John 10:1-21
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
1 “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.”
19 The Jews who heard these words 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?”
The job of shepherd in Israel took a turn from a positive position in the time of our Patriarchs to a low spot in Canaan and Israel from the time of Genesis to the time of Jesus...In fact our LORD and our God is referred to as My Shepherd in the beautiful twenty third Psalm...Yet, by Jesus; time, the shepherd was a lowly position in society...
Joachim Jeremias was a German Lutheran theologian, scholar of Near Eastern Studies and university professor for New Testament studies...He wrote about the position of shepherds in the time of Jesus...Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd, yet others have wrote about hireling shepherds in the context of the Good Shepherd...In the meaning of the hireling shepherd he is one who is careless in watching his sheep, in contrast to Jesus...Jesus is the Good Shepherd...The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep...A hireling shepherd is not like that...He is one who is not caring of his sheep...He does not give the sheep his careful attention...He leaves the sheep and flees when if sees the wolf or danger coming, and the wolf pounces down on the sheep and scatters them...The reason why the hireling flees is that he is a hireling, and does not care for the sheep...He would not lay down his life for a sheep...He may not even go look if one of his sheep became lost...They might just stay lost...In the case of a wolf, a thief, a problem or danger the hireling leaves...He has no resemblance to the Good Shepherd who is attentive and cares for His sheep, and will give His Own Life for His sheep...
In the first century, it seems, shepherds -- specifically, hireling shepherds -- had a rather unsavory reputation...Jeremias cites Rabbinic sources to the effect that "most of the time they were dishonest and thieving; they led their herds onto other people's land and pilfered the produce of the land."...Because they were often months at a time without supervision, they were often accused of stealing some of the increase of the flock...Consequently, the pious were warned not to buy wool, milk, or kids from shepherds on the assumption that it was stolen property...Shepherds were not allowed to fulfill a judicial office or be admitted in court as witnesses...A midrash on Psalm 23:2 reads, "There is no more disreputable occupation than that of a shepherd."...Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (25 BC - 45 AD), wrote about looking after sheep and goats, "Such pursuits are held mean and inglorious."...
Author and former Pastor Randy Alcorn writes, “Dr. Joachim Jeremias says shepherds were ‘despised in everyday life.’...In general, they were considered second-class and untrustworthy...Rabbis banned pasturing sheep and goats in Israel, except on desert plains...The Mishnah, Judaism’s written record of the oral law, also reflects this prejudice, referring to shepherds in belittling terms...One passage describes them as ‘incompetent’; another says no one should ever feel obligated to rescue a shepherd who has fallen into a pit...Jeremias documents the fact that shepherds were deprived of all civil rights...They could not fulfill judicial offices or be admitted in court as witnesses...He wrote, ‘To buy wool, milk or a kid from a shepherd was forbidden on the assumption that it would be stolen property.’...In Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, Jeremias notes: “The rabbis ask with amazement how, in view of the despicable nature of shepherds, one can explain why God was called ‘My Shepherd’ in Psalm 23:1.”...
It is not surprising the Jesus relates tp the people herding sheep...He is the Good Shepherd...Jesus is the gate for His sheep...All who have come before Him were thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them...Jesus is the gate; whoever enters through Him will be saved...They will come in and go out, and find pasture...The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Jesus has come that we may have life, and have life to the full...The Good Shepherd is our Savior, our Savior from our own sins and faults...