Jesus the Good Shepherd


Jesus identifies himself as the gate that leads to salvation for whoever enters by him. Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd who knows his sheep and lays down his life for them. Earlier in John 10, Jesus describes a sheepfold, which was a circular enclosure, often made of stones. In ordinary practice, sheep were brought into the fold at night so that they would be protected from predators and thieves. During the day, the sheep were taken out of the fold to graze in the pasture. The sheepfold is a metaphor for the people of God. By identifying himself as the gate or door, Jesus indicates that those who believe in him belong to a wider community. Through faith, they relate to God and to God's people. The pattern of going in and out of the sheepfold recognizes that the faithful regularly gather as a community, then go out into the world, then gather together again. This repeated movement from gathered community out into the world and then back again characterizes the life of faith. This is one of the seven "I am" sayings in John's Gospel. Since the expression "I am" recalls the name of God, who is the "I Am" these sayings emphasize that Jesus is God's Word in the flesh.

The moral of this passage is to tell the shepherd that if there is a person sneaking in he is not a good shepherd. He who comes before me is a thief and a bandit.
Jesus declares that He is "the gate for the sheep." In other words, Jesus is claiming that He is the One who provides entrance into "the sheepfold,' and He is the only entrance into the fold. Jesus is declaring that He, as the eternal Son of God and the Savior sent by God, is the only way by which we can be redeemed from the righteous judgment of God and restored to fellowship with God. Jesus alone can give us access to the kingdom of God. A hired hand works with the sheep, but he is not a shepherd; he works for money, he feels no love or devotion to the sheep. The hired hand does not have a personal interest in the sheep because they do not belong to him: the sheep are his living, but they are not his life; he tends the sheep, but he is not tenderly attached to them. The hired hand will not risk his life for the sheep: he sees the wolf coming, he forsakes the sheep and runs for his life; he flees because he does not care about the sheep. In contrast to the hired hand, Jesus declares that as the Good Shepherd, He cares for the sheep, so much so that He willingly lays down His life for His sheep. Six times in this passage Jesus declares that as the Good Shepherd He will lay down His life for His sheep because of His commitment to His Father, and because of His great love for His sheep, Jesus as the Good Shepherd protects His sheep with His own life. In an emergency a good shepherd would venture to risk his life for his sheep but Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, came into the world for the express purpose of voluntarily laying down His life for His sheep! Jesus laid down His life to protect His sheep from the righteous wrath of God by satisfying the righteous demands of God's justice. In His resurrection life Jesus continues to plead on behalf of His people and guarantees our protection until we arrive safely at our heavenly Father's home.