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John 10:11-16 NIV
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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.

It is curious why Jesus uses the metaphor of a shepherd for describing Himself. Shepherds are ancient in our world today, right? Undoubtedly this image is not particularly meant for the modern age, but it is specifically pertinent to the audience to which Jesus is speaking in the 1st century. In the Middle East nomads created a life for themselves by herding sheep and other animals. It was a dangerous occupation, because the shepherd was exposed to the weather and predators while herding the sheep across miles of pasture. The shepherd would watch for predators and protect his sheep. To a shepherd, the sheep were his livelihood. It was his life!

Why would Jesus be a shepherd?

Jesus is relating to the people of His day through an old archetype. Is it a coincidence that Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and King David were all shepherds?! You can see that Jesus was connecting with an image people would recognize. People of the day knew about shepherds, the Jews knew about shepherds in the Scriptures, and probably a few people listening to Jesus were shepherds or formerly shepherds. This image should be extremely important to the Jews, because in the book of Ezekiel, we see prophecies about God gathering His sheep:

Ezekiel 34:11-12 MKLV
For so says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

We see here that God Himself will go out like a shepherd and gather His sheep. Jesus is claiming this status! Jesus and the Father are one! But that’s not all Jesus is saying.

What does it mean to be a good shepherd? Let’s look at the passage again:

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus will lay down His life for His sheep. The good shepherd cares for his sheep so much they he will die for them, because they are his life. But who are these sheep?

John 10:14-16
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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.

The sheep are those who know Him, and those whom He knows. He is referring to those who believe in Him, past, present, and future. Jesus even speaks of another pen, meaning those outside of the Jewish community are called to Him, because He knows them and they are called to Him.

But something more profound is evident in this passage.

Jesus says those who know Him, are knowing Him in the same way as He knows the Father. Intimately, closely, and in the same being as if the souls are intertwined. Jesus knows His sheep deeply, and His followers know His voice as if it were their own. Jesus dwells within us just like the Father and the Son are one, and the Holy Spirit makes this all possible. Those who are called to be Jesus’ sheep are forever connected to Him, and to each other, because He dwells within them all - “there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). This connection is wonderful, powerful, and incredibly fulfilling. It also means another thing:

John 10:27-29 MKJV
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never ever perish, and not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.

Jesus gives eternal life to those who answer His call! Jesus has called out to you to follow Him, to be with Him, to believe in Him, to love Him, and to share eternal life with Him. Would you refuse an offer from a person who cares so much about you that He laid down His life for you? That is the ultimate question.

Buzz
P.S. If you still think the metaphor of the shepherd is an ancient one, think about this. Believe it or not, there are still shepherds around in these modern times. How do you think the Dead Sea Scrolls were found 60 years ago? A shepherd was looking for a lost sheep!