Often, Jesus would give illustrations as He spoke and His followers - even His closest disciples - could not understand at first. Such is the case when in John 10 He sought to contrast a true shepherd with a stranger, a thief, a robber.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus responds to their confusion with a double-barreled I am statement: I am the door of the sheep and I am the good shepherd. On the one hand, he was contrasting Himself with the religious hirelings, the scribes and Pharisees that really did not care about the well-being of the sheep. But He was also looking deeper, to the Thief of Thieves, Satan, who is out to get God's sheep. He is the great protector, who lays down his body at the entrance to the sheephold, keeping the sheep safe. And He is the Good Shepherd, Who was, like David, willing to fight off the thief, even if it meant His own death. The picture is this: we are not trained warriors by nature; we are spiritual sheep. We need the shepherd to fight the battles for us. He is our protector and defender. Just as He has laid down His life to pay for our sins, He will be there whenever the thief, deceiver, and accuser comes to wage battles against us.
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