Our comfortable, modern, technological lives hinder our ability to understand the vivid, commonplace, and agricultural illustrations Jesus so frequently used in his teaching. Today, we come to a text where Jesus uses the shepherding metaphor to teach us about his leadership and love for his people. Most of us have not grown up around sheep, and I doubt many of you intend to make a career in shepherding. Nevertheless, the imagery of shepherding is so ubiquitous in the Scriptures that we must all carefully consider how the task of shepherding captures the relationship between God and his people. He is the shepherd, and we are the sheep.
The notion of being a sheep stings our pride. To the point of cliche, we recognize that sheep are dumb. A news story from a few years ago coming out of Turkey makes this point vivid:
Hundreds of sheep followed their leader off a cliff in eastern Turkey, plunging to their deaths this week while shepherds looked on in dismay. Four hundred sheep fell 15 meters to their deaths in a ravine in Van province near Iran but broke the fall of another 1,100 animals who survived, newspaper reports said yesterday. Shepherds from Ikizler village neglected the flock while eating breakfast, leaving the sheep to roam free, the Radikal daily said. The loss to local farmers was estimated at $74,000.
Sheep aren’t very smart, but they make up for their lack of intellect in their relational connection. Sheep learn the face and voice of their shepherd and respond obediently to his call. There is an intimacy between a shepherd and his sheep. Sheep aren’t necessarily dumb; they are just dependent on a good shepherd who can guide them, direct them, and lead them.
And thankfully, we have a good shepherd of our souls, the Lord Jesus. So, as we come to John 10:1-18, we will see Jesus describe himself as the good shepherd. In this, we will see the remarkable ministry of our good shepherd in contrast to the thieves and robbers who seek to devour the sheep.
We will first see how Jesus distinguishes his sheep, identifying those who belong to him. Second, we will see how the good shepherd defends his sheep. And third, we will see how the love of the good shepherd runs so deeply for his sheep that he willingly lays down his life for them.
1. The Good Shepherd Distinguishes His Sheep (vv. 1-6)
As we begin studying John 10, we must remember the prior chapter to set the context. In John 9, Jesus healed a blind man. After investigating this miracle, the Pharisees cast the man out of the synagogue. Jesus approached the man with tenderness and love, revealing himself as his healer and savior. The man responded to Jesus with faith and worship. Jesus then taught that he came into the world to help those who do not see and to reveal the blindness of those who think they see. When some Pharisees heard Jesus speak this way, they asked if they were also blind out of self-righteous pride. Jesus responded, saying that if they were blind, they would have no guilt, but because they claimed to see, their guilt remained. At the start of John 10, Jesus contrasts himself with the religious leaders who were supposed to care for and lead the people of God. So, as Jesus begins his teaching, he highlights the thieves and robbers who seek to infiltrate and prey upon a flock that doesn’t belong to them.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1, ESV)
The “thief and robber” Jesus has in mind are the religious leaders of Israel. He will say later in verse 10 that these leaders come “only to steal and kill and destroy.” They have malicious, predatory motives for the sheep. The shepherds of Israel are acting like wolves. Instead of protecting, feeding, and caring for the flock of God, they use their authority and power to devour them. Exhibit A: they just devoured this healed blind man, reviled him, demeaned him, and cast him out of their fellowship like scum.
Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord has rebuked the religious leadership of Israel, and leaning into that shepherding imagery, Ezekiel 34 stands out as the most severe indictment of Israel’s leadership in the Old Testament. Here is the Lord’s verdict on Israel’s shepherds. He will require the sheep from their hand. He will take the right away for them to shepherd his flock. Hear the Lord’s words in Ezekiel 34.
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:7–10, ESV)
With their authority and responsibility stripped from them, the leaders who seek to gain access to God’s sheep have no right to do so. They are interlopers and intruders sneakily infiltrating over the wall to access sheep that do not belong to them.
Jesus is leaning here on first-century shepherding practices that his original audiences would have understood. In a small Jewish village, most families owned a few sheep. Attached to their houses would be a communal family courtyard, walled off up to 6 1/2 feet high. The gatekeeper kept watch at the door at night to ensure the sheep slept safely and only allowed the shepherd access in the morning. Because of the cost of hiring a shepherd, the families would share one shepherd to look after the sheep. Each morning, the shepherd would go to the gate and be granted entrance by the gatekeeper because he was the known shepherd. And so the shepherd would call out to the sheep, and recognizing his voice, he would gather the sheep and lead them to pasture to graze.
