"Truly truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way. He is a thief and a robber.
But who enters by the door is a Shepherd(pastor) of the Sheep.
... the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own by name, leads them out.... when he puts forth own, he goes before them, and the Sheep follow him because they Knowles voice." John 10;1-4
So what does Jesus mean in all this?
Jesus tells us in the following verses in John 10: "Truly truly.. I am the door of the Sheep... (Verse 11)I am the Good Shepherd(pastor).
(Verse14) I am the Good Shepherd (pastor), and I know My own and My own know Me. ..(16)and I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I bring them also , and they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock, and shall have one shepherd(pastor)."
Who is the Leader?
Obviously, it must be Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. There is another obvious thing--He DOES LEAD the flock..
But here the shepherd leads in a different way.
In the western world, the shepherd is actually a sheep herder. This means he is he is behind the flock and drives the Sheep, and usually with a sheep dog.
The flock hear the voice of Jesus Christ, This means that they recognize Jesus Christ in The Voice. If Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd,
"THE ONE SHEPHERD"(pastor),
this is extremely important. If "His own know-recognize His voice", than it identifies "His own". "They(His own) flee from strangers"--not the good shepherd's voice.
The Good Shepherd leads the Flock from the front--not from behind, and (4)"the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd--"the one shepherd".
Another very important point to be made here
Jesus Christ's or God's voice was or is not always a popular one. God's prophets were not always popular or what you want to hear--usually they were not.
SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE CHURCH OR THE BODY OF CHRIST? --2000 YEARS AFTER JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN?
THE CHURCH PASTOR FUNCTIONS ONLY AS UNDER THE "CHIEF PASTOR JESUS CHRIST
WE MUST EXPOSIT-INDUCTIVE CHRIST'S WORDS--USE HIS WORDS--HIS BIBLE
But who enters by the door is a Shepherd(pastor) of the Sheep.
... the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own by name, leads them out.... when he puts forth own, he goes before them, and the Sheep follow him because they Knowles voice." John 10;1-4
So what does Jesus mean in all this?
Jesus tells us in the following verses in John 10: "Truly truly.. I am the door of the Sheep... (Verse 11)I am the Good Shepherd(pastor).
(Verse14) I am the Good Shepherd (pastor), and I know My own and My own know Me. ..(16)and I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I bring them also , and they shall hear my voice and they shall become one flock, and shall have one shepherd(pastor)."
Who is the Leader?
Obviously, it must be Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. There is another obvious thing--He DOES LEAD the flock..
But here the shepherd leads in a different way.
In the western world, the shepherd is actually a sheep herder. This means he is he is behind the flock and drives the Sheep, and usually with a sheep dog.
The flock hear the voice of Jesus Christ, This means that they recognize Jesus Christ in The Voice. If Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd,
"THE ONE SHEPHERD"(pastor),
this is extremely important. If "His own know-recognize His voice", than it identifies "His own". "They(His own) flee from strangers"--not the good shepherd's voice.
The Good Shepherd leads the Flock from the front--not from behind, and (4)"the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd--"the one shepherd".
Another very important point to be made here
Jesus Christ's or God's voice was or is not always a popular one. God's prophets were not always popular or what you want to hear--usually they were not.
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JESUS CHRIST IS OUR ONE AND ONLY PASTOR TO FOLLOW
READ 1 Peter 5:1-5
Verse 12 He that is a hireling(o misqwtoß).
