John 10:9-10

Now, a sheepfold is what? It is a receptacle, it is a shelter. In this case, it is a receptacle or a shelter for sheep. It is a holding place, and for the sheep, it is a place of refuge and security.

It is very interesting that in Israel, a sheepfold customarily only had one entrance to it. That is why it was such a vivid lesson to these people. All of the community's sheep were only kept in one sheepfold and they could only get in by this one place. Now, there was a reason for that and it is because each true shepherd felt it was his responsibility to evaluate each sheep as it came by him. Having only one door or only one way to get in enabled him to evaluate the sheep after they had been out in the pasture. He could look them over to see if there were any sores, any insects, infection, contamination, or things that needed to be taken care of. Did they need to be dipped or whatever. It gave him an opportunity to do that.

In addition to that, it made it a much safer place since there was only one door and usually what happened was one of the shepherds would sleep every night with his body right across the door. Now, it did not mean that in the actual situation that the same shepherd was there every night but in our situation, the same Shepherd is there all the time. But in theirs, they would rotate the job and make sure that in order for a thief to get in there, he actually had to go right past the shepherd if he was going to get at the sheep. So, he laid down his life and that indicates protection and care.

A shepherd's main responsibility (I am talking about a real shepherd in this case), is the health of his sheep. In the case of a minister, his primary responsibility to God is to promote and to protect the integrity of the flock. A true shepherd will do that and in so doing, he greatly ensures the salvation of the sheep that are in his care. Under his protection then, with the gifts that God gives him, he enables them to have a step up on salvation.

John 10:7-16

Now Jesus here provides us a taste of what His job as the great Shepherd entails. He leads them, protects them, maintains their lives with feeding and care, and not just maintains their lives but provides for them so much that they end up living abundant lives—more than they need for life, with a lot of extras too.