Resource Detail

 I Am The Good Shepherd 

John 10:1-21

Key Verse 11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Read verses 1-6.  What is the difference between ‘a thief and a robber’ and a ‘shepherd’? (1-2)  What does it mean to ‘enter by the gate’? (2-3)  Observe and describe the relationship between shepherd and sheep.  How do the sheep recognize the voice of their true shepherd calling their name?

Read verses 7-10.  Who is the gate?  What is the motivation of the thieves? (8)  What do the sheep find when they go through the ‘gate’? (8-10) 

Read verses 11-13.  Why does Jesus call Himself the Good Shepherd?  What do the good shepherd and the hired hand really care for?  When does the hired hand show his true nature? (13)

Read verses 14-18.  Describe the relationship between Father and Jesus as well as between Jesus and his sheep. (14-15)  Who are the other sheep? (16)  Why does the Father love Jesus?  How does Jesus exercise his authority? (18)

Read verses 19-21.  How did the Jews respond to Jesus’ Words?  Why were they divided?

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

John 10:1-21

Key verses 14-15

[14] "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--- [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep.

In the previous passage we saw how Jesus opened the eyes of a man born blind and led him to believe in Jesus and worship him. Jesus led him into the family of God. He gave him new life, not just as a second chance through physical eye sight, but life as a child of God through faith in Jesus who could see the spiritual reality of who Jesus is.

The Pharisees however called Jesus a sinner and a law breaker. They tried hard to get the man who had been born blind to confess this as well. In today's passage, which continues his words to them from the previous passage, we see that Jesus is not a sinner but the good shepherd of the flock of God. And he is not a shepherd by words alone, but by his action.

In particular, he emphasized the word “good”. He is the “good” shepherd. It is not enough to be a shepherd, but Jesus is good, and this goodness is evident in the life he gives to the sheep. This is very important because our knowledge of his goodness is directly related to our trusting and following his leading. Let's look at the passage and see why Jesus is the good shepherd and the life he gives to his sheep that we may enjoy his shepherding.

1. Jesus is the good shepherd because he gives life to the sheep. (1-10)

Look at verses 1-3a.

[1] "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [2] The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. [3] The watchman opens the gate for him..."

The way a person approaches the sheep shows who they are. each sheep pen had a watchman who would identify the shepherd and give him access to the flocks.

Jesus came in the right way to the sheep and was identified. The recent daily bread passages from Luke's gospel gave us details about this. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the people for Jesus' coming. And when Jesus appeared Publicly he was identified by John. John testified personally that Jesus is the Christ. Also, while John was baptizing, Jesus came to him and was baptized. During that baptism the Holy Spirit came upon him like a dove and lightning and the voice of the Father in heaven also identified Jesus as the Son of God. After these things, Jesus then went to the sheep.

The daily bread from Luke also told us how Jesus came to this earth in humility, weakness, and obedience. He came to the humble family of Mary and Joseph. He was born in a manger a place for animals. He lowered himself and suffered to learn obedience, faith in God, and was tempted by the devil.

In this way he came and went ahead of his sheep.  He suffered to help us, as the passage says. He knows them and can help them. The sheep also know their shepherd by his voice.

Look at verses 3b-5.

[3b] ...the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. [5] But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

The shepherd leads his sheep by his voice and going ahead of them. The shepherd has to train his sheep to know his voice and listen to him. When they do, they will immediately recognize a stranger's voice and run away from him.

The man who had been born blind, in the previous passage, came to know and follow Jesus' voice. He was blind! But not deaf. The first way he came to know Jesus was not by sight, but by hearing Jesus' voice. Jesus taught him to listen to his voice like that of a sheep and shepherd in a very practical way. First, he taught that he is the light of the world. When he is there, there is the light to do the work of God even in the dark, such as that man's life seemed to be. Then he spit on the ground, made mud, and put it on the man's eyes, telling him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. How did the man respond? He did as he was told and the result was he could see! His eyes had been opened! Through that event he learned to follow Jesus' voice and he came to trust in Jesus.

On the other hand, he did not listen to the voice of the Pharisees, and they couldn't understand why. The reason is simply he knew his shepherd's voice and would not listen to their voice which said to call Jesus a sinner and other bad names. By looking at how Jesus came to the sheep and how the sheep responded, the Pharisees could come to identify Jesus as the good shepherd. But verse 6 says that they still didn't understand what he was telling them.

Look at verses 6-10.

[6] Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. [7] Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus was not doing the work of a robber or thief. Their purpose is only to steal and kill and destroy. Jesus came to give life to the sheep. He leads them to find the pasture and is the gate for them.

In verses 1-10, Jesus focuses on one main job of the shepherd: to lead the sheep out and find pasture. He leads them from pasture to pasture, tending to them and caring for them.

This is good for both the sheep and the land. The sheep eat up the grass, good ones and bad, and clear the ground. They fertilize it with their manure. Moving from pasture to pasture keeps the land healthy. And grass is very good for their bodies, makes their wool better, and meat better.

Sheep have a good and full life by the shepherds care and going being led to the pasture. They are healthy and their quality of life is good and abundant. If they stay in one place they will not live well at all and the land and food will be bad too.

This is what Jesus is doing for his sheep. He is giving them the abundant and full life and makes them a blessing to the land wherever he leads them.

