We have seen that the Gospel of John can be divided into three sections according to what Christ is. The first section in chapters one through four is on twelve items of what Christ is: God, the Word, life, light, the flesh, the tabernacle, the group of the Lamb, the Spirit, the house, and the ladder, the temple, the serpent, the eternal life, the Bridegroom, and the spring of living water. The second section in chapters six and seven is on Christ as our enjoyment, signified by the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. The third section in chapters eight through fourteen is a section of Christ's divine care. In His divine care for us, He is first the Shepherd and then the Comforter.
The Greek word for Comforter is Paracletos. It refers to one who is at your side to take care of you in every way. The word carries the sense of consoling and consolation. It is used in the Gospel of John (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) for the Spirit of reality as our Comforter within us, the One who takes care of our case and our affairs. It also refers to one who offers legal aid as an advocate. First John 2:1 says that if we sin, we have Christ as an Advocate (Paracletos) with the Father. In this sense we have Christ as a Lawyer, an Attorney, in the heavenly court to take care of our cases. Also, in our inner life we have innumerable needs which require His care as our Comforter.
The Lord's shepherding, revealed in chapter ten, actually begins in chapters eight and nine. In chapter eight there is a woman caught in the act of adultery. In chapter nine there is a man blind from birth. This blind man was a sheep who was led out of the Judaism-fold. The sheep shepherded by Christ in chapter nine is a male, whereas the one in chapter eight is a female.
She was caught in the act of adultery by the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees (8:1-11). They brought her and set her in the midst of where the Lord was teaching in the temple. Then they asked the Lord, "In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say?" (v. 5). At first the Lord would not answer. Instead, He stooped down and wrote with His finger on the ground. This was a sign done to humble and calm the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. It might have been that the Lord was writing, "Who among you is without sin?" When they persisted in questioning Him, the Lord said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (v. 7). After He said this, He stooped down and wrote on the ground again, and all the accusers of the woman left one by one, beginning with the older ones. Then the Lord stood up and said to the woman, "Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you" (vv. 10-11a). What a sweet word! According to the law, such a sinner should be stoned; but Christ, who came full of grace and truth, would not condemn her. Instead, He said, "Go, and from now on sin no more" (v. 11b).