The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
January, 1957
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Twenty-four)

THE THREE PARABLES OF THE SHEPHERD, THE GATE, AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD

As one will see, if he studies carefully the facts that are presented in John 7:1-10:21, these chapters deal with that which occurred at the Feast of Tabernacles during the last year of our Lord's personal ministry here upon earth. In John 9:1 we see this statement: "And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth." The Lord Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. After the feast He seems to have tarried there a little while and preached the theme of His being the Light of the world (John 8). Possibly, when He finished that message and the debate which followed, He passed along some place in the city of Jerusalem and saw this blind man and healed him.

The record of the healing of this man is found in John 9:1-12. The pharisees would not accept the testimony that was borne concerning the healing of this man. They therefore, had an investigation as to what part Jesus played in the restoration of sight to this unfortunate man (John 9:13-34). The account concludes with the discussion of the moral issues involved found in John 9:35-41.

Unfortunately, the chapter division here was made at the wrong place. Chapter 10:1-21 is part of the sequel to the story recorded in chapter nine. The Pharisees were the ones causing the trouble. Having a demonstration of their tactics of forcing every situation possible, the Lord Jesus spoke these parables which are recorded in chapter 10:1-21—and also later the message found in 10:22-39. These parables are drawn from the life of a shepherd and his sheep. In Palestine during ancient days, as at present, the shepherds would lead their flocks into their fold, causing them to pass through the gate. Such a fold was an enclosure. After the shepherds brought their sheep into the fold, the door or gate was locked, and the doorkeeper or watchman was stationed there, who kept watch during the night. In the morning the shepherds, whose flocks were in the fold, would come to the gate and would be allowed to enter the fold by the porter or guard. When the shepherd desired to lead his flock forth, he called his sheep, all of which recognized their master and followed him. He would then lead them forth through the gate to graze.

On the other hand, thieves and robbers would not go to the door to be admitted into the fold by the porter, but would climb up in some other way and would try to steal the sheep.

The Parable of the Shepherd

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them" (John 10:1-6).

The Pharisees, Sadducees and other groups who usurped authority over the people of Israel were the thieves and robbers, of the parable, who used their positions for their own personal advantage and ends. They did not come by the door but climbed up another way.

When we study this parable in the light of the entire situation, we see that the porter was none other than John the Baptist, who opened the door of the Jewish fold so that the True Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, might enter in and call forth His sheep. That John was the porter who opened the door for the shepherd, the Messiah of Israel, is seen in John 1:29-34. John, the porter, was the forerunner who prepared the way for the shepherd by opening the door, figuratively speaking, of the fold of Israel. By him the Lord Jesus Christ entered.

When he was thus admitted into the Jewish fold by John, He began to call forth His sheep. To those who would not hear His message, he said that they were not His sheep because they would not hear His voice. But those who heard and believed on Him, He avowed, are His sheep. "To him the porter openeth: and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out" (John 10:3). According to this verse Jesus, the true shepherd, called forth His sheep out of the Jewish fold. Like the Palestinian shepherd, Jesus said that, when He called forth all His sheep out of the Jewish fold, He would go before them and lead them to pasturage. After He led forth all His sheep out of the Jewish fold, He, of course, had to lead them into another fold.

The Parable of the Gate

"7 Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but that he may steal and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:7-10). Having led His sheep out of the Jewish fold, He has another one into which he leads them, as we shall presently see. In the second parable described in the passage just quoted, Jesus is no longer the shepherd, as in the first parable (vv. 1-6), but is the door of the new fold.

The Lord Jesus Christ declared, "I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture." On another occasion (John 14) He said, "I am the way and the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father, but by me." He is the door, figuratively speaking, through which we pass in coming into the new fold—in coming to God. If one ignores the Lord Jesus, there is no hope for him. He that believeth not on Christ is condemned already because he has not believed on the only begotten son of God who alone is able to save.

We must notice very carefully the exact wording of verse three, to which we have already given attention, and the statement in verse nine. In verse three the shepherd is said to lead his sheep out of the Jewish fold, but does not lead them back into it. On the contrary, He leads His sheep into this new fold of which He is the door. Note that the sheep go in and out of the new fold and find pasture. In their going into the fold, they have protection; in their going out of it, they have provision—everything necessary for their life and welfare. In other words, all their needs are met. By recognizing that there are two distinct parables and two different points of view, we see that there is no contradiction between verses 3 and 9. The old fold was the Jewish; the new one is the Christian.

