John 10:3–4

Context

In John 9, Jesus heals a man blind from birth, and the Pharisees cast the man out of the synagogue. The account of the shepherd and the sheep in John 10:1–6 follows directly on this event and is addressed by Jesus to the Pharisees. John 10:6 calls this saying a "parable" and records that the hearers "understood not what things they were which he spake unto them." Jesus then identifies himself as "the door of the sheep" (10:7) and "the good shepherd" (10:11). The image of a shepherd calling out only his own sheep by name from among several flocks kept together in one fold, and then leading them from the front, is generally understood to reflect the shepherding customs of Palestine at the time.

Interpretation

• Christ-centered reading: Most denominations identify the shepherd as Jesus Christ. The statement that he calls each of his own sheep by name is taken to mean that he knows believers not as a crowd but as individuals. The detail that the shepherd does not drive the sheep but "goeth before them," and the sheep follow, is interpreted as guidance grounded in trust rather than coercion.
• Reading with chapter 9: Many commentators note that "cast him out" in 9:34 and "putteth forth" in 10:4 translate the same Greek verb. On this reading, the true shepherd calls out as his own the very man whom the religious leaders had cast out.
• Reformed reading: The Calvinist tradition reads the passage together with 10:26–29 and cites it in support of effectual calling, the doctrine that the elect are brought to respond to Christ's call, and of the perseverance of the saints.
• Wesleyan-Arminian reading: Wesleyan theology and Arminianism emphasize "hearing" and "following" the voice as the human response of faith to the call.
• Views on the porter: Some interpreters identify the porter (gatekeeper) as God the Father, the Holy Spirit, or John the Baptist. Others hold that, since the porter belongs to the setting of the parable, the figure need not be assigned a separate meaning.

Questions of Application

The text itself is not a major point of contention among denominations. Views diverge, however, over applying the expression "hear his voice" to individuals receiving direct guidance from God. In Pentecostal and charismatic circles, the passage is often preached in connection with the personal leading of the Holy Spirit. Others counter that the passage refers to recognizing Christ's word through Scripture and the gospel, and that it can hardly serve as a basis for subjective experience.

In the Korean Church

The expression "sheep that hear the shepherd's voice" is frequently used in sermons and prayers. Korean churches often refer to pastors or small-group leaders as "shepherds." In the house church movement in particular, small-group leaders are called shepherds, and this passage, together with the good shepherd discourse elsewhere in chapter 10, is cited as the basis for their role.

Related Passages

• John 10:11–15
• John 10:27–29
• Ezekiel 34:11–16
• Isaiah 40:11
• 1 Peter 2:25