With Us in the Fold

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

John 10:1-18

I’m a pretty anxious person. On any given day, if you were to read my thoughts, you’d find me worried about any number of things—money, safety, relationships, work, performance, appearance—the list goes on. Some of my fear and anxiety comes honestly—a mix of OCD and other family traits—but much of it boils down to a lifelong struggle to trust that God is my provider.

A week ago, I found myself anxious once again as I got ready to write this devotional. While I enjoy studying God’s Word and sharing what I’ve learned with other people, the process of writing fills me with anxiety—what if I don’t have anything to say? What if the words don’t come? What if I fail? As I read John 10 a week ago, I could feel the fear creep in as I read the passage and wondered what to write about, turning the passage over and over in my head as I was drifting off to sleep. But the next day, as I read a commentary on the passage, God reminded me once again that He is my provider and Good Shepherd.

In his commentary on John¹, Colin Kruse helps explain to those of us who aren’t familiar with the first-century world what Jesus means when He says that He is the gate (or door) for the sheep (John 10:7). What Jesus has in mind here is a shepherd bringing his sheep into the countryside to graze. Rather than going back to the village for the night, sometimes the shepherd and sheep would stay in the countryside in a makeshift sheepfold made of stones, with thorns on the top to keep out prey. And because this was a makeshift fold, there was no gate. So, to keep the sheep safe and in the fold, the shepherd himself would lay in the opening as the gate. The shepherd was, quite literally, the gate for the sheep. 

As I read this explanation, a picture immediately popped into my head of a father with his child. When a child is scared at night, what does a good father do? He lays down beside his child and says, “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe with me.”

With this image, God reminded me of what the abundant life He promises looks like (John 10:10). Jesus the gate not only provides us with the only pathway to eternal life in the future—He also is the only way to abundant life in the here and now. Life in the Good Shepherd’s fold is life where He protects us and provides for our needs, where He leads and guides us, where He knows us by name—where He is with us. Life with our Good Shepherd is the life where we truly lack nothing (cf. Psalm 23).

The presence and provision of the Good Shepherd are the only things that will quell our fear and anxiety. If you are like me, you often run to hired hands instead to keep you safe, hired hands that will always fail. Yet our Good Shepherd will never fail. He is good. He is gentle. He is safe. He is with us in the fold. And I’m learning to ask Him to stay with me until I fall asleep.

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End notes: 1. Colin G. Kruse, John, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries.