Throughout the In John 10:1 we read Jesus\u2019 warning against false messiahs: <\/span>\u201c\u2026Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit,\u201d <\/i>he says<\/span>.<\/i><\/p>\n Commentators usually understand <\/span>thieves <\/i>and <\/span>bandits<\/i> as a reference to the religious leaders of Jesus\u2019 day. However his words, <\/span>\u201call who came before me\u2026\u201d<\/i> suggest that he is speaking of another group \u2013 the self-styled messiahs between the Old and the New Testaments who claimed they would overthrow the power of Rome and provide liberty for the Jewish people, and so bring in the kingdom of God. But Jesus warns, \u2018No. Don\u2019t be fooled. God has a bigger and \u00a0John 10:1-11\u2028<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cVery truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.\u201d 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.<\/em><\/p>\n 7 So again Jesus said to them, \u201cVery truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and <\/em> Shepherds were an important part of the Jewish people\u2019s story for they symbolized God\u2019s relationship with his people. David, the greatest of Israel\u2019s kings, had been brought from shepherding sheep to shepherd Israel. It was he who said of God, <\/span>The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want<\/span><\/i>… (Psalm 23). <\/span><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s leaders, be they kings, religious leaders or prophets were called <\/span>shepherds<\/span><\/i>. Yet Ezekiel 34 tells us that one way or another they abused their position and failed in their duty. So he says that God himself would shepherd his people and that he would do this through his servant David (Ezekiel 34:23-24). God did not want his people to be <\/span>sheep <\/span><\/i>without a <\/span>shepherd <\/span><\/i>(1 Kings 22:17). <\/span><\/p>\n Against this background, Jesus spoke of himself as <\/span>the good shepherd<\/span><\/i>. Whereas the Pharisees of Jesus\u2019 day had ejected the formerly blind beggar, Jesus had not only restored the man\u2019s Almighty God, the protector of all who put their trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply your mercy upon us, so that with you as our shepherd, ruler Read John 10:1-21<\/strong><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is an often overlooked or simply unknown fact today, that many millions died in the 20th century under the brutal rule of these dictators who each claimed that their respective ideology would facilitate the materialist dream of prosperity and peace. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,2],"tags":[74],"yoast_head":"\nRead<\/h2>\n
Reflect<\/h2>\n
Prayer<\/h2>\n
Daily Reading Plan<\/h2>\n