Old word from misqow, to hire (Matthew 20:1) from misqoß (hire, wages, Luke 10:7), in N.T. only in this passage. Literally, "the hireling and not being a shepherd" (o misqwtoß kai ouk wn poimhn). Note ouk with the participle wn to emphasize the certainty that he is not a shepherd in contrast with mh eisercomenoß in verse Luke 1 (conceived case). See same contrast in 1 Peter 1:8 between ouk idonteß and mh orwnteß. INCIDENTALLY, THE GREEK WORD,"poimhn " WHICH THE APOSTLE JOHN USED FOR "SHEPHERD" IS THE SAME "poimhn "* TRANSLATED "PASTOR." THE DIFFERENT PLACES THE TRANSLATOR USED SHEPHERD RATHER THAN PASTOR IS PURELY FROM THE TRANSLATOR. IN THE GREEK N.T. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. THE GREEK OLD TESTAMENT USES "poimhn " IN PSALM 23. *(The same Grk .stem) The hireling here is not necessarily the thief and robber of verses 1 Peter 1,8. He may conceivably be a nominal shepherd (pastor) of the flock who serves only for the money, a sin against which Peter warned the shepherds of the flock "not for shameful gain" (1 Peter 5:2). Whose own (ou idia). Every true shepherd considers the sheep in his care "his own" (idia) even if he does not actually "own" them. The mere "hireling" does not feel so. Beholdeth (qewrei). Vivid dramatic present, active indicative of qewrew, a graphic picture. The wolf coming (ton lukon ercomenon). Present middle predicate participle of ercomai. Leaveth the sheep, and fleeth (apihsin ta probata kai peugei). Graphic present actives again of apihmi and peugw. The cowardly hireling cares naught for the sheep, but only for his own skin. The wolf was the chief peril to sheep in Palestine. See Matthew 10:6 where Jesus says: "Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves." And the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them (kai o lukoß arpazei kai skorpizei). Vivid parenthesis in the midst of the picture of the conduct of the hireling. Bold verbs these. For the old verb arpazw see John 6:15; Matthew 11:12, and for skorpizw, late word (Plutarch) for the Attic skedannumi, see Matthew 12:30. It occurs in the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 34:5) where because of the careless shepherds "the sheep became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered." Jesus uses arpazw in Ezekiel 10:29 where no one is able "to snatch" one out of the Father's hand. |
Verse 13 Because he is a hireling
(oti misqwtoß estin). And only that, without the shepherd heart that loves the sheep. Reason given for the conduct of the hireling after the parenthesis about the wolf. And careth not for the sheep (kai ou melei autwi peri twn probatwn). Literally, "and it is no care to him about the sheep." This use of the impersonal melei (present active indicative) is quite common, as in Matthew 22:16. But God does care (1 Peter 5:7).
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Verse 6 This parable
(tauthn thn paroimian). Old word for proverb from para (beside) and oimoß, way, a wayside saying or saying by the way. As a proverb in N.T. in 2 Peter 2:22 (quotation from Proverbs 26:11), as a symbolic or figurative saying in John 16:25,29, as an allegory in John 10:6. Nowhere else in the N.T. Curiously enough in the N.T. parabolh occurs only in the Synoptics outside of Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 11:19. Both are in the LXX. Parabolh is used as a proverb (Luke 4:23) just as paroimia is in 2 Peter 2:22. Here clearly paroimia means an allegory which is one form of the parable. So there you are. Jesus spoke this paroimia to the Pharisees, "but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them" (ekeinoi de ouk egnwsan tina hn a elalei autoiß). Second aorist active indicative of ginwskw and note hn in indirect question as in 2 Peter 2:25 and both the interrogative tina and the relative a. "Spake" (imperfect elalei) should be "Was speaking or had been speaking."
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Verse 7 Therefore again
(oun palin). Jesus repeats the allegory with more detail and with more directness of application. Repeating a story is not usually an exhilarating experience. I am the door of the sheep (egw eimi h qura twn probatwn). The door for the sheep by which they enter. "He is the legitimate door of access to the spiritual aulh, the Fold of the House of Israel, the door by which a true shepherd must enter" (Bernard). He repeats it in verse 2 Peter 9. This is a new idea, not in the previous story (2 Peter 1-5). Moffatt follows the Sahidic in accepting o poimhn here instead of h qura, clearly whimsical. Jesus simply changes the metaphor to make it plainer. They were doubtless puzzled by the meaning of the door in verse 2 Peter 1. Once more, this metaphor should help those who insist on the literal meaning of bread as the actual body of Christ in Mark 14:22. Jesus is not a physical "door," but he is the only way of entrance into the Kingdom of God (Mark 14:6).
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Verse 8 Before me(pro emou). Aleph with the Latin, Syriac, and Sahidic versions omit these words (supported by A B D L W). But with or without pro emou Jesus refers to the false Messiahs and self-appointed leaders who made havoc of the flock.
These are the thieves and robbers, not the prophets and sincere teachers of old. The reference is to verse Mark 1. There had been numerous such impostors already (Josephus, Ant. XVIII. i. 6; War II. viii. I) and Jesus will predict many more (Matthew 24:23). They keep on coming, these wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15) who grow rich by fooling the credulous sheep. In this case "the sheep did not hear them" (ouk hkousan autwn ta probata). First aorist active indicative with genitive. Fortunate sheep who knew the Shepherd's voice. |
SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE CHURCH OR THE BODY OF CHRIST? --2000 YEARS AFTER JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN?
THE CHURCH PASTOR FUNCTIONS ONLY AS UNDER THE "CHIEF PASTOR JESUS CHRIST
WE MUST EXPOSIT-INDUCTIVE CHRIST'S WORDS--USE HIS WORDS--HIS BIBLE