scripture
John 10:1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
observation
In the last chapter Jesus healed the blind man and a debate started about Jesus identity. Today in John 10 Jesus reveals more information about who he is.
The shepherd is the guy that the gate keeper knows and he will open the gate for him, unlike the thief that has to sneak over the back wall, the sheep know who the right guy is and they are drawn to him. Besides the thief there is also the gate keeper, this guy knows where his paycheck is coming from and he wants that money coming in at least until the wolf shows up and then he is history.
The gatekeeper and the thief have limited interest in the well being of the sheep, but the good shepherd leads his sheep to good pastures and offers them protection from the wolves that are anxious to get to them.
application
Am I drawn to the Good Shepherd? The sheep are supposed to be, that is one of their traits, they know the shepherd, they know his voice and they are drawn to him. I must be careful if I don't hear the voice of the shepherd then I just may be in the arms of the thief or in the jaws of the wolf.
I am a stupid sheep and I must stay in God's word so that I will be drawn to the shepherd.
prayer
Thank you Lord for laying your life down for the sheep. I want to always be drawn to you, listening to your voice, so that the thief or the wolf will not stand a chance.
