“A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN”

St. John 10:11-21

Christ, Our Good Shepherd

As we approach this awesome subject of Christ being our Good Shepherd, let us pause to thank our Heavenly Father for His awesome Gift, Jesus Christ.  As the awesome Good Shepherd of verse 11, Christ is contrasting Himself to the Pharisees who were not genuine Shepherds.  The Good Shepherd demonstrated His care for the sheep by giving His life as a substitute for sin.  He was the only Lamb sufficient to save man, for John the Baptist said – “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

In verse 11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,” Christ presents another one of His “I Am” statements that unequivocally affirm His absolute Deity (see also St. John 6:35, 8:12, 10:7).  From verses 12 and 13, Christ is again contrasting the nature of a Good Shepherd to that of a hireling, one who only works for wages, with no heart interest for the sheep.  The hireling is not committed to the sheep; his only interest is his wage.  The hireling has no ownership of the sheep and will desert them when danger approaches!  Again, his real and genuine interest is only in temporary gains.  His character reveals his conduct, for in the time of a crisis, he will abandon the sheep because he is selfish and has no interest in the welfare of the sheep.

Do you really grasp the true picture of a hireling?  Whereas the hireling has no interest in the sheep, the Good Shepherd has an unusual intimacy with and great interest in the Sheep as verse 14 brings out.  Isn’t that something that we should ponder over?  The Good Shepherd knows His sheep!  Not only does He cares for, protects, provides, and guides us, but He knows us intimately!  Centuries ago, David was so awe stricken with regard to God’s omniscience for he wrote – “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2).

In verse 15, Christ stated that there exist a profound intimacy between the Father and Himself that is beyond description.  Jesus, the One who knows the Father intimately, voluntarily gave His life as a ransome for mankind (v. 15).   The “other sheep I have which are not of this fold” in verse 16 refers to Gentiles who would be saved.  It is indeed wonderful that now both believing Jews and Gentiles comprise what we call the one body – the church (Ephesians 2:16).  From verses 17 and 18, Christ makes an awesome prediction of His voluntary substitutionary death for man, and His resultant authority even over His own resurrection.  He is definitely the Lord over both life and death!  His sacrificial death for mankind was not a sign of defeat, but grand victory.  He got up triumphantly from the dead, because He had mastery over it!

As we conclude this section of John’s gospel (St. John 10:19-22), we have discovered that truth will bring about a two-fold reaction:  belief or unbelief.  Those who believe Christ will gain eternal life; and those who reject Christ will remain in spiritual darkness, with their destination being the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).  May God bless!