"Most assuredly I tell 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. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the door opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet, they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them." (New KJV version.)
Picture a walled enclosure with a single door which is guarded by a watchman. Some one who climbs over the wall is a thief intent on stealing one or more sheep. But the shepherd who has a herd in the sheepfold has the authority to enter the gate. There is more than one herd of sheep in the enclosure so the shepherd calls out his sheep by name and they come to him because they recognize his voice.
This sheep/shepherd relationship was certainly familiar to the people Jesus was speaking to. What they failed to understand is that Jesus was referring to himself as the shepherd and he was calling out people who would recognize him as the Messiah and who would follow him and respond to his voice.
What brought me to Christ 40 years ago was the revelation that he knows his followers by name. Some one must have told me that. But it is only recently that I discovered the scripture to back it up. Have you ever come upon a scripture that you felt must have been slipped into the Bible because you never noticed it before?
The nugget I found is verse 10:3. Previously I had passed right over this as something sheep and shepherds had going on. But as Jesus used it in the parable it has nothing to do with sheep and everything to do with how well God knows and cares about us.
We are not just a part, a speck, of a faceless mass of humanity. Our God, creator and ruler of the universe, knows us individually and specifically to the extent that the very hairs on our head are numbered. That's more info than the government has in their file on you. Yes; I was about as dense as the crowd listening to Jesus. However, the Holy Spirit has a way of gently smacking us on the head and opening our spiritual eyes.
A story that illustrates this: A farmer named Kline lived in Kansas. Although elderly he still worked the land and continued to prosper. Because he felt he had no needs, spiritual or otherwise, he rejected any attempts to introduce him to Christ. Mr. Kline's house was situated next to the farm to market road and directly across the road was a small country church. One summer evening Kline sat in a rocking chair on his porch while the church choir was practicing. The church windows were open and the choir was singing, "Jesus Died For All Mankind."
Mr. Kline's hearing was poor and he thought he heard, "Jesus Died For Old Man Kline." As though jabbed with a cattle prod, Kline leaped from his chair and ran across the street to find out about this Jesus who had died for him.
What a difference it makes when it finally seeps into our soul that Jesus died for each of us individually. And also it helps immensely to know that no matter what hardship, difficulty or disappointment we go through through or endure, Jesus knows exactly what it feels like because he's already been there. Sadness? Terror? Loneliness? Temptation? Cancer? Rejection? Death? Jesus has been through it all. He had to. And he chose to do it.
Hebrews 2:14-18 (LB) "Since we, God's children, are human beings--made of flesh and blood--he became flesh and blood too by being born in human form; for only as a human being could he die and in dying break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only in that way could he deliver those who through fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread.
"We all know he did not come as an angel but as a human being--yes, a Jew. And it was necessary for Jesus to be like us, his brothers, so he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us."
Matthew 8:16, 17; "When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'" (New KJV)
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"Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight with widely scattered light by morning."
"May the force of evil become confused on the way to your house."
George Carlin
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