John 10
http://schottremovals.co.uk/greta-b-03012019/ Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 10
This chapter is a continuation of the discourse begun in chapter 9. Morris says, “Jesus . . . intended it to be a symbolic use of the familiar scene of sheep tended by a shepherd, along with their sheepfold and its door. The sheep obviously represent the people of God and their sheepfold represents the place where they can rest in safety. At this time in history, the fold undoubtedly represented the covenant watch care of God over His chosen people Israel. Both the shepherd and the door are said by Christ to represent Himself (10:7,11) as the one who leads them into the fold and by whom alone they can enter the fold. Later, John clearly called all this a ‘parable’.” <:>
You will recall in John 9:41, that Jesus said the Pharisees claimed that they understood so they are accountable for their belief or unbelief. Scripture says every man is accountable for his belief or unbelief in the Lord.
Sorenson provides some historical background. In the first century A.D. in Judea, those who would shepherd sheep, often would build a fold adjacent to their house. It frequently was a part of the courtyard of the home. A wall or fence, forming the outer court of the house, also served as the sheepfold, particularly during the winter. At that time of the year, the shepherd would lead his flock into the fold (the courtyard of his house) at night. The gate (or door) was locked and all settled down for the night. Then in the morning, he would lead them out again to pasture. As in the old American West with its cattle rustlers, sheep stealers were not unknown in Biblical times. Their motive was simple — to steal sheep to be sold for butchering or resale. Such rustlers typically operated at night and came over the wall to steal sheep. <:>
There’s a picture here like John Bunyan’s allegory where the ones going to the Celestial City are on the proper path having gone through the wicket gate. Others join them on the path later, having climbed over a wall to enter it. It’s a good picture of tares among the wheat. There is only one right way to enter the kingdom of heaven and that is through belief in Jesus Christ.
v. 1 — This is a harsh statement. The Lord is warning against false teachers who wrong others in taking advantage of their position. The Bible is full of warnings against false teachers so we should take it seriously. Fifty years had passed since this Gospel was penned and Revelation was written. Could there have been error in the church? Most certainly!
v. 2-5 — Morgan has some nice insight into this portion.
“These two ‘I am’s,’ the Door and the Good Shepherd, are interlocked in a wonderful way in the light of Eastern life. It was once my privilege to cross the Atlantic with Sir George Adam Smith. I shall never forget the fascination of that voyage, as he talked of those Eastern lands he knew so well. One story he told me was this. He was one day travelling with a guide, and came across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into conversation with him. The man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Sir George said to him, ‘That is where they go in at night?’ ‘Yes,’ said the shepherd, ‘and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe.’ ‘But there is no door,’ said Sir George. ‘I am the door,’ said the shepherd. He was not a Christian man, he was not speaking the language of the New Testament. He was speaking from the Arab shepherd’s standpoint. Sir George looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean by the door?’ Said the shepherd, ‘When the light has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.’”
Sheep aren’t too bright. They need a leader. In Scripture, believers are sometimes characterized as soldiers ,but we should follow the Holy Spirit like sheep. He often teaches and leads through the Word. Without the Word there is no way to distinguish truth from error, feelings, or other information out there in the world. Jesus is the Word, therefore it is reasonable that the Holy Spirit leads by it as well. Be warlike when contending with the enemy. Don’t be warlike with fellow believers.
Here is some more history from Sorenson.
“The obvious truth is stated. The shepherd came and went by the door. A porter was a servant of the household who was charged with making sure the door was closed or open as the occasion required. He would take orders from the master of the house who also was the shepherd. Some have likened the porter to the ministry of the Holy Spirit who prepares and even opens hearts.
Jewish shepherds of the day often would give names to their sheep. The sheep knew not only their name, but they also knew the very voice of their shepherd. Pastors to this day know the phenomenon of their people instantly knowing their voice over the telephone. Notice also how a shepherd leads his flock. Because the sheep know, love, and trust their shepherd; they will willingly follow him. Cowboys will drive their herd. However, sheep will not be driven. They simply scatter. Shepherds who have built rapport, trust, and confidence in their flock rather lead and the sheep follow willingly.
