the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
entereth in
εἰσερχόμενοςeiserchomenos
G1525
to enter (literally or figuratively) · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
by
διὰdia
G1223
through (in very wide applications · preposition
the door
θύραςthuras
G2374
a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure · noun — genitive singular feminine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
the shepherd
ποιμήνpoimēn
G4166
a shepherd (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
of the sheep
προβάτων.probatōn
G4263
something that walks forward (a quadruped) · noun — genitive plural neuter
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,…
Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those th…
Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
John 10:11-12 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 10:1-18
It is not certain whether this discourse was at the feast of dedication in the winter (spoken of Joh 10:22), which may be taken as the date, not only of what follows, but of what goes before (that which countenances this is, that Christ, in his discourse there, carries on the metaphor of the sheep, Joh 10:26, Joh 10:27, whence it seems that that discourse and this were at the same time); or whether this was a continuation of his parley with the Pharisees, in the close of the foregoing chapter. The Pharisees supported themselves in their opposition to Christ with this principle, that they were the pastors of the church, and that Jesus, having no commission from them, was an intruder and an im…
he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep--a true, divinely recognized shepherd.
Adam Clarke on John 10:2
He that entereth in by the door - Observe here the marks, qualities, and duties of a good pastor; The first mark is, that he has a lawful entrance into the ministry by the internal call of Christ, namely, by an impulse proceeding from his Spirit, upon considerations which respect only his glory, and upon motives which aim at nothing but the good of his Church, the salvation of souls, the doing the will of God, and the sacrificing himself entirely to his service, and to that of the meanest of his flock.
John Gill on John 10:2
But he that entereth in by the door,.... With a divine commission, and by a divine authority, who comes not of himself, but is sent; does not take the honour to himself, or thrust in himself, and assume an office to himself, but is called unto it, and invested in it, he
is the shepherd of the sheep; by whom Christ means himself, as is evident from John 10:11, whose the sheep are, and who takes care of them, and feeds them, as a shepherd does his flock; and which holds true of any under shepherd, having his mission and commission, and deriving his authority from Christ.
The Church Fathers
(Hom. lix. 2) You have seen His description of a robber, now see that of the Shepherd: But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Who is he who enters by the door? It is he who enters in by Christ. Who is he? He is the one who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know that if God became man for us, [a] man should not think himself God but man [humankind]. He who being man wishes to appear God does not imitate him who, being God, became man. You are not asked to think less of yourself than you are but to know what you are.
The shepherd of the sheep is the one who is worthily endowed with the gift of teaching. He is the one who uses the lawful entrance, that is, who lives with all his heart according to the doctrine of the law and so enters into the sheepfold, as is only right. Then he leads all the others, like sheep, to the pastures of doctrine by showing them the food of the Word with which they must nourish themselves first and continually afterwards. He also leads them by showing them the power of the Word, how Scripture must be understood and from which doctrine they must abstain—doctrine that others may deceitfully propose to them for the slaughter of the sheep.… The thief and bandit is the exact opposite. He neither uses the lawful entrance, nor does he show respect for the precepts of the law. This is how he teaches the people given to him. In vain he tries to take hold of the entrance and of the dignity of the teacher, even though he does nothing that is required for such an honor. He is inconsiderate and does everything without regard to how it may harm the sheep. Indeed how can he be useful to others when he does not exercise himself in the precepts of the law? Take a look if you want, our Lord says, and discern between me and you as to who uses the lawful entrance. See who diligently follows the precepts of the law. See to whom Moses, the gatekeeper of the sheepfold, opens the gate and whom he praises for finishing his work. See whose works themselves testify to his worthiness to be called the Shepherd.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Parable — (Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a…
Sheep — Are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of…
Parables · Good Shepherd — Good Shepherd
Sheep · .Of the righteous — .Of the righteous
Shepherd · .Of Christ — .Of Christ
Titles And Names Of Saints · Sheep of Christ — Sheep of Christ
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on John 10:1-6
John 10:1-6
1. Verily, verily, I say to you, He who entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth by another way, is a thief and a robber. 2. But he who entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4. And having put out his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. 5. But they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. 6. Jesus spoke this parable to them; but they did not understand what those things were which he spoke to them.
1. Verily, verily, I say to you.…
Chapter 10 continues the series of festival sermons (see study note on 5:1–10:42). Here, the setting is Hanukkah (the Festival of Dedication), the timing of which is crucial to understanding the story (see study note on 10:22).
10:1-21 This illustration of a shepherd and his sheep assumes a Middle Eastern understanding of shepherding and draws on Old Testament tradition deeply embedded in first-century Jewish culture. God was the shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Pss 23; 78:52-53; Isa 40:10-11). Spiritual and political leaders of Israel were also shepherds of God’s people, the flock of God (Isa 56:9-12; Jer 23:1-4; Ezek 34). Jesus’ sermon builds on the occasion of Hanukkah (see John 10:22) to…
