John records only a few of the miracles that Jesus performed but the ones that John does record are designed to show that Jesus of Nazareth is very God.
John 20:30-31
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John records only seven miracles; many people see six of them. Of the ones that John records three were in Galilee, and three in Judea. When Jesus walked on the sea only the disciples in the boat saw it.
The three miracles that Jesus performed in Judea: The lame man in chapter 5, the blind beggar in chapter 9, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead in chapter 11 are the exact class of miracle to answer all doubt about His divine person.
When John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are you the Coming One or do we look for another?” [Matthew 11] The answer that Jesus gave includes the exact classes of works referred to in John’s Gospel, “The lame walk, the blind see, the dead are raised up.”
The occasion of the Man Born Blind of John 9 and the illustration of the Good Shepherd in John 10 run from 8:58 through 10:21.
Jesus says in 8:58 that He is “I AM” by which He is claiming to be Jehovah God. The Jews try to kill Him by stoning but Jesus judicially blinds them.
The Pool of Siloam means “Sent” and by this means of the Pool of Siloam Jesus is again saying that He is the One Sent by God!
Jesus gives sight to the man born blind who is a prophetic figure and who represents the spiritual blindness of national Israel and the spiritual blindness of every son of Adam.
The Jewish leaders, who represent national Israel, stubbornly refuse to believe what they have seen with their own eyes and they reject the Sent One of God.
The Pharisees are offended at the suggestion that they are blind and indignantly ask, “Are we blind also?”
Augustine remarks: “There are many, who according to common usage, are called good people, good men, good women, harmless, honoring their parents, not committing adultery, doing no murder, not stealing, not bearing false witness, … and yet are not Christians. And these commonly give themselves airs like the Pharisees here, saying, ‘Are we blind also?’ ”
The irony of spiritual blindness is that those who are spiritually blind sincerely believe they have great wisdom and insight and that followers of
Jesus Christ are morons with the intellect of a garden slug.
So the Pharisees’ rejection of their spiritual condition, remember that Jesus said in chapter 8 that they did not know God, becomes the basis for Jesus to pronounce final judgment on these hireling shepherds of Israel.
It is time for judgment, a crisis, and a judicial of the fulfillment of the ancient prophesies.
Nothing less than a sentence of judgment on national Israel is before us as Jesus uses the Man Born Blind as an illustration of the failure of these and generations of hireling shepherds and declares that He is the true Shepherd of Israel.
We will go to the prophets to show that the condition of Israel and the failure of the Jewish leadership were long ago predicted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
“Jesus walks among the prophets.” Thank you Mr. Charles Alexander.
Now let’s read the text. I will read through verse 21 in order to maintain the context although I plan to end this message at verse 10.
In this message we have “The Shepherd of Israel” and D.V., we will then examine “The Good Shepherd.”
An outline for this message:
Judgment is near [9:39-41]
The door to the sheepfold [10:1-2]
The Shepherd of Israel [10:3-5]
The claim emphasized [10:6-10]
John 9:39-41
39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"
41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.
John 10:1-21
1 "Most assuredly [Amen, amen], I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly[Amen, amen], I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear 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 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.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it 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 command I have received from My Father."
19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.
20 And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"
21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
We have learned that when John records a double amen that Jesus is commenting on what has gone before [the blind man] and what He says after the double amen [the door of the sheep] is the same as saying “This is God speaking!”
The Man Born Blind and the manner of his healing establish that Jesus is the Sent One of God. But He is not to be understood as being in some inferior sense but as being equal with God [Cf. 10:30].
Agreeing with Mr. Alexander, the sending of the blind man to the Pool of Siloam was an entirely unnecessary excursion unless it was to draw attention to the judgment of Israel prophesied eight centuries before by Isaiah.
Isaiah 8:6-10
6 "Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly, …
[Shiloah in Isa. and Siloam in John are the same]
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of the River, strong and mighty —
The king of Assyria ……
8 And the stretching out of his wings
Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us." [Cf. Immanuel vs. 8]
Instead of the soft, gentle flow of Shiloah, the pool of grace and mercy, a flood of divine judgment would overwhelm the apostate people.
All of this is gathered up by the Lord in the case of the healing of the blind man and the subsequent rejection of Himself by the representatives of the nation. His unique position as the One sent by God in accordance with the prophets is clearly spelled out and now He proceeds to declare Himself as the Shepherd of Israel!
The blind man at the Pool of Siloam stands for the condition of national Israel and also for the sheep that Christ came to save and to lead and to deliver from the hireling shepherds of Israel who ignored the lame man and reviled this poor sheep and cast him out of their synagogue. All of this is part of the story before us.
We know that the audience for the parable is the same as those who witnessed the healing of the blind man [19-21].
By declaring Himself to be the Good Shepherd Christ used a theological designation that is clearly understood and that has great significance.
Can He be any other than the Shepherd of Psalm 23?
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
Can Jesus be any other than the mystical King David of Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34? We will not read all of Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34 but you might invest some time in these two chapters in your own devotional reading.
In order to make the case that Jesus is the Shepherd of Israel and “walks among the prophets” find Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34 and read along with me as I emphasize a few verses.
Jeremiah 23
1 "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the LORD.
2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the LORD.
3 "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the LORD.
5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
JEHOVAH TSIDKENU {JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS}
7 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,'
8 but, 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land."
9 My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right.
11 "For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness," says the LORD.
12 "Therefore their way shall be to them Like slippery ways; In the darkness they shall be driven on And fall in them; For I will bring disaster on them, The year of their punishment," says the LORD.
13 "And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err.
14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets:
'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land.'"
16 Thus says the LORD of hosts:
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace"'; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.'"
18 For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury — A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
21 "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.
23 "Am I a God near at hand," says the LORD, "And not a God afar off?
