The Parable About The Climbing Robber

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John 10:1-6

10 “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. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 
 

Context matters. This is the immediately preceding passage:

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains [John 9:39–41].

Then, Jesus tells this brief little parable about the sheep and the shepherd. The metaphor has changed from sight to hearing, but the result is the same: if you don’t hear correctly, you won’t know the shepherd.

Jesus is driving home the point that the Pharisees’ refusal to acknowledge what’s right in front of them make them unable to recognize the true shepherd when He arrives.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord, help us to hear your voice today—we don’t want to miss your guidance.