The parable of the true shepherd and the impostor

John 10 :1-6

The Shepherd and His Flock  

¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.  

 

I. Message:

Content:

1>（V1-3a） The importance of the gate in the sheep pen. 
2>（v3b-6）The close relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. 
 
Themes: 
1>The parable of the true shepherd and the impostor 
2>The revelation of church establishment. 
 
II. Who is God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit?
 
1>（v2-4）Jesus Christ is the true shepherd. 
2>（v3）Jesus Christ knows each of His sheep (each person). 
3>（v4）Jesus Christ walks in the front (to be the example and to be the guiding protection) 
4>（v6） Jesus Christ is good at using parables.

III. What does the passage teach us (about commands, promises, examples, exhortations and warnings)?
 
The geographic background: The Jewish were a nomadic people. The Palestinian region was a place where sheep were tended. Thus, the parables of the shepherd and sheep were very familiar to the Jews. In the Old Testament, the parable was usually used to describe the relationship between God and the Jews or King and His people. In the New Testament, Jesus not only used the parable of the lost sheep, He even referred to Himself as a good shepherd who would die for His flock. Therefore, when Jesus introduced Himself and taught the truth, He always referred to the life of shepherds tending their flock. 

1> The genuine shepherd and the impostor 
¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.” (v1-2)

Jesus claimed to be a good shepherd who would die for His flock. Therefore, He specifically taught them in the parable of shepherd how to discern the genuine and the impostor. According to His teaching, we notice that there are genuine shepherds and impostors. The genuine shepherd is Jesus Christ Himself; He comes to lead, to nourish and to protect. Concerning the impostor, Jesus said of him as a thief and a robber. The impostor comes to steal, to rob, to destroy and to kill. 

2>The characteristics of the genuine shepherd 
²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. (v2-4)

According to Jesus’ teaching, the real shepherd has the following characteristics: he enters by the gate; he knows his flock; he calls each sheep by its name; he walks ahead of them; his sheep recognize his voice and the sheep will follow him.

Jesus is the authentic Great Shepherd and a true good shepherd. He knows each one who belongs to Him; He knows our names; He knows our circumstances, including the predicament we are in. Because He is walking ahead of us, we can walk confidently by listening to His voice and by following His footsteps.

3> The signs exposed by the thief 

¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. (v1) ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” (v5)

According to Jesus’ teaching, the thief exposes himself with the following signs: he does not enter by the gate but climbs in by some other way; because he is a stranger whose voice the sheep do not recognize, therefore the sheep will not follow him. Instead, they will run away from him upon hearing his voice.

We should have the discerning wisdom to not easily concede the heresy as truth but to follow Jesus the Great Shepherd closely.  

4> The revelation to establishing the church

 ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. (v3-4) 

In this parable, Jesus also gave us the blueprints to build a healthy church which are as follows:

1. The shepherd: Calls each sheep by its name; walks ahead of the flock (to lead, to find the nourishments and to be the example)
2. The flock: listen to and recognize the shepherd’s voice; follow the shepherd not the stranger.

Reflection: 

a.

Is there any shepherd, who does not know his sheep; who cannot call the sheep by its name; who does not walk ahead of the flock; who is without vision; who does not feed the flock; who does not show himself as a good example? Or even worse, does that shepherd steal and kill like a thief does?

b. 
Is there any sheep that does not listen to the shepherd’s voice, and thinks he or she is smart that they run before the shepherd? Do they stray from the flock; do not follow the shepherd and wander about on their own; or do they follow someone else’s shepherd?

c. 
Is today’s church healthy?  Do the shepherd and the flock belong to each other? Are they deeply committed to each other? 

Translated by 曾秀娟