come in while at the same time guarding the door against all intruders with evil motives. Jesus loves his sheep, knows them individually by name, and provides for all of their needs so that they may flourish