All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Christ is the true Shepherd and the door of the sheepfold, and all who claim to come in by some other way are thieves and robbers. Entering in by Him brings salvation and going in and out and finding pasture and abundant life, while the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, for Christ is the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep, unlike the hireling who cares not for the sheep and flees when the wolf comes. The true sheep did not hear the thieves and robbers, but know the True Shepherd and understand His voice and follow Him where He leads His own. The thieves and robbers are those like the Pharisees who exercised authority yet left the people unfed as sheep without a shepherd, the deceivers before Christ who claimed to be Messiah for personal profit and glory without fulfilling the prophecies of the Redeemer, and the philosophers and teachers and religious systems of every nation that claim to satisfy the soul apart from Christ. Only the gospel of the grace of God can uplift the soul and recreate the image of God in man, so whoever turns men away from Christ turns them from the source of true development and defrauds them of the hope and purpose and glory of life, while a faithful shepherd seeks the straying sheep and draws them toward Him rather than driving them away.
Shepherd, Thieves, and Sheep
Christ is the true Shepherd and the door of the sheepfold, and all that ever came before Him claiming to enter by some other way are thieves and robbers. Entering in by Him brings salvation, with going in and out and finding pasture, and abundant life. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, while Christ as the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep, in contrast to the hireling who cares not for the sheep and flees when the wolf comes.
The true sheep did not hear the thieves and robbers and did not listen to them or follow them. They know the True Shepherd and He knows and leads His own. They understand His voice and His peculiar call and understand where He desires them to go, and at that call all press close together and follow Him with no whip and no dog, in affection that approaches human intelligence, seeing and hearing and using their organs faithfully as the Lord's creatures.
The saying belongs to a familiar shepherd-and-sheep picture used to teach spiritual truth. From the shepherd and sheep, hearers can learn about His care and the relation of His people to Him. The illustration uses a familiar scene to make the unseen part of daily life, so that ordinary work and experience can remind people of spiritual realities.
Thieves and Robbers Identified
The contrast falls directly upon Israel's leaders, for by driving out of the fold a man who bore witness to Christ the Pharisees showed themselves ignorant of shepherding duty and unworthy of their trust. The image marks the difference between Christ the true Shepherd and leaders who do not rightly care for the flock. Those false shepherds claimed to guide the people yet could not recognize Jesus and opposed those who followed Him.
Though seated in Moses' seat and in Moses' place, the scribes and Pharisees merited the name thieves and robbers because they exercised power over the people in an authoritative manner yet left them unfed. For that reason the multitudes were as sheep without a shepherd, a condition that stirred Christ's compassion. Before Christ came the same name belonged to deceivers who claimed to be the Messiah, seeking personal profit and glory rather than the good of the sheep. Unlike Jesus they did not fulfill the prophecies of the Redeemer, whereas Christ fulfilled every prophetic specification, with types and symbols meeting their antitype in His life, mission, and death.
All who came before Christ claiming to satisfy the soul are thieves and robbers, and in all ages philosophers and teachers have presented theories to meet the soul's need. Every heathen nation has had its great teachers and religious systems offering some other means of redemption than Christ. They turn eyes away from the Father's face and fill hearts with fear of Him who has given only blessing. Their work robs God of what is His both by creation and by redemption, and robs man as well, binding millions under false religions in bondage of slavish fear and stolid indifference, toiling like beasts of burden bereft of hope or joy or aspiration here and with only dull fear of the hereafter. All who put ceremonies, systems, or anything else in Christ's place try to enter the fold by another way, but the sheep do not follow them.
Following the True Shepherd
Christ's fold is a place of care, where a faithful shepherd does not abandon straying sheep but seeks to save them, and those who teach in His service are to guard and tend His sheep and lambs by drawing them toward Him rather than driving them away. As Shepherd He welcomes a sheep back to the fold, so an appeal for another trial is not to be rejected, and His example calls for opening the door of hope and actively seeking the sheep's salvation. Following Him is itself a step in the sheep's return to the fold, and the heavenly Canaan is entered through the door, not by another way.
All who claimed before Him to satisfy the need of the soul are thieves and robbers, for in every age philosophers and teachers have offered theories, and every heathen nation has had its great teachers and religious systems offering some other means of redemption than Christ. They turn eyes away from the Father's face and fill hearts with fear of Him who has given only blessing, robbing God of what is His by both creation and redemption and robbing man as well, binding millions under false religions in bondage of slavish fear and stolid indifference, toiling like beasts of burden bereft of hope or joy or aspiration here and with only dull fear of the hereafter. Only the gospel of the grace of God can uplift the soul, and contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son stirs the heart and arouses the powers of the soul as nothing else can, for He came to recreate the image of God in man, and whoever turns men away from Him turns them away from the source of true development and defrauds them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. The scribes and Pharisees in His day were thieves and robbers though they sat in Moses' seat, exercising power over the people in an authoritative manner yet leaving them unfed, so that the multitudes were as sheep without a shepherd and stirred His compassion. That rebuke to unfaithful shepherding presses the flock of God today to consider what kind of guidance it is receiving, calling for far less preaching and much more well-organized effort, with modest instruction from teachers who do the Word and in meekness open mind and heart to its light.
To enter the fold appearing friendly and then draw trained workers away by offering higher wages is to act like a thief who enters the sheepfold to steal, and such leading of others is the work of one who is spiritually blind, as seen in the conduct of Dr. Maxson. The sheep follow the True Shepherd because they know Him, understanding where He desires them to go and understanding His voice and peculiar call. At that call all press close together and follow Him with no whip and no dog, in affection that approaches human intelligence, seeing and hearing and using their organs faithfully as the Lord's creatures.
Christ is the true Shepherd and the door of the sheepfold, and all who claim to come in by some other way are thieves and robbers. Entering in by Him brings salvation and going in and out and finding pasture and abundant life, while the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, for Christ is the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep, unlike the hireling who cares not for the sheep and flees when the wolf comes. The true sheep did not hear the thieves and robbers, but know the True Shepherd and understand His voice and follow Him where He leads His own. The thieves and robbers are those like the Pharisees who exercised authority yet left the people unfed as sheep without a shepherd, the deceivers before Christ who claimed to be Messiah for personal profit and glory without fulfilling the prophecies of the Redeemer, and the philosophers and teachers and religious systems of every nation that claim to satisfy the soul apart from Christ. Only the gospel of the grace of God can uplift the soul and recreate the image of God in man, so whoever turns men away from Christ turns them from the source of true development and defrauds them of the hope and purpose and glory of life, while a faithful shepherd seeks the straying sheep and draws them toward Him rather than driving them away.
Shepherd, Thieves, and Sheep
Christ is the true Shepherd and the door of the sheepfold, and all that ever came before Him claiming to enter by some other way are thieves and robbers. Entering in by Him brings salvation, with going in and out and finding pasture, and abundant life. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, while Christ as the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep, in contrast to the hireling who cares not for the sheep and flees when the wolf comes.
The true sheep did not hear the thieves and robbers and did not listen to them or follow them. They know the True Shepherd and He knows and leads His own. They understand His voice and His peculiar call and understand where He desires them to go, and at that call all press close together and follow Him with no whip and no dog, in affection that approaches human intelligence, seeing and hearing and using their organs faithfully as the Lord's creatures.
The saying belongs to a familiar shepherd-and-sheep picture used to teach spiritual truth. From the shepherd and sheep, hearers can learn about His care and the relation of His people to Him. The illustration uses a familiar scene to make the unseen part of daily life, so that ordinary work and experience can remind people of spiritual realities.
Thieves and Robbers Identified
The contrast falls directly upon Israel's leaders, for by driving out of the fold a man who bore witness to Christ the Pharisees showed themselves ignorant of shepherding duty and unworthy of their trust. The image marks the difference between Christ the true Shepherd and leaders who do not rightly care for the flock. Those false shepherds claimed to guide the people yet could not recognize Jesus and opposed those who followed Him.
Though seated in Moses' seat and in Moses' place, the scribes and Pharisees merited the name thieves and robbers because they exercised power over the people in an authoritative manner yet left them unfed. For that reason the multitudes were as sheep without a shepherd, a condition that stirred Christ's compassion. Before Christ came the same name belonged to deceivers who claimed to be the Messiah, seeking personal profit and glory rather than the good of the sheep. Unlike Jesus they did not fulfill the prophecies of the Redeemer, whereas Christ fulfilled every prophetic specification, with types and symbols meeting their antitype in His life, mission, and death.
All who came before Christ claiming to satisfy the soul are thieves and robbers, and in all ages philosophers and teachers have presented theories to meet the soul's need. Every heathen nation has had its great teachers and religious systems offering some other means of redemption than Christ. They turn eyes away from the Father's face and fill hearts with fear of Him who has given only blessing. Their work robs God of what is His both by creation and by redemption, and robs man as well, binding millions under false religions in bondage of slavish fear and stolid indifference, toiling like beasts of burden bereft of hope or joy or aspiration here and with only dull fear of the hereafter. All who put ceremonies, systems, or anything else in Christ's place try to enter the fold by another way, but the sheep do not follow them.
Following the True Shepherd
Christ's fold is a place of care, where a faithful shepherd does not abandon straying sheep but seeks to save them, and those who teach in His service are to guard and tend His sheep and lambs by drawing them toward Him rather than driving them away. As Shepherd He welcomes a sheep back to the fold, so an appeal for another trial is not to be rejected, and His example calls for opening the door of hope and actively seeking the sheep's salvation. Following Him is itself a step in the sheep's return to the fold, and the heavenly Canaan is entered through the door, not by another way.
All who claimed before Him to satisfy the need of the soul are thieves and robbers, for in every age philosophers and teachers have offered theories, and every heathen nation has had its great teachers and religious systems offering some other means of redemption than Christ. They turn eyes away from the Father's face and fill hearts with fear of Him who has given only blessing, robbing God of what is His by both creation and redemption and robbing man as well, binding millions under false religions in bondage of slavish fear and stolid indifference, toiling like beasts of burden bereft of hope or joy or aspiration here and with only dull fear of the hereafter. Only the gospel of the grace of God can uplift the soul, and contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son stirs the heart and arouses the powers of the soul as nothing else can, for He came to recreate the image of God in man, and whoever turns men away from Him turns them away from the source of true development and defrauds them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. The scribes and Pharisees in His day were thieves and robbers though they sat in Moses' seat, exercising power over the people in an authoritative manner yet leaving them unfed, so that the multitudes were as sheep without a shepherd and stirred His compassion. That rebuke to unfaithful shepherding presses the flock of God today to consider what kind of guidance it is receiving, calling for far less preaching and much more well-organized effort, with modest instruction from teachers who do the Word and in meekness open mind and heart to its light.
To enter the fold appearing friendly and then draw trained workers away by offering higher wages is to act like a thief who enters the sheepfold to steal, and such leading of others is the work of one who is spiritually blind, as seen in the conduct of Dr. Maxson. The sheep follow the True Shepherd because they know Him, understanding where He desires them to go and understanding His voice and peculiar call. At that call all press close together and follow Him with no whip and no dog, in affection that approaches human intelligence, seeing and hearing and using their organs faithfully as the Lord's creatures.