But a thief or robber was unknown and had no right to access the sheep. As those seeking to brutalize the sheep, they would not enter by the door but by climbing over the wall. As Jesus speaks about these religious leaders, he draws a clear line when talking about his flock: “Pharisees, you have no claim on my sheep. You have no right to access them. You are thieves and robbers seeking to prey upon my flock. You may think you are the shepherds of Israel, but you are fired from your job. The good shepherd is here, and I’m gathering my flock out of Israel.”
And so Jesus identifies himself as the shepherd of the sheep. Hear the intimacy and sweetness that Jesus, the good shepherd, has with the sheep in verses 2–5.
“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:2–5, ESV)
Because Jesus is the shepherd, he entered by the door. He enters to gather his sheep through legitimate (rather than illegitimate) means. Jesus is the rightful shepherd of the flock. Just as Ezekiel 34 told us, as he fires the shepherds of Israel, the Lord himself will search for the sheep, gather them, and feed them with good pastures: “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15–16, ESV)
And so Jesus has come into the world as the good shepherd to gather his flock. But which sheep belong to this shepherd? How does the good shepherd distinguish between those sheep who belong to him and those who do not? In other words, what’s the identifying marker of those who belong to Jesus?
Jesus emphasizes two markers. First, the sheep hear and know the voice of the shepherd. Sheep can learn and recognize the call of their shepherd. A stranger can imitate the call, and they will ignore it. But when the shepherd calls, the sheep come running. You can find videos of modern shepherds demonstrating this principle. The sheep are scattered across the pasture, but when the shepherd raises his voice and calls out to them, they start flocking towards him, running with all their might to be near their shepherd. The whole flock mobilizes at the call of their shepherd, eager to follow him wherever they go.
And so Jesus tells us that the sheep that belong to him respond to his call. The different responses to Jesus’ words have been a recurring theme in this gospel. While some eagerly receive and respond to Jesus’ words, others have argued against him. We have seen a distinction between those who hear the voice of Jesus and those who do not. Think most recently to John 8:31, where Jesus tells the crowd, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Or even more recently, in John 9, where the healed blind man responds immediately to Jesus’ word, “Lord, I believe!” While the Pharisees push back in doubtful inquiry, “Are we also blind?” As Jesus goes about his ministry to Israel, he speaks with the voice of God’s shepherd. And true Israel, who belong to Jesus, respond to his voice. Such sheep know the voice of the shepherd and respond when he calls.
We share the gospel with everyone we can! As we preach the gospel, we preach the words of Jesus to the world. The voice of Christ goes forth through the testimony of his church as we preach the Word of God. And as we do, we call everyone to respond to that call. We implore people to repent and believe in the gospel. We call them to follow Jesus, who is the good shepherd. But not all who hear will come. But those who belong to Jesus, the sheep who belong in his fold, the elect of God, when they hear the general call of the gospel, respond to it. Theologians call this the effectual call. As the general call of the gospel is offered, the Spirit works in a person’s heart, calling them unto salvation. They are awakened as precious sheep in the flock of Jesus, and as they hear the voice of Christ, they come galloping in joy to follow after him. The true flock of God is distinguished by those who respond to Jesus’ words and those who do not.
Our response to the voice of Jesus occurs not only at the moment of our salvation but also in our ongoing Christian lives. Christians abide in the Word of Jesus. Our hearts are made sensitive to the Word of God. When Scripture speaks, we obey. We delight in reading the Word of God. We relish in its preaching. We respond to its correction, and we cling to its promises. If we truly belong in Jesus’ fold, we will follow and obey his Word.
But the shepherd’s second distinguishing mark is his intimate familiarity with his sheep by knowing their names. Jesus’ intimate awareness of his sheep exceeds that of a first-century shepherd.
