Damascus Road Church

I believe that Scripture possesses clarity and meaning, it speaks with authority on spiritual and non-spiritual things in a way that can be understood by the masses.  All who claim the name of Jesus Christ posses the Holy Spirit and, therefore, are capable of knowing that which God wants us to know.  Nevertheless, there are some very difficult things to understand in Scripture and, even when they are understood, those things are even harder to accept.  These passages require study, meditation, and time to fully understand what the words mean and why I should care.

John chapter 10 is one of those difficult passages.  In one sense, it's easy to envision what it means for Jesus to be a "Good Shepherd."  But, when you begin to really meditate on who the sheep are, how they get into the fold, how one becomes part of the flock, who are the robbers and thieves sneaking in, who are the wolves in sheep's clothing, who is the stranger that comes to the door, and why Jesus only calls some sheep out...things get a bit confusing. 

As I develop as a preacher, my hope is that I am able to make these difficult passages less confusing, not more.  But, even if I fail to do that and brutally butcher what God means, I pray that when people walk away they leave sensing that all things are centered on Jesus.  That is enough for me. 

What is the fold of sheep?  How many folds are there?

Literally, the fold is where the sheep stay for protection.  From the Jewish perspective, the fold is the nation of Israel.  Jesus says quite clearly that He has sheep within THIS fold (Israel) that He will call out from it-his disciples and others.  From all appearances, everyone thinks ALL Israel is the true flock, but Paul (one of the true sheep of Israel) explains, the sons of faith are the true sons, not just being in the "fold" (Gal. 3.7).  But there are TWO folds, as Jesus later says.  The other fold is all other GENTILE (non-Jewish nations).  They too are sheep, in a sense, but His true sheep will come out of the GENTILE world in the same way the Jews did from Israel, they will respond to His voice. 

When we talk about "folds" today, we need to ask where we would consider God's flock to gather.  Typically, God's supposed flock gathers in today's local church.  Of course, we would say that the "flock", or God's church, exists spiritually in that it transcends the walls of buildings, denominations, etc.  It is within these folds that we find the flock.  Without question, everyone who gathers in these different folds are not all true sheep of God.

What or who is in the fold?

So who is in the fold?  There are all kinds of animals in the fold.  Calling all of the people sheep makes sense in that God describes his creation that way.  To call them all sheep then is just a general term to describe what all people are in relation to God and delineating between true and false sheep is a specific way to describe a different type of relationship to God.

Who are the thieves and robbers that climb in the fold?  Why are they there?

The thieves and robbers are all of those who do not come through the door-which is Jesus.  In other words, they are all of the people who are not God's people in the church.  Why are they there?  They all have different motivations, of course, but all their purposes amount to stealing and destroying.  There are different ways to accomplish this.  Describing the different types of people in the church is simply a way of characterizing the different types of false sheep that have come into the fold but are not hearing the voice of God. We must recognize that there are true sheep that also act a bit beastly too. These are not false teachers per se, these are the people in the fold who disrupt and harm it from within.

Who are the strangers that come to the door?

The difficult part of this particular piece of scripture is that Jesus mixes all kinds of metaphors and images, making things a little confusing.  This is somewhat Jesus' method throughout most of His ministry so, if things don't make perfect sense, we're in good company.  The strangers who come to the door are those wolves (False teachers of Matthew 15) that come from outside of the fold to lead the sheep astray.  When this false teacher comes to the door, the true sheep ignore him because they see right through him-they have been trained well by their good shepherd.  Those false sheep who have snuck into the fold, will be duped by this stranger's lies, leave, or cause further conflict in the fold because they're confused and deceived easily.

Who is the Shepherd at the door?

This is Jesus.  He calls His sheep, and those who KNOW their Shepherd, respond.  The question is then, how some of the sheep in the fold are able to understand and some are not.  Do they simply refuse to listen or are they unable to?

How is Jesus the door and the Shepherd?

Entering by the door is the right way to enter the fold.  Those who do not enter through the door of Jesus are not saved.  They look like they're "part of the flock" because they are in the fold, but they have come in a different way, by sneaking in or digging a hole, or some other way different than the door.  A lot of people come into the fold by acting "religious".  The true sheep do not come as result of their religious merits, but of Jesus' death on the cross. Going through the door means entering through Jesus.  It is through this door that He leads His sheep out and leads His sheep in.  Life begins and continues to take place through the door. 

Does the Shepherd die for all the Sheep? 

Does the Shepherd die for everyone in the same way?  Does Jesus sacrifice Himself for the ‘whole' fold or just for the flock that He elected before all time?  Some would argue that Jesus' sacrifice is "sufficient' (enough) for everyone, but only efficient (effective) for the "true sheep."  Others describe it as "limited" or "unlimited" atonement, describing the extent to which the atonement of Jesus is applied.    The atonement is the work of God in Christ on the cross whereby He cancelled the debt of our sin, appeased holy wrath against us for ALL the benefits of salvation. The death of Christ was necessary to vindicate the righteousness of God (Rom.3.25-26).   It would be unrighteous to forgive sinners by just sweeping the sin under the proverbial rug.  So the question remains, for whom does Jesus die and for whom did He bear the curse due to our sin?

It seems like we have two options:

1.      Jesus died for every human being (all sheep) in the same way, making men "savable" and giving them the opportunity to hear the voice and choose.

2.      Jesus died for all men, in that all men benefit in some sense, but for the elect (His sheep) with actual redemption in mind, enabling them to hear the voice when others cannot.

We would agree with option 2 from above, that the blood of Jesus did more than purchase the opportunity for everyone.  In fact, the Bible appears to argue that the "death of Christ was designed for the salvation of God's people whom God will draw, as opposed to every individual who may or may not choose it. Consider the following Scriptures:

• John 10.15 "I lay down my life for the sheep"
• John 10.26 "You do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep."
• John 17.6,9,19 "I have manifested my name to the men you gave me out of the world...I consecrate myself (death in view), that they also may be consecrated"
• John 11.51-52 "Christ died for the children of God scattered"
• Matthew 26.28 "Christ's blood...poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins"
• Hebrews 9.28 "Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many..."
• Ephesians 5.25-27 "died for the church (flock)"
• Revelation 5.9 "blood didst ransom men for God from nations (not all men)"

What does all of this mean?

Clearly, this short blog is not intended to explain every theological nuance that you might come across.  When all is said and done, it seems clear that the Bible teaches that God draws some men and not others; that God causes men to be reborn while not giving that grace to others; that God the Father gives particular men (and women) to Jesus to save and not others; that God reveals Himself by opening the eyes of some and not others.  In other words, God makes the first move.  This might seem insignificant, but at its simplest levels, it protect us from any sort of self-righteous boasting that is not rooted in the cross of Jesus.  Then, at much deeper levels, we learn that if God is our Shepherd and choosing us, then although we wander, we can't get lost again.   In other words we never lose God, or more accurately, Jesus never loses us.