Jn 10-1

Why follow Jesus: To be cared for

Warm-up: Have you ever felt God asking you to do something? If so, how did you know? Or considering the Bible: How did, for example, Abraham conclude that it was God who told him to leave his country and go where God would lead him (Gen 12:1)?

Read: John 10

Context: Like in each previous chapter, the teaching of Jesus in chapter 10 is preceded by events illustrating his main point metaphorically. Although, in this case the metaphor is found at the end of chapter 9: There, Jesus followed the man he healed from blindness and took him under his care, especially after he was excommunicated from the synagogue by the religious establishment.

• Why would he tell these same people (v7) that He (!) is the ‘door’?
  • Hint: What did they do in ch 9 that warranted this lesson, v34? What wrong had they done besides being so intolerant? cf Lk 11:52
• What knowledge is needed to enter the ‘door’ that Jesus was talking about? cf Jn 9:36

• Without a door, the sheep could not go out to find pasture. What did Jesus mean by a ‘green’ pasture for which only he can provide access? cf Jn 14:6-7
• Many people regard Christianity as a joy kill. By contrast, what Jesus mean by “having life in abundance”, v10?. If his gift is such abundant life of Christianity is true that ‘fullness of life’, how is it possible that the world despises the door that leads there?
  Paul, who hated Christianity before his own conversion, shared his experience about this e.g. in Col 2:3, reminiscent of the short parable of Jesus in Mt 13:44
• Why do people find that door narrow (Mt 7:13-14), and the ‘pasture’ behind it unattractive or boring? cf 2Cor 4:3-6
• vv11-15: By contrast, how are his followers attracted to Jesus? cf Jn 12:33-34
• How did this Shepherd become dear to you?

• What distinguishes them from goats?
• Who belongs and who may not belong to the flock of sheep, v9?
• Who are the “other sheep” mentioned by v16? What plans did Jesus have for them? [cf Eph 3:4-6]

• After opening the blind man’s eyes, how did Jesus help him against those robbers, Jn 9:35? cf Ez 34:10
• Compare Jn 10:28-29 with Mt 24:24-25. => Why can no one snatch a sheep from this shepherd?
• If Jesus gives to someone eternal life, is it possible that a believer can lose such life again? Or is v28 essentially saying once saved, always saved? Discuss.
  This question is crucial for both sides of an old controversy: For some, the fear of losing salvation seems necessary to not lose it. For the others, assurance of eternal salvation is God’s indispensable antidote against our doubts, the very lifeline to maintain our faith as a faith in God’s saving grace alone (Phil 1:6; Ro 8:30-32). => Hint:
• Did Jesus warn here his new disciple: “Look, they cannot snatch you from me; but you are in danger of getting lost if you yourself choose to walk away”? Or did he actually address the Pharisees here to tell them that a convert whose eyes were truly opened by Jesus will be forever beyond their reach? vv1, 6, 7
• Read Col 1:21-23 => On what condition can Christians be firmly assured that they are among those who have been saved and will eventually enter into the glory of God? ->
  • How does that condition contrast with the hurdles raised by the Pharisees, Jn 9:28? cf Gal 5:4

• What did Jesus criticize in v1 & v9 ?
• How does this compare to how Israel’s leaders were criticized by their prophets in the Old Testament, Jer 23:1-2; Ez 34:1-9.

• Has anything ever made you doubt whether you really are a Christian? How do you deal with that?
• What helps you in such moments to not get confused, or to get back on your feet?
• How do you recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and determine whether it is really His voice?
• Have you ever met someone where you wondered whether they are really sheep, or thieves, or even wolves in sheep’s clothing? What do you find helps you here in Jn 10 to deal with such questions?