CCC #6 - Bonus - John 10:1-16

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(All scripture quotes are from the BSB unless otherwise noted.)

I said I would provide my interpretation of John 10:1-16 as a bonus since I wrote on it in my first eternal life article but had to remove it due to lack of space.

Since I included a bonus between the first and second manifestation, I will go ahead and include this between the second and third. I should have space to quote the entire passage.

Because my focus is on verse 10, I'm not going to fully exegete the passage (meaning word for word), but I will do some high points. Also, this was for fun, as I had never actually studied out these analogies. It does apply to the life topic, however, as it contains the key passage (John 10:10) where Christ Himself communicates His purpose and calling - to give life.

So, enjoy. I did. Maybe you won't agree but as always I hope it gives you food for thought. Without further ado!

John 10:1-16 - ““1-Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2-But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3-The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4-When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5-But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.”

6-Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them. 7-So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8-All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9-I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10-The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.

11-I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12-The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. 13-The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.

14-I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15-just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. 16-I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.

The Thief

While some (including myself in the past) have said that the thief here is the ancient enemy of God - Satan or the Devil - in the context of this passage that is not purely the case.

While that description certainly applies, and obviously he is motivating or providing the philosophy behind the actual thief or thieves mentioned in this passage, in context Christ is talking about religious leaders - those who would circumvent Christ as the gateway for life.

If you recognize life in all it's manifestations, then it would include not only those who preach self-effort for salvation but also those who teach or even infer, self-effort for growth. Going outside of Christ for growth is also in focus. We are not justified by faith and then sanctified by works. It is all one package given to us at salvation.

This is best characterized by Paul's castigation of the Galatians in Galatians 3:1-3:

“1-You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2-I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3-Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?” (CSB)

The “finishing” is maturity or growth - our attitudes and actions being conformed to the image of Christ. It is more and more reflecting Christ's character, that we already possess in our Spirit connected to Him, as we learn and grow. It is the fruit of the Spirit being reflected from our new spirit through our soul and body.

There are mindsets which cause us to try and grow by the flesh - Paul is calling those who have these mindsets foolish. And in this sheep analogy, Christ is warning about the same thing - teachers whose teaching ultimately leads to these “grow by what you do" mindsets.

In this passage, He is using sheep analogies but is switching back and forth a bit with the main characters as He tries to get His Jewish audience to understand.

One key to remember is that elsewhere Christ is called the “Chief Shepherd” - meaning there are other shepherds. Remember what Christ asked Peter to do on the beach: “Feed my sheep.” He was inviting Peter to an “under-shepherd” role (John 22:17).

So, let's look at the various characters mentioned in this passage.

The Sheep, The Shepherd, The Gate, The Gatekeeper, The Thief

In verses 1-5, there is the thief, the sheep, the shepherd, the gate, and the gatekeeper. Christ says that the gatekeeper lets the shepherd in, but the thief avoids the gate (and thus the gatekeeper) and sneaks in another way.

The sheep in this first part have already entered the gate and need proper 'pasture' for nourishment. Both the thief and the shepherd claim to have the spiritual answers, but only one has a relationship with the gatekeeper and is using the gate for the flock.

Christ is excoriating the religious leaders like the Pharisees, comparing them to thieves. They are the “blind leading the blind”. In this analogy, God is the gatekeeper and Christ is the gate. They said Christ was of Satan, and rejected Him (the gate) completely.

What is interesting is that they thought they were following God or Jehovah. Yet, by spurning the gate (Jesus), they also were spurning the gatekeeper (God). They were truly blind.

Christ is giving a way to judge your spiritual leaders or shepherds. If they have an obvious relationship with Christ and their teaching points you to Him, then they will be speaking with His voice, and you should follow them.

Yet, a thief may pretend to know Christ but in reality doesn't, or perhaps is immature and there is little knowledge of, or intimacy with, Christ. Their teaching may sound good, but it will have little gospel depth to it. It will be heavy on the rules and regulations and light on resurrection power.