Consider how large the church of God is! There are tens of thousands of Christians in this country. How many people worldwide from every tribe, language, and nation? And consider how many Christians there have been throughout the generations, saints who have gone before us who have died and gone to be with the Lord? What number might we guess of that multitude? I wouldn’t dare take a guess! And yet, as Jesus calls his sheep, he knows each one by name, intimately, personally. The Lord Jesus is not just calling a people. He’s calling individuals. And he knows them by name. With the growth we’ve experienced as a church in the last year, perhaps you are struggling to learn the name of everyone in this church! That’s one of the reasons we publish a quarterly directory so that you can know the faces and names of those with whom you have covenanted. We currently have 183 members in our church, and I believe my finite memory can call each of you by name! And while we certainly want every member to be known by at least one of their pastors, there may come a day when it is difficult for every elder to know each sheep in the flock of Redemption Church at New Hope by name!
But thankfully, even with the finite limitation of your pastors, there is always a shepherd who knows you far more intimately than your pastors ever will! While we long to be invited into your life, our powers of observation are limited, and we can only know your spiritual struggles if you share them with us. But Jesus is a shepherd who knows your soul with honest intimacy. He knows your struggles. He knows your inner doubts and wrestlings. He knows your temptations and weaknesses. He observes your sins and your waywardness. He recognizes when your soul is burdened with anxiety, or when you’re trembling with fear, or when your love for him is cooled. Jesus is the chief shepherd, and he calls you by name. The Lord Jesus is intimately acquainted with every one of his sheep. And though his sheep numbers in the hundreds of thousands (if not millions!) throughout the ages, he knows you. You are not just another sheep. You are his sheep. He will watch over you, protect you from stumbling, and ensure you remain in his fold. And even when the undershepherds of Christ’s church fail you (and at times they will!), know that the chief shepherd watches over your soul and possesses all wisdom to care for you.
And so the flock of God is distinguished by the sheep knowing the shepherd’s voice and the shepherd’s knowing of the sheep. There is a sweet intimacy between Jesus and his people. A stranger they will not follow, but they will follow the voice of their shepherd.
As Jesus makes this point, we are told in verse 6 that the people did not understand the figurative language of shepherding.
“This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” (John 10:6, ESV)
As Jesus frequently does in John’s gospel, when people misunderstand the figurative language, he doubles down on the image and expands its usage. As Jesus develops the metaphor of shepherding to describe his messianic mission, we see that Jesus not only distinguishes his flock by gathering them but also defends his flock from those who seek to destroy them.
2. The Good Shepherd Defends His Sheep (vv. 7-10)
As Jesus expands his teaching, he then describes how he is the one who defends his flock. And he does so by leaning on the language of the door of the sheep. Let’s read verses 7–10:
“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:7–10, ESV)
Jesus’ use of the term door might confuse you because he shifts its usage throughout this passage. In verse two, he mentions how he enters by the door because he is the legitimate shepherd of his flock. But in verse seven, he tells us, “I am the door of the sheep.” Here, he refers to himself as the one who guards and protects the sheep. The illustration shifts, and Jesus describes himself as the one who sets guard overnight while the sheep are in their pen—at the sheep’s gate sat the shepherd at the door, preventing the sheep from wandering out and protecting them from predators outside. No one could get in and out without going through the shepherd.
And the Lord Jesus protects his people from those who have come before, “thieves and robbers.” And as they came before Jesus’ arrival, so does God’s flock face constant threats from thieves and robbers. The flock of the Lord Jesus Christ is choice prey, and the devil is obsessed with sending out thieves to “steal and kill and destroy.” The church of the Lord Jesus faces unrelenting attacks from the devil, who is a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). And the devil exercises his destructive scheme through false teachers and false prophets, who seek to dupe the sheep to their destruction.
Jesus has warned us saying, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Mt 7:15). Similarly, Paul warned the Ephesian elders at Miletus that after his departure, “fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Ac 20:29). Therefore, we must recognize that there are dangerous ideologies, erroneous ethics, and false religious that seek to seduce us to destroy us. The devil will use men to attempt to ravage the flock of God. You may find them as false prophets, such as Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. You may find them with political ideologies like Adolf Hitler. You may find them among philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche. You may find them among psychologists like Sigmund Freud. You may find them among economists like Karl Marx. You may find them among online influences or political pundits, professors and CEOs. You may find them on the electoral ballot, and you may even find them pastoring churches. Nevertheless, the devil uses them for his obsessive purpose to “steal and kill and destroy” the flock of God.
