John 10:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

NIV: But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.'

NASB: However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.'

CSB: They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don't know the voice of strangers."

NLT: They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.'

KJV: And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

NKJV: Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Sheep in Jesus' era were acutely attuned to the voice of their own shepherd. This allowed multiple flocks to be housed in a single sheep pen overnight. The individual shepherds could retrieve their flocks simply by calling. Only those sheep who knew that particular voice would come—the others would not respond to a voice they did not recognize.

By analogy, Jesus is explaining that the reason many of His critics cannot—actually, will not—respond to Him is because they are part of another flock. Those who "belong" to Jesus recognize His voice and follow Him, while recoiling from the voice of a stranger. Those who don't listen to Jesus voice are, in plain terms, "owned" by someone else. As Jesus pointed out in prior conversations, such people actually belong to Satan (John 8:42–47).

This is the first of three separate analogies Jesus will use that involve shepherding. As the following verse shows, the men to whom He speaks—the same religious leaders who criticized His healing of a man born blind (John 9)—will predictably fail to get the point.

John 10:1–21 continues directly from Jesus' encounter with local religious leaders, after giving sight to a man born blind (John 9). Jesus' references here to shepherds and shepherding are pointed barbs at these hypocritical, self-serving figures. In this section, Jesus actually creates three separate metaphors; these are not meant to be understood as a single analogy. The first comes in verses 1 through 6, the second in verses 7 through 9, and the third in verses 10 through 18. In doing so, Jesus explains how He differs from the corrupt leaders He confronts. He also delivers His third and fourth ''I am'' statements, out of seven in this gospel.

This passage continues Jesus' discussion with the religious leaders of Jerusalem, seen in chapter 9. Jesus lays out three separate analogies about His ministry, using the concept of sheep and shepherds. In those statements, Jesus explains why some people refuse to accept Him, declares Himself the only means of salvation, and again predicts His sacrificial death. This leads to controversy. Later, Jesus is cornered by a mob in the temple grounds. They once again try to stone Him as He repeats His divine claims, but He escapes in some way not fully described by the text. After this, Jesus leaves the area and returns to the region where John the Baptist had once preached.

Starting in chapter 7, the gospel of John describes Jesus' preaching at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem. Through chapters 7 and 8, He debates with critics and attempts to explain spiritual truths. On the way out of the city, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind, as shown in chapter 9. That begins an extended debate which continues in this chapter. Jesus gives analogies of His mission using shepherding as a theme. Months later, He repeats those ideas when cornered by an aggressive mob in the temple. This sets the stage for His grandest miracle, the raising of Lazarus, seen in chapter 11.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/2/2024 5:25:13 AM