“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”
John 10:11-13 NLT
Just a few verses ago in John 10, Jesus declared “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7b), and now He said “I am the good shepherd”. It is noteworthy that Jesus said the rather than a good shepherd. There was only One who was worthy enough to claim that unique position. But the picture is emerging of Jesus being the protector of His flock, first by protecting them in the sheepfold by preventing wolves, thieves and robbers from stealing them, and then by looking after them as they followed Him towards good pastures. Sheep are incredibly helpless animals and need a lot of looking after, but all they had to do, to ensure their health and safety, was to trust and follow the shepherd.
This parable however was mainly devoted to building a picture of human needs and God’s provision. Faced with the human equivalent of wolves, thieves and robbers, a person is relatively helpless, and this is even more true in the spiritual realm. Without God in their lives, a person’s spirit will wander aimlessly through a life that leads to a nasty end, but beforehand will experience attacks from all and any evil sources. But those who enter through the Gate, that is Jesus, will find a place of safety and comfort. God’s spiritual sheepfold is a place unreachable by the devil’s wolves, thieves and robbers.
But we should also note that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was prepared to sacrifice His life in the protection of His sheep. The death of a shepherd protecting his flock was not an unusual event in the days of sheep herding in Palestine two thousand years ago. But as we know, Jesus was prepared to give His life for the sake of His sheep., and he did so at Calvary just a year or two after He told this parable to the people round Him. Jesus could have run away from the sheep, as a hired hand would most likely have done when the flock was faced with a wolfish attack or some other danger. But instead, as the Good Shepherd promised, He sacrificed His life so that His flock at that time and down through the following generations, would be protected. The power of the enemy was defeated at Calvary and through Jesus we sheep have eternal protection for our souls.
Dear Father God. We praise and worship our Good Shepherd today and every day, with grateful hearts. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 