John 10:1

Chapter nine ended on a theme of judgment (John 9:39); and here the deserved judgment of the evil shepherds is uttered. "Jesus swiftly turned the tables on his judges and sentenced them.[1] The controversy that erupted over the miracle dominates the first 21 verses, as evidenced by "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (John 10:21). The expression, "Verily, verily," is one which is not used at the commencement of a discourse";[2] and Robertson said, "The words do not ever introduce a fresh topic."[3] Further evidence for the unity of the two chapters (John 9-10) is in Jesus' presentation of himself as the divine Messiah under the metaphor of the "Good Shepherd," contrasting with the evil shepherds who had cast out the blind man.

The importance of the "Good Shepherd" metaphor lies in its use by Jesus: (1) to establish his claim of being God in the flesh, and (2) to identify himself as the "Son of David," Israel's great shepherd king. This refutes Richardson's notion that "Nowhere does John make anything of the notion of a Davidic Messiah."[4]

The concept that the Messiah would be the "Son of David" was not a mere notion but a solid conviction founded upon the Old Testament and honored by the very first verse in the New Testament. It was accepted by Christ himself (Matthew 22:41-46) and was without doubt the reason for Christ's effective employment of the metaphor of the Good Shepherd in this chapter.

The second half of the chapter (John 10:22-42) records events of some weeks later at the feast of the dedication, the additional references to the "Good Shepherd" being made necessary by his foes' insistence that Jesus tell them "plainly" if he was the Christ.

[1] A. M. Hunter, The Gospel according to John (Cambridge University Press, 1965), p. 100.

[2] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1954), p. 285.

[3] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1932), p. 173.

[4] Alan Richardson, The Gospel according to St. John (London: SCM Press, 1959), p. 129.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)

Verily, verily ... See introduction of this chapter.

Entereth not by the door ... Christ is the true door (John 10:7) of access to the sheep who are the true Israel of God. It was Christ the door who opened up the whole burden of Old Testament prophecy concerning him and whose coming into the world was the only reason for the existence of Israel as a chosen people. On the other hand, the vicious, secular priests then in charge of Israel had usurped authority over God's Israel, having not entered through Christ the true door at all, but having climbed up by political and coercive means.

The same is a thief and a robber ... This may not be doubted. Jesus referred to the same men as having made the temple a den of thieves and robbers; and here they are compared to violent outlaws who climb the wall to plunder the sheep belonging to another. See also under John 10:8.