Either way, their hallmark is emphasizing you and your works over Christ and His work. Whether for salvation or growth, they point you to something other than the power of Christ in you. They do not emphasize the new creation. Many may not even know what it is!

For those who are true sheep, there will be something within that begins to long for something more. A voice that sounds like the gospel - that sounds like Christ. For those who are not sheep yet, they may never become sheep, because they will substitute “Christian culture” for Christ.

And that is always the struggle: not allowing Christian culture and traditions to replace a careful understanding of scripture concerning God's gospel truth; putting your faith in the living Christ and not just 'christianity'; and worshiping God and not just our beliefs about God.

The Flexibility of Parables

As usual, the analogies in Christ's parables are quite flexible. Sheep can mean general humanity - scripture has certainly used the term for that. It can also mean those who are believers.

I can see both applications here, however, I believe this first analogy is directly referencing believers and what Christ is getting at overall has larger implications for believers. I will explain why in the next section.

The Sheep, The Gate, The Thief

In 6-10, Christ sees that they are not understanding, so He switches up the analogy a bit. This time He leaves out the “under-shepherd” and the gatekeeper and clearly indicates that Christ is the gate.

He then says “all who came before me were thieves”, clearly indicating the teachers of the Torah and Jewish religious leaders who were rejecting Him. Remember Christ and the thieves are competing over spiritual outcomes. So, thus, those who taught religion without Christ were thieves.

In this analogy, the sheep seem to enter the gate on their own. However, by implication based on the first analogy, the purpose of the under-shepherds was to lead the sheep to the Gate - or Christ. Thus, in these analogies we find information about both legitimate and illegitimate spiritual leaders.

The Goal: to find Pasture

Again, clearly Christ calls them sheep before they enter the gate and are saved. “If anyone enters through Me they will be saved.” Yet, once they do enter the gate, what is the goal: to find good pasture.

And this is where I think this hits believers. You may have entered the gate, but are you finding good pasture? Is your under-shepherd leading you to good food? Or is the food they are feeding you more like thief food - religiously tempting, but ultimately hollow; a form of godliness, without resurrection power.

Good Pasture Feeds off of Life

And this is where verse 10 comes in -which is my focus. Twice Christ has called “works based” religious teachers 'thieves'. So, it follows that His use of 'thief' in verse 10 is referencing the same type of person or teaching.

Teaching that is not Christ centered and focused on His gifts will truly kill, steal, and destroy. If this teaching happens before you are a believer, it can literally kill you, as you could remain dead in Adam if it draws you away from the gospel into self-dependency in order to please God.

However, believers can be damaged by “thief teaching”. It can kill your relationships as you relate to people in a condemning way since you see God relating to you that way.

It can steal your peace, joy, and other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. It can destroy your life as you run on the hamster wheel of self-produced righteousness and peace with God.

It can force you into walking by religious flesh, which almost always leads to walking by licentious flesh. And both will lead to corruption.

Teaching that is laser focused on Christ's life within you as a believer (the new creation) is good pasture that will help you grow. Teaching that is focused on your effort and obedience may seem good, but ultimately it will lead to taking your focus off of Christ and walking by the flesh.

The 'Good' Shepherd, The Hired Hand, The Wolf, The Sheep

In 11-16 it is the same analogy of sheep, but Christ switches it up again in some ways. This time the focus is on Himself as the 'good' Shepherd. His obvious first emphasis is how He will die to enable union with Him. His death paved the way for His life to be resurrected so we could also be “raised to newness of life” along with Him.

The Hired Hand

This new character is intriguing. This does not seem to be the same as the 'thief' from the earlier analogies. I think this references the under-shepherds. These people were called by Christ to come into the pen and lead the sheep. Certainly Christ would not 'hire' the thieves?

In this final analogy, Christ is comparing all other shepherds to Himself. Compared to Christ, it is as if the human shepherds don't own or care for the sheep. This is a contrast, not a condemnation. No human shepherd could ever match Christ. This does not mean they don't care for the sheep in a human way. However, they cannot replace Christ.