At times, more than one flock was placed into a fold at night. However, in the morning when the shepherds would take their flocks out to pasture, each flock followed their own shepherd. They knew Him and recognized His voice. The stranger referenced here well may have been that of another shepherd. But the flock did not know him. Therefore, they fled from him because they did not know his voice.”
The porter makes sure the doors are opened or closed at appropriate times. We can be porters to teach the Gospel. The problem today is to get a good hearing about spiritual truth. We must work at creating interest in the part of the hearer. If we get a convert, we must be the shepherd and care for the spiritual needs of the new believer.
v. 6 — Jesus explains the parable showing us the exclusivity of Christianity. He is the door and the shepherd. There is only one path and only one fold. This is another of the “I AM” statements in John (also 10:9). The pasture is a prophetic reference as well. The final resting place is the promised land. See Ps. 23. Jesus is saying He’s the one these Scriptures are talking about. He is the shepherd.
Morgan explains the Christian life this way. “If men are coming after Me, they must enter into My enterprise, and they must go My way. Discipleship does not merely mean that it insures the salvation of the soul. It means fellowship with Him in the travail, and then in the triumph. Unless we are prepared for that, He says we cannot be His disciples.” <:>
v. 10 — The thief here is like a false teacher. There is no excuse for his behavior, not even his upbringing or his nature. He is willfully wicked. He knows right from wrong. He’s a real con artist. Behind it all is the battle against Satan — the god of this world. Jesus is the source of life as well as spiritual light and truth.
Morris says the “abundant life” does not consist in material wealth or possessions but in grace, abundance of good works (2 Co 9:8), consolation (2 Co 1:5), love (1 Th 3:12), work of the Lord (1 Co 15:58), and thankful “faith” (Col 2:7). <:>
v. 11 — See Is. 40:10,11 and Rev. 22. God is coming. He will complete His plan for the universe. The “Good Shepherd” will give His life for His sheep.
Sorenson illuminates more on this phrase. “In the New Testament, the word good reflects the epitome of virtue, integrity, decency, and love. There are few if any adjectives which describe a higher level of godly character than the simple word good. Jesus is not only our shepherd, He is the Good Shepherd. . . In the real world, of sheep and shepherds, even the finest of shepherds would not forfeit his life for a sheep. He might fight off a wild animal to protect the sheep. But in the final analysis, few if any would actually die for one of their sheep. But the spiritual superiority of our Lord here shines through with brilliance. He would so die, and did.” <:>
v. 12, 13 — The hireling is a paid worker. He does not care as much for the sheep as their owner does. Pastors today are often hirelings aren’t they? They may not even realize how dependent they are on the money and respect coming from their congregation which, when threatened, may be more important to them than the people’s spiritual growth and development. “Pastoring” has been a profession for hundreds of years. Though the Scripture says the laborer is worthy of his hire, there have been many laborers in the Lord’s work who did not treat it as a profession but as a ministry at high cost to themselves. Even Paul worked his own trade of tent making at various times so that he was not dependent on the giving of others.
v. 14-15 — The Father and Son know each other fully. In modern translations, the phraseology is different. Instead of “and know my sheep” the rendering is “they know me” or “my sheep know me.” Only the KJV allows for an inequality in types of knowledge of the Lord and the sheep. The sheep know the Shepherd in part, but not as completely as God and Jesus. For example, take Michael Jordan. We know some about him but not intimately. We’ll be developing knowledge of the Lord forever, but He knows us intimately already. Even knowing all about us, He is still willing to die for us! Modern versions also speak of the judgment seat of God rather than Christ. God the Father has given all judgment over to the Son. It’s just another way to degrade the deity and power of Jesus Christ.
v. 16 — The other sheep in this verse are the Gentiles. (Mormons consider American Indians to be the other sheep.) The concept of one fold and one Shepherd is prophetic. It can’t happen in this age where there is so much apostasy, as also predicted by Scripture.
v. 17, 18 — Here the Scripture says Jesus lays down His life and reclaims it. In Rom. 10:9, God raised Him. In 1 Pet. 3:18, He is quickened by the Spirit. It’s clear that the Trinity is a very important and distinctive aspect of God. Power is ability and authority. Modern translations use authority in place of power but it takes both (see Rom. 1:16) to accomplish something as wonderful as a resurrection. Again, the modern interpretations degrade the deity of the Lord. Look at Acts 4:12. Jesus is deity while being the perfect example of obedience for us.
