LXXXII.
DISCOURSE ON THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
(Jerusalem, December, A. D. 29.)
dJOHN X. 1-21.
d1 Verily, verily, I say
to you [unto the parties whom he was addressing in the last section],
He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth
up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. [In this section
Jesus proceeds to contrast his own care for humanity with that manifested
by the Pharisees, who had just cast out the beggar. Old Testament prophecies
were full of declarations that false shepherds would arise to the injury
of God's flock (Ezek. xxxiv. 1-6; Jer. xxiii. 1-6; Zech. xi. 4-11). But
other prophecies spoke of the true shepherding of God and his Messiah (Ps.
xxiii.; lxxvii. 20; Ps. lxxx. 1; xcv. 7; Jer. xxxi. 10; Ezek. xxxiv. 31;
Mic. vii. 14; Isa. xliii. 11). The Pharisees were fulfilling the first
line of prophecies, and Jesus was fulfilling the second. The sheepfolds
of the East are roofless enclosures, made of loose stone, or surrounded
by thornbushes. They have but one door. Jesus, the true shepherd, came
in the proper and appointed way (and was the proper and appointed Way),
thus indicating his office as shepherd. A thief steals by cunning in one's
absence; a robber takes by violence from one's person. The Pharisees were
both. They stole the sheep in Messiah's absence, and they slew Messiah
when he came. They did not come in the ways ordained of God.]
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. [Several small flocks
were sometimes kept in one field. The door was fastened from the inside
with sticks or bars by the porter, who remained with the sheep during the
night, and opened for the shepherds in the morning. The fold is the church,
Christ is the door, the sheep [468] are the
disciples, and the shepherd is Christ. The porter is probably part of the
drapery of the parable. If he represents anybody, it is God, who decides
who shall enter through the door.]
4 When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep
follow him: for they know his voice. [In the East, sheep are not driven,
but led, and each sheep has and knows its name. Disciples also are led.
There is no rough road or thorny path which the feet of Jesus have not
first trod. The Pharisees had put forth the beggar to be rid of him; the
true shepherd puts forth to feed.]
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they
know not the voice of strangers. [The mingled flocks are separated
by the calling voices of the several shepherds. The control of the Pharisees
was not of this order. The authority of the synagogues had passed into
their hands, and their rule was about the same as when thieves and robbers
gained possession of the sheepfold. The people were disposed to flee from
them--Matt. ix. 36.] 6 This parable
spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which
he spake unto them. [The idea of loving care was so foreign to the
nature of the Pharisees that they could not comprehend the figures which
clothed such a thought. The word here translated "parable" is not the word
"parabole," which John never uses, but the word "paroimia,"
which the synoptists never use. Paroimia means, literally, "beside
the way," i. e., speech not of the common or direct form, i.
e., a similitude or allegory.]
7 Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
I am the door of the sheep. [Seeing that they did not understand the
allegory, Jesus gives a twofold explanation of it found in verses 7-10
and 11-16.] 8 All that came before
me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. [He speaks
of the past, and refers to false Messiahs.]
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall
go in and go out, and shall find pasture. [The door is here spoken
of with [469] reference to the sheep,
and hence becomes a symbol of entrance into protection and shelter, or
exit to liberty and plenty.] 10 The
thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came
that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. [Through
the life of Jesus, as through a heavenly portal, men have entered upon
true civilization, with its schools, colleges, railroads, telegraph, telephone,
and innumerable privileges and liberties.]
11 I am the good shepherd [The relations of Christ to his people are
so abounding and complex as to overburden any parable which seeks to carry
them. He is not only the passive doorway to life, but also the active,
energizing force which leads his people through that doorway into life]:
the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. [Verses 11-14
set forth the perfect self-sacrifice through which the blessings of Christ
have been obtained for us. The world-ruling spirit blesses itself through
the sacrifice of the people; the Christ-spirit blesses the people through
the sacrifice of self.] 12 He that
is an hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not [shepherds
were not, as a rule, owners of the sheep, but they were expected to love
and care for them by reason of their office as shepherds], beholdeth
the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth
them, and scattereth them [the perils of the Oriental shepherd
accord with the picture here given--Gen. xiii. 5; xiv. 12; xxxi. 39, 40;
xxxii. 7, 8; xxxvii. 33; Job i. 7; I. Sam. xvii. 34, 35]:
13 he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
[He flees because he loves his wages rather than the flock.]
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me,
15 even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father [Our Lord's
relationship to his flock is one of mutual knowledge and affection, and
is far removed from the spirit of hire. The knowledge existing between
disciple and Master springs from mutual acquaintanceship and love. Thus
it is the same kind of knowledge which exists between Father and
Son, though it is not of the [470] same quality,
being infinitely less full and perfect]; and I lay down my life
for the sheep. [The sacrifice of the good shepherd to shield his sheep
has never been in vain.] 16 And other
sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.
[Jesus was speaking to the Jews, who had been frequently spoken of in Scripture
as God's flock. The other sheep were Gentiles. They are spoken of as scattered
sheep, and not as flocks, because with them there was no unity. Here, as
everywhere, the truth breaks through, revealing Christ as the world's Redeemer,
who would break down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile,
and cause all true worshipers to have a common relationship to one Master.]
17 Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that
I may take it again. [Jesus did not permit his life to be sacrificed
so as to become cast away, but to be raised again as an earnest of the
resurrection of all flesh.] 18 No
one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received
I from my Father. [This shows that his death was voluntary, and with
the resurrection which followed, it was in full and perfect accordance
with his original commission or commandment from the Father.]
19 There arose a division again among the Jews because of these words.
[The word "again" refers to John vii. 43 and ix. 16.]
20 And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?
[The theory that demons could produce supernatural effects (Matt. xii.
24) formed a handy device for explaining away the miracles of Christ.]
21 Others said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a demon.
Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? [These defenders refer to the
well-remembered cure of the man born blind, and argue, as he did, that
a demoniac could not work such a miracle. They fail, however, to make a
positive confession of faith in Jesus.] [471]
[FFG 468-471]