Only Christ was perfectly behaved and made perfect choices while on this earth. All the other human shepherds are fallible - even though they are truly under Christ - not thieves - but, they are also not Christ. They are really just like the sheep, still learning and growing, yet they have taken on a certain role - leading people to the gate or Christ.

What Christ is getting at is that sometimes when the enemies (the wolf) attack the church, even genuine under-shepherds make bad choices that lead to damaging the flock and allowing it to be scattered when the union and fellowship mindset is disrupted.

How often have we seen this. Some non-essential, non-gospel ideas that in the scheme of things are not that important become fire sticks and cause dissension and destruction in the body of Christ. And often the under-shepherds go along with this since tribal tendencies can affect them too.

Again, this is not condemning the under-shepherds. It is simply a realistic contrast between them and Christ. They are human too, the same as the sheep. This is a profound and relieving thought!

How many spiritual leaders, who are genuinely trying to walk by the Spirit, are taken down by condemnation when they stumble? And how many 'sheep' end up worshiping the leader, take their focus off of Christ, and end up disillusioned and destroyed when their leader stumbles? Or they keep following them even when they are walking by the flesh and leading them into failure.

Christ is giving the proper mindset here for spiritual leaders and those they lead. They are human too. Yes, they should always be focused on leading the sheep in and out of the Gate. They should be focused on helping the sheep trust the Head - the Good Shepherd.

But ultimately it is Christ Who enabled the new covenant gospel. It is Christ Who indwells us and empowers us. The under shepherds just help lead us to Him. That is truly their job, lead to the gate. Not to the Law, to rules, to self effort, to self improvement - to Christ.

And when they ultimately fail in some way, if they are genuine shepherds, this should not be devastating to them or the sheep. The gospel is powerful enough to cover failures and the sheep need to know Who is really keeping them. It is not their leaders - it is Christ.

Don't put your faith in the “hired hand”. Put your faith in the Master Shepherd. The hired hand may be doing a great job, but he can never replace Christ.

The Wolf

The wolf basically represents the enemies of the sheep. This is multi-faceted, but I believe this is still relates to the thief in previous analogies. The wolf would not come through the gate where the gatekeeper is guarding it. It would jump over the fence like the thief.

Ultimately, they both serve the same purpose; however, we must not take analogies too far.

To go back to the flexible human analogy, do the wolf and the thief steal the sheep and prevent them from knowing Christ at all? Or is this symbolic of a believer who has their mindset and focus taken off of Christ and onto themselves or other destructive distractions?

My opinion is that if the shoe fits wear it - the analogy supports all scenarios. Often this was the method by which Christ taught. We cannot always try to fit ourselves into every analogy or word picture. Sometime it is not about us!

Snatches

A quick looks at this word translated 'pounces' by the BSB. Snatches is a better word, but it means to “seize by force”. Imagine a wolf grabbing a lamb.

It is curious because this is the same exact word that Christ uses later in John 10:28-29:

“28-I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. 29-My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”

This would lead me to think that perhaps the sheep that are snatched by the thief and the wolf were never saved. If Christ says that those who He has cannot be snatched away, perhaps the sheep are simply humans.

As I am reading it, the thief actually steals the sheep, while the wolf scatters them. So, perhaps the thief actually prevents people from obtaining eternal life, while the wolf causes harm to those who already have it. Or maybe there are some in the church who are not actually saved, the wolf doctrine comes in and snatches them away, and then this causes division and trauma among the genuine sheep.

Either way, thief and wolf teaching is that which leads to a self focus on you and your works, not Christ and His finished work.

Also, Christ is comparing Himself to human shepherds. Though all humans can fail you and run away, Christ will never let you go. You can fully trust Him, even if you can never fully trust even the most dedicated, spiritual, and mature human shepherd.

As I always want to emphasize, while I have a special background and my own gifts from God that I feel helps me dig out the truths of the gospel, I am human too. Be a skeptic about my writing as much as anyone. Consider it well, study the scripture, but ultimately rely on Christ's wisdom, not my opinions and logic. And avoid any teacher who is not willing to say the same thing. We worship Christ, not our beliefs.