24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the LORD; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the LORD.
25 "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!'
26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,
27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
28 "The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD.
29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
30 "Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who steal My words every one from his neighbor.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use their tongues and say, 'He says.'
32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the LORD, "and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all," says the LORD.
33 "So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, 'What is the oracle of the LORD?' you shall then say to them, 'What oracle?' I will even forsake you," says the LORD.
34 "And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' I will even punish that man and his house.
35 Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, 'What has the LORD answered?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?'
36 And the oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man's word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.
37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?'
38 But since you say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' therefore thus says the LORD: 'Because you say this word, "The oracle of the LORD!" and I have sent to you, saying, "Do not say, 'The oracle of the LORD!'"
39 therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence.
40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'"
Ezekiel gave the same warning:
Ezekiel 34
1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."
7'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock" —
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!
10 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."
11 'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD.
16 "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."
17'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.
18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture — and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."
20'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.
21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,
22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them — My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore.
30 Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD.'"
31 "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.
What more can be said? Instead of caring for the lame man or the blind beggar as they should have these hirelings cast him out. The Good Shepherd seeks him out and leads him into pleasant pastures.
Mystical King David is here! The True Shepherd of Israel is here and shows Himself by His mighty work, beginning in the temple and culminating in the washing of the Pool of Siloam, to be the One who was sent to gather the true flock of Israel, the remnant of the ancient people, along with those gentile sheep [other sheep I have which are not of this fold], who constitute one flock and one kingdom. There would be one flock and one Shepherd in which the separate identity of Jew and Gentile would be forever extinguished.
With that as the OT background for the miracle and its application to national Israel and these hireling shepherds we can now look at some of the particulars of the parable itself.
Read and comment on John 10:1-10.
1 "Most assuredly [Amen, amen], I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
To enter by the door is to come by way of the prophecies. Only if He fulfills what the prophets said and wrote is He the true Shepherd of Israel. In verse 7 Jesus says that He is the door of the sheep. He is thus the door and the shepherd. He is the Sent One of God according to the prophets.
The false shepherds of Israel, priests, Pharisees, scribes, are the thieves and robbers who do not come by way of the prophecies of Christ and His kingdom, but by “some other way” of their own invention and to lord it over the flock of God.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
The contrast of the Good Shepherd with the hirelings is given in verse 11.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
The good Shepherd does not enrich his life at the expense of the flock but gives His great life for theirs.
Christ fulfilled the prophecies, especially those in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, as the “King David” who will return to His throne.
Jesus is the “door” and the “shepherd”. Some people have a problem with mixed metaphors because they try to take everything as literal. If Jesus is the “door” how can He also by the “shepherd”?
Jesus is so great that no single characteristic can describe Him. He is the Lamb and the Lion [Revelation 5:5-6].
3 To him the doorkeeper [porter] opens,
There is any number of interpretations of who or what Christ refers to as the doorkeeper or porter. Most commentators say it is the Holy Spirit and others say it is another characteristic of Christ. It is my understanding, and in keeping with the prophecies, that the doorkeeper is the Word of God which protects the sheep against all false Christs.
and the sheep hear his voice;
This is the effectual call of the Gospel in which the sheep hear and follow their Shepherd. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
and he calls his own sheep by name
God saves individuals. It is well known in the culture of shepherds and sheep that no matter how large the flock that the shepherd knows the individual sheep. We must never think that we are only one among the multitude. God loves His children as though each one is His only child!
and leads them out.
“He leadeth me,” we sing. The Shepherd leads His sheep to feed on the pastures of His Word. The local church is not only for bringing in the lost but for feeding the sheep on the Word of God.
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
Jesus uses a strong negative, “they will by no means” follow a stranger.
The true believer, born again of the Spirit, knows His Savior, and will not be beguiled into wandering into other fields where the voice of Christ is not truly heard. They know they are but sheep, but they are His sheep!
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Jesus is directing these words to the hirelings and they, as the saying goes today, “they just do not get it!” But neither does the elect remnant grasp the depth of these words until Pentecost was fully come.
The makeup of the true church is long before prophesied as being made up of Jews and gentiles. Paul had to fight the Judaizers [Galatians] and Peter had to learn that Jews were saved in the same manner as the Gentiles. [Acts 15:11]. The hardest thing for any child of Adam to learn is that justification is by faith alone. Human merit dies hard.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly [Amen, amen], I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Jesus is even more emphatic. He said, “I am the door”, I alone, Cf. 14:6.
Dear soul, are you one of His sheep? Are you following the Shepherd?
Don’t be offended and say “Are we blind also?”
Take your place with God’s sheep at the foot of the cross and worship the Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ!
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
The Pharisees are thieves and robbers. They use intimidation [9:22] to steal the people. Jesus said they are hypocrites in Matthew 23:13:
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
The sheep are not deceived by the hirelings.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Again, “I am the door.” “By Me” He will be saved and Jesus explains what this means in verses 27-28:
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Eternal life!
To go in and out means true freedom.
To find pasture means to have the necessities of life.
10 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.
The opposite of giving life is to steal and kill and destroy.
Brother Jonny described the abundant life as he dealt with Psalm 37:3-4 on Wednesday night.
Psalm 37:3-4
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD…
The abundant life is not what the “Health and Wealth” modern day hirelings offer. The abundant life is to know that you are one of His sheep and to be content; to be satisfied with Jesus and His righteousness.
Judgment is near [9:39-41]
The door to the sheepfold [10:1-2]
The Shepherd of Israel [10:3-5]
The claim emphasized [10:6-10]
Is Jesus you Shepherd?
Don’t say, “Are we blind also.”
Come to the Shepherd of the sheep and find rest for your soul.
Amen
Sola Scriptura 
