The Door Means Separation
The Door Means Separation
We are so accustomed to modern, attractive doors, some of which open and close automatically, that we don’t get too excited about a mere opening in a wall; but that opening was very efficient for the shepherds. During the day, when the flock was grazing, the shepherd could easily watch for danger; but at night, the sheep had to be together and behind safe walls, with the shepherd serving as the door. At night, the flock separated from darkness by that door is the safe flock.
I believe that two sheepfolds are involved in John 10:1–10: the Jewish fold, out of which Jesus led those who believed in Him (vv. 1–6); and the believers’ fold, into which Jesus led both Jews and Gentiles and permits them to go in and out and enjoy their new life of freedom (vv. 7–10). Jesus came as Israel’s Messiah in exactly the way the Scriptures had promised. He was the seed of a Jewish woman, a descendant of Abraham (Gen. 3:15; 12:3), born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), born in Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah (Mic. 5:2; Gen. 49:10), and of the house of David (2 Sam. 7:12–13). He would be of humble birth but anointed by the Spirit (Isa. 11:1–2). A forerunner would precede Him (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1). By the time Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized and presented to the nation by John the Baptist, all these elements of His credentials could be known (John 1:19–34).
Jesus was born into the Jewish fold (Gal. 4:4–5), and during His earthly ministry He called His sheep out of Judaism and into the Christian fold. Before they left on their first ministry trip, the disciples were told, “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 10:5–6). But Jesus made it clear that He would also call the Gentiles (“other sheep,” John 10:16; see also John 11:49–52; 12:32). Over the centuries, our Lord has been calling sinners out of whatever fold they were in and putting them into the freedom of His “one flock” over which He is the “one shepherd” (10:16). We will have more to say about this in the next chapter when we consider Jesus the Good Shepherd.
This matter of “calling out” people brings to mind the experience of the blind beggar recorded in John 9. He had been born into the Jewish fold, but the religious leaders excommunicated him from the synagogue—“they threw him out” (v. 34)—because he honored Jesus. But Jesus found him in the temple, led him to saving faith, and brought him into His own flock. Jesus has nobody’s “sheep” in His flock but His own, those who trust Him, hear His voice (the Word), and follow Him no matter the cost.
For example, Saul of Tarsus was “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5), but Jesus called him out of the Jewish fold and into the Christian flock; and Paul the apostle proved his faith by “coming in and going out” with Christ’s flock in Jerusalem (see Acts 9:28). He abandoned everything for membership in Christ’s flock (Phil. 3). He was the leading young Jewish zealot of his day (Gal. 1:13–14), yet he forsook all of that to become “Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ.” The name Paul means “little” in Latin. Paul said with John the Baptist, “He [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).
A door creates a division: some people are outside and some are inside. “Thus the people were divided because of Jesus” (John 7:43). “So they were divided” (9:16). “The Jews who heard these words were again divided” (10:19). At our Lord’s birth, the angels announced peace on earth (Luke 2:14), but as He moved toward the cross, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three” (Luke 12:51–52). Those who follow Christ don’t belong to this world, nor do they live like the world, and this causes the people of the world to hate them (John 15:18–25).
In my pastoral ministry, I don’t know how many times the congregation and I have prayed for and stood with people who trusted Christ and were rejected by their families and friends. These new believers dared to leave the “old fold” and by faith enter the “one flock” of the Good Shepherd. It was a costly step, but not to have made it would have been much more costly! “If the world hates you,” said Jesus, “keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own” (John 15:18–19). When the world treats us the way it treated Jesus, it’s really a compliment, because it means we are sharing in “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10 NASB).