KNOW

I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15-just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.

The word translated 'know' is quite the word. It is used in Matthew 1:25 to show that Mary and Joseph were not physically intimate until after Christ was born.

This is a shorter description of the union Christ prayed about in John 17. One day I will write about it, but I highly recommend studying it yourself.

It is also used in Matthew 7:23 to distinguish believers from unbelievers. Christ says of the unbelievers He “never knew them” despite their proclamations of all the work they did in His name.

Note: He says 'never knew'. He doesn't say I knew you, but you behaved poorly, so I abandoned you. These are well behaved religious fakes. They are still dead in Adam, they have no union with Christ.

But in this analogy, He says He 'knows' His sheep and they 'know' Him. This is the union with the Trinity I discussed in my article about fellowship. The word 'know' is another way of saying this. It is an intimate union word.

Note: this concept is a big reason why our enemies (world, flesh, sin, and Satan) have such a focus on disrupting true sexual intimacy between husband and wife as God has ordained. It is a shadow or picture of our spiritual intimacy with Christ as His bride. Ultimately, disrupting the idea of intimacy with Christ is the goal. Making love cheap is the goal. Since God IS love, it ultimately cheapens a person's concept of God. Even for believers, what you believe about God's love often defines your walk.

The 'Other' Sheep

In the final part of this analogy, Christ mentions “other sheep”. His audience were all Hebrews or Jews. This is a prediction of how the new covenant would include all humanity, not only Israel. This is the mystery predestined by God before the foundation of the world. That He would call a people who were not His people - His people. That Abraham would be the father of “many nations” through Christ.

“There will be one flock and One Shepherd.” What a declaration of unity and the union of the fellowship of Christ. I had no idea the concept of fellowship would be implied so much in this article about life, but Christ's life is the foundation for union and the fellowship.

I mentioned this in my last article discussing when Paul use the Greek word meaning 'ethnic' and translates Gentile. Believers have a natural union because we are all alive. We are in the fellowship because we are all alive - our life is what we have in common.

The thief and wolf doctrine will never emphasize the life we now have. Oh, they may mention it in passing, but it will not be a major emphasis. This lack of emphasis leaves out the major reason we are unified. Christ's life within us is the unifying mechanism.

Without emphasizing that, all we have are some lists of beliefs we agree on. And that is a poor foundation for union, as it just becomes another tribal reason to throw stones at other tribes. And if those tribes happen to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, how sad is that?

Conclusion

“Eternal life” is the central beating heart of Christianity. No wonder the enemy has tried to weaken it's meaning and make it all about the future.

He knows that once we go to Heaven we are out of the reach of his temptations, so with all the cunning he can muster he infiltrates our churches with a weak, watered down gospel that has no power here on earth!

And if he cannot get actual wolves and thieves into the church to do it, he tempts the under-shepherds with a weak gospel that is still primarily based on pleasing God by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

We are so easily fooled because good behavior has replaced faith. This has always been the enemy playbook. The knowledge of good and evil is good behavior. Adam and Eve substituted that for their easy going faith in God's love for them.

We mistake the Law, or parts of it, for faith, even though Paul is clear in Galatians 3:12a:

“The Law, however, is not based on faith…”

Ultimately this is what Christ is warning against. The thief and the wolves are not easy to spot. They are very religious. They are all about “doing good". They have to be in order to fool the sheep or potential sheep to follow them.

The good news is that genuine sheep ultimately end of following Christ's voice. But how much destruction and corruption does the church deal with because of this wolf and thief teaching!

Wolf Doctrine Feels like it Works

The problem is that wolf doctrine seems to work! Even unbelievers often break away from addiction when put under discipline and accountability to other humans. But what happens when the discipline and accountability are gone?

Only by having an empowering life within that motivates even when we are all alone and no one is watching or holding us accountable can we truly live. We must learn to trust our gift of eternal life!

Discipline, accountability, lists, shame, fear, etc. are all the world has to make their life better. But Christians have more! We should not accept a 'gospel' that is in essence not much different from what the world has.

