Jesus the Good Shepherd
In the passage we read, Jesus tells that he is the good shepherd. Under the old covenant, the sheep died for the shepherd; but now the Good Shepherd died for the sheep! Five times in this passage, Jesus clearly affirmed the sacrificial nature of His death (John 10:11, 15, 17–18). He did not die because he was killed by men; He died as a substitute, willingly laying down His life for us. This whole chapter is about the good shepherd. Every home usually has an image of Jesus tending his sheep and if you see the picture, usually there is a small baby sheep being held by Jesus in his hands. This is the image of the Good shepherd etched in the minds of people. In this passage, Jesus says himself that he is a good shepherd. There are some shepherds who are hirelings and others who are the owners of the sheep. Each person has a specific way of tending to the sheep. An owner and a good shepherd will stay with his flock come what may, unlike hirelings.
Why did Jesus compare us to sheep and himself to a Good shepherd?
Sheep are usually dumb animals and they do not know where they go and do not know what they eat or drink. They tend to eat poisonous plants unless the shepherd leads them in the right path to the best plants. Similarly, sheep also tend to drink polluted water that is not healthy, unless the shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures.
Sheep can be stubborn: They think they know what is right for them and just keep going forward even if there is a deep pit in front…they will still walk and fall into it. A lot of us today are stubborn and do not want to listen to the voice of Jesus.
Sheep will follow the others in the flock: Sheep are prone to falling down cliffs and dying from injuries because they follow each other without thinking of results, unless they are protected by the shepherd. I remembered hearing about a train running over and killing many sheep a couple of years back. So, to get more information, I googled ‘ Sheep dying train’ and there were so many instances of sheep dying in train accidents because they simply follow each other without any thought of the danger around. So, without a shepherd, they do not know what to eat, what to drink and how to be safe.
Jesus has aptly compared us to sheep. Even the most brilliant human being can go astray. Humans also need constraint protection from the clutches of Satan. I Peter 5:8 says that Satan is like a roaring lion, looking to devour anyone who is not protected. If we do not have a constant relationship with our savior, we too can be like a sheep that has lost its way. We tend to do the wrong things in life. Sin creeps in the life of humans repeatedly and unless we are able to listen to the voice of the shepherd telling us to fall back in line, we will also fall down, injure ourselves or be devoured by Satan.
What are the qualities of Jesus, the good shepherd and what needs to be our response to him?
- Jesus the good shepherd knows the sheep individually: Luke 12:7 says “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” Each shepherd has knows where all the sheep are. Even if we aree going astray, Jesus knows about it and tries to bring us in the right path, but it is the stubborn human nature that still makes us go astray. Each particular sheep is known by this shepherd. They are “not simply units in a flock” The focus here, however, is not on a general call, for he callshis own sheep by name (v. 3).
The response of the sheep: Hear his voice, know his voice and follow him. Jesus’ call is a fulfillment of Wisdom’s crying out in the streets to see if anyone hears and responds. The sheep know his voice(v. 4). They don’t follow strangers; they flee from them, because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice (v. 5). Here is a beautiful picture of both divine sovereignty in the shepherd’s call and the human response in the hearing, knowing and following by the sheep. We also find the theme of discernment, since there are more voices calling to them than just their own shepherd’s. Following Jesus means refusing to follow others who are claiming to be shepherds.
- Jesus the Good shepherd is a Gate for the Sheep and protector of sheep (10:7-10)Because these Jewish leaders did not understand what Jesus was saying he goes back over it again from a different perspective. In this repetition we see God’s graciousness. It is the same graciousness we each depend on every day of our lives. Jesus contrasts those who enter through the gate and those who do not (vv. 1-2). The one who has legitimate business and authorization enters in the proper fashion, while those without authorization use underhanded means. These thieves and robbers do not have in mind the good of the sheep but rather selfish ends of their own. The shepherd is recognized by the one who guards the fold, and so his entrance is natural, out in the open, without forcing. Such has been Jesus’ entrance into this world and amongst his own people. He has come in the appropriate manner, having been sent by the Father, in contrast to the Jewish leaders who are rejecting Jesus.
An Illustration A shepherd was looking after his sheep one day on the side of a deserted road, when suddenly a brand new car comes to a halt.
The driver, a man dressed in an good suit, shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses, tie, gets out and asks the shepherd:
“If I can tell you how many sheep you have, will you give me one of them?”
