John 10:1 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter through the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from somewhere else, he is a thief and a robber; Galatians 3:23~25 But before faith came we were guarded under law, being shut up unto the faith which was to be revealed. So then the law has become our child-conductor unto Christ that we might be justified out of faith. But since faith has come, we are no longer under a child-conductor.
Before faith in Christ came, we were kept under the law. In other words, we were kept like sheep in a fold. The Greek word translated “kept” means confined.
Before faith came-that is, before Christ came-the chosen people of God were confined under the law. They were “shut up” under the law. “Shut up” is a special word in Greek, meaning to be kept in custody or under special care in a ward.
In ancient times, the children of the rich, Jewish families were escorted to their schoolmaster by a trained slave. Likewise, the law served as a slave to bring us to Christ. Before we were brought to Christ, the schoolmaster, we were under the care of a slave, the law.
God the Father used the law as a slave to take care of us and to bring us to Christ. Before Christ came, we were put under the hand of the law which was to be our custodian. Now we understand what is the sheepfold.
Before Christ came, God put His chosen people under the custody of the law. The law was the fold. For example, if you visit the ranch country, you will discover that the sheep do not stay in the fold most of the time.
Most of the year the sheep stay in the pasture. The pasture is the permanent place for them to stay, but the sheepfold is merely a temporary place... This illustrates that Christ is the pasture, the permanent place for the Lord's children to stay.
But before Christ came, God prepared the law as the sheepfold to keep and confine His chosen people temporarily.