Jennifer Rothnie
Well-Known Member
Jesus uses several analogies in John 10. He uses various symbols to refer to the same person or group across them. For example, Jesus is 'the gate' in John 10:7-10, and the 'shepherd' in other analogies.
In John 10:1-4 He is not the gate, but rather the shepherd, and the gatekeeper opens the gate for Jesus to come through. Presumably, the gatekeeper can enter as well (especially as the gatekeeper likely represents God (Acts 14:27.) Jesus' point in this first section is that the Pharisees are 'robbers' and 'thieves,' for they do not enter by the gate. Jesus is not making a claim that some people and not others have the ability to enter the gate - it isn't the point of the analogy. His authenticity is.
In John 10:11-13 Jesus mentions non-sheep that might potentially enter the fold - wolves and the hired hand. There is no mention of the 'gate' in this section, since it is not a relevant symbol for his point. His point is that the hired hand abandons the flock while the wolf scatters it, but the true shepherd would give up his own life. (Indeed, the sheep in this section represent Israel, not believers, as the Pharisees were supposed to shepherd the flock of Israel, but were forgetting that they were mere 'hired hands' by God.)
In John 10:14-18, Jesus gives an analogy based solely on the shepherd and the sheep. He mentions the sheep who know Him (such as His disciples) and the sheep not currently of the fold that must be brought in to make one flock. The outside sheep only become followers of the shepherd if they follow Christ's lead and join His sheep pen. This analogy has corporate overtones of the Gentiles being led to Christ by the gospel, Jewish and Gentile believers being united in one flock. (Gal 3:27-29) Jesus uses the symbol of sheep to emphasize this point.
This chapter has a lot of tie-in with the prophecy of Ezek 34:
"...Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ...So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
“ ‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken....You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”
While a different analogy with slightly different symbolism, without mention of a gate, Ezek 34 mentions rams and goats in with the sheep, as well as even differences between the sheep. In its symbolism, the religious teachers of Israel are viewed as both bad hired shepherds, fat sheep, goats, etc.
None of the points that Jesus is making in John 10 include a teaching that specific individuals are destined to be sheep that come to His fold while other specific individuals remain either sheep outside the fold or other characters (robbers, wolves, etc.) Again, He speaks prophetically - that He will reach out to the Gentiles (happened by His death) and believers will come into His fold to be part of the one flock.
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