***[ The Jews are the original sheep; the Gentiles are the others of which He speaks. ]
It don’t say that you added that.. or inferred it..***
Who else would it be? He was ONLY evangelizing to the Jews and directed His disciples to do the same.
Who else?.. Humans?.. By this time Judaism was merely a religion.. and a surogate to Roman political hegemony.. Herod had no more link to God than Pontius Pilate did.. and the Pharisees and Saducees were political party(s)..
Did "God" know the politcal climate of the times?..
Any that would ask that would also be confused about the present religio-political climate too..
Jesus trumped the/that conversation with the conversation that is related down to us in John ch 10.. There are many sheep pens not all of them are religious.. but sheep pens just the same.. i.e. buddism, hinduism, mormonism, new age, spiritualism, christian denominations, communism, socialism etc.. For the sheep pen is within us.. ALL of us..
Jesus WAS and still is calling us all out of the sheep pens..