The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1908-04-03
Jesus the
Good Shepherd
Sunday School Lesson for April s, 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper
LESSON rExr.-John 1o;1-p. Memory

GOLDEN TEXT.-"The good shepherd
g!veth his life for the sheep."-John 10:11.
| E.-September, A. d. %, at the feast
Of t~abernacIes John 7:2). Some ommen
tators, however, consider that John 9:1-10:
81 took place at the feast OF dedication
John 10:22) In November. The latter
part OF the third year Of Jesus public
ministry.
PLACE.-Jerusaiem. On the second
supposition as to time, the exact place
was Solomon's porch, on the east side OF
the temple. Jesus with His audience
might have seen the shepherds gathering
their scattered hocks II they grazed out
from the courts of the temple over the
neighboring hills. "-Pu Commentary.
PERSONS.-Probhbly the blind man
whom Christ had just healed, some OF
Christ's disciples. and some of the Phari-
sees.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Twofold Parable: the Fold, the
Shepherd.-Vs. 1-6. First let US try
to put ourselves back among the
sheepfolds of Christ's time. How were
they arranged? "The fold was a
walled enclosure open to the sky, with
a solid door, which was closely barred
at night by the doorkeeper, and opened
by him in the morning, when the shep-
herdag came to Grain their sheep,
which they had left-iH the fold the
I preytessaweAiBss in order to lead out
to pasture" sCentury Bible. The door
keeper, or porter. would know that
anyonef found = climbing In over the
wall was "a thief" "a sneak thief.
or "a ,robber'rfta more violent rascal.)
The TwofoId Interpretation of tbs
Parable.--Ns. JAP. What double anal
ogytdid, Ghfish draw from the PARALLEL
He was- che Door ". u. and the Shep-
herd ". -t1). - Why, did he run the
risk of; confusing his hearers? Because
truth is SO many-sided. and Christ
means So tHuch4 to men, that many
comparisons are needed to picture it
all. ~! r..
First Analogy. Christ, the Door
(vsa7:9). =How4sTE Christ like the door
Of a. fold? Through him alone can
men enter into the peace and safety
that a fold implies-safety from the
consciousness of safety. Through the
door, too, they go out ". 81 into the
pasture" VIVA am a doc TO-, any
how? Jes' to shet yo' out, jes' to shet
yo' in or to let yo' thro'. Jesus am de
Doc, de way into de Kingdom; an
he am de Doc, de way out into life.
He sho' did say, If yo' enters in by
me, yo' shall be saved'-no evil can
git by de Doc Jesus. AN yo' shall go
out an int Honey, dat am de free
dom what he am all de time promisin'
An yo' shall find pasture Dat am de
%fullness of life what he am all de time
tellin' bout. When yo' passes out an
when yo' passes in, yo' sho' nuf has
to pass right BY de Mastah, and look
him plum squar' in de eyes,. w
Lawrance. go In and out" was q
phrase familiar to. the Jews. See
Deut. %: 6; ,Psa. 121:. 8; Jer, 81: 4.
why did Christ say he was the
door Of the, sheep, rather than "of the
fold?" Because Christ was thinking OF
his individual followers the sheep,
rather than of the fold, his church
He is the door IF both"
Who were those that came before
Christ, the thieves and robbers, whom
the sheepa aid not = hear?t Not the
prophets, who humbly pointed forward
to Christ, sbut the Jewish leaders OF
the time just before Christ, and es'
!, pecially the Pharisees. They had laid
.. many heavy. burdens upon the people,
who had been compelled to obey the
severe requirements of formal religion
but their hearts heveryielded to these
false leaders, the sheep did not hear
them" f@r1" 'HFt -
Second Analogy: Christ, the Shep
herd Tvs. 1918, 22-30.) AS opposed tc
the Pharisees' WRONG way of enter
ing the Kingdom, Christ was the
Door; butras opposed to the charac
ter of the Pharisees, he was the Shep
herd. ~"Assmediator between God and
man, he is tha-Door. as prophet OF
teacher, he Il, the Good Shepherd
James NJ. Macdonald, D. D. This is a
frequent metaphor of the Old Tesla
!, ment, applied to God and to Gods
honored servants (Num. 81: 1921;
Pisa. 90; 80: 1; lisa. 40: IL; Jer. %:
IA; Eek. "a: .11-16; Zech. IL: ALL
; Homer often speaks of his kings ant
leaders as shepherds; see also Plato:
!, Republic, Book L. The figure ha!
impressed itself deeply on the mint
of Christendom. and is conspicuou:
In the art and literature of the
, churches. 1t is still the emblem of the
Christian ministry, from the office o
= the bishop, with his pastoral staff. t.
, that of the village preacher. who l!
known as pastor."-Century Bible
: "This is the favorite and most touch
/, ing figure in the Catacombs. 1t seems
to inspire the early Christian painters
with delightful skill
How was Christ like a shepherd
4 In "a his care of men Tvs. 1919, IL
, (2) his knowledge of men iva. IA. 15)
) in (3) the breadth of his love for mel
, w.. 16), in "a the eagerness of mem
a love for him ". 27), in (6) his divin'
commission to care for men Tvs. Ii
I II. Is, rs, 29.)
Two Kinds Of Hearers Tvs. 1921