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My sister and I always played with the bottle lambs growing up, but one particular year, we spent a lot of time with them and made them our friends. Eventually, it was time to wean the lambs, so the bottle lambs got put in with all the other lambs. The barn where they had shelter was in the pasture next to our house, so we would go out and visit our bottle lamb friends. And I have this very vivid memory of going out there one time, and all the bottle lambs came running to us, while all the other lambs ran away.
This is the picture I have in my head when the Bible talks about the sheep knowing their shepherd. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice and follow him, but sheep run away from a stranger’s voice. To the bottle lambs, we were the voice that they knew—their “shepherd.” They knew they could trust us, and they loved us, so they came to us. To the other lambs, we were strangers. They were afraid of us, so they ran away.
Jesus tells us about the shepherd and the sheep in John 10. He is the good shepherd. His sheep know his voice, and they follow him. He tells us how sheep react to the shepherd versus a stranger. Let’s look at John 10:1-18 to see what Jesus has to say about the good shepherd.
10 “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. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 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. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 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. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
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. 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. 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.”
In both John 10:11 and 10:14, we see the I AM statement for this lesson: “I AM the Good Shepherd.” Let’s look more closely at this statement.
1. What is the story surrounding Jesus’ I AM statement?
This story has the same context as the lesson on “I AM the Gate for the Sheep.” Jesus has just healed a man born blind, connecting to his statement that “I AM the Light of the World.” The Pharisees were angry that Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath and that the man who was healed claimed that Jesus was from God.
In today’s passage, Jesus is again talking to the Pharisees. He’s making a bold claim that he is the shepherd, and he is going to lay down his life for the sheep. But then he also said that he will take up his life again. What does that mean? Many of the Jews who were listening, and I would assume this includes most of the Pharisees, claimed that Jesus was demon-possessed and raving mad, and no one should listen to him. But others were convinced that someone possessed by a demon could not be doing the things that Jesus was doing.
2. What would this statement have meant to the original audience?
As we saw last week, shepherds and sheep were common in Jesus’ day and in Jesus’ area. What would the people have understood about shepherds and sheep?
Characteristics of sheep:
Sheep follow the leader, even if the leader is taking them into danger. For example, if the lead sheep jumps off a cliff to its death, the other sheep would follow. They don’t understand the consequences of danger.
Sheep do not have the knowledge to find good pasture or water on their own. Without someone to guide them, they will die of starvation and dehydration.
Sheep do not have any defense mechanisms. They are easy prey for a predator. They don’t run as fast as predators, they aren’t smart enough to hide (and they have no camouflage), and they have no claws or other defense mechanisms to fight back.
Sheep that wander away and get lost are unable to find their way back to the flock. They don’t have tracking senses or directional skills like dogs that would help them find their way back home.
Characteristics of a good shepherd:
The good shepherd leads the sheep to safety. The good shepherd knows where the harm is or where the threats are and leads sheep away from those places and into a place of safety.
The good shepherd knows the lay of the land. The good shepherd knows where the good pastures are in different seasons, and they know where to find adequate water for the sheep. The shepherd leads the sheep to the best food and water available.
The good shepherd cares for his sheep. If a sheep is injured or sick, the shepherd takes special care of the sheep, keeping it close by and making sure it has food and water and medical care until it is well and can join the other sheep.
The good shepherd protects the sheep. Because of the shepherd’s presence, many predators will leave flocks of sheep alone. If a predator does attack the sheep, the shepherd will defend the sheep, going to battle with the predator until the predator leaves or is killed. If needed, the good shepherd will even go so far as to give his own life to protect the sheep.
The good shepherd knows his sheep by name, and he notices when one is missing. If he sees that a sheep is missing, he goes after it and searches until he finds it (see Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7). Then he celebrates when it is found.
In John 10, Jesus is equating himself to the good shepherd, and he is equating his people to the sheep. We’ll look more closely at what this means in a spiritual sense next week in Part 2 of this lesson.
Next Week
Now that we have some background into sheep and shepherds and what the Jewish people knew about them, next week we will look more closely at what Jesus meant when he said that “I AM the Good Shepherd.” If you haven’t subscribed yet, now’s a great time to do so!
Expedition Bible
As I was watching Expedition Bible episodes, I came across a great video on sheep and shepherds in the Middle East. They still care for sheep today in much the same way they did in Jesus’ time. This episode has insights into the Living Water, Gate for the Sheep, and Good Shepherd lessons. I encourage you to watch it!
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