Joh 10:1-5 | PNT | STEP | The Good Shepherd SUMMARY OF JOHN 10: The Sheepfold. The Shepherd of the Sheep. The Hireling. The Feast of Dedication. The Jews Seek to Stone Jesus. He Teaches Beyond Jordan. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold . The sheepfold is a figure of the church, the door into which is Christ. The sheepfolds of the East are large enclosures, open to the sky, but walled around with reeds or stones or brick in order to afford a protection against robbers, wolves, and other beasts of prey. There is a large door in which the shepherd enters with the sheep.

John 10:1-5

The Good Shepherd SUMMARY OF JOHN 10: The Sheepfold. The Shepherd of the Sheep. The Hireling. The Feast of Dedication. The Jews Seek to Stone Jesus. He Teaches Beyond Jordan.

He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold. The sheepfold is a figure of the church, the door into which is Christ. The sheepfolds of the East are large enclosures, open to the sky, but walled around with reeds or stones or brick in order to afford a protection against robbers, wolves, and other beasts of prey. There is a large door in which the shepherd enters with the sheep. He that entereth by the door. The one who comes in by the door is the shepherd. The figure is very plain to those familiar with Eastern sheepfolds. The door is for the shepherd and the sheep, while those who get in otherwise are robbers who seek to prey upon the sheep. To him the porter openeth. The gatekeeper whose business is to guard the entrance. This servant was furnished with arms to fight off intruders, but the shepherd he would let in. It is not certain that Christ intended to make the porter a figure of any spiritual thing, but if so, he would represent God, who has decided who shall enter through the door.

And the sheep hear his voice. This is true to the letter. The sheep in the East are so tame and so trained that they follow their keeper with the utmost docility. He leads them forth from the fold just where he pleases. The Eastern shepherds lead their sheep, while in our country we drive them.

He calleth his own sheep by name. This corresponds exactly with the facts of Eastern shepherd life. They give names to sheep as we do to horses, cows, and dogs. "Passing by a flock of sheep", says Mr. Hartley, "I asked the shepherd to call one of his sheep. He instantly did so, and it left its pasturage and its companions, and ran to the shepherd with a promptitude and signs of pleasure that I never witnessed before". The sheep follow him: for they know his voice. Also literally true in the East as all travelers testify, but a stranger they will not follow, because his voice is strange. So true is it that when a traveler has changed dress with the shepherd for an experiment, they still have followed the disguised shepherd's voice and refused to listen to the voice of a stranger in the garb of their own shepherd.