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John

John 
Day 
Day 132

False shepherds

Text: John 10 : 1- 21

FALSE SHEPHERDS

The problem of false shepherds was highlighted by the prophet Ezekiel. Jesus in comparison spoke mildly. Let’s take time to compare the two sets of texts.

Ezekiel preached a very powerful word against the false shepherds.

“You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool;
you slaughter the fatlings, but do not feed the flock.
The weak you have not strengthened,
nor have you healed those who were sick,
Nor bound up the broken, nor brought back
what was driven away, nor sought what was lost;
but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd;
and they became food for all the beasts of the field
when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through
all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock
was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one
was seeking or searching for them.”
Ezekiel 34:3-6

Compare how graciously Jesus spoke as He sought to shepherd the flock.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
does not enter the sheepfold by the door,
but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief
and a robber.”
John 10:1

Jesus, of course, has to mention the fact that there were bad or false shepherds. His focus, however was to introduce Himself as the True and Good Shepherd!

THE TRUE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

In order to understand the imagery employed by Jesus, we need to have some background knowledge of how sheep were raised in those days. The reference to the “sheepfold” is that of a public or common sheepfold.

If sheep were brought to the market for sale, they would have to be put in a temporary place, until the transactions were done. Shepherds who led their sheep to the market would put their sheep with other sheep in the common sheepfold. There was usually a “doorkeeper” employed to look after the sheepfold.

Sometimes a shepherd may be passing a public sheepfold as he leads his flock from one pasture to another. If the journey were too long, the wise shepherd would lodge his sheep temporarily at a public sheepfold. He would certainly want to do this if the sun was setting. It would be foolish to attempt to lead a flock by night!

The public sheepfold would be an enclosure. A fairly low wall would make up the exterior of the enclosure. There would be a gate where the shepherds could use to lead his sheep in and out of the sheepfold.

Those who were not true shepherds, but who were in fact thieves and robbers, out for mischief, would often try and sneak in to steal the sheep if they could. Should the doorkeeper resist them, they would be ready to resort to violence, hence the distinction between the words “a thief and a robber”. They would try and climb the low walls to enter into the sheepfold to steal.

The true shepherd on the other hand, would not need to sneak in. He could walk straight up to the doorkeeper and speak to him concerning his sheep. John noted this.

“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep,
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice;
and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them;
and the sheep follow him, for they know His voice.”
John 10:2-4

The doorkeeper would of course recognize the shepherd. He would let him in to gather his flock. But how would the shepherd be able to distinguish his sheep from others? John noted some very interesting features.

AN AMAZINGLY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

Even as the shepherd walked to the sheepfold to fetch his sheep, they would be able to recognize his voice talking to the doorkeeper. “The sheep hear his voice” is an expression that describes the fact that the sheep were familiar with the voice of the shepherd through months and years of being together, as shepherd and sheep.

This relationship established is truly remarkable. To a person not familiar with the raising of sheep, it would be difficult to understand that a deep and significant relationship could be established between a shepherd and his sheep. Imagine a large sheepfold. Hundreds of sheep are in there. How would the shepherd be able to distinguish one sheep from another?

Each shepherd would normally have his own special way of calling his sheep. Over the months and years, the sheep learn how to distinguish the shepherd’s characteristic voice. The sheep had come to recognize the voice of their shepherd and would only respond to his voice.

Some really good shepherds would go so far as to give names to their sheep. Each sheep could be called by its own name! When the sheep hear the shepherd’s voice, they would follow him. Other sheep would continue whatever they were doing. They would not respond at all!

The intended meaning was very obvious. Jesus was that good Shepherd who had come to gather His sheep. In the large sheepfold of Israel, there were some who were not His sheep. They would not respond to Him no matter how hard He may try. But there were those who belonged to Him. They would follow Him anywhere.