The Shepherd Enters by the Door

Narrator: Chris Genthree
Duration: 9min
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In John 10 we have marvelous ministry concerning shepherding that is taught and demonstrated by the Shepherd of all shepherds. The first thing we are told is that the one who enters in by “the door” is “the shepherd of the sheep.” That is the appropriate way to approach sheep. Those who do not come through the door are “thieves and robbers.” Climbing over the wall is the indication that such an one is not the shepherd. In order to be a shepherd, the first thing necessary is to get to know the sheep, and for the sheep to get to know the shepherd. Only after getting to know the shepherd will the sheep follow, and after the shepherd comes to know the sheep will he be able to lead them. The Lord Jesus came to where the sheep were: “He came to His own” (John 1:1111He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (John 1:11)); He came to know the sheep, as He says, “I know those that are Mine,” and the sheep came to know Him, as He says, “and am known of those that are Mine” (John 10:1414I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:14) JND). What an experience He passed through as He lived on earth doing this! He, being ever holy and sinless, came to learn “obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:88Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; (Hebrews 5:8)). He learned by experience what it was to be man, and to know the needs and feelings felt by all those around Him. There is great significance to the one who enters by the door of the sheepfold (corral); this is the starting point of how to be a good shepherd.
Moses learned this lesson while caring for sheep. It was for 40 years he learned the lesson after realizing his own failure to care for his brethren in Egypt. His first effort to help his brethren ended in disaster. But that first failure did not disqualify him forever. The Lord turned the resulting circumstances into a means of teaching him to become acquainted with sheep, to learn to know them, and teach him how to care for them. Then afterward Moses was enabled to do the same with his brethren — the sheep of Israel. He did it for 40 years with only one principal failure. Let us not give up caring for one another because of failures, but rather learn to know one another better through these experiences and thus do it better afterward.
The Porter
Next in John 10 we have the role of the porter. He guards the sheep while they are in the sheepfold. It is to protect them during the night by closed walls. Sheep need protection from adversaries; they are not capable of defending themselves. The porter serves while the sheep are in the corral. Then in the day when the shepherd comes, the sheep are taken by the shepherd into the open pasture. A porter only allows the designated shepherd (one qualified to care well for sheep) to take them out into the open field. The Lord Jesus from the very beginning of His ministry in Israel proved this shepherding care for those around Him, even in His last act when He turned over the care of His mother to John (John 19:2727Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:27)). He only was the faithful One as a Shepherd, and now as the Chief Shepherd, He, through the commission to Peter, says to all of us, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-32Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2‑3)).
The Cause
Much can be learned about shepherding as presented to us in the life of David. He had to pass through several years of waiting before he was allowed to serve as king of Israel. When he eventually became king, he had already learned to be a shepherd. May we not say, it is evident in the story of his life that the porter did not allow him to take over the sheep immediately. He had to learn how to care for the sheep of Israel first. We see this process of learning shepherding advance from caring for sheep to caring for people when he was sent by his father to take supplies and seek his brethren. He dutifully obeyed his father, as it says he “left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded.” Moreover, when he arrived at the place, the test was more difficult as he was dealing with misunderstanding and false accusations. His oldest brother said, “Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle” (1 Sam. 17:2828And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. (1 Samuel 17:28)). David’s response was not in defense of himself, but he only referred to the “cause” for which he came. There was a cause. And we sometimes sing:
“What wondrous cause could move Thy heart
To take on Thee our curse and smart,
Well knowing we should ever be
So cold, so negligent of Thee?
The cause was love — we sink with shame
Before our blessed Jesus’ name,
That He should bleed and suffer thus,
Because He loved and pitied us. (L.F. 85 App.)
Change of Heart
The learning time was to be prolonged and the persecution against David intensified. King Saul sought to kill him and he was forced to flee. He became a hungry and weary fugitive. At that time Nabal out of his abundance refused to give David’s men food. It provoked David to rise up in vengeance against the injustice of Nabal. However, this was not the time for David to be setting right injustice; he had not yet been given that role. The lesson to be learned at this time was about how to shepherd the sheep of Israel. The Lord used Abigail, a prudent woman, to teach David this beautiful lesson. She sent food to the hungry, deprived men and entreated David. “I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days” (1 Sam. 25:2828I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. (1 Samuel 25:28)). The heart of David was changed. He took it from the Lord and responded, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand” (vss. 32-33). David would be a better king now that he had learned from the experience. The following chapter teaches us other lessons that David learned, but we pass on to a remarkable story near the end of the life of David that showed what a good shepherd is like.
Intercession
When Israel sinned to the point that the Lord allowed David to number the people without paying the redemption money, the angel of the Lord began a plague of destruction. At that time the true shepherd’s heart of David manifested itself. He interceded with God saying, “Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let Thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on Thy people, that they should be plagued” (1 Chron. 21:1717And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. (1 Chronicles 21:17)). What a great demonstration of love and care! This is what our Lord has done for us as the good Shepherd, laying down His life for us. What an example for us to do for each other! “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:1616Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16)).
In Ezekiel 34 we have much moral teaching about shepherding as a prophecy of a future day. The example of David is mentioned. “Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezek. 34:22-2422Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. (Ezekiel 34:22‑24)). We see in these verses that David is first spoken of as being a shepherd over them, and then a prince. This is the order, which was perfectly followed by our Lord who came first as a Shepherd, even going so far as to give His life for us. Only then does He take up the role as King. May the Lord teach us how to become better shepherds as we wait in service until His soon coming.
D. C. Buchanan