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JOHN 10:1 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 10John 10:2
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”
I tell you the truth, the one who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber — Jesus begins the Good Shepherd discourse by establishing the fundamental distinction between the legitimate shepherd (who enters through the authorized gate) and the thief or robber (who sneaks in by climbing over the wall). The contrast immediately establishes authority, legitimacy, and the difference between one who leads God's people according to covenant and one who exploits them. The 'gate' (hē pylē) represents the proper channel of access to God's people, alluding to Israel's shepherds in Ezekiel 34 who came not by the Father's appointment but by their own ambition. This opening image sets the stage for Jesus' self-revelation as the true shepherd of Israel.

Church Fathers on John 10:1

Our Lord having reproached the Jews with blindness, they might have said, We are not blind, but we avoid you as a deceiver. Our Lord therefore gives the marks which distinguish a robber and deceiver from a true shepherd. First come those of the deceiver and robber: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There is an allusion here to Antichrist, and to certain false Christs…

Chrysostom · 4th century

Many go under the name of good men according to the standard of the world, and observe in some sort the commandments of the Law, who yet are not Christians. And these generally boast of themselves, as the Pharisees did; Are we blind also? But inasmuch as all that they do they do foolishly, without knowing to what end it tends, our Lord said of them, Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a…

Augustine · 4th century · Or thus

Or, the Holy Spirit is the porter, by whom the Scriptures are unlocked, and reveal the truth to us.

Theophylact · 11th century
Read all 17 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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