Christian, we cannot be naive to the enemies around us. In the cacophony of voices shouting for our attention, we must grow in discernment to distinguish the voice of our shepherd from the voices of strangers. Notice what Jesus says in verse 8, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” If you are a true sheep of the Lord Jesus, you will not listen to thieves and robbers. With spiritual discernment and the objective authority of Scripture, you can discern the will of God (Rom 12:2; Eph 5:10). Amidst all the noise, keep your ear tuned and focused on the only voice that matters—the voice of Jesus. He is your shepherd. And he alone will protect you from those who plot your destruction.
And amidst the schemes of the devil, take heart! We have a shepherd who sits at the door watching over his flock and who speaks truth to us from his Word. In contrast with the thieves and robbers who destroy, all who enter the gate of Christ will have salvation and abundant life!
Jesus adjusts the language of the door again in verse 9 and makes it a more explicit reference to salvation. “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” The idea introduces what Jesus will expand in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is only through Jesus that we come into the flock of God. Only through belief in him as our savior and Lord do we enter into the safety of his shepherding care. Without Christ, we are vulnerable to the lies of those who devour us, lies that will bring about our eternal ruin. But those who enter through the door that is Christ will have spiritual freedom to come into his safety and go out with the shepherd to refreshing pasture. Christ is the door to the abundant life his salvation brings to his people.
In contrast to those who seek to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus, the good shepherd, provides abundant life. Look at verse 10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Christ gives eternal life both now and in the future. His voice leads us to abundance, not destruction. The philosophy of thieves leads to destruction. Do we not see evidence of this in this culture? Those who adopt the philosophy of thieves see their lives in shambles: families fragmented, bodies violated and abused, crippling anxiety, gender confusion, sexual enslavement, perennial unhappiness, numbing narcotics, or the despairing hopelessness that pushes some to suicide. The problems of our age stem from leaders who steal and kill and destroy with their demonic philosophies. In our post-Christian age, we are only beginning to see the cultural consequences of those who scorn the way of life offered by Jesus and exchange it for the way of death offered by thieves and robbers.
And yet, Jesus calls forth, ”I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” His is the way of grace and forgiveness, goodness and beauty, truth and justice, love and kindness, rescue and redemption, joy and happiness! And those who enter into Christ by faith, through that door is the way to everlasting life both now and forevermore!
And as the sheep hear and follow the Word of Christ, as they enter through him as the door into abundant life, the flock of God is made visible to the world. If Jesus is the gate, the local church is one of his sheep pens. Each local church is a gathering of Christ’s sheep who have entered in through Christ and who jointly live in his abundant life according to his Word. The visible boundaries of the church—of membership and discipline, of the giving or withholding of the ordinances—give definition and visibility to the flock of God. Only those who have entered through Christ as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Inherent Jesus’ metaphor of shepherding is that while Jesus knows us individually and by name, we are to be gathered with other sheep as a flock.
Charles Spurgeon commented on this, saying,
Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people.
If you are a lone sheep without a local church, you leave yourself particularly vulnerable to thieves and robbers. Join a local church where you can regularly hear the Word of Jesus and where the courtyard walls of covenant membership can guard you. A local church with healthy membership practices is a means of grace from the Lord to protect your soul from thieves and robbers. To be known in a flock, to come under the care of Christ’s under-shepherds, and to belong to a particular local church brings accountability and assurance for our spiritual protection. Do not disregard the means of grace and Christ’s gift for your protection. Enter into the church by professing Christ as your savior and Lord, and join us as we seek to make visible before the watching world the abundant life we have as the flock of God!
We know that we can entrust our souls to Jesus because he is the good shepherd, the best of shepherds, and the shepherd par excellence because he is the shepherd who gladly lays down his life for his sheep.
