Primary Text: John 10:1-42
Memory Verse: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:9-11
Introduction:
The events of this chapter take place during a period of time leading up to the Feast of Dedication. The Feast of Tabernacles had concluded, and the Jews were entering the time of celebration that recalled the rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 165-164 B.C. During the Feast of Dedication, scriptures from Ezekiel were read referencing God as Shepherd of His people.
It is unclear who Jesus was speaking to in chapter 10, but it was likely directed to the Pharisees, who were His target audience in the previous chapter. John 10:21 suggests that some in the audience were even familiar with the healing of the blind man, so it was likely the same group of people.
In John 9 the theme is about Jesus being the Light of the World. In this chapter, Jesus utilizes the readings from Ezekiel which were commonly read at the Feast of Dedication, and which His audience would have understood, to compare Himself to the Good Shepherd. Yet, this isn’t really an abrupt change of topic. John’s illustration of the healing of the blind man compares the way the Pharisees treated the man to wicked shepherds who used God’s flock for their own personal gain. They wouldn’t properly care for The man, and instead threw him out (9:34). But Jesus the Good Shepherd found him (9:35) and led Him to safe pasture. The comparison can even be made that just like the sheep don’t follow a strange voice, the healed blind man refused to fall under the Pharisees’ influence. Instead, he recognized Jesus’s voice and followed Him.
The first twenty-one verses of the chapter are what is called a pericope, that is a set of verses which form one cohesive thought. They serve to lead us to the most important point in the chapter: Jesus’s declaration that He is the Messiah and the Son of God (10:22-39).
Studying the Word
Lesson Study
- What is the importance of Jesus being the Door? John 10:1-10; 14:6; Romans 5:2.
- What is the good shepherd like? John 10:2, 7, 11, 14; Isaiah 40:11; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25.
- How are thieves, robbers, and a false shepherd alike? John 10:10, 12-13; Isaiah 9:16; Jeremiah 10:21; Ezekiel 34:3.
- What does Jesus say about His obedience to the will of His Father? John 10:17-18; Hebrews 5:8; 10:9.
- What promises and assurances does Jesus offer His sheep? John 10:28-29; Isaiah 59:1; 1 Chronicles 29:12; John 19:11; Romans 16:25.
- What is Jesus’s claim in verse 31? How do the people hearing respond? Why? John 10:31; 8:37; Isaiah 53:7.
- What is the main point of verses 32-38? John 10:32-38; 14:10.