Book of John Bible Study: John 10 - Jesus the Good Shepherd

 

Book of John Bible Study: John 10 - Jesus the Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd Discourse John 10:1-19

Vs. 1 Verily, verily is literally the Hebrew word “Amen” and along with “hallelujah” are almost universally understood.

Verily, verily: amen at the beginning of a discourse - surely, truly, of a truth.
At the end - so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled.
It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.

Vs. 6 The word parable here in KJV is paroimia in Greek and would be closer to the idea of an allegory rather than the classic form of a parable.

The third “I Am” statement of Jesus in John.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Vss. 1-13 Interpreting the parable or allegory

The Elements     Jesus Interpretation
Door of the sheepfold    I am the door
Thief and Robber    False Messiah’s, False Leaders
Shepherd of the Sheep    I am the good Shepherd
The Shepherd’s Sheep    The saved, the flock of the Messiah
A Stranger    A hireling

The word translated “good” means “intrinsically good, beautiful, fair.” It describes that which is the ideal, the model that others may safely imitate. Our Lord’s goodness was inherent in His nature. To call Him “good” is the same as calling Him “God” (Mark 10:17–18).- Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 1:330.

Vs. 12 What does Jesus say is the difference between the Shepherd and the hireling?
The hireling runs when there is danger, but the shepherd will defend the sheep to the death.

Who are the hirelings, strangers and thieves that Jesus was warning the people about.
Pharisees, Sadducees, false Messiahs

This teaching is a direct confrontation to the leadership of the Pharisees who did not have the best interest of the people as their purpose but were only hirelings out for profit or worse thieves and robbers taking from those they were supposed to protect.

Are there hirelings, strangers and thieves seeking to destroy the Lord’s flock today?  Who are they?  How are they identified?
There are heretical cults, such as Jehovah Witness, Mormons etc., which are seeking to destroy God’s people. There are false leaders, health and wealth prosperity preachers and even Baptist pastors who do care for the flock but are only hirelings. Their love of self, lack of sacrifice and the neglect of the flock identifies them.

Vs. 16 Who were the “other sheep not of this fold?
The Gentiles that would be joined to the flock of Jesus, the Messiah. They would all be His sheep and His people.

In John 10:17-18, Jesus says He lays down his life and takes it back up. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

How does the act of the Resurrection show the persons of the Trinity as being equal and all being God?

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant…

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

All three persons of the Godhead were involved in raising up Christ. A work only God could do, therefore all persons in the Trinity must be God.

The Good Shepherd Spurned 10:22-38

The Feast of Dedication, an 8-day celebration of the cleansing of the Temple by Judas Maccabees after its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes, takes place six months after the Feast of Tabernacles, so six months have passed from vs 21 to 22.

What was Jesus’ answer to those seeking a plain declaration of his Messiahship?
He had already answered them but they did not hear him. They would not believe the works that He had done in plain sight.

Why did Jesus say they would not believe Him?
They were not His sheep.

Does this mean that only a select, chosen few could know Jesus?
No, it is saying they must come to Jesus, not Jesus coming to them. They must accept His authority as their shepherd before they could know Him as Messiah.

Vss. 28-29 Is it possible, once we have heard His voice and come to Him to become lost sheep again?
No. The hands of our Good Shepherd, Jesus and the Father hold us forever.

How plainly is the doctrine of eternal security taught in the Bible?
We find it both throughout the Old and New Testament. Consider the following.

Ecclesiastes 3:14
Psalms 125:1-2
Romans 8:33-39
John 6:37,38,40,47
1 John 2:25
1 John 5:13
Ephesians 2:8-9.
Romans 3:23

What did the Jews understand Jesus meant when He said, “I and my Father are one.”
They knew He was saying that He was God.

What was their reaction to Jesus statement?
The picked up rocks to stone Him and accused Him of blasphemy.

Vs. 35 What did Jesus mean by quoting, “Ye are gods?”
Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods (elohim); and all of you are children of the most High.
If the word of God refers to those judges who served God and received his word as gods, meaning they were acting in God’s place over the people, then how much more would it be true of Jesus who was sent by God and was truly God.

Let’s take a few moments to consider several places in scripture that plainly teach that Jesus was God.

John 1:1; 10:33; 20:28
Romans 9:5
1 Timothy 3:16
Titus 2:13
Hebrews 1:8 (Ps 45:6)
Acts 7:59
Philippians 2:6
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 40:9-10

Conclusion

John 10 is one of the famous discourses of Jesus, it stands as a parallel with Psalms 23. In the 23rd Psalms, David writes as a sheep looking up to his shepherd while Jesus, in John 10, speaks as the shepherd looking out for His sheep.  
 

It is of vital importance that we understand His challenge to all of us who hear His words. Are we in the flock of the Good Shepherd? Do we hear and know His voice? Did we come when He called? Have we passed through Him, who is our door, to the safety and protection of the fold?
 

He is the our Good Shepherd, the only one who can give eternal life and protect us because He is truly God with the power to fulfill the promise of eternal life.