3. The Good Shepherd Dies for His Sheep (vv. 11-18)
Rather than profiting off the sheep, Jesus is the shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. As Jesus continues, he describes why he is the good shepherd. Let’s look at verses 11–13.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11–13)
Unlike a hired hand, the good shepherd has genuine affection and love for his sheep. A hired hand is doing a job. He clocks in and clocks out to get his pay. And if the job warrants too much risk or sacrifice, he’s fine leaving the sheep to the wolves as a cost of doing business. He has no personal investment in the sheep because he doesn’t own them. He has more love for himself than for the sheep or the owner of the flock.
The Lord Jesus is the chief shepherd and owner of the flock. By his good design, he established his church to be led by under-shepherds, pastors responsible for exercising shepherding care on behalf of Christ. But few things are more deadly and destructive than hirelings entering the pastorate. While most pastors are driven to the work out of genuine love for the Lord and his flock, many are attracted to pastoral work because it seems easy, luxurious, or reputable.
Woe to men who think of ministry as a career and treat pastoring like a job. Who act like hired hands, doing the bare minimum and caring nothing for the sheep. Woe to those shepherds who leave churches behind when it’s convenient for them or calculate their career path like it is a corporate ladder, who use Christ’s sheep to build their platforms, or who fleece the flock with deceptive teaching for their own personal prosperity. Woe to those who fail to feed the flock of God with the good food of the Word, who lazily loaf around without an attentive eye on the flock. Who, like a hireling, runs away when danger comes, who flees when times get hard, who is unwilling to bear the wounds of wolves to defend the sheep, who in cowardice backs away from the flock in the moment of their greatest danger, who looks only to their own interests and not the interests of the flock of God, the precious lambs of God. It is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of a wrathful God, and woe is the day when hirelings will give an account to God for their selfish neglect of the flock for whom the holy Son of God bought with his own precious blood! A man who is too cowardly to be snarled by a wolf or too apathetic to rescue from the ditch is unfit to be a pastor.
Anyone aspiring to pastoral ministry must check your heart on these matters. Many seek out the work, but few have the heart of the good shepherd. Few men have the grit to endure such manly work. Few men have the courage to perform their duty before the Lord with a genuine love for the flock, with toughness and tenderness. Brothers, may the Lord raise up many of you to the noble calling of a pastor. But to those who aspire, and to those currently serving as our elders, and to those of us who are paid full-time by the church to care for the flock, may the Lord protect us from the cowardice of a hireling, and may the Lord spare Redemption Church at New Hope from such spineless and self-serving men. Instead, may the Lord bless us with elders (and I believe he certainly has!) with men who have the heart of the good shepherd.
And in contrast to these hirelings who abdicate their duties when danger arises, the Lord Jesus intervenes. He lays down his life for his flock. He denies himself and picks up the cross for our spiritual good. He has genuine love and deep affection for his little flock. And he will not abandon them in a time of danger. Jesus gladly bears the wounds to defend the sheep, even if it costs him his life. Jesus freely gives his life because he is intimately acquainted with the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15, ESV)
Here, Jesus gives us a glimpse of divine mysteries that are so wonderful they are challenging to comprehend, mysteries that Jesus will elaborate on later in this gospel. Jesus tells us that he knows his own, and we (his sheep) know him. And then, he equivocates his intimacy with his sheep with the intimacy he enjoys with his Father. Our triune God has existed for all eternity, forever basking and delighting in the glory of each person. The love and intimacy between the Father and the Son united in perfect union, produces infinitely sweet communion. And yet, the same affection and familiarity the Father and Son have for one another, Jesus says he has for his sheep. The same love that God has for himself is extended to us through our union with Jesus Christ. And it is that level of rich love, of committed generosity, of unwavering affection, of unsurpassed delight that Jesus has for his flock. And because he loves us so, he gladly lays down his life for the sheep.
