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Commentaries
English
John
  
3. Jesus the Good Shepherd
(John 10:1–39)

a) The sheep hear the voice of the true shepherd
(John 10:1-6)
1"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;2but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.4When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.5A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."6This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.


In some villages peasants gather their sheep in a large enclosure and guard it by night. By morning, the shepherds come and enter the enclosure calling their sheep. The guards permit them to enter, then an odd thing happens: the shepherds do not each drive or pull their sheep from the crowded enclosure, but call out in recognizable voices. The sheep can tell one voice from the other, and follow their own shepherd’s voice. Even if the shepherd’s owner dresses up in a disguise, the sheep will follow the voice of their owner. Whereas if a bogus shepherd were to come dressed up as their owner, the sheep would not move at all. The sheep follow the right voice of the genuine shepherd. By calling he leads his own to green pastures and refreshing waters. His sheep crowd behind him; not one of them stays behind; they trust their shepherd fully.
Jesus used this allegory to show us that all who are willing listen to his voice, for them Jesus is the divine Shepherd. He did not come to the people of the Old Covenant to snatch or steal, but he chose God’s peculiar people from among them and called them to Himself. He rescued them and fed them with spiritual food constantly. Other "shepherds" are more like robbers prowling round the flock like ravening wolves. They enter in with the help of agents and trickery. They snatch the sheep for themselves and devour them. They live for themselves, and honor themselves. They do not genuinely serve the flock. Pastors and servers in churches who were not called by God personally and are not abiding in Christ truly, our Lord calls these robbers. They harm rather than help.
Jesus predicted that his genuine followers would keep away from strange shepherds and stay apart from them, sensing the danger in time. He also urged them to trust the promise that God, Himself, would tend His flock as recorded in Psalm 23.
People did not grasp Jesus’ words, not realizing that their ‘shepherds’ were unfaithful and evil (Jeremiah 2:8; 10:21; Ezekiel 34:1–10; Zechariah 11:4–6). Despite this, God was ready, to become their Good Shepherd, to quick His people and send them sincere pastors, just as Moses and David were. The Bible uses pastoral metaphors; the terms "shepherd" and "flock" and the "Lamb of God" and "redemption by bloodshed", all come from the thought forms of the pastoral countryside. God in His Son is called the Good Shepherd, to stress His essential care of us.