Let's think about again the events from the previous chapter in view of this image of a shepherd getting his sheep from the pen, leading them in and out, finding pasture, and having a full life.

The blind man was on the road and Jesus came to him. It was like going to the sheep pen. He then called the man by his voice, revealing who he is and then giving him the instructions to go and wash. The man went out. He went through Jesus the gate by obeying Jesus' voice. He then was led to the pasture. Yes, the trials and persecutions were a pastureland for him because he could become healthy in his faith, grow in the knowledge of Jesus, and even testify to Jesus before others. Remember when he started out he said, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know..." but then later he said that Jesus clearly came from God and is not a sinner! Then Jesus, the good shepherd, called out to him again and led him back to the sheep pen. He worshiped Jesus and was kept safe at the time when the wolves came to devour him.

He gave that man life, not by giving him physical eye sight, but by giving him spiritual life that comes from God and spiritual eyesight to the work of God so that this man knew Jesus, where Jesus came from, and used his life to display the work of God!

Jesus is the good shepherd who leads his sheep to find the pasture, going in and out, through him the gate. The way we go in and out through this gate is by listening to his voice. he went through seemingly difficult and challenging circumstances when he listened to Jesus, but it was the pastureland where he could feed and grow and then Jesus came back for him and brought him safely to the sheep pen.

We have to trust in the goodness of Jesus and follow his voice even in seemingly difficult circumstances. Those times are most likely the pasturelands in disguise!

We also recently finished daily bread through the book of Numbers. And there we see the Lord leading his people by his voice. It was the center of their organization in traveling through the wilderness.

Numbers 9:23 says, “At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.” It was not simply following a cloud or fire that they followed the Lord, but this passage says that they obeyed the Lord’s order through Moses. Moses was their shepherd. But Moses’ shepherding was really to help them listen and obey the Lord’s command who is their true shepherd. So the Lord led them by his command, his voice, not by sight but by faith in the Lord.

Therefore, to follow the leading of Jesus and be led to the pasturelands, we have to listen to his voice and obey him, trusting in his goodness 100%. That is the way to go in and out of the gate and find the pasture. He says here that he gives life to the full to his sheep. We don't find the pasture by following worldly voices or worldly wisdom or even our own voice and the voice of our hearts, but only the voice of Jesus our good shepherd. He knows us and he calls to us and he went ahead of us, so surely he knows the way and he helps us. If you are tempted, Jesus knows and helps. When you are weak, he knows weakness and helps to be strong in him. Most importantly, we have to follow his voice believing his goodness.

2. Jesus is the good shepherd because he lays down his life for the sheep

Jesus gives life to the sheep, and he lays down his own life for the sheep.

Look at Verses 11-15.

[11] "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. [13] The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

[14] "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--- [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Another duty of the shepherd is to protect the sheep. The true shepherd is shown by the one who lays down his life to protect his sheep. He must protect them from wolves and wild animals who will come to eat the sheep. They are his own. So he protects them by laying down his own life. Jesus sees his flock as his own. They belong to him and he wants nothing more than to protect them. He lays down his life to protect the sheep.

Jesus does not run away at the time when his sheep need protection from the wolf. The wolf that comes for the sheep is the devil. His bite is sin and death. Just as sheep cannot defend themselves against a wolf, so also no person can defeat sin and death. Jesus came to protect the sheep and give them life.

Here Jesus was speaking ahead to his death on the cross. Jesus laid down his life in every way, from his lowly and humble birth, his obedience and full service and love for his disciples, to his death on the cross. Today's passage tells us that he laid down his life, all his suffering and loneliness and pain ultimately on the cross, all for the sake of his sheep, to protect them and give them life.

Jesus' death on the cross on the proof and demonstration of his love and his goodness.

Sometimes people may do good things for us or say nice things. However, we often may think that there are ulterior motives behind their kindness. But Jesus died for us. After all he had done, he did more and died on a cross for his sheep. He did it because they are his and he loves them. And still he is with us and working among us and protecting us and leading us. And he gives his Holy Spirit to all who believe in him to be with them and in them.

Through laying down his life he also made himself accessible to all people. And there is mutual knowledge between Jesus and his sheep. This knowledge is as deep as the knowledge between Jesus and the Father. "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--" (14). we know he is good because he understands us and also we know him. He does not hide anything from his sheep but has a real relationship with them. We can know that Jesus knows us and understands us because he laid down his life for us. And he reveals himself fully to us as well. He is trustworthy and good.

Look at verses 16-18.

[16] I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. [17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life---only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

through laying down his life Jesus loved and obeyed the Father. This shows us the Father's love for the sheep for this was his command to Jesus, and then to take up his life again. And through laying down his life, Jesus had the vision to bring all lost sinners under his shepherding. He calls them as one flock and one shepherd. It was possible through him laying down his life.

We are all different sheep. But to Jesus there is one flock and one shepherd. We are united under one common life: as Jesus' sheep. As such, we need to spend time together and fellowship with Jesus together with the other sheep.

Look at verses 19-21.

At these words the Jews were again divided. [20] Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" [21] But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

Through today's passage we learn that Jesus is the good shepherd who gives life to the sheep and lays down his life for the sheep. We can enjoy his shepherding when we listen to his voice and obey his commands, having a personal relationship with Jesus. Thank God for sending Jesus who loved us and laid his life down for us. May God also help us to be united as one flock under him, and put into practice the example of good shepherding that Jesus set before us.