The Best Life! John 10:1-10

John 10:1-10 The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “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. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus again rebukes the Pharisees. He is going to use the metaphor of a good shepherd over the next twenty one verses to distinguish hinself from these false shepherds. Part of this is a continuation of how ruthless the leaders were with the blind man. They showed no pastoral concern whatsover for the man who was blind his whole life. 

"A true shepherd comes in the legitimate and designed way: through love, calling, care, and sacrificial service. God always intended that His people be led, fed, and protected by those who come in the legitimate, intended way. The door is there for a reason. Some will always climb over the barriers, but God has the barriers and the door there for a reason."

The most important quality of a good shepherd is they know their sheep personally. And conversely because of the shepherd's personal knowledge of the sheep, they know him as well. He knows them so well, he knows them each by name. There is something very important when someone knows your name. I just started at a new congregation recently, and though I strive to know all the parishoners by name, it is a challenge. I find the surest way to know someone's name is to spend time with them personally. 

Jesus the good shepherd knows each sheep individually just like he knows you individually. He knows your name, do you know His? 

Here are some facts/stories about the relationship between the shepherd and sheep in Jesus' day. They give us insight into the metaphor that Jesus and other biblical writers use throughout the New and Old Testament of the shepherd and his sheep. 

"In the common sheepfolds of ancient times, the shepherd merely gave his distinctive call and his sheep came out from the others, following him out of the sheepfold. Sheep are experts at discerning their shepherd’s voice." (Guzik)

“There is a story of a Scotch traveller who changed clothes with a Jerusalem shepherd and tried to lead the sheep: but the sheep followed the shepherds voice and not his clothes.” (Dods)

"During World War I, some soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep from a hillside near Jerusalem. The sleeping shepherd awoke to find his flock being driven off. He couldn’t recapture them by force, so he called out to his flock with his distinctive call. The sheep listened, and returned to their rightful owner. The soldiers couldn’t stop the sheep from returning to their shepherd’s voice." (Guzik)

The Pharisees did not realize Jesus was using this metaphor to expose what lousy shepherds they were. They didn't know their sheep. Their sheep didn't know them. They didn't even really care about their sheep and the sheep knew it. 

Jesus then reveals himself using this metaphor. He says, "I am the gate for the sheep!"

"Jesus used another picture from sheep farming in His time. Out in the pasturelands for sheep, pens were made with only one entrance. The door for those sheep pens was the shepherd himself. He laid his body across the entrance, to keep the sheep in and to keep out the wolves. The shepherd was in fact the door." (Guzik)

The Pharisees and other priests and leaders were theives and robbers in the sense of deceiving and stealing the sheep's relationship with God. They set up so many rules that the people constantly felt alienated by God. Their legalism essentially shut the door for the people to have access to God. But the people instinctively knew they were wrong. Since God had placed a desire for him in their hearts, they knew that these leaders were not men of God. They were men under the sway and control of the devil.

Jesus finishes with a famous verse worthy of everyone's memory. Though the thief (the devil as manifested through these false shepherds) came to steal and destroy, Jesus came to give life and life abundantly. In the metaphor of sheep and shepherd, Jesus protected them from harm and gave them good pasture, where all their needs were taken care of. 

The "abundant" life is available to every Christian. I think many Christians miss out on the abundant life Jesus came to give. The abundant life is one filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit, "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control." The life Jesus offers to his true sheep (those who call on his name and follow him) is the best life they could ever imagine. This doesn't mean there won't be trials and tribulations, but even within these trials Jesus' grace is sufficient and Jesus uses them to draw us closer to him. 

Have you learned to hear the voice of Jesus? He knows your name, do you know his voice? Would you say you are living the abundant life Jesus came to give his followers? Is your life characterizecd by the fruits of the Spirit? Who have been the false shepherds in your life, promising you things they can't provide? Spend some time this week with Jesus listening to His voice as He listens to yours! He knows you by name and wants to get to know you more!