John 10:1,2

John 10:1-2. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up from some other quarter, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. The opening words are of themselves sufficient to show that this chapter must be very closely joined to that which precedes, for nowhere in this Gospel do we find a new discourse introduced by ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you.' The points of connection will be seen as the chapter proceeds; but we may briefly say that the thought of the Jews, who with their authoritative dictum ‘We know' (John 9:24; John 9:29) sought to hinder men of ‘the multitude' from coming to Christ underlies the whole parable, and forms the chief link binding the Chapter s together. In the last verses of chap. 9 the action of the unbelieving rulers is contemplated in its bearing upon themselves; here in its bearing upon those of whom the Jews were the recognised leaders. The figure used is taken from the very heart of the Old Testament Dispensation. Again and again do the prophets utter language of scathing indignation against unfaithful shepherds who ‘feed themselves and not their flocks;' and more frequently still is the tender care of the good shepherd portrayed. The Messiah Himself is represented under this character in several prophetic passages: two Chapter s especially, Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah 11 (in each of which the contrasted types of shepherd are represented and the Messiah brought definitely into view), must be kept before us as we follow the course of this parable. It is unnecessary to dwell at any length upon the familiar facts which form the basis of the similitude employed. The ‘fold' of the sheep was a large open space enclosed by a paling or by walls of no great height: ingress or egress was given only by a door kept by a porter, who is not to be confounded with the shepherd or shepherds for the protection of whose flocks the fold was used. All other points the narrative itself will bring out. In the first few verses the language is altogether general. A comparison is drawn between all shepherds of the flock and false and treacherous intruders into the fold. The application which Jesus makes to Himself of two of the figures in these opening verses does not yet come before the mind. The sheep are safe in the fold: there the narrative commences. We do not read how or by whom or whence they were brought into that fold for protection amidst the dangers of the night. In the morning the shepherds will come to lead forth their flocks, and having an acknowledged right of entrance will go in at the door. Should any one bent on entering the fold not come to the door, but climb over the fence and thus get in ‘some other way' (literally, from some other quarter, and when the parable is interpreted the significance of such a phrase will be felt), his aim is evil, he wishes to get possession of sheep or of a flock to which he has no right, he is therefore a thief and a robber, a man determined either by craft or by violence to win spoil for himself. ‘Entering by the door,' then, is the first mark by which a rightful shepherd is distinguished from a man of selfish and treacherous ends.