Every world religion has a leader, a book, participation requirements, and a list of good things you get from their deity by following the rules, and bad things that happen from the deity when you break them. It is a travesty when we turn Christianity into the same thing. It is the paganization of the gospel when this happens.

Learn to Distinguish the Voice of Christ vs. The Voice of the Thief

Christ's voice and the gospel are the same thing. His voice speaks of a union wrought by God (see John 17). His voice speaks of a new creation, a child of God - recreated to be holy, righteous, and perfect. And created to reflect that perfection to the world in a genuine, natural way. His voice speaks of the gift of His life. His voice speaks through unconditional love - love that requires nothing in return - yet inspires great feats. Feats like defeating addictions forever and responding with grace and love to others. The innumerable blessings of eternal life!

The wolf and thief speak of rules and lists. They speak of obligation, requirement, self improvement, dutiful obedience, staying in God's will as a requirement for blessing, maintaining fellowship with God and becoming more righteous through works, condemnation, guilt, fear, stress, and shame. They speak of a Zeus like deity who kills His children of they don't follow the rules. And the list goes on and on. This is not the God portrayed by Christ through the gospel!!

As I recently covered, this doctrine is a form of godliness without the power.

The Hired Hands

I want to go back to the “hired hands”. I focused on the positive side of their failures above, which is true. They should not feel the pressure of trying to replace Christ nor should we view them that way.

At the same time, they should still be held accountable. If they are pushing wolf doctrines or emphases, however innocently, we need to recognize what is happening.

Again, this happens when they focus on what to do, how to do it, and how much to do it vs. simply pointing people to Christ and His motivating life within. They treat the gospel the same as law. Law and grace are not presented as competitive ways of living, they are made to seem equitable, as if we need a balance. The gospel is presented as if we need grace to get us to heaven, but rules to help us live now.

We can never judge anyone's salvation, but we must judge their teaching. If the full radical implications of the gospel are watered down in any way, it is not good pasture. Run from it and find the voice of Christ. Know what Christ has done. Put your eyes on Him. That is how to avoid both the thief and the wolf.

22 Things Jesus Has Done for You

I received this list from a resource named Clint Byers. I don't always agree with everything he teaches (again, be wary even of the under-shepherds), however this list is stellar. And I have seen him and his teaching grow through the years. I will put a link to his original post at the end, but here is a copy for your convenience:

Jesus became our sin so we could become righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus was cursed so we could be blessed. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Jesus was wounded so we could be healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Jesus was made a curse so we could receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14)

Jesus died so we could live. (1 Thessalonians 5:10)

Jesus became a servant so we could be free. (Philippians 2:7)

Jesus was made sin so we could become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus took our shame so we could receive honor. (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus was made a curse so we could inherit a blessing. (Hebrews 9:15)

Jesus became poor so we could be rich in faith. (James 2:5)

Jesus was made low so we could be exalted. (Luke 14:11)

Jesus was rejected so we could be accepted. (Ephesians 1:6)

Jesus was made a curse so we could be forgiven. (Colossians 1:14)

Jesus was made sin so we could become children of God. (John 1:12)

Jesus took our punishment so we could have peace. (Isaiah 53:5)

Jesus was made weak so we could be strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Jesus was made a reproach so we could be honored. (Psalm 69:9)

Jesus was made a sacrifice so we could be reconciled to God. (Romans 5:10)

Jesus was made a curse so we could have access to God. (Ephesians 2:18)

Jesus was made sin so we could be made holy. (Hebrews 10:10)

Jesus was made a servant so we could be made kings and priests. (Revelation 1:6)

Jesus was made a curse so we could have eternal life. (John 3:16)

As Clint himself says, the list could keep going. But meditate on what Jesus has done for and to you. And that will keep you away from both the thiefs and the wolves. And it will help you to distinguish when even the under-shepherds are mixing in thief and wolf doctrines and emphases.

May you continue to walk well in your newness of life!

https://www.clintbyars.com/blog/22-things-jesus-did-for-you?mc_cid=32c7944271&mc_eid=03ddffa088