Question:  Dear Greg,

            John 10:16 says, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold.”

            Who are the “other sheep”?

            Thanks,

            Joanne

Answer:  Dear Joanne,

            One of the basic rules of understanding the Bible is to remember that what was said and written had to have a meaning to the initial audience before we can interpret what it means for us.  So what did this mean when Jesus first said it?

            Jesus’ audiences were Jews who continued the old covenant emphasis that they and they alone, were the people of God.  All others were gentiles, goyim--even “dogs” was one term they popularly used, apparently a term that was not as negative as if we used it about another human being today.

            What is the subject of John 10?  The shepherd and his flock.  This theme was familiar to his audience--Jews who knew the Old Testament.  This theme was repeated many times throughout the Old Testament, with Psalm 23 still being well known to both Jew and Christian today.  Jesus was talking about the heart, motivation, and intent of real shepherds—in fact, of himself, as the One Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 2:25).  He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:10).

            Then, the passage turns to the sheep.  Who are they?  Where are they?  How big of a flock does he have?  The Jews of course would have thought they were the one and only flock, but Jesus says, “I have other sheep” (verse 16).

            To your question.  What did Jesus mean?  He meant that the new covenant would not restrict access to God to the Jews alone, but that all men and women would be able to know the one true God (see Ephesians 2:11-22 and Galatians 3:26-29).  He was telling the Jews that God’s world (see John 3:16) was bigger than their world.  Did the original audience understand him (see John 10:6)?  One of the purposes of this book, the Gospel of John, is to show that Jesus’ mission was and is to the whole world and not just the Jews.

            What does this passage mean for us?  The same thing, in principle.  We can get bogged down in our little world of denominationalism, of petty little do’s and don’ts about what truth is, and what is isn’t; what God wants us to do and what God doesn’t want us to do; who is a Christian and who isn’t.  Jesus says to all of us, “Yes, you can be my sheep.  I want you to be my sheep.  I love you.  But, don’t get all excited about being special and better and exclusive.  I have other sheep—they’re not in your pasture.  You may not know them, but I do.”

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht