John 10:11-21

Not only is Jesus the Door for the sheep; He is their Shepherd. What does He mean by this? First of all, the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. If a wolf or a lion were to come after a flock of sheep, it would be tempting to run away rather than to defend them. Better to save one’s own life than to die trying to save sheep, right? Not according to Jesus! Jesus says that the whole point of being the Shepherd is to save the sheep. Shepherding is not a comfy, cozy job when done right. There are plenty of times of peace. But watching sheep on a sunny afternoon is not the reason for shepherding. Shepherds watch sheep to defend them in times of trouble.

 

In contrast, Jesus looks at the hired hand. The sheep don’t belong to him. He’s there for the money. And he can find money elsewhere as long as he stays alive. So to him, the sheep are less important than his own life. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and saves himself. Of course, things don’t look good for the sheep when this happens. The wolf snatches sheep and scatters the flock. Unlike the hired hand, Jesus cares enough for the sheep to stay and defend them, putting His life on the line to save them from danger.

 

Another thing that is true of the Good Shepherd: He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. They have a relationship. They are familiar with each other. Jesus says that this relationship is just like that between Him and His Father; the Father and Son know each other intimately, and Shepherd and Sheep know each other intimately. The relationship is one of mutual love and deep understanding (note: mutual love does not necessarily imply equal love. Even in this illustration it is plain that the sheep cannot love Jesus in the same way that Jesus loves them). Jesus continues this thought by saying, “and I lay down my life for the sheep.” That’s how much Jesus cares for His sheep!

 

Here Jesus takes a noteworthy diversion, saying, “And I have other sheep which are not of this sheep pen.” This refers, of course, to the Gentiles who would believe in Him. They are not Jews, but they also belong to Jesus; they are also His sheep! I am not certain that any of those listening understood at that point what Jesus was saying, because there is no immediate uproar about the abominable thought of making the Gentiles a part of God’s people. But Jesus will bring them, and just like the Jews who are in Jesus’ flock, He says that the Gentiles in His flock will hear/recognize His voice. The result? One flock, one Shepherd. Jesus makes the two into one and destroys the wall of hostility (Eph 2:14).

 

Back to the relationship between Jesus and the Father. The Father loves Jesus for a specific reason: Jesus lays down His life (for the sheep) in order to take up His life again. It sounds kind of weird, but perhaps this is because none of us can do the same thing. A part of this thought is that no one takes Jesus’ life from Him; He lays it down on His own, and the Father loves Him for this selfless act! Jesus has authority both to lay down His life and to take it up again. Authority implies that someone higher has either given a command or granted permission; Jesus says that He received the command to lay down His life and to take it up again from His Father, God. God commanded Jesus to lay down His life and take it up again. Jesus, obediently and voluntarily, obeys the Father. This obedience must also be a part of the Father’s reason for loving Jesus; the Father loves Jesus because Jesus lays down His life in order to take it up again. In all things, He honors His Father and submits obediently to His command, even in this matter of His own life and death.

 

Jesus’ teachings again resulted in a division. Some Jews believed Him to be demon-possessed and insane! They questioned the sanity of others who listened to such “nonsense”. But those who listened argued that Jesus was not insane or demon-possessed. They did not believe His words were the words of demons. And for further confirmation, they did not believe that demons could open the eyes of a blind man. Judging Jesus’ actions and words together, they felt that they had no choice but to believe Him.

 

For those who hear His voice, Jesus is the Shepherd – the Good Shepherd! He cares about us, and He put His life on the line for us. The Father commanded Him to lay His life down for us, and then to take it up again. Because Jesus obeyed the Father, He has led together His flock – one flock, made up of Jews and Gentiles who are together called Christians, with Jesus Christ Himself as our one Shepherd. He is our rightful Shepherd – not a thief or a hired hand – and He loves us enough to give up His life to save us. Let’s not stray from Him.