“Jesus made it clear,” says Sorenson, “that His Father had granted Him (this “commandment have I received of my Father”) the authority to voluntarily lay down His life as well as the authority to rise again.” <:>
v. 19-21 — How about toleration and unity? Not here among this rebellious crowd! Jesus said many times He came to divide. Truth is often divisive. Those who want it are at odds against those who want it obscured. Sometimes those who are bright enough to understand the truth are against those who aren’t quite bright enough to grasp all of it.
[A special emphasis from Dr. Dave: Don’t use analogies to explain the Trinity. It’s too difficult and they tend to be similar to many heresies out there. Even with children, it’s not necessary to have a realistic earthly explanation for something that is difficult for adults to grasp. It’s okay to say we don’t fully understand things about God. Use the Bible itself to explain the doctrine in the Lord’s words.]
Another important truth here is that demons tend to be recognizable because there’s a difference between them and normal people. Jesus didn’t act and talk as the possessed people do.
v. 22 — How about this? It’s winter time and Jesus is out working the street. A good example for us.
v. 24 — Do they really want to know? What they want is to hear Jesus put into words something that would allow them to convict Him of blasphemy. Again they are mocking Him so He answers the question by reminding them of His previous examples and words — a direct and indirect answer. He is effectively saying, “You won’t follow Me so you won’t believe Me.” They act like He is keeping them in suspense but they just want Him to say clearly that He is the Messiah.
v. 27 — To follow Jesus is willful. The Calvinists do not like that idea!
v. 28, 29 — Salvation is a gift (not earned or forced upon us) given at the point of repentance and it lasts forever. “They shall never perish” sounds like everlasting life. Those who argue that eternal security is not Biblical must argue with Christ’s own words. Those who think you can lose your salvation, say nothing else can pluck you out of God’s hand but you can remove yourself. No way. See Rom. 8:38,39. The security is really triple. You have God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:12,13 and 4:30) keeping you in their hands. No one can break that, not even you. Remember that Peter denied the Lord three times and he did not lose his salvation. Eternal life is a present possession and no one can take it away.
v. 31 — The religious leaders knew and understood He was claiming deity. They rejected the claim and picked up stones.
v. 33 — Wouldn’t you think that they would know that the Messiah would be a man, born of a woman, and capable of sitting on a throne? These are all predicted in the Scriptures they had.
v. 34-38 — Look at Psalm 82:1,6. The generic term “law” was often understood to mean the entire Old Testament. God had derisively called into question these leaders in the past who had misused their power. The term “gods” here is referring to judges and leaders among the people. God had installed judges as authoritative figures to dispense justice and make decisions. We don’t usually call leaders gods because it tends to puff up those in control. This Psalm is a rebuke to them. They may think they are gods but they shall die as ordinary men. Jesus refers to it here because these are religious leaders of the people. “Why are you coming after me when Psalm 82 calls you gods? ‘The Word’ is come to you (in the form of Jesus in the flesh), standing before you and you want a sign? Just look.” He continues the rebuke of Psalm 82 against these accusers.
Morris adds, “Jesus is here basing His entire defense against the charge of blasphemy on one word, ‘gods,’ in a relatively obscure psalm. He comments that the ‘scripture’ — that is, the ‘writing,’ the word actually written down — cannot be broken. This constitutes a very important testimony by Christ to the verbal inspiration and authority of the Bible. The reasoning of Christ is very subtle, yet powerful, relying entirely on the use of this precise word in its context.” <:>
v. 39-41 — As before, it’s not His time to be captured. The cross will be coming in the Spring. John the Baptist did no miracles and yet it is recorded that he was the greatest man born of a woman. He was certainly one of the greatest preachers in the history of the world. All that John said about Christ was true, so many believed on Jesus because of John’s report. There is much fruit in John’s account because he plowed the ground that the Lord was harvesting. Sometimes we might get discouraged because we don’t see a lot of people coming to Christ. Since the reception is so cool, it may be that our ministry is to plow up the ground the first time for a later harvest. Keep doing the work no matter what!
~~Bonnie