John 10:1-30

10:1-2 | Referring to the Pharisees and other religious leaders, Jesus taught His followers what bad shepherding looks like. A thief by nature persists in a lifestyle of stealing for personal gain. A robber is violent in his actions (an insurgent or rebel). False shepherds steal the joy and security of God’s people, and through their false teaching, drive others away from God.

10:3-4 | His sheep are prone to wander, but Jesus the Shepherd leads, guides (Heb. 13:20), and directs them (Ps. 23; Prov. 3:4-6), promising a way out of anxiety, despair, and indecision.

10:5-6 | Jesus said that His followers would escape false teachers and come to Him. Ironically, His listeners showed that they were not among His sheep, because they did not understand His point.

10:7-8 | Jesus is the door for His sheep. The sheepfold was a round rock wall with an opening for the sheep to enter. The shepherd would herd his flock into that enclosed area and then lie in the entrance so the sheep could not get out, and nothing could get in.

10:9 | Jesus describes three benefits of entering into God’s sheepfold: (1) thsoe sheep will be saved (Acts 4:12); (2) they will go in and out, freely moving about in the secure provision of the Shepherd; (3) they will find pasture (constant sustenance for the soul).

10:11-18 | Unlike the thief (false shepherd), Jesus said that His purpose as the good shepherd was the His sheep would have life more abundantly. The other sheep not of this fold refers to Gentiles (Eph. 2:12-14).

10:19-21 | Jesus’ words caused division among the Jews probably because the Pharisees understood that Jesus was identifying them as the “thieves” and “robbers.”

10:22-24 | The Feast of Dedication was underway. Now known as Hanukkah, it commemorates the resestablishment of temple worship after a string of amazing victories against the pagan Seleucids under Judas Maccabeus. It was a time, like Passover, when nationalistic sentiments would be high.

10:24-27 | Jesus’ sheep can be recognized because they hear and follow His voice. God has supplied His Word, not so people will obey it out of obligation or fear but to assure His children of their relationship with Him and guide them home.

10:28-29 | Eternal life is not something believers receive when they die; they obtain it the moment they believe in Christ as Savior. No one wil be able to snatch them out of His or the Father’s hand (Rom. 8:38-39).