1“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture. 10The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; 15even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. 17Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
19Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words. 20Many of them said, “He has a demon and is insane! Why do you listen to him?” 21Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”
22It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem. 23It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. 26But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”
31Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
33The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
34Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ 35If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), 36do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’ 37If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. 38But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand. 40He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and he stayed there. 41Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.” 42Many believed in him there.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture.10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
John speaks to the kind of relationship that Jesus’ followers are to have with Him. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the Shepherd, and we are His sheep. It is a relationship of trust that the Shepherd truly loves His sheep and wants the best for them. This includes directing them and making sure they have food and a safe place. Jesus says that there is only one way to become a true sheep, and that is by entering through the right door. Jesus is recorded earlier in John’s account saying that He is the way, the truth, and the life. When we come to Jesus, it takes a while to grow accustomed to hearing His voice. Sometimes when we hear nothing but silence, it is discouraging, but it is also a clue to learn what we can from our present circumstance and to choose joy, love, and peace even in a circumstance that might not be too comfortable
When I finished graduate school, I had a desperately difficult time finding my first job. The truth is that although I was educated in finance and economics, I had no practical skills to offer the job market. I was intelligent. I had earned two degrees, but I didn’t really know how to do anything concrete. We moved back to Texas from North Carolina, where I had finished graduate school and met and married my wife. I knew how things worked in Texas and that I could find a job. I knocked on hundreds of doors and finally landed a job with an international trading company. Some Arab Palestinians owned it. I made the wages of a sacker at a grocery store, but I was just glad to have a job. I focused on my attitude. Each day, I just focused on learning all that I could about how business worked. I received inquiries from overseas customers and learned how to prepare a quote for an international sale.
Over the 2 years or so I worked there, I did everything I could to learn practical skills and prayed for direction. I began thinking about my career. I got elementary in my thirst for knowledge. I was thinking one day about how the need for water was greater than any other human physical need. I called a water well driller north of Houston and asked if I could observe them drilling water wells. I took some vacation days, visited, and documented everything about the process. I learned the names of every part on the drilling rig, and I watched the procedure as they drilled. Several months after this, I bumped into a man on the elevator of the building where I worked. Out of the blue, he asked me if I knew anything about drilling for water wells. I ended up guiding our little company through the process of making the largest sale in the company’s history with multiple drilling rigs and pieces of construction equipment. When my boss refused to pay me the promised compensation, I quietly resigned and started my own business. The rest is history. What could have been seen as a horrible defeat was, in fact, God’s leading in my life. He was speaking. I was listening. Trust God today in whatever seems to be your hopeless circumstances. Ask Him to direct your thoughts. Think it through and then step out in faith, even if it’s just a little bit. Be faithful and do your best. Learn all you can, but more importantly, learn to lean on Him. He’s your good shepherd.