11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
What is the definition of good? I like the way R.C. Sproul often states that good is related to who or what you are describing. A good dog is housebroken and doesn’t chew up your slippers. You would not define a good man in the same way. Jesus defined good for people in Mark 10:18, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (ESV). To recognize a good shepherd is to know that he must be God. This points us back to Psalm 23 and David’s description of God as a shepherd. Briefly, the Lord does the following as a good shepherd:
· He provides for our physical needs (1-2).
· He provides for our spiritual needs (3).
· He provides for our emotional needs (4).
· He provides for our relational needs (5).
· He provides for our eternal needs (6)
Since Jesus explains that he lays down his life for the sheep, he is focusing on our eternal needs. This is the most important aspect of Jesus being our good shepherd.
When we belong to Jesus, we can be assured that he will provide for our needs in all these areas. If we want to have a balanced life, we should memorize and meditate on the 23rd Psalm. It shows us how much the Lord cares for us and meets all our needs. We don’t need to feel anxious, guilty, lonely, fearful of this life or our eternity.
12 “The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
Jesus provides the contrast between the hired hand and a good shepherd. The first point is that the hired hand doesn’t own the sheep. This tells us that the sheep belong to the good shepherd. In other words, this is a clear indication that the sheep have been chosen for the shepherd. Since we belong to the Lord by his calling (Rom 1:6-7) and by his purchase (Rev 5:9 NIV) Jesus isn’t going to run away when he sees us in spiritual or physical trouble. He has an ownership interest in each of us.
The hired hand is a slam against the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the priests and kings of the Old Testament. They only took care of Israel and Judah so far as it profited them. God rebuked them harshly in Ezekiel 34:2-6. They went so far as to devour the sheep instead of feeding them, meaning that they used their position of power to oppress the people and even led them into idolatrous practices. Because of their self-interests they essentially abandoned the people spiritually so that they fell to the wolves of their time, the idols and false religions.
There are many “pastors” and “ministers” of our own time who fall into the same category as the hired hands. They are more interested in their own popularity or financial position than they are the people they are supposed to be shepherding. What’s even worse is that they lead their people into false gospels of wealth and prosperity, easy believism, or Christless religiosity.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
How well do you think the Father knows Jesus? Is it a causal relationship where they meet for lunch every few months? Are they Facebook friends? Absolutely not! It is so intimate that it is described as being in the Father’s bosom (John 1:18 KJV). Most of the translations fail to capture the meaning of the intimacy this expresses. The NLT does a good job as it says, “But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Father's heart” ( John 1:18).
Jesus says he know us in the same way and that is the way we should know him. Is Jesus near to our hearts? Do we love Jesus and know him in an intimate way, or do we just know about him? If it is the latter, then we may be in deep trouble. Jesus made it clear that salvation is more than just knowing about Jesus. We don’t want to be like the foolish virgins who showed up late to the wedding feast only to hear, “But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matt 25:12 ESV).
16 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.
What is the weirdest interpretation of this verse you have ever heard? The Mormons claim that Jesus was referring to the Central Americans (Lamanites and Nephites) who were the remnants of the tribe of Joseph who were taken to the American continent.[1]Then there must be some people who believe that Jesus was referring to extraterrestrials or at least the possibility. While I didn’t find anyone who firmly advocated it, I did find several references to the idea while doing a Google search. I include this simply to show that without good exegesis, you can imagine Scripture says whatever you want.
Jesus is clearly referring to the fact that God has always acknowledge that salvation is not limited to Jews but is also available to Gentiles. His promise for this is found in Genesis 17:4-5, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations” (ESV). It is reiterated in Psalm 45:17 “I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever” (ESV). It was revealed to us as described by Paul in Ephesians 3:5-6, “It has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (ESV).
Gentile salvation is based on being called by Jesus and responding to his voice. He brings us into the same body, the Church as he does believing Jews. There is no difference.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:26-29 NASU)
Any time we start thinking that there is a different means of salvation for one group of people or another, we should take a deep dive into the Bible and remember that redemption has been the subject ever since Genesis 3 when the first sin occurred to Revelation 22 where we see the final reality of our salvation. It is always by faith and God gives us faith. It doesn’t come from our own possible goodness or merit.
17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 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."
Did Jesus earn God’s love? No way! We already talked about Jesus being near God’s heart. His love for Jesus is eternal. The wording of the NIV and others seem to imply that this is the only reason God loves Jesus. However other verses show that his love is more than this. John 17:23-26 explains that God loved Jesus from eternity past. It also says that God loves us in the same way as he loves Jesus and that God’s love may be in us. If the only reason the Father loves Jesus is because of his sacrifice, then the only way he could love us is if we also lay down our lives and take them up again.
Ok, in one sense we do lay down our lives when we are saved. But we don’t take it up again. Jesus takes up our lives. Romans 6:5 says, “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (NIV). This is all God’s doing. We can’t take credit for it and we certainly can’t think that God will love us more or less because we are simply responding to what he does in us.
Now there is some sticky theological questions that are brought up in this passage and that has to do with Jesus saying that he has the authority to take his life up again. Laying his life down seems to not be a problem because he surrendered himself to be crucified and John 19:30 says he gave up his spirit. But how could he take up his life again? I can’t put it any better than The Bible Exposition Commentary:
Sometimes the Scriptures teach that it was the Father who raised the Son (Acts 2:32; Rom 6:4; Heb 13:20). Here, the Son stated that He had authority to take up His life again. Both are true, for the Father and the Son worked together in perfect harmony (John 5:17,19). In a previous sermon, Jesus had hinted that He had power to raise Himself from the dead (John 5:26). Of course, this was a claim that the Jews would protest; because it was tantamount to saying "I am God!"[2]
Though Jesus is both God and man, his physical body can die, but God the Son can’t die and he can raise the physical man, Jesus in conjunction with the God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" 21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
We are often like the Jews. We focus on the last words we hear in a conversation or an argument but not on the big picture. Jesus says he can take up his life again and they go bonkers. Share the gospel with someone and if you end with the resurrection, you are likely going to get the same reaction. This is the usual reaction of the intellectuals as Paul also experienced in Acts 17:32, “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked” (NKJV).
The good news is that not everyone is a skeptic or mocker. Some will look at the big picture and consider more than the last few words. They will consider Jesus’ miracles and the way he spoke with authority (Mark 1:27). So don’t give up when people mock you. There may be some who are eavesdropping and will want to learn more.
[1]“Book of Mormon,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed August 8, 2022, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, Introduction and Witnesses.
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, “John 10:17-21,” in The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989).
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