“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.”

I used to think John 10:1 was simply about people trying to earn their salvation and get into heaven through ways other than Jesus Christ alone.

However, context matters. Just before Jesus tells this parable, He confronts the Pharisees. In John 9, Jesus heals a man born blind on the Sabbath. Outraged, the Pharisees interrogate the man, question his parents, and ultimately cast him out of the synagogue for defending Jesus and essentially saying, “I don’t know where this man came from; all I know is that I was blind, and now I see!“

While comforting the man afterward, Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind” (9:39).

Overhearing this, the Pharisees ask, “Are we blind too?“

Jesus responds with this parable: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (10:1).

He is speaking directly about the Pharisees — false teachers and ungodly ministers who assume spiritual authority without a divine commission. This isn’t just an evangelistic tract verse; it is a sharp warning to help us discern the “thieves and robbers” — religious leaders who climb in by another way to assert illegitimate control over God’s people.

We see a clear example of how they operated in the previous chapter. Healing on the Sabbath was a major offense to the Pharisees because they classified it as work. Yet Jesus frequently chose to heal on the Sabbath to expose their hypocrisy.

In ancient Israel, the rabbis had established an oral tradition of do’s and don’ts which contained 39 categories of forbidden Sabbath work. Some examples include:

• Picking up your mat and walking was considered “carrying an illegal burden.“

• Plucking grain and rubbing the husks was considered “reaping, threshing, and winnowing.“

• In John 9, when Jesus spat on the ground to make mud for the blind man’s eyes, it was considered “kneading or making mortar.“

It is actually quite humorous how Jesus deliberately broke their man-made rules without ever once breaking God’s actual Sabbath law. Jesus is in the business of breaking man-made religion and any tradition that gets in the way of obeying God’s commands.

His words still speak to our generation today:

• “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9)

• “Making void the word of God by your tradition…” (Mark 7:13)

In Jesus’ parable, the sheepfold represents God’s people, and the sheep are already inside. “Climbing in” is what spiritual hijackers do. Armed with man-made traditions and human rules disguised as doctrine, these thieves and robbers scale the walls to lord authority over the flock, nullifying God’s Word and stealing the freedom God intends for His children. On the outside, their system looks like worship, but in reality, it is spiritual robbery:

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” — Colossians 2:8

Beware of the thieves and robbers who climb in to take you captive with dead religion. Beware of any leader or tradition that elevates itself above hearing His voice, following Him, and obeying His commands. It’s Just Jesus! He is the true Shepherd who enters legitimately by the gate, and the gatekeeper opens for Him alone. Even more than that, as He declares just a few verses later in John 10:7, He Himself is the Door — the only true way in and out of the Kingdom of God, leading His sheep out of bondage and into green pastures. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He alone offers salvation, and to Him alone belong all our worship, our praise, and our obedience.

Notice what happened to the blind man in John 9: when the religious leaders couldn’t control him with their rules, they threw him out into the street. And the street was the exact place Jesus went to find him (9:35).

In our Latin American ministry with CANOPI, when we meet people out on the streets, they so often express a disinterest in church as it exists today — viewing it as burdensome and just a ton of rules, riddled with church-hurt from hypocritical people. Sadly, many have only experienced the “thieves and robbers” of empty traditions, regulations, and religious activity that leave them weighed down by guilt and shame. It is a sobering reminder of Jesus’ fierce warning to religious leaders in Matthew 23:13: “For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” Woe to anyone who stands in front of the True Door and blocks hungry souls from coming to Jesus with the heavy burdens of man-made religion!

But just like He did for the blind man in John 9, Jesus is still bypassing the walls of dead religion to offer sight, freedom, and life — and life abundant! That is why we take the love of Christ to the streets. Like the Good Shepherd who goes out to find and feed His sheep, we want to meet people right where they are, and by His power, see eyes opened, the lame walk, and hungry, searching souls truly fed.

If this resonates with you and you want to follow along as we take the love of Christ to the streets of Latin America, I would love to have you with us. You can sign up for our News Updates below to stay connected with what God is doing through CANOPI. We would be honored to have you along for the journey praying with us. But more than anything, we’d love for you to join us on a trip someday soon to experience this joy for yourself! For more information, please leave a comment or contact me using the “stay connected” button below and I will get in touch with you as soon as possible: