Jesus is both the good shepherd and the gate - Is it the same parable or two different?

Question

In John 10 Jesus use two images. First he is the gate for the sheep.

John 10:7-10 (NIV):

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Second he is the good shepherd.

John 10:11-13 (NIV):

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

There is an old explanation that this is not two different parables of what Jesus is, but one. The explanation is that the shepherd is lying down as a gate to the sheepfold to keep the wild animals out. It's a nice story, but is it just some old preacher story or is it any truth to it? Could it be proven historical or even shown as a practice that is still in use?

I know that this is not the most important question regarding the text. But I hate to pass on stories that can't be verified.

Commentaries on the subject

The only one of my (limited set of) commentaries that address this question is F. F. Bruce*:

There is a patent problem in these words, placed as they are in their present context. In the preceding and following verses Jesus speaks of himself as the shepherd who calls his sheep and leads them out of the fold to the fields where they may safely graze; here he speaks of himself as the door through which they enter and leave the fold. It will not help to invoke the possibility that the shepherd himself lay by night across the entrance to the fold, making himself a sort of living door, so that no one could go in or out without him being aware of it: The parable speaks of a porter or doorkeeper whose business it was to guard the entrance and prevent any unauthorized person from getting in (verse 3).

Bruce rules out the possibility of the shepherd being a living door. That's his opinion.

_{*: Bruce, F. F. "The Gospel of John", Eerdmans, 1983, p. 225.}

Answer 1

Very important is point of these parables. And as there are multiple points, they can't be mixed together by their wording. It is important to see if they are compatible by meaning.

John 10:7-10 says that Jesus is the one who keep the gate and prevent unathorized entry. Rest is stressing difference between shepherd and robber. Shepherd aim is good for sheeps and he pursue it by his activity. Robber wants his profit now and with no care of sheeps.

John 10:11-13 is about another aspect of shepherd. He does not neglect sheeps for his own benefit or safety.

John 10:1-2 Shepherd could go in by door as all knows him people around flock and sheeps as well. So he has no reason to climb walls. However thief has no authorization and have only access through climbing

John 10:3 And even in case that shepherd put another man in charge of flock for a time his relationship with sheeps is so deep that they answer his call.

So these are different aspects of good shepherd. Multiple stories by pictures, but one story by meaning. Simply put - Jesus cares about us and loves us. To His own death on the cross. And he as also powerful anough to protect us. In contrast in the world there are many that will love you up to size of your purge. And then throw you away.

Answer 2

I doubt these are the same parable.

In John 10:1, it is written,

Amen, amen, I say to you, "He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."

In v. 1, we find a reference to the "door" of the sheepfold.

In John 10:2, it is written,

"But who who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."

Obviously, Jesus is the "shepherd of the sheep" in v. 2. If he is entering the sheepfold "by the door," then he cannot be the door itself. This is further reinforced by the next verse.

In John 10:3, it is written,

"The porter opens for this man, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

In v. 3, it states that the "porter" opens [the door] "for this man" (τούτῳ). If Jesus was the "door" in vv. 1-3, then the porter would be opening Jesus (the door) for Jesus (the shepherd of the sheep). Evidently, Jesus is not both the shepherd and the door in the same parable.

Rather, vv. 1-5 comprises one parable, and after "Jesus spoke to them again" (v. 7), he began another parable (vv. 7-9).

Jesus is the shepherd. Jesus is the door. Yet, not in the same parable.

Answer 3

Jesus spoke to people in a context, and that context is very important to understanding what He meant by that.

If you do a search for "ancient sheep pin" or something like that, you will find results like this:

As you can see, there is no swinging gate. The shepherd is the gate. Therefore, Jesus is identified by two elements in the same parable. He is the Good Shepherd, and the Good Shepherd is the Gate for the Sheep.

Here's a picture of an actual one: