What did Jesus mean when He said "I am the good Shepherd?"

Here, then, is the great characteristic of the Good Shepherd — He gives His life for the sheep. He is the Christ who has died; and if He died for all, then were all dead (2 Cor. 5:14). This brings in the whole secret of redemption. The sheep had gone astray — were lost, and would have perished everlastingly, but the Good Shepherd went after that which was lost — even down into death — the death of the cross — and sought until He found. This explains to us the epithet — "Good" Shepherd. All we like sheep had gone astray, and turned every one to his own way; but the Good Shepherd offered Himself for our sins, gave His life for the sheep, and the Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6). As the Apostle Paul reasons, seeking to extol the unprecedented character of God's love, "When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commends His love toward us. in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:6-8), The whole heart of Christ, as well as of God, was revealed by His death; for there was nothing in us to draw out His affection, to move Him to take our place, and to redeem us with His precious blood. "In the same night in which He was betrayed, He took bread and gave thanks "and founded the memorial of His accomplished sacrifice. Thus side by side we behold His perfect goodness, and man's perfect evil; but the full exhibition of what man was could not hinder the manifestation of what He was. Nay, just as the light of the sun when shining on a dark thundercloud seems all the more bright and intense, so the love, grace, and goodness of Christ are magnified by the unmitigated evil which on man's part brought Him to the cross. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

The Good Shepherd. — But this really necessitated His death. No spiritual blessing could one born in sin enjoy, apart from the Lord's atoning death. All that saints had enjoyed from Abel till the Lord's day was bestowed in view of His sacrifice to be offered up, of which sacrifices in the past were but typical. We can read that in Abel being accepted, but with his offering; and in Noah and his sons being blessed only when the burnt offering had ascended to God. So we read, "I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (11). Who but the Lord, the Lord of glory, ever offered to do this? Who but the sinless One could do it? It is here in this discourse (11) that the Lord first in plain language speaks of His death, and that for the sheep. Needing life, as all of them do, He would provide it, and He would die that they might for ever possess it. Love indeed was this! What interest, too, in His sheep! What blessedness to form one of that company which He designates as His own (4)! And why such interest in them? A contrast here comes out between a mere hireling and a shepherd, and drawn by the Good Shepherd. The hireling would think first of his own safety, and would seek for that in flight. Seeing the wolf coming, he flees, and leaves the sheep. He is but an hireling. The sheep are not his. He has no real concern about them. But the Shepherd — would He flee, and seek for safety thereby? The sheep are His own. He has an interest in them. He would face the danger to save them (12, 13).

Now this reads like a chapter in natural life, a picture of that which might have any day been witnessed of keepers of sheep in the East. The wolf coming, the hireling fleeing, the sheep scattered — all that on the one hand. On the other might be seen a shepherd defending his sheep at all cost to himself. But, remembering who it is here speaks, and of what He speaks, we learn that it is not a mere picture of natural life, but has a meaning far beyond that. The sheep are Christ's, because given to Him of His Father (29); and the laying down of His life was an absolute necessity for their everlasting welfare. Yet this we never should have known apart from Divine revelation. The Father's gift to His Son! Then they must be precious to Him. And He delights to speak of that gift (John 6:37-39; 17:2, 6, 9-11; 18:9).

Further, He was not only the door of the sheep, and then the door for others to enter in, but He says (verse 11), "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." It is no longer only in contrast with a thief or a robber, with murderous intent or evidently selfish purposes of the worst kind, but there might be others characterised by a milder form of human iniquity — not destroyers of the sheep, but self-seeking men. "He that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep." Christ, as the good shepherd, does nothing of the kind, but remains to suffer all for them, instead of running away when the wolf came. "I am the good shepherd, and know those that are mine, and am known by mine, as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father." Such is the true sense of the verse. The 14th and 15th verses really form one sentence. They are not divided as we have them in our Bibles. The meaning is, that He showed Himself as the good Shepherd because He knew the sheep, and was known of them, just as He knew the Father, and was known of the Father. The mutuality of knowledge between the Father and the Son is the pattern of the knowledge between the Shepherd and the sheep. In what a wondrous place this puts us and the character of knowledge we possess. The knowledge which grace gives to the sheep is so truly divine that the Lord has nothing to compare it with, except the knowledge that exists between the Father and the Son. Nor is it merely a question of knowledge, intimate and perfect and divine as it is; but, moreover, "I lay down my life for the sheep." Other sheep, too, He intimates here, He had, who were to be brought in, that did not belong to the Jewish fold; He clearly looks out into the world, as always in the gospel of John. There was to be one flock (not fold), one Shepherd.

218 This is the general position, but there is more (v. 10). Jesus, in contrast with all the false pretenders, who only came to steal and to kill, came that we might have life, and that we might have it in abundance. The first expression is the object of His coming in general, which characterises the Gospel, and also the Epistle, of John: it is the Son of God come down, that we might live through Him. He is the eternal life which was with the Father, and gives life, and becomes Himself our life. (Compare 1 John 4:9; ch. 1:2; ch. 5:11-12; John 3:15-16; one might multiply quotations.) The second part of the sentence shews the character and fulness of this life: this life is in the Son. Having the Son, we have life, and we have it according to the power of His resurrection. The faithful in old times were quickened; but here it is the Son Himself who becomes our life, and that as Man risen from amongst the dead. We have it "abundantly." This 10th verse gives us the great purpose of the coming of the Son of God; but His love must unfold itself fully; He is not only the Shepherd, but the "Good Shepherd," and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. His death has done everything for them; it has redeemed them, washed them from their sins, justified them, purchased them for heaven; however, I think the object of the passage is the love and devotedness of the Good Shepherd; rather than lose His sheep, He lays down His life. The hireling thinks of himself, and runs away; and the wolf comes and seizes the sheep, and scatters them. In Gethsemane, Jesus said: "If ye seek me, let these go their way." Those who have the place of shepherds, abandon the sheep when the enemy comes; He lays down His life, rather than leave them a prey to the wolf. But there is yet more: the Good Shepherd knows His own, and His own know Him, as the Father had known Him, and He had known the Father. Wonderful position! Wonderful relationship! Jesus had been the object of His Father's heart; in the same way His sheep were the objects of His heart. Taught of God, His sheep knew Him, and trusted in Him, as He trusted in the Father; and He lays down His life for them. But in laying down His life, He opens the door to the sheep from amongst the Gentiles, which He must also bring, and they should hear His voice. With both one and the other, all should be the fruit of His heart and of His mouth, and there should be but one flock, and one Shepherd. As to man, this completes the fruit of the Lord's work, at least down here.

Next we have, in verses 12-15, the contrast between the hireling and the Good Shepherd. The hireling is not necessarily evil like the thief; but being a man who works for wages, his interest is primarily a monetary one. The sheep are of interest to him in so far as they are the means of his livelihood. He does not really care for them to the extent of risking his skin on their behalf. It is far otherwise with the Shepherd, who lays down His life for them and establishes a link of wonderful intimacy. His sheep are men, and hence capable of knowing Him in an intimate way; so much so that His knowledge of them and their knowledge of Him can be compared to the Father's knowledge of Himself and His knowledge of the Father. And we must remember that it is by the knowledge of Him that we come to know the Father. Nothing at all approaching this had been possible in the Jewish fold before the Shepherd came.

The Lord's words in verse 16 add another unexpected development. He was about to find sheep who had been outside that fold. There was to be the calling of an election from among the Gentiles. We see the beginning of this early in the Acts — the Ethiopian in Acts 8, Cornelius and his friends in Acts 10. We have often dwelt upon the "must" which occurs several times in John 3: have we ever praised God for the "must" here? — "them also I MUST bring." Sinners of the Gentiles become the subjects of the Divine work. They hear the Shepherd's voice and are attached to Him. Then, as a result of this two-fold calling — from Jewish fold and from the straying Gentiles — there is to be established one flock, held together under the authority of the one Shepherd. The word in this verse is definitely "flock" and not "fold." Sheep held together by outward restrictions: that was Judaism. Sheep constituted a flock by the personal power and attraction of the Shepherd: that is Christianity.

The hireling does not necessarily set forth that which is destructive to Christianity, but rather the false principle of serving for hire, and making merchandise out of the sheep. Hence the door is opened to a large class whose first motive is self and not the sheep, so that, in the presence of a difficulty, they think only of their own safety and convenience and flee, leaving the sheep at the very moment when the sheep are most in need of care. Let us beware, when difficulties arise among the people of God, lest acting on the principle of the hireling, we think only of our own safety and comfort in our own path, and so desert the sheep in the time of danger and distress. The wolf sets forth those who, under false pretensions, enter the flock and scatter the sheep.

John 10:14-15. In contrast with the hireling, the Good Shepherd cares for His sheep. He knows His sheep with a perfect knowledge. Their weakness, their ignorance, their tendency to wander, and their many needs, are all known to Him, and knowing them He loves them with a love that led Him to lay down His life for the sheep. The sheep in their measure know the Shepherd — His perfection, His wisdom, His power and His love.

One has said, "Jesus had been the Object of His Father's heart; in the same way His sheep were the objects of His heart. Taught of God, His sheep knew Him, and trusted in Him as He trusted in the Father" (N.Tn.).

John 10:16. The Shepherd of the sheep has led His sheep outside the Jewish fold and opened the door to "any man" to enter into the new blessings of the flock. Manifestly, then, the flock cannot be limited to sheep from among the Jews. There are other sheep that the Shepherd must bring from amongst the Gentiles. They too shall hear His voice (cf John 17:20; Acts 13:46-48; Acts 15:7). His sheep thus separated from the Jewish fold and the Gentile nations would form one flock under one Shepherd.

What is the characteristic feature that distinguishes "The good Shepherd" from all other shepherds? He Himself, Who heads this Psalm, has told us: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" Since the days of Abel, there have been many faithful shepherds, who, like Moses and David, tended their flocks with the care of a kind shepherd. They were, humanly speaking, "good shepherds." But "a good shepherd," or "some good shepherd," is not "The Good Shepherd;" or "The Shepherd — the good One."

The word "the" implies, that there is only one, who can be said to be worthy of that title, and who stands consequently at the head of his flock. Can this title be accorded to Moses, who was faithful as servant over God's House, and pleaded with God for the flock, saying, "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; — and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written?" The same Moses said, not long after, "Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swearest unto their fathers? I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me." Or can that attribute be accorded to that excellent shepherd, David? He protected his father's sheep, intrusted to his care, at the risk of his own life. He thus proved himself, through the grace and help of God, to be indeed the very best of all good shepherds amongst men. But could David, for all that, ever be called, "The good Shepherd?" No, David has not given, nor could he "give" his life. "Staking," and "giving" one's life, are two widely different things, though, on the first aspect, they may appear to the natural eye almost equally meritorious, or even identical. But "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." There was only one, — Jesus Christ, perfect Man and perfect God — Who had power to lay down His life, and power to take it again, because He was the Son of God, Who had "life in Himself," whilst our lives — as being created — are not our own. And He only could give His life, as perfect Man — because His life had not, like ours, been forfeited by sin. Therefore Jesus alone, and none other, can be called "The good Shepherd."

There is another characteristic attribute of our "good Shepherd." He knows His sheep and is known of them. Jesus repeats (John 10:14): "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." They know His voice, and follow the Good Shepherd, Who, when here below, was always to be found at the head of His flock. Neither the combined craftiness of the Pharisees and Sadducees, — as another has observed — nor all the power of the Herods and Pilates, could prevent one single sheep of Israel's fold from hearing the voice of the true and good Shepherd. The porter (His heavenly Father) opened, and the sheep heard His voice, and He led them out. "And when he putteth forth His own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." How simple and precious all this is! The sheep "hear his voice," and they "know his voice:" and "to know" the voice of a good and faithful leader, and to "follow him," is, for a true sheep, the same.

It is also said that the sheep know the Shepherd. They not only know His voice; but they also know Himself. "I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine, even as the Father knows Me, and I the Father" (John 10:14-15). This is the highest blessing of which the sheep are capable; for it implies entering into His own thoughts, ways, and desires, yea, the knowledge of Himself. It is thus that we are brought into communion with Him. We may know His voice, and be following Him, and yet be without much acquaintance with His character. To know Him, is what John gives as descriptive of the fathers in God's family. "I have written to you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning" (1 John 2:13). This, therefore, is the highest and most blessed attainment which the believer can make. And the Lord desires that it should be made — and in an infinite measure — "as the Father knows Me, and I the Father." He knows us, and He desires that we should know Him. May He Himself lead us into an ever-increasing acquaintance with Himself, so keep Himself before our souls that we may grow daily in the knowledge of Him — of what He is, as well as what He is to us, and for us — through the power of the Holy Ghost!

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine, as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father” (N.Tr.). The Lord Jesus Christ, in order to give us an idea of the intimacy which will exist between Himself, the Good Shepherd, and the sheep, has to tell us of the intimacy which exists between the Father and the Son. This is far better than visiting terms: these are at home terms. What is the intimacy between the Father and the Son? Can I explain it? I do not need to explain it. Each one of you by the Spirit know that it is the closest, deepest, and most wonderful communion, without a cloud, without any thing to mar or hinder. That is the pattern of the intimacy between the Good Shepherd and His sheep. What a contrast to Judaism, where there was distance. How much do we know of this intimacy? Think of what a wonderful place we are brought into.

There is a very slight alteration in the translation which makes the meaning of our Lord more clear, “I am the good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known of my sheep, and the Father knoweth me and I know the Father”. He is saying in effect there is a link, a very great intimacy between Himself as the Shepherd and the sheep who are really His. This is something you will very rarely find today. If I were to appeal to a shepherd here who has sheep he would tell me he has a very good man who looks after the sheep, but they are his sheep, there is a vast difference between the human mind and the poor sheep. There cannot be actually very much concert between them, but the Lord says there is in this case. He is using the figure to illustrate what, by the grace of God, we now know. He says, ‘I am the Good Shepherd and there is going to be, between the sheep and Myself, an intimacy which in its wonderful character is reminiscent of the intimacy which exists between the Father Himself and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ’. That intimacy is established on the basis of His death, “I lay down my life for the sheep. Here indeed is a wonderful thing, a thing of course you cannot find in the man who is merely the hireling, there is not this intimacy which the Lord indicates here. How can it be?