I Am the Good Shepherd: John 10:1-18

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.

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees who had just expelled the healed blind man. His imagery cut deep—they claimed to be shepherds of Israel, but how did they enter?

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.

By name. Not numbered, not herded, not driven. Called individually, known personally. The shepherd knows each sheep.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

He goes ahead. The shepherd doesn't drive from behind—he leads from the front. Through every valley, past every predator, the shepherd walks first.

But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

The sheep know the difference. A stranger's voice brings fear and flight. The shepherd's voice brings trust and following.

Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

They missed it. The blind man had understood more than these seeing leaders.

Therefore Jesus said again, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

I am the gate. The first of the I AM statements in this passage. Jesus is the entrance—the only legitimate way in.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

Not the prophets—they pointed to Jesus. But the false shepherds who exploited rather than served.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Saved. Safe. Fed. The gate provides security and provision.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Life to the full. Abundant life. Not just survival but flourishing. The contrast could not be sharper—thieves steal life; Jesus gives it.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd. Another I AM. And this shepherd doesn't just tend—he dies. 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.

Hired hands flee when danger comes. It's not their flock, not their investment, not their love. The wolf attacks and they are already gone.

The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

The motivation matters. Hired hands work for wages. The shepherd works from love.

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.

Mutual knowing. The relationship between shepherd and sheep mirrors the relationship between Father and Son. Intimate. Personal. Costly.

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.

Other sheep. Gentiles. People beyond Israel. One flock, one shepherd—the vision expanded beyond ethnic boundaries.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

Voluntary sacrifice. No one takes his life—he gives it. And he has authority to take it back. The cross would not be defeat but decision.

The Pharisees who expelled a healed man claimed to shepherd Israel. Jesus exposed them as hirelings at best, thieves at worst. He alone was the good shepherd—knowing his sheep by name, leading them to life, laying down his life for their protection.