The shepherd looks at the young man, and then looks at the large flock of grazing sheep and replies:”Okay.”
The young man parks the car, connects his laptop to his mobile, enters a NASA Webster, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database with 60 Excel tables filled with logarithms and pivot tables, and then prints out a 150-page report on his high-tech mini-printer.
He turns to the shepherd and says, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep here.”
Rather surprised the shepherd replies, “That’s correct, you can have your sheep.”
The young man takes an animal and puts it in the back of his Porsche.
Just as the man is about to drive off, the shepherd asks him:
“If I guess your profession, will you return my animal to me?”
The young man answers, “Yes, why not?”
The shepherd says, “You are an IT consultant.”
“How did you know?” asks the young man.
“Very simple,” answers the shepherd.
“Firstly, you came here without being called.
Secondly, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew, and
Thirdly, you don’t understand anything about my business which is shepherding…..Now please can I have my dog back, which you thought was a sheep!”
The world / Satan is like the IT consultant. The world / Satan misleads the innocent sheep, who are Gods children. We have to be wary and pray diligently to ensure that we stay protected by Christ.
In this second statement Jesus says, I am the gate for the sheep (v. 7). The scene has shifted from the village to the open field. In the summer sheep are sometimes kept out in the pasture overnight. The pen used is simply an enclosure made of piled rocks. There is neither roof nor door, but thorns along the top of the rock walls protect the sheep from wild animals, and the shepherd himself sleeps in the entrance, providing a door. So when Jesus says he is the gate for the sheep (v. 7) he is still using the image of a shepherd, but applying it directly to himself. From this picture of a shepherd sleeping in the entrance we would expect Jesus’ role to be the protector of the sheep. Jesus does indeed protect his own (cf. 6:39; 17:12), but the image is developed here in a surprising way. The sheep are to enter through Jesus (v. 9), something not true of the shepherd sleeping in the entrance of a summer shelter! So the image is not that of a door as a barrier for protection, but of a door as a passageway.
The response of the sheep: Enter his kingdom through him and stay in his protective fold : Jesus tells in the passage that there were thieves and robbers waiting to steal the sheep. All who do not bear witness to Jesus, who alone has seen the Father and makes him known (1:18), are not of the truth. They do not bring blessing but rather take it away, like a thief or a robber. Jesus entered this world to save the sheep, us from the thieves waiting for our souls. We will be protected only till we are in his fold and will be pounced upon when we leave the protective fold.
Jesus says the one who enters through him will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture (v. 9) By talking about the gate and safety, Jesus talks about our salvation and forgiveness from sin. He saves us from the enemies of his kingdom. Such teachers threaten by keeping people from a true knowledge of God, who is himself the sole source of life.
- Jesus the Good shepherd gives us a full life and provides our needs The one who enters through Jesus has the liberty to come in and go out. Jesus’ sheep have the freedom to live their lives in his presence. Both their going out and their coming in is through him. In this way he fulfills the type of Joshua as described by Moses (Jesus is actually the name Joshua in Greek): “Moses said to the Lord, `May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd'” (Num 27:15-17; cf. Jn 10:18). The freedom of Jesus’ sheep to go out and come in reflects Jesus’ own freedom, for their going out and coming in are not on their own but are a part of their following him.
Psalm 23 is a great example of the Good shepherd providing all our needs. I would like to read the psalm, though most of us know it by heart. God provides us our food and our rest. He leads us by the still waters and lets us lie down in the green pastures and We also get a relationship that will last forever. We get the best relationship we can ever have, a relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Good Shepherd also provides rest.
As he brings them into the safety of his fold and leads them out to find food and water they find pasture (v. 9). The Good Shepherd will make them “lie down in green pastures” and lead them “beside quiet waters,” preparing a table in the presence of their enemies (Ps 23:2, 3, 5). Through Jesus they receive their “daily bread” (Mt 6:11; Lk 11:3), that which is needed for life with God, for he offers the bread of life (Jn 6:35-58) and living water (7:38). Jesus has spoken repeatedly of the provision of life as the purpose of his coming (3:15; 4:14; 5:21, 24, 40; 6:27, 33, 35, 40, 47, 51, 54; 8:12), and now he focuses this key theme when he says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (10:10).
In contrast to the protection, freedom and pasture that come from entering through Jesus are the stealing, death and destruction brought by the thief (v. 10). One has a positive effect on the sheep, whereas the effect of the other is negative. The thief acts for his own selfish ends and to the detriment of the sheep. Jesus, however, serves the sheep by providing for them the way of life, which he will do, we learn in the next section, at the cost of his own life. Thus, the contrast with the thief is complete.
