Commenting
on the identity of “the other sheep” in John 10:16, Brury Eko Saputra wrote against the “Gentile” interpretation (he
instead opts for the Samaritans being these “other sheep”):
The statement of John 10:16 says “I have
other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” The phrase “other sheep” has been
debated. Some scholars, like Martyn, suggest that the phrase refers to
scattered Christian communities. Some also argue that “the other” refers
primarily to diaspora Jews. Others insist that “the other” refers to Gentiles.
However, the context and background of John 10 do not support these
suggestions. As mentioned earlier, the good shepherd image has been heavily influenced
by the Old Testament, especially Ezek 34. Notably, both John 10 (John 10:12;
11:52) and Ezek 34 (especially Ezek 34:2-6) speak of the scattering and
gathering theme (John 10:16; Ezek 34:13). In its own context, the gathering in
Ezek 34 may refer to “the uniting of Ephraim and Judah under one shepherd”
(Ezek 37:22-24)” (Craig Keener, John vol 2,
818). It may then be argued that the evangelist in alluding to Ezekiel may be
thinking about the gathering into one the Israelites and Samaritans.
If this is the case, it is possible that “the
other” in John 10:16 refers to Samaritans, since Samaritans are also mentioned
in John 4 . . . the Samarians know, believe and practice the Shema on a daily basis. The only thing
that makes them different from the Jews is their ethnic (John 4:9) and cultic
(John 4:20) identity. However, to those who belong to Jesus (including “the
other” sheep), the worship place is no longer the issue, since it is already
replaced by Jesus himself. Both ritual (John 4:21) and race (John 4:39-42) are
no longer applicable in speaking of having a relationship with God because he
is revealed by the messiah he sent (John 4:25-26). In this regard, “the other”
in John 10:16 can, sociologically and theologically, be interpreted as the one
who has a different social and ritual identity but has a relationship with God.
Thus, the phrase “there will be one flock, one shepherd” should be understood
as crossing both social and ritual boundaries. (Brury Eko Saputra, The Shema and John 10: The Importance of the
Shema Framework in Understanding the Oneness Language in John 10 [Eugene,
Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2019], 69-70)
Of course,
Latter-day Saints, based on explicit modern revelation (3 Nephi
15:17, 21; D&C 10:59-60) know the identity of at least some of the “other
sheep” (i.e., the Book of Mormon peoples). For a discussion, see, for e.g.:
