Why Do we Wander John 10:1-13 | RIOT Podcast Ep93 | Christian Podcast

About this Episode

Why do we wander John 10 1-13 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast.

In last week’s show, we finished our discussion on John 9 and the blind man that Jesus put mud into his eyes. It’s a great show showing the progression of how we were all once blind to Jesus. Then over time as Jesus reveals himself to us we start to see Him more clearly where intimacy with Him begins.

This week we will be in John 10( Why do we wander John 10 1-13), which focuses on the image of sheep, sheepfolds, and shepherds. It is a rural and Eastern image, but it is an image that can say a great deal to us today, even in our urban, industrialized world.

Paul used this image when admonishing the spiritual leaders in the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:28). The truths that cluster around the image of the shepherd and the sheep are found throughout the Bible, and they are important to us today. The symbols that Jesus used help us to understand who He is and what He wants to do for us.

In John 10 we will see three declarations that Jesus made about Himself. First is “He is the door”, the second is “He is the good shepherd”, and lastly that “He is the Son of God”.

Read John 10:1-10

A little background to this story is that it grew out of the confrontation Jesus had with the Jewish leaders following the casting out of the once blind man in John 9. After He was done talking to them about light and darkness, he then changes scenes here and now talks to them about shepherds and sheep. Why?

Jesus opened His sermon with a familiar illustration, one that every listener would understand. The sheepfold was usually an enclosure made of rocks, with an opening for the door. The shepherd or helper would guard the flock, or flocks at night by lying across the opening. In the morning, the shepherds would come, call their sheep and assemble their own flocks. Each sheep recognized its own master’s voice.

The true shepherd comes in through the door, and the helper recognizes him. The thieves and robbers could never enter through the door, so they have to climb over the wall and enter the fold through deception. But even if they did get in, they would never get the sheep to follow them, for the sheep follow only the voice of their own shepherd. The False prophets can never lead the sheep, so they must steal them away.

Jesus is making His claim clear that the fold He is talking about is the nation of Israel. The Gentiles are the other sheep, they are not of the fold of Israel. When Jesus came to the nation Israel, He came the appointed way, just as the Scriptures had promised. Every true shepherd must be called by God and sent by God. If he truly speaks God's word, the sheep will hear his voice, and not be afraid to follow him.

Because the Jewish leaders were blind to the truth and still did not understand his symbolic language. He gives them a practical application in Vs 7-10. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Notice that the shepherd doesn’t stop by just leading the sheep out; He also leads them in. They become a part of the one flock which is His church. He is the door of Salvation John 10:9. Those who trust Him enter into the Lord's Flock and fold, and they have the wonderful privilege of going in and out and finding pasture.

When you go through the Door you receive life and you are saved. As you go in and out, you enjoy abundant life in the rich pastures of the Lord. His sheep enjoy fullness and freedom. Jesus not only gave his life for us, but He gives His life to us right now!

Now Jesus moves from the door as His main emphasis, to the shepherd and He makes his second declaration that He is the good shepherd.

Read John 10:11-13

The word translated “good” here means intrinsically good, beautiful, and fair. It describes that which is the ideal, the model that others may safely imitate. Jesus’s goodness was inherent in His nature. To call Him good is the same as calling Him God. Mark 10:17-18 “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

Jesus in this section of the reading describes 4 different ministries that the good shepherd does. In Vs, 11-13 the good shepherd dies for the sheep. Normally, the sheep die for the shepherd, but now the Good shepherd dies for the sheep. Five times in this sermon, Jesus clearly affirmed the sacrificial nature of His death. He did not die a martyr, killed by men; He died as a substitute, willingly laying down his life for us.

The fact that Jesus said that He died for the sheep must not be isolated from the rest of biblical teaching about the cross. He also died for the nation of Israel, in John 11 we will unpack this more. While the blood of Jesus is sufficient for the salvation of the world, it is efficient only for those who will believe.

Jesus contrasted Himself with the hireling who watches over the sheep only because he is paid to do so. But when there is danger, the hireling runs away, while the true shepherd stays and cares for the flock. The key phrase is “whose own the sheep are not”. The good shepherd purchases the sheep with his life and they are now his. They belong to him and because He rose from the grave, He can now care for them.

Throughout the Bible, God's people are compared to sheep, and the comparison is a good one. Sheep are defenseless and need the care of the shepherd. They are prone to wander and must often be searched for and brought back to the fold. We wander off at times because we are made like sheep and are in need of a shepherd.