In this chapter, Jesus compared Himself both to the gate of entrance into the sheep pen and to the good or ideal shepherd, who truly cares for the sheep. He contrasts Himself both to the thieves and to hired shepherds – Jesus’s claim is that He genuinely cares for the sheep, in contrast to the Jewish leaders, who, when faced with the healing of the man born blind, tear into him because they wrongfully allege that the law was not being followed. The scene draws lessons from the previous event during the Feast of Tabernacles, as well as setting up the next scene at the Feast of Dedication.
The background of the scene is sheep herding. Sheep could be gathered into a common pen, shared by many families who combined their flocks. These enclosures had a gate and were surrounded by a wall or fence. The shepherd entered by the gate, while thieves, seeking not to be discovered and to harm the sheep, climbed over the walls.
Jesus argues that He is the shepherd who cares for and protects His sheep; they, in turn, recognise and follow Him. In contrast, the leaders are like thieves and robbers, whose actions serve only to damage the sheep. The thief’s goal is not to lead the sheep but to entrap and ensnare them. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd, who cares for the sheep. The gatekeeper, who guards the door, recognises him and opens the pen to him. The shepherd calls the sheep, which hear him as he calls them by their names and leads them out. The note of intimate knowledge and guidance is the point here because he is a shepherd who goes before them and leads the way in front of him. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. The picture here is of recognition and obedience (Num. 27:15-17).
To underscore the image of the way, Jesus switches from the picture of Himself as the shepherd to one of Him as the door. He is the entry way to salvation and as such gives access to and from God’s presence as expressed in the image of the pasture (Ps. 23). There is only one door through which to pass to get to the Father, and that is what God’s shepherd represents. Whereas the thief comes to steal, kill, or destroy, the shepherd comes to give life and give it in fullness. Jesus’s teaching highlights the division within the nation that is formed by His coming, since some come to Him while the leadership rejects Him. Jesus is what a real shepherd ought to be; He shows His commitment to the sheep in willingly laying down His life for them. The relationship is similar to the way the Father and the Son know each other, so that the Son lays down His life for the sheep. Jesus goes on to mention other sheep not of this fold. This surely is an allusion to the gentiles, who also are brought in by His death. They belong to another fold, but when the work is done, they too will be led by the shepherd because they too will heed his voice. So in the end there will be one flock led by one shepherd (cf. Eph. 2:11-22).
John 10:22-42: At the Feast of Dedication
The Feast of Dedication is also known as Hanukkah – it celebrates the repurification of the temple after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC. Jesus was on the eastern side of the temple when the Jews encircled Him and asked for a plain statement about whether or not Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus’s initial reply is that He already had answered the question. His actions and remarks served as replies; the signs are the reply. However, despite the clarity of what Jesus had done and said, they did not believe. The reason for their disbelief was that they were not among Jesus’s sheep, an allusion back to Jesus’s discussion in John 10. Jesus’s sheep hear Him, know Him, and follow Him. In return, Jesus gives them eternal life, and they will not perish. In fact, no one can, even by attempted violence, snatch them out of His hands. God, who is greater than any opposing force, will use His power to keep the sheep safe. Thus, no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Note the oneness of the Father and the Son. Jesus is not saying that they are one in terms of person but that they work indivisibly together and in concert. What the Son does, the Father has willed and shared in. It is this intimacy of united action that the Jewish leaders object to as they take up stones as an expression of their view that Jesus has blasphemed. Leviticus 24 stipulates that stoning would be required for one who blasphemes.
God’s attestation supports Jesus’s right to make the claim of sonship, to call God His Father, and to claim oneness of mission with God. Jesus’s claim, if it stood alone, without His ability to do the Father’s works, would be disqualified. Without such works, He gives people no evidence for believing. However, the fact that Jesus can bring healing to the blind, for example, speaks for His claim. For even if they do not believe Jesus’s words, the leaders must acknowledge the works that He has performed. Then they would come to know the union between Father and Son. The Jews still are not happy and seek to arrest Him, but He escapes. It ends with Him not only affirming His messiahship but also highlighting that His sonship really is union with the Father. Jesus is not only the Messiah; He is the Son to the Father.
The next chapter, chapter 11, highlights the seventh sign: Jesus shows His power over life in the raising of Lazarus.