The Good Shepherd

"11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. 12 He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: 13 he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, 15 even as the Father knowest me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18 No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father" (John 10:11-18).

In this block of Scripture Jesus gives us some idea as to what He as the Good Shepherd does for His sheep. In the first parable He is the shepherd to whom the porter opened the fold. In the second parable, He is the gate or the door by or through which the sheep—those who know Him, hear his voice, and follow Him—go in and out of the place of protection, for their pasturage, for everything that is necessary for their wellbeing.

But this shepherd is the Good Shepherd; He is the Good Shepherd because He is the true shepherd; He lays down His life for His sheep. If He were simply a hireling and not a real shepherd, He would not lay down His life for His sheep, but would flee in time of danger. When the hireling knows that the wolf is coming, he flees. The wolf both seizes some of the sheep and scatters the rest. He follows his human standards, thinking that self-preservation is the first law of nature, which is the ideal of unregenerated man.

Jesus is represented in Psalm 22:1-21 as the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep—for the redemption of all who believe, regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles. He tasted death for every man. It is the will of God that none should perish, but that all should come unto repentance.

According to verse 15 Jesus knows His own sheep and they know Him—"Even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." What makes a person one of the Lord's sheep? The fact that he longs for truth and wants to do the will of God is proof that he is one of the Lord's sheep. Palestinian sheep know the voice of their shepherd and will not trail behind a stranger, but will always follow their own shepherd. Those who have a longing for God and for His service are divinely enabled to detect the voice of the true shepherd. May I illustrate this point? When Paul went to Philippi, he attended a prayer meeting that was held by some Jewish women by the riverside. One of those attending that meeting was Lydia, whose heart God opened to give heed to the things that were spoken by the Apostle Paul (Acts 16). She was one of the Lord's sheep. Why was she one of His sheep? She was hungering and thirsting after righteousness. When one longs for the will of God, He opens the heart, inclines the soul, and leads such a one to see the truth, in order that he might come to the Saviour and be gloriously and eternally saved.

Those who are genuinely the Lord's sheep—those hungering and thirsting after righteousness—know the Lord Jesus Christ in a most intimate way, as is stated in these words "and I know mine own, and mine own know me, 15 even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father..." The Good Shepherd, therefore, lays down His life for His sheep.

Verse 16 is a prophecy concerning the new fold to which Christ leads His sheep: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." In this verse Christ is speaking of His church into which all, both Jews and Gentiles, are brought and enjoy one glorious fellowship. A little before this time Jesus foretold the establishment of the Church, as we see in Matthew 16:18 "... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." The middle wall of partition has now been broken down, and believers from all nations are brought together and are united in Christ—in one spiritual fellowship.

The Father loved the Son because He laid down His life for His sheep, that He might take it up again. No one took the life of Jesus, but He laid it down voluntarily. At the time of the arrest, He could have called upon God who would have sent Him twelve legions of angels and delivered Him, but that was not His will nor the will of God. Thus, Jesus laid down his life. At various times different ones tried to accomplish His death, but were unable to do so because his hour was not yet come. While it is absolutely true that Jesus laid down His life and took it up again, it is also true that God raised Him from the dead, as we are repeatedly told in the Scriptures. There was perfect harmony and cooperation between the Father and the Son in the matter of His death, burial, and resurrection.

Division Among the Jews

When Christ uttered these profound, eternal truths, His auditors did not understand. Some thought that He was actually possessed by a demon and that an evil spirit was speaking in and through Him. They therefore said, "He is mad," that is, He has lost His mind. Others, speaking in His behalf, affirmed that He was not possessed of a demon. The reason for their saying that He was not demonized was that one could not open the eyes of the blind as Jesus had done (John 9) if he were under the power of a demon. Whenever the truth is preached, the honest heart readily accepts; the dishonest ones who are not caring for truth—who are not Christ's sheep—stop their ears and turn away from the truth. Let us always ask God to help us to be sincere and to desire the truth above everything in the world.