The Good Shepherd
TRANSLATION
(11) (Jesus said) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (12) The hired hand who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away, and the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. (13) He runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (14) I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me (15) just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. (16) And I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. These I must bring as well. They will hear my voice and will become one flock with one shepherd. (17) For this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. (18) No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and the authority to take it up again. This charge have I received from my Father.”
(19) There arose a division again among the Jews because of these words. (20) Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and is insane. Why do you listen to him?” (21) Others said, “These are not the words of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment, John built on the previous passage where Jesus began to explain his role as the “good shepherd.” These verses are filled with repeated words and phrases. “Good shepherd” occurred three times (vss. 11 & 14) while “shepherd” appeared twice more (vss. 12 & 16) and “sheep” five times (vss. 11, 12, 15, & 16). “Know(s)” was used four times in two verses (vss. 14 & 15). “Lays down his life/lay it down” appeared five times (vss. 11, 15, 17, and twice in vs. 18) along with two uses of its opposite “take it up” (vss. 17 & 18). “Hired hand” (vss. 12 & 13), “wolf” (vs. 12), and “runs away” (vss. 12 & 13) all occurred twice. “Father,” Jesus’ name for God, appeared four times (in vss. 15, 17, & 18) while “demon” was used three times (in vss. 20 & 21).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus identified himself as the “Good Shepherd” who willingly lays down his life for his sheep. (11-18)
II. Jesus’ extraordinary claims continued to polarize the Jews. (19-21)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus’ identity as the “Good Shepherd” both comforts the flock that belongs to him and infuriates those opposed to his ministry.
APPLICATION
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, there were clear indications that he came not only to provide an atoning sacrifice for the direct descendants of Abraham, the Jews, but also for Gentiles as well. In Chapter 1 of his Gospel, John tells us that “(Jesus) came to his own, and his own people (the Jews) did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...” This chapter provides another clear statement of God’s intent to include the Gentiles in the words Jesus used in verse 16: “And I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. These I must bring as well. They will hear my voice and will become one flock with one shepherd.”
The Apostle Paul later expanded on this theme in Ephesians 2. Two verses summarize how Jesus’ sacrificial death accomplished this: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off (Gentiles) have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made us both (Jews and Gentiles) to be one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…” (Eph. 2:13 & 14). There is no place for any sense of ethnic superiority in the body of Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles from whatever nation, tribe, or tongue are on equal footing in the church. As someone has well said, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”