The response of the sheep- Seek the full life on offer for free and be satisfied: Those who enter through Jesus find life, which means we all begin on the outside, we are all sinners and born sinners. We enter his kingdom through him and need to enter through him. We are all sheep in need of a shepherd, just as we all, like the man born blind, are in need of the light. If we are satisfied with what God provides us, we will be rewarded by dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. The world is a place where people are not satisfied with what they have. People are always seeking more wealth, more fame and more of everything. There is no satisfaction in what God has provided for us. If we are satisfied with what God provides us, we will be able to dwell in our Lords house forever.Jesus is declaring that we need reception of the promised blessings of salvation, that is, deliverance from judgment, . . . citizenship in the divine community of salvation . . . and eternal life” (Jeremias 1965:180). The salvation he brings is personal but not merely individual: he knows each sheep by name, but salvation is membership in a community, the community that is called and guided and provided for by Christ..
- Jesus the Good shepherd seeks sheep from other flocks: Before revealing more about his death, Jesus mentions that he has other sheep not of this sheep pen who must be brought also, sothere shall be one flock and one shepherd (v. 16). There are Gentiles who will listen to his voice and be joined to his flock. They are already his sheep because they have been given to him by the Father (v. 16;), yet they must hear his call and respond. So once again we see both divine sovereignty and human responsibility at play. In saying that he must bring them also he speaks of the love that goes in search of the lost, which is a theme running throughout this Gospel and indeed the New Testament. He must do this; it is a divine necessity that comes from the very character of God as love.
The response of the sheep- We must go on our own to become his flock: When Gentiles do come to him it signals his hour has finally arrived (12:20, 23), but Jesus himself is not seen going to the Gentiles. He will bring the Gentiles into the flock by the ministry of his disciples, whom he will send (20:21). Jesus will continue his own ministry through his people, which will be accomplished through the presence of the Spirit. They are the ones who will bring the Gentiles, but Jesus is saying it is he himself who is doing so. This is an example of the oneness between the shepherd and his flock.
Similarly, the one shepherd unites the flock. The oneness comes from sharing the life of the one God in his Son by his Spirit. The centrality of Christ, the confession of him as exemplified by the former blind man and the fact that this community is to be composed of both Jews and Gentiles. Thus, the oneness of the flock corresponds to the thought found throughout this Gospel that Jesus is the only way to the Father.
- Jesus the Good shepherd gives us his life on the cross : The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep (10:11-18)Jesus has promised life to the full for us in verse This full life for us does not come easily. It only comes through his death (vv. 11, 15, 17-18). Shepherds commonly had to deal with the problem of wild animals and a good shepherd, one who is worthy of admiration would risk his life to protect the sheep. But Jesus does not merely risk his life; he consciously gives his life for the sake of his sheep (vv. 15, 17-18;). Jesus’ death is seen to be central to his task.
When the shepherd sacrificed his life, the flock scattered, but it was the foundation for a stronger flock that kept growing and is growing even today. Our shepherd gave his life, but rose again to continue his reign leading to the judgment and refining of God’s people (Zech 13:7-9). This rejection by the leaders of the people and their own condemnation is echoed in John, as is the striking of the shepherd, though with a different effect. It will indeed lead to the scattering of Jesus’ flock for a brief time, but it will also be central in the gathering of his own flock from among the nations: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (Jn 12:32).
Jesus goes on to contrast the shepherd who will risk his life for the sheep with a hireling who runs from the wolf and leaves the sheep behind to be attacked and scattered. They are not his sheep, and he does not care about them (Jn 10:12-13)..
His care for the sheep addresses two problems, the lack of care on the part of the hireling and the threat of scattering by the wolf. Elsewhere the wolf is an image of false teachers who come both from outside the community and from within (Mt 7:15; Acts 20:29-30). Even today we see the problem of hirelings continued around us, where false prophets mislead people, Even Peter’s exhortation to the elders to shepherd God’s flock willingly and not just for money (1 Pet 5:2).
The themes introduced in a general way (Jn 10:11-13) are then personalized and developed (10:14-18). Jesus’ knowledge of his flock and their knowledge of him (v. 14) are compared to the knowledge the Father and the Son have of one another (v. 15). Both senses are true here, for “the relationship between God the Father and his Son is the original model and reason for Jesus’ fellowship with his own”. As always, Jesus’ identity as the Son and his relationship with the Father are crucial for understanding what is being said.
