John 10: 1-11a…Double claims of Jesus.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd.

Comment: Sheep to most people in the West are only considered as meat to be eaten – lamb or mutton or hogget! This talk goes back a stage where the sheep have to be cared for – housed, protected, fed, and shorn. The passage doesn’t say so but obviously the sheep mean people; the gatekeeper means the responsible guard of the sheep (ministers, government leaders) the shepherds are those who own and ultimately care for the sheep. There are two types of leaders – a good one (Jesus) and bad ones (every one apart from Jesus).

So Jesus makes the double claim – 1. that if you want to be in His flock you must enter His way, (He said elsewhere I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.) 2. that He is good and the Owner and the One who cares for those who have become His flock. And from the rest of the teaching of Jesus, we know that His plan for us is not for us to become ‘meat on the table’ but LIFE everlasting!

Prayer: Thank You for explaining Yourself in a way that we can understand, Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd.