The Good Shepherd

Sheperds or sheep herders are charged with protecting the sheep from wolves and other perils. The shepherd leads the sheep, feeds the sheep, and takes care of them. Jesus said, "The sheep know the Sheperd's voice." (John 10"27). The Lord then goes on to identify himself as the Good Sheperd, "I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11). Christ is using a parable, for the sheep are not animals but God's people.

Throughout the Bible shepherds were part of major events in God's plan. There is Moses who was sheep herder at Medina and it was as shepherd that he went to Mount Sinai, saw the Burning Bush, and was commissioned by the Almighty to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1). There was David, son of Jesse who was tending to a flock of sheep when the Prophet Samuel came to anoint the next king of Israel. David would become the next king of Israel. (1 Samuel 17:15). There were shepherds who came and beheld the Chirst Child and to whom the Angel Gabriel said, "I come with glad tiding of great joy, for unto you is born the Christ, the Messiah and the Lord." (Luke 2:1-20). Its important to understand that shepherds have duo-purposes and meanings. In ancient Hebraic tradition, the next religious leaders, priests, and holymen begin their training as shepherds. The ability to tend to the flocks of actual sheep was training for directing and helping the human flocks of sheep.

Jesus gives a in depth teaching on the Good Shepard, He says,

"Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.
Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (abundantly).
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:1-18)

This length passage has many points for Jesus. First Jesus tells us that He is the shepherd and those who jump over the pen or gate are thieves and robbers. He tells us the sheep know the sheperds voice, an allusion to that God's people know God's voice and listen, follow Him, and obey him. He tells us that the shepherd goes before sheep and calls to them, so they are lead by the voice of the Lord. Jesus then tells us that sheep will not follow a stranger's voice. That the sheep only know the shepherd. Then Jesus tells us that He is the gate, the doorway. This has been allegorized by John Bunyan in his Pilgrim's Progress, that Jesus is the gate we must enter into to get to the Kingdom of Heaven, which I believe is true, but notice that Jesus says He is both the Good Shepherd and the Gate. So the sheep leave through the gate, captivity, and follow Christ wherever he leads them.

Jesus give us the famous verse, "that thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come to give you life abundantly." (). The thief is believed to be Satan, or anyone in his service that seeks to cause harm to God's people; the sheep. Our Savior then reiterates that "the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." This is unusual for shepherd in the physical sense, because why would a man risk his life for sheep? Well in Israel and to true sheep herders, sheep are his life, his flock. From sheep wool and meat is made into mutton. A good shepherd will risk his life against wolves, unlike the hired hands Jesus talks about who run at the sight of wolves. But the spiritual component or symbolism is here; Jesus is going to lay down his life for all mankind (his sheep). He even says there are sheep outside the pen whom he must call to himself, (verse 18).

The Good Shepherd parable is not the only one in which Jesus uses a shepherd and sheep to make a spiritual point about Himself and following Him. He mentions another, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. " (Matthew 1:14). This parable has a detail that many may not be aware of. Firstly, it is true that our Lord Jesus will go after stray sheep, those of His who are wandering off. But the detail that Hebrews know about shepherding is that when the shepherd finds the lost sheep he breaks its leg and slings it around the neck. This does two things, it makes the sheep dependent on the shepherd who must feed it and take care of it personally, but also is draws the sheep closer to the shepherd.
Sometimes God has to break out leg or cause a circumstance in our lives to get us to be close to Him again. We can wander off and thus need to be reminded that Jesus cares for us and for a time we need personal attention; tell we trust and know the Good Shepherd well enough again.


Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd. He is leading us in the wilderness of this world and if we trust Him and hear his voice and follow Him, He will lead us to Himself and to where we belong. However, there are times when our Lord will call us to be shepherds under Him! An example of this is when Risen Christ said to the Apostle Peter, "feed my sheep.. shepherd my sheep.. and tend my sheep.." (John 21:17). Jesus is the Good Shepherd and those under Him who held tend to the flocks are sheep herders in His service. Those who are to be sheperds of Christ bear a great burden and will be held accountable for how they feed, shepherded, and tended to the Sheep (Church).