How do we respond to our shepherd giving his life on the cross for us?
- Good Sheep are Humble and Hopeful of salvation
This insight comes through in the Acts of the Apostles (4:8-12), where Peter credits Jesus for what he and the early followers of Jesus are doing: healing, preaching, conversion, good works, etc.
Instead of taking personal credit for the good works he is doing, he refers his listeners instead to the source of all good gifts: God in Jesus Christ. He explains that the healing is done in Jesus’s name and lives out a stance of humility that allows him to become an instrument of God’s good action in the world, while giving all credit to God. A good sheep lives similarly, following the example of Peter in Acts, aware of the goodness of God’s gifts in his or her life and world.
But there is a second point that comes toward the end of this passage when Peter talks about the Salvation that has also been given to us in Christ Jesus. This is the source of hope that grounds the good sheep in their daily lives. Aware of what Christ as already accomplished for us, good sheep reflect that hope in a world that is in desperate need of good news (i.e., “The Gospel”). A good sheep is hopeful.
- Good Sheep will remain as Part of his Flock
There is no such thing as a solo good sheep! Nor are there independent-contracting good sheep! Good sheep know that they are part of a flock. We hear this insight in the Letter of John, the second reading, in which we are told that we are all “Children of God now.” We share a connection, a union, a family bond in God as children and with Christ as brothers and sisters. What is often missed in that assertion is how we children of God. It is not who we are, what we do, what we think, with whom we associate, and so on — the Scripture says that it is simply God’s love that makes us who we are. But good sheep must come to recognize that relationship as a member of God’s family.
This comes through strongly in the Gospel, when Jesus uses the flock imagery to describe who is “in” and who is “out.” Jesus tells us that there are other sheep that do not appear to be in this flock, but nevertheless they are part of it, because there is one shepherd, the Good Shepherd, and one flock, His flock!
We need to be aware of this today as it is often far too easy to exclude others, to pretend so-and-so or “this or that type of person” is not part of this flock. But that is our division and our fabrication, as children of God loved into existence, we are all part of the flock. And we should live that way. Good sheep come to recognize their relatedness to the stranger, the other, those with whom we disagree, and those we choose to ignore, and the good sheep sees a kindred sheep in that person, recognizing they are all part of the same flock.
- Good Sheep Hear the Shepherd’s Voice and Know Him
Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that He knows his sheep and they know Him; they hear his voice and know Him. But do we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd today? To we know how to recognize it?
I think it’s very difficult to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd today, not because His voice is quiet or challenging in its own right to find, but because we are bombarded by far too many voices in our world. Voices of other shepherds that Jesus warns us of in the Gospel, shepherds who are only in their ‘line of work’ for themselves, for money, for ulterior motives. They do not actually care for their sheep, let alone risk their whole lives for the sheep. We find these other shepherds all over the place in every sphere of our social, cultural, political, religious, familial, and work lives. And this makes it very difficult to recognize the voice of the one, Good Shepherd.
See, the thing about hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd, is that it requires our attentive listening. And listening takes work. Good sheep set aside time, make space, create an environment in which they can learn to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd so that they know where to go. This can happen at Church, throughout one’s day, during a retreat or day of recollection or the like, but it needs to be intentional. Good Sheep listen in order to hear and recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow His lead in life.
- Good sheep are obedient:
In laying down his life and taking it back he is obeying his Father. He knows his Father’s voice and obeys, just as we are to hear his voice and obey.
It is in this light that we must understand his statement that the reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again (v. 17). This statement seems to imply that the Father’s love is based on the Son’s obedience, but it is clear that the Father’s love for the Son is from all eternity (17:24;).
In the case of Christ, his sinless obedience maintains the harmony of relationship between himself and his Father–therefore God’s love remains fulfilled toward him. Jesus refers to this when he says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (15:10). Such obedience is the expression of love (14:15, 21) and is the condition for intimacy (14:23). Thus, in our passage Jesus would be saying that the Father is able to fulfill his love for the Son because the Son does the Father’s will..
Conclusion
Jesus is always the good shepherd, but are we the sheep that we have to be or are we wayward sheep that loses its way and falls in the snare of the enemies. Let us meditate on these words and strive to be the good sheep that follows the shepherd.