Jesus: The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd.  I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice.  So there will be one flock, and one shepherd.  For this reason My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This charge I have received from My Father.”  -John 10:11-18 (ESV) [Read John 10:7-18]

“I am the good shepherd.”  In Greek, there are two words for “good”:  One is agathos which means morally good; the other is kalos meaning that the person described is morally good, but also winsome, genuine, filled with fidelity, love and power.  The word used to describe Jesus as the good shepherd is kalos—good through and through, in every way good, perfect, whole.  And He would (and did) lay down His life for His sheep.  It was not unusual at all for the shepherd to have to defend his flock with his very life.  David as a shepherd boy kept his father’s flocks and defended them from wolves and lions and attacks from robbers and thieves.  From his defense of the flock of his father, David built up a strong body and he was not afraid of going against the giant Goliath with a slingshot and five smooth stones.

Furthermore, Jesus knows His own for whom He lay down His life.  Just as the shepherd knew which sheep belonged to his flock and the sheep likewise knew their shepherd and followed him, so those who are in the flock of the Lord are known by the Good Shepherd.  Is it any wonder that John the Baptist exclaimed when he saw Jesus approaching the Jordan River, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”  The Good Shepherd was also the sacrificial Lamb, laying down His life for His sheep.

In this lesson on the Good Shepherd, we have also an important truth on non-exclusiveness.  “I have other sheep that are not of this fold.”  For centuries the Jews had felt that they were the Chosen People of God, and, indeed, they were.  But they had forgotten the word of God to Abraham that spoke of him and his seeds (the flock of God) being as the sands on the seashore in number and a blessing to all mankind.  Here Jesus is including the Gentiles who will come to believe in Him as “not of this fold,” but coming into the fold because of their faith in the Lord.  It is only in Jesus Christ and through His message being accepted that the world can become one.  And it is the purpose for which Jesus came into the world:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  The Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep.  He lay down His life and He took it up again.  And through that gift and by that hope His flock can rest secure.  Praise be to God!

Jesus, the Door

“”Truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the gatekeeper opens.  The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” –John 10:1-3, 7, 9 (ESV).

The “I am...” statements of Jesus, “I am the door” and “I am the good Shepherd” are closely related because each of them uses the care and keeping of sheep as the metaphor to explain important truths about who Jesus is.  In New Testament times, the sheepfold was often in protected areas near where the sheep were led to pasture.  When my husband and I were in the Holy Land in 1978, we were taken to such a place by Mr. Tabish, a Christian Jew who lived in Bethlehem.  He invited us to drive with him out to what was called “Shepherd’s Field.”  It was the place held to be where the angels appeared to the shepherds on the night of the Savior’s birth.  There Mr. Tabish led us to a cave in the side of the hill, an indentation in the earth large enough for sheep to be gathered in out of the elements.  The opening at the mouth of the cave was the “door” of the sheepfold.  Mr. Tabish explained to us that the shepherd himself would lie down across that opening when all the sheep were safely inside and had been watered and their scratches and wounds tended with pouring on of healing oil.  As the shepherd reclined at the opening, he became the guard for his sheep.  Nothing outside could go over his body and harm his flock,  Neither could a sheep stray out of the safety of the sheepfold without the shepherd being aware.

With this beautiful picture of the “shepherd as the door” of the sheepfold, it is much easier for us to understand the metaphor Jesus had in mind when he said, “I am the door,” or “I am the door of the sheepfold.”  In the safety of the sheepfold, the flock was separated from the dangers outside the fold, like ravening wolves, or thieves and robbers.  The door also represents a decision.  “The sheep know my voice,” the shepherd said.  The sheep made a decision to follow the call of the shepherd. They could tell their own shepherd’s voice from all the other shepherds that grazed flocks where there was pasture.  When it was time to go to the sheepfold for the night, the sheep knew which shepherd was theirs and followed him.  I well remember a little chorus my pastor, the Rev. Claude Boynton, taught us children in Vacation Bible School when I was very young.  It speaks of the decision we must make to follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and the one door He is to our salvation:

            “One door and only one, and yet its sides are two:

            Inside and outside, on which side are you?

            One door and only one, and yet its sides are two:

            I’m on the inside, on which side are you?”

Jesus as the door is very akin to another “I am…” saying of Jesus:  “I am the way, and the Truth and the Life.”  Just as there is only one way to salvation, and that is repentance of sins and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, so there is only one door that leads to the safety of the sheepfold where the flock can rest in safety.  There is compassion through that door.  The good shepherd would care tenderly for his sheep, bind up their wounds, give them water to drink, see that they had proper food for their nourishment.  All of these things are provided by the one who lies at the door and guards His sheep.  Security is guaranteed as the shepherd places himself at the door.  Security of the flock is the shepherd’s number one responsibility.  Praise be to God!

We Are His Sheep

“Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”-Psalm 100:3 (ESV). “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” –Isaiah 53:6 (ESV) “To Him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him , for they know His voice.” –John 10:3-4 (ESV). "My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” –John 10: 27-28 (ESV).

Jesus called us His sheep. He told us He himself is the Shepherd of the sheep. How are we to understand and accept these concepts? First of all, we need to rid ourselves of some non-constructive ideas about sheep. We think of sheep as not having much intelligence, of being dumb animals. They can’t easily find their own food but must be led to green pastures by the shepherd. When lost, they cannot find their way home without help. They are subject to many predators and can hardly defend themselves. Overall, is it a compliment, then, to be called a sheep?

We must realize that some of the negative characteristics of sheep can also be turned to a positive as it relates to the symbolic relationship of the Christian and the Lord—or sheep and their Shepherd. Since sheep are helpless animals, they learn to depend on the shepherd for their needs. And a good shepherd will look to the needs of his flock, day and night. When we think about it, we are as lost sheep wandering in the wilderness of life. We are clueless and helpless without the Shepherd’s voice and guidance. “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” so we learn in Psalm 23:4b.

When I was a child, I was around sheep and learned to know their nature. Each morning the weather was clement enough, my job was to take the sheep from the sheepfold where they were sheltered along the pathway out to the pasture where they were to graze during the daytime. I can still hear their bleats as they followed me. I didn’t drive them like I did the cows, that could find their pasture with my walking behind. But the sheep needed me to go ahead, to lead the way. Oftentimes during the day, when I was not in school, my task was to go check on the sheep to see if they had made it to water, and had found a greener spot to graze farther along. They were not good at finding their own sustenance, water or shade. When I went for them in the evenings, they seemed glad to see me and to follow me to their fold. Those sheep had a complete trust in me and other members of my household who took care of them. They depended on us and rallied when they heard our voice. Just such a trust is expected in the relationship Christ has with us. We can rely on Him for what we need. Because we go astray like sheep, the Lord rescues us. Because we hunger like sheep, the Lord feeds us from His Word. But the most important aspect of the relationship in Shepherd to sheep is that He knows each one of us by name and He provides a haven, a place of rest—both in this world and the next. We don’t have to worry about sheepfold, provision, or protection when we are under the Shepherd’s care. Take time to consider the beauty and solace of sheep/Shepherd relationship. Thank Him that you are His sheep safely in His pasture.