John 10:11-13 “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."
In John 10, we get to see an incredible characteristic of Jesus when he says, "I am the good shepherd". Sheep and shepherding are things the people around Jesus would have known and understood. Sheep are known to be very foolish animals. They rely fully on their shepherd to keep them alive, to guide them, and to direct them. Even with the shepherd's guidance, the sheep still tend to wander away and put themselves in dangerous situations. I always find it humorous that we are compared to sheep in scripture because it may seem like an insult, but it is so true of our nature.
One of the things that shepherds would have to keep an eye out for was predators looking to kill their sheep. We get to see a beautiful picture of who Jesus is here in this text. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. However, the hired hand does not lay his life down for the sheep and protect them. The hired hand doesn't own the sheep, so when they see the wolves coming, they abandon the sheep and run. Because of this, the flock is attacked and scattered. Jesus is comparing the hired hands to the religious leaders at the time who cared only about themselves and not the people. When personal risk or loss faces them, they run instead of protecting the flock. They only care for what the sheep can do for them.
We see the opposite with Jesus though. Jesus owns the sheep. He watches over them. He lays his life down to save his sheep. In just one verse we can see the compassion Jesus has for his people. He is willing to lay his life down for his own flock to save and protect them. What care the Good Shepherd has for us! This points us back to the ultimate act of love that Jesus displayed for us on the cross. He willingly gave his life to give his sheep, his people, a way to salvation from our sins. The greatest act of love the world has ever seen!
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
Do you see Jesus as your Good Shepherd?
How does that view change your daily perspective of Jesus?
In John 10, we get to see an incredible characteristic of Jesus when he says, "I am the good shepherd". Sheep and shepherding are things the people around Jesus would have known and understood. Sheep are known to be very foolish animals. They rely fully on their shepherd to keep them alive, to guide them, and to direct them. Even with the shepherd's guidance, the sheep still tend to wander away and put themselves in dangerous situations. I always find it humorous that we are compared to sheep in scripture because it may seem like an insult, but it is so true of our nature.
One of the things that shepherds would have to keep an eye out for was predators looking to kill their sheep. We get to see a beautiful picture of who Jesus is here in this text. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. However, the hired hand does not lay his life down for the sheep and protect them. The hired hand doesn't own the sheep, so when they see the wolves coming, they abandon the sheep and run. Because of this, the flock is attacked and scattered. Jesus is comparing the hired hands to the religious leaders at the time who cared only about themselves and not the people. When personal risk or loss faces them, they run instead of protecting the flock. They only care for what the sheep can do for them.
We see the opposite with Jesus though. Jesus owns the sheep. He watches over them. He lays his life down to save his sheep. In just one verse we can see the compassion Jesus has for his people. He is willing to lay his life down for his own flock to save and protect them. What care the Good Shepherd has for us! This points us back to the ultimate act of love that Jesus displayed for us on the cross. He willingly gave his life to give his sheep, his people, a way to salvation from our sins. The greatest act of love the world has ever seen!
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
Do you see Jesus as your Good Shepherd?
How does that view change your daily perspective of Jesus?