Bible Study John 10 Jesus is the Door & the Shepherd

Jesus used the things we encountered in everyday life to illustrate and tell us who He is. Story is the most effective means of communication and teaching. All of us like to listen to story. We project ourselves into it. It is hence attention getting and easy for us to remember the lessons. It is probably the reason that Jesus used many parables to teach us the deep things of God, man and truths.

Q1 What can we learn about Jesus as the Door to the sheepfold? Make a comparison with those that came in by other way.

Jesus as the Door: 

1. Through Jesus, we will be saved 10:9 and have eternal life v28
2. We have freedom (go in and out v9)
3. Have abundant life (find pasture v9) and they may have it more abundantly v10

Thief come in illegally and by stealth (we may not know or may be deceived or may by ignorance and negligence, let the thief in). They do the opposite of what Jesus does.

1. steal (vs freedom) - take away what you have: of your heart - freedom, joy, peace, etc; of your mind - wisdom, clarity; of your body - health; of your possession - house, business, savings.
2. kill (vs Salvation) - take away your abundant life, and even bring death to you, your family, your friends etc.
3. destroy (vs abundance) - to break apart good things like relationships, successful businesses etc. They put fear, depression, hopelessness, hatred, revenge, lusts, immorality, dirt in you.

Q2 What can we learn about Jesus as the Good Shepherd? Make a comparison with the hired hands.

1. Call his own by name and know them (v3,14). Knowing by name implies truly knowing you as a person and your character. When Jesus wants us to believe in His name for our salvation, he also means that we know not just His Name but who He is.
2. Leads them out (v3). Jesus will lead us and guide us. If we don't know what to do, we need to stand on this promise and ask God for guidance.
3. He goes before them (v4). This verse is an emphasis that Jesus is not leading us from the back like a commandment in war asking his men to charge forward when he stays at the back. Jesus leads by going first. He opens out the path and make the way that we can easily recognize and walk on it. We need not be fearful of the present or the future. We need not be worried about the uncertainties of life, weathers, wars, famines, sicknesses etc (Read Ps 91 and see the protection of God for you). Put our faith in Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
4. Lays down His life for the sheep (v11,15). Heavenly Father loves Jesus for that (v17) showing that our Heavenly Father loves us even more that He gave Jesus for us!
5. Go to look for other sheep not in the fold yet (v16). There is only one fold with Jesus as the Shepherd.
6. No one is greater than Jesus to take Jesus' life. He laid it willingly to save us (v18) and is able to take it up with resurrection power to bring us along with Him.

Hired hands will run away by themselves first on the first sign and danger and leave the sheep to be exposed to the attacking wolves. When we face crisis, those who stay to help us and those who left us, enables us to know who are our true friends.

Q3 What are the people's reactions to Jesus' saying? Who were they? What about you, what do you think of Jesus?

In Jerusalem, we found two groups. One thought Jesus as mad or demon possessed(v19) They were blind to the evidence and took up stones to stone Jesus(v31) when Jesus made it plain to them that He was from God (v37-38). But John quickly pointed out another group that believe in Jesus and cited evidence (opening the eyes of blind - Chapter 9) to refute the first group as wrong.

(Additional explanation: Can devils heal too? Yes if the sickness is caused by another lower ranking demons. But devil cannot heal a sickness that has a natural cause. e.g. the man born blind. A sickness caused by demon can be found in Luke 13:16).

Many of those that lived beyond River Jordan believed Jesus because of John the Baptist prophecy and Jesus actual fulfillment of the prophecy by His works, most definitely, miracles (v41-42).

Jesus never asked us to believe Him without evidences. He proclaim a truth and have evidences to support His words. Chinese wise man taught us to know a person by hearing his talk and then observing his behavior before making a conclusion about the person.

Q4 How can we be sure that we are true believers? What assurance have Jesus gave us?
John 10:4 the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. v5 they flee from strangers.
10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

There are a few things that we must be doing to know we are true believers:

1. Know His voice. We know His voice by studying His words - the Bible. Jesus will speak according to and confirming the Bible teaching. Simply, Jesus talk like the Bible. When we heard a speech, and it contradicts the Bible, then we know it is not from Jesus. Jesus does not speak against the Bible.
2. We seek to hear(v27) from Jesus our Shepherd. We spend time to talk to Jesus and to listen to His guidance, comfort and other words of love. 
3. We follow(v27) and obey His words and then truly know and experience, or taste, the good words of Jesus.
4. We stay away from the strangers - people that talk and behavior against the teachings of the Bible.

The Assurance from Jesus: (v27-30)

1. Jesus knows us (those that hear and follow Jesus v27)
2. Jesus gives us eternal life and we shall never perish.
3. NO one is able to snatch them out of His hand.
4. Because His Father is greatest than all. (no one is able to snatch us away from His Father's hand - repeated for our assurance)
5. Jesus and Father are ONE. We are in Jesus and His Father's strong hand and no one can snatch us away.

Many believers are worry that they could loose their salvation. This is unnecessary worry. Once we truly believe and entrust our lives to Jesus, then it is Jesus (and Father) who is responsible for our lives and not us. It is not us holding on His hand but His hand is holding unto us. Stop worrying about whether you are loosing your salvation and live rightly as the eternally secured child of God and behavior like one, showing forth the glory of our Heavenly Father by our works of faith and labor of love, attracting others to Jesus and our Father.