Jesus the Good Shepherd

I’m continually amazed by the number of references in Scripture to the identity of Jesus the Son of God. One that he takes on himself directly in John 10 is The Good Shepherd, There’s a lot wrapped up in this identity, including many details of life in what’s called the Ancient Near East, that don’t exist in our Western culture. Let’s unpack a few you may have heard before, and see if we can find some new insights on Jesus’ identity.

This identity, shepherd, seems a stark contrast to the image of Jesus as a conquering king. Not only did it conflict with the expectations of some in his day (remember those who wanted to throw the Romans out) but sometimes also for us, because we don’t understand how shepherds lived and their symbolic value.

We could remember Psalm 23, which was often read at baptisms in the early church: "The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need." If the Lord Jesus Christ is my Good Shepherd, then do I really have problems? Likely not.

Also, we may have forgotten the references to kings and leaders as shepherds in the Hebrew scripture. Several are negative (Isa. 56:9-12, Jer. 23:1-4 and 25:34-38, and Zech. 11). In Ezekiel 34, God rails against the evil shepherds of Israel, and says he will rescue the people personally: “I myself will be the shepherd of the sheep (v. 15-16) and that he will set up David as their shepherd (v. 23-24); and that they will be “human sheep of my pasture” in v. 31. David, remembered as a warrior-king who started out life as a shepherd, might have been a fondly-anticipated figure in Jewish thinking of the time.

In verses 1-5, after Jesus contrasted the thief with the shepherd who leads out his own flock, John writes in verse 6 “Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant” referring to the onlooking Pharisees and others. This comes right after chapter 9, in which Jesus tells the Pharisees plainly that they are blind ((v. 40-41). The people John was referring to were having a hard time following Jesus' illustration (and let’s face it, this is not a simple one), so Jesus explained “I am the gate for the sheep” in verses 7 and 9, and then “I am the good shepherd” in 11 and 14.

Jesus' claim to be the Good Shepherd was an obvious reference to Ezek. 34:15-16, so he was taking on himself a title his hearers knew was true only for the God of Israel. So, we should be able to see trouble ahead!

Jesus also tells us that he will sacrifice his own life for the sheep (v. 11), in contrast to the hired hand, who "doesn't really care about the sheep" in v. 13; the implication of course is that Jesus is the one who truly loves the sheep. Following the will of the Father (v. 18) he will sacrifice his life voluntarily and will take it back again when he is resurrected.

Finally, Jesus tells us that his sheep know him, in v. 14, which follows up on v. 3, which tells us the sheep know his voice. There are some not currently in the flock but he will bring them also -- in that time he was probably referring to Gentiles, but today, there are lots out there who don't yet know him, but are already called by him; and his intention is to bring them into the flock also. Perhaps in some way they already "know his voice" but just don't know they know it?

With such an all-wise and giving Shepherd, do we really have anything to worry about? And given such a loving Shepherd, can we help one of those not yet in the flock, to learn to hear his voice?