John 10 Verses 1-6 

John 10:1 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 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. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.” 

The main theme of the 10^th chapter of John is the relationship between Christ and his elect people.  This is presented to us as a relationship between the Shepherd and his sheep.  In this chapter Christ describes himself as both “the” shepherd and the “good” shepherd.  Elsewhere Christ is described as the “great shepherd,” the “chief shepherd” and as “my shepherd.”  Each one of these terms has great significance to us the children of God.   

The above passage is described as a parable that Jesus spake unto the people.  Jesus spake parables to hide the meaning from some and then he revealed the meaning to others.  By comparing the parable to what the scriptures plainly tell us we are able to understand the spiritual significance of the parable.   

The above parable has the following elements: a sheepfold; a door; a thief and a robber; the shepherd; and a porter.   

A sheepfold is a holding place for the sheep until the shepherd comes and takes the sheep out.   

The door is the lawful entrance and exit place to the sheepfold. 

The thief and robber is someone who is trying to steal away those sheep who do not belong to him. 

The shepherd is the lawful owner of the sheep and the only one who has the authority to remove the sheep from the sheepfold. 

The job of the porter is to open the door for the shepherd.   

A verse to help us understand what the sheepfold is and how the shepherd comes to take the sheep out of the sheepfold is found in Rom. 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”  The holding place for the sheep (sheepfold) was the law of sin and death.  All of God’s elect people were in bondage to the law of sin and death.  By this law they were dead in trespasses and sins and were under the eternal condemnation of sin and in their flesh they were consigned to corrupt back to the dust.  It is Christ Jesus the shepherd of the sheep who came to deliver them out of the sheepfold.   

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”  Satan is that thief and robber who tries to steal away the elect children of God from their lawful shepherd.  He cannot enter the door (lawful entry) because he is not the shepherd of the sheep.  Thanks be to God that he is not able to steal them away from their lawful shepherd either.

“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”  Only the shepherd could enter by the door to take the sheep out.  Christ came to take his people out of the sheepfold as we read concerning him in Matt. 1:21: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  Likewise we read in John 6:37-39: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” 

“To him the porter openeth…”  There are differences of opinion as to who the porter is including two different opinions that I highly respect: 

One opinion is that John the Baptist was the porter as he was the forerunner of Christ and was used of God to usher in the kingdom of God: John is described in Is. 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”   

The other opinion that I also respect is that the Holy Ghost is the porter as the scriptures teach that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Ghost.  Thus, as Jesus was conceived in the womb of the virgin, he had no sin and was suitable to be the Savior of his elect children.   

“And the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”  Several principles can be deduced from the above scripture: 

1.  The shepherd knew each one of the sheep by name before he came to the sheepfold to take them out.  This certainly mirrors the doctrine of election that is taught in Eph. 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” It also shows forth the personal relationship that Christ has for each one of his elect children. 

2.  The Lord speaks to each of his children with his voice and each of his children hears his voice:  John 5:25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” 

3.  This spoken voice of the Son of God results in every one of the elect family of God to whom the voice is spoken coming out from a state of total depravity into spiritual life.   

“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”  The Lord’s elect children do not always follow the teachings of the Lord, but there is one time that they follow him without exception.  They follow the irresistible calling of the Lord in regeneration (new birth).   

“And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”  There is only one voice that gives eternal spiritual life and that is the voice of the Son of God.  No voice of a stranger has that kind of power that can bring forth the new birth.