JESUS, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD *

Among the many ways that Jesus used to describe Himself, one of the most poignant is that of a shepherd. Not only was it a description of His role, it also illustrated the attitude He had in caring for us and bringing us into eternal life. Let us recall His exact words about this by reading John 10:1-6:

"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. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them. ( NIV )

Jesus told this very short story to the Jews. The people and things in the story were quite familiar to the Jews of that day.

He starts out the story by emphasizing it as truth. Then He starts to describe the ways of a THIEF who enters the sheep pen. The usual and accepted way of entering a sheep pen was by the gate of the pen. And anyone who entered it by devious ways would have the bad intentions of a thief and a robber.

Then Jesus describes the way the REAL SHEPHERD of the sheep enters the sheep pen. He says that the shepherd enters via the gate and that the watchman would recognize the shepherd and open the gate for him. As he enters the pen, the shepherd would call the sheep by the individual names that he had given them. He would then proceed to lead them out of the pen. The shepherd had an interesting, unique way of directing the movement of the sheep. It was very different from the way cattle or mules were moved. Cows, oxen, mules, and horses were driven or pushed to move, often with the use of whips and ropes. But the sheep were not driven or pushed; they were LED by the shepherd. The shepherd would go ahead of the sheep and as he walked, he would speak to the sheep. The sheep would then hear the voice of their beloved shepherd and they would move towards the direction of his voice.

Jesus pointed out that the sheep will run away from a stranger that would try to lead them because they would not recognize the unfamiliar voice of the stranger. The sheep would feel uneasy and they would be "spooked" into running away from the direction of the stranger’s voice.

Now the Jews who listened to Jesus tell this short story were all too familiar with these things. Thus they could not figure out why Jesus would narrate to them something that was common knowledge to them. So Jesus explained it to them in the succeeding verses of John 10:7-10.

Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ( NIV )

Again Jesus prefaced his statement by saying that what He was about to say could be relied upon as the truth. Jesus identified Himself as the gate where the sheep would go through to enter eternal life. Verse 9 says that whoever enters through Jesus will be saved. Wherever life brings them, the sheep who pass through Jesus will be sustained by Him. Verse 10 specifically says that Jesus came that the sheep may have a full spiritual life through Him.
Also within verses 7-10, Jesus mentioned that all the sorcerers of the false gods and all who had previously enticed the Jews with false promises of eternal happiness were plain thieves and robbers. Their only intentions were to "steal and kill and destroy".
Let’s read the next verses of John 10:11-13,

"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." ( NIV )

This time Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd; actually refering to the best type of shepherd —— one who gives His life for the sake of the sheep. It reminds us of King David who as a shepherd boy, risked his life for the sake of his flock of sheep by fighting a lion and a bear that had grabbed sheep from David’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).

Jesus contrasted His being a good shepherd with the hired hand or hireling who had no affection for the sheep. A hireling will not place the safety of the sheep above his own. At the sign of impending trouble or an attack from predators, the hireling would abandon the flock. The sheep would then freak out and be scattered, therefore becoming easy prey for the predators.
Let’s read more of the verses in John 10:14-21,

"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 reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" ( NIV )

Jesus once again emphasized that He was the good shepherd and that He was ready to give up His life for the sake of the sheep. This is an essential point in understanding His love for us —— a love that Jesus valued more than His earthly life. Indeed, our Lord eventually died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus !

Jesus went on to say that it is for this reason that the Father loves Him: because He lays down His life for the sheep. No man had the power to take the earthly life of Jesus; but Jesus voluntarily laid down His life. Our Lord had the sole authority to give His life and also the authority to take up His life again. His authority came in the form of a command from the Father. As the obedient Son, Jesus obeyed the command of the Father: He gave up His life by dying on the cross and He took up His life again by rising from the dead.

Jesus also mentioned that He had other sheep that were not part of "this sheep pen"; meaning to say that our Lord had other sheep who were not Jews. He also would bring these other sheep with Him. These other sheep will also recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and they will follow Him. It will be just like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus; that when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized the voice as the one that gave him his eyesight. And then he believed in all that Jesus said ( John 9:35 ).

All the sheep will heed His voice and be one flock: one body of believers joyfully following the voice of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for them.
What about us ?

Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus ? Can we recognize it among the many "voices" we hear ? Verse 4 says that "his sheep follow Him because they know His voice". If we do not know His voice, we cannot move towards the direction of His voice; and thus it would not be possible to follow Him. God’s voice does not necessarily have to be an audible sound; or a sound that the human ear might perceive. It is more of a sound perceived by our spirits. God communicates with us through our spirits, and it is also in the inner recesses of our spirits that we can truly communicate with God. Thus we have to listen with our spirits to hear His voice.
Psalms 46:10 says : "Be still, and know that I am God".This is a clue for us on how we can hear and know the voice of Jesus our Shepherd. We have to learn to withdraw our spirits from all the earthly noises and worldly agitation. We even have to command the voices of our own thoughts to be quiet in order for our spirits to listen well. As we completely surrender to Jesus the THRONE of our innermost hearts, we shall learn to know His reassuring voice."He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets"(Isaiah 42:2).
Now, how determined are we in following Jesus, our Good Shepherd ? Jesus lived His life on earth as a pattern for us to follow. Since we are his followers, He would reasonably expect us to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Jesus faced the situations that we would similarly face.

Jesus leads us by example so that we can follow His footsteps. Having studied His life on earth, we know that the things He underwent were not always easy or pleasant. In view of the difficulties, Jesus instructed His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me ".

Indeed, some of us will be absolutely determined to follow Jesus no matter where it will lead. Jesus was obedient even unto the point of death. Likewise, those who are truly faithful and obedient to God’s leading will readily lay down their own lives just like their Master. In the same way that Jesus loved the sheep more than His earthly life, these believers also love Jesus more than their own earthly lives.

However they will draw comfort in what Psalms 23 says :

" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ....
............ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me ".

Also, they will take courage from the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd who continually speaks to them, calling each one of them by name. May God bless us with such faith and obedience !