And while Jesus is gathering his flock as a remnant from Israel during his ministry, Jesus also has sheep beyond the boundaries of Israel that have yet to come into his fold. See verse 16:
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16, ESV)
Jesus alludes to the forthcoming inclusion of the Gentiles in his flock. Though now he focuses on gathering his flock from Israel, the day is coming when his gospel will go forth through all the nations. His church will be one flock assembled from every tribe, language, and nation. Just as Paul introduces in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The voice of Christ has gone first to the Jews and then through the church to the Gentiles. The entire book of Acts describes how the gospel message goes from Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. As Paul explains in Ephesians 2, Christ has torn down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles. “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:18–19). And so it is through Christ and the gathering of his flock from among the nations that the words of Ezekiel 24:23-24 will come to pass:
“And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23–24, ESV)
Christ is the one shepherd, and he will have one flock! And Jesus’ words here give us great confidence as we do the work of an evangelist and take the gospel to the nation. Jesus’ sheep are located all around the world. Some are in your neighborhood, and a few are in your workplace. And Christ must bring them in. There are his sheep, chosen and precious in his sight from before the foundation of the world. And how will he gather his elect? He will do so through his church, speaking with the voice of Jesus as we share the gospel message. As we share the gospel with everyone, we can have confidence knowing that the sheep of Jesus will respond. Jesus says, “They will listen to my voice.”
So, may we have great courage in our evangelism. As we speak with the voice of Christ and share his gospel message, some will reject it. But those who belong to Jesus will listen and respond with saving faith. Even in the roughest neighborhood, in the most hostile nation, among the most hard-to-reach people, those sheep of Jesus will listen and respond in faith and so be gathered into the flock of Jesus. The sheep of God will respond to the gospel call, but we must be faithful in sharing it with them. We must open our mouths and speak the Words of Christ to them.
And as the nations and our neighbors are saved through the faithful evangelism of Christ’s church, we are gathered into one flock with one shepherd. Even though we may have different local churches scattered all around the world—we all belong to the chief shepherd and savior of our souls, who gave his life for us. And as Jesus concludes this teaching, we see the shadow of the cross encroaching on him.
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”” (John 10:17–18, ESV)
Love and obedience are linked, and as the Son has entered the world to save sinners, the Father delights in his Son. Jesus’ mission is to go to the cross so that he might obtain the church with his own blood. At the cross of Christ, Jesus endures the wrath of God for our sins. He is condemned in our place. He purchases us by his blood so that we might be his precious flock. And Jesus does this of his own volition. He is a willing sacrifice and chooses to lay down his life in love for his sheep.
The cross of Christ was a miscarriage of human justice, but Jesus was no hapless victim. His life was not taken from him, as if the religious leaders out-smarted him or as if Pontius Pilate overruled him. Jesus could have called down a few legions of angels to rescue him at any moment. No, Jesus willingly laid down his life in obedience to his Father to rescue us from sin and hell.
And here, Jesus is a shepherd unlike any other! An ordinary shepherd would be stupid to lay down his life for the sheep. If the shepherd dies, who will then protect the flock? The economics of first-century shepherding certainly involved risking your life to protect the sheep, but the shepherd’s death would mean the complete vulnerability of the entire flock! Yet, the good shepherd saves his flock by dying. Because as he lays down his life, he has the authority to take it up again. The Lord Jesus will die for his flock, but so too will be raised in resurrected glory! And so, by his death, death dies at his resurrection. Jesus’ precious flock is no longer threatened by death any longer. He has risen and has made our souls safe and secure for all eternity.
What a blessed and wondrous shepherd we have in Jesus! Indeed, he is the good shepherd. And what a joyous blessing to be a sheep in his flock. He marks us as his, he defends us from every danger, and he dies for us so that we might have life in him. And so, while others seek to destroy us, under the shepherding care of Jesus, we have abundant life forever in him.
Do you belong to Jesus’ flock? If you do, you will hear the shepherd’s voice and respond. Is the shepherd calling to you today? Do you hear his voice? Enter through the door of Christ by repentance and faith. Enter into the flock of God, and come to the good shepherd who loves and protects his sheep, who has laid down his life to save his sheep.
If the Lord Jesus is your shepherd, you shall not want. If the Lord Jesus is your shepherd, he will bring you to rest in his green pastures. If the Lord Jesus is your shepherd, he will restore your soul. If the Lord Jesus is your shepherd, he will lead you along the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. And even though you may walk through the very shadow of death itself, you have no need to fear. Your shepherd is there with you. His rod and staff will comfort you. Your shepherd has prepared for you a banquet in the presence of your enemies. Jesus has anointed your head with the oil of his blessing, and his abundant life overflows your cup. For all your days, goodness and mercy shall follow you as Jesus, the good shepherd, leads you to the house of the Lord forever.