We Have No Idea What You’re Talking About

John 10:1-6, CEB

I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter into the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw.  The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice.  They won’t follow a stranger but will run away because they don’t know the stranger’s voice.”  Those who heard Jesus use this analogy didn’t understand what he was saying.

                The last verse in the passage above confirms that the people who heard Jesus proclaim these words for the first time did not understand what He was trying to say.  I’m somewhat comforted by that because I struggle to fully understand Jesus’ analogy here.   I believe part of the difficulty for me is, at least in part, because I want to immediately jump to the interpretation of the story.  I want to know who the thieves, the gatekeeper, and the shepherd to which is referring.  I have found it helpful though to simply think more carefully about the nature of shepherding first. 

                A shepherd doesn’t hop the fence to get into the pen with the sheep.  The sheep have learned to respect the one who enters by the gate.  That is the way of shepherding.  The shepherd comes through the gate each time and the sheep know that when it happens in that way, what will follow is the care of their shepherd.  Someone who climbs over the fence, by contrast, inspires suspicion in the sheep.  They get skittish because something unexpected has happened.  They sense something is wrong.  They will not follow the one who enters in this jarring way. 

                But when the shepherd is let in by the gatekeeper, the opposite happens.  The sheep experience calm.  The shepherd greets them and they hear a familiar voice – a voice belonging to one who has been kind to them and led them well in the past.  They trust this one now in their midst.  They will follow this one who brings comfort and provides for them. When they follow the shepherd, they are protected and brought back safe.  When the shepherd leads them, they live with confidence.

                Throughout chapter 10, Jesus will expand upon this shepherding imagery, but it’s helpful to simply become clear about what has been said thus far.  What we can surmise at this point is that the people of God are the sheep in this analogy.  Sheep need a trusted shepherd, but all too often what they get is thieves and robbers hopping the fence for selfish purposes.  Given all that Jesus has explained in the gospel up until now, those thieves are the religious leaders of God’s people.  They do not have the best interest of the sheep in mind and they serve their own purposes.  They are exploiting the sheep. 

                The other basic element in this analogy is the gatekeeper.  The gatekeeper is the one who lets in the shepherd.  The gatekeeper will not permit authorized entry to anyone else but the shepherd.  So the sheep also implicitly trust the gatekeeper.  If the gatekeeper lets someone in, then it must be their appointed shepherd.  It is safe to assume that in this analogy, the gatekeeper is God.  God will only allow the authorized shepherd access to the sheep. 

                We now have established the foundation on  which Jesus will build upon to fully explain this analogy.  We can’t have full understanding yet, because Jesus hasn’t provided it yet, so we are right where Jesus’ first audience of this teaching were – in need of further instruction. 

Question:  How open are you to expanding and/or rethinking your understanding of God?

Prayer:  Teach us your ways O Lord Jesus.  Help us understand more fully who You are and why we can completely trust You.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for all the pastors you know today.

Song:  Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us – Rosemary Siemens