Jesus' teaching here is still taking place at the Feast of Tabernacles, verse 21 referring back to the healing of the blind man.
In these first few verses Jesus is saying that the good shepherd enters by the normal route, he would not enter surreptitiously, for there would be no need to do so. He has every right to be there.
Why was Jesus saying this? Presumably the thieves are the current Jewish leaders, and of course Jesus is the good shepherd. It was the Jewish leaders who were using underhand methods. They were secretly plotting against Jesus, and at the climax of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus all sorts of legal conventions were broken. Jesus, on the other hand, acted openly. Later on the apostle Paul would make much of the openness and straightforwardness with which he presented the gospel.
There are two who give approval to the good shepherd. One is the gatekeeper, ie God. He sent Jesus and approved of Him (Matt 3:17). The gatekeeper opens the door for the good shepherd. Second are the sheep. They will recognise the voice of the good shepherd, and will listen only to him. Conversely, they would not follow the voice of a stranger.
There is a principle here that we can apply to ourselves. We should always act in an open and straightforward manner, and shun the use of underhand methods. For if we are acting on God's behalf, then He will open the door for us. Moreover, if we are truly acting on God's behalf, then His sheep will respond to us.
Furthermore, if we here some teacher or teaching and it seems to jar with us, ie there seems to be something not quite right about it, then we should be very cautious. It is easy to think that we must be wrong, not wanting to seem to be rebellious. Now we must be teachable, and all of us have much that we need to learn, but as God's children we also need to be aware that sometimes it will be the Spirit who is warning us.
In these first few verses Jesus is saying that the good shepherd enters by the normal route, he would not enter surreptitiously, for there would be no need to do so. He has every right to be there.
Why was Jesus saying this? Presumably the thieves are the current Jewish leaders, and of course Jesus is the good shepherd. It was the Jewish leaders who were using underhand methods. They were secretly plotting against Jesus, and at the climax of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus all sorts of legal conventions were broken. Jesus, on the other hand, acted openly. Later on the apostle Paul would make much of the openness and straightforwardness with which he presented the gospel.
There are two who give approval to the good shepherd. One is the gatekeeper, ie God. He sent Jesus and approved of Him (Matt 3:17). The gatekeeper opens the door for the good shepherd. Second are the sheep. They will recognise the voice of the good shepherd, and will listen only to him. Conversely, they would not follow the voice of a stranger.
There is a principle here that we can apply to ourselves. We should always act in an open and straightforward manner, and shun the use of underhand methods. For if we are acting on God's behalf, then He will open the door for us. Moreover, if we are truly acting on God's behalf, then His sheep will respond to us.
Furthermore, if we here some teacher or teaching and it seems to jar with us, ie there seems to be something not quite right about it, then we should be very cautious. It is easy to think that we must be wrong, not wanting to seem to be rebellious. Now we must be teachable, and all of us have much that we need to learn, but as God's children we also need to be aware that sometimes it will be the Spirit who is warning us.
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