Wednesday, August 23, 2006 · no responses · comments closed

I’ve been thinking about Jesus calling himself “the good shepherd” and wondering why He added good. In John 10, He identifies the various players in this picture of sheep and shepherd: there’s the gatekeeper, the stranger, the shepherd, the hired hand, and the thief.

As He sets up His illustration, Jesus makes clear that the shepherd enters by the door or gate and that the sheep know his voice; the shepherd is legitimate. He makes clear that only the shepherd has the true interest of the sheep at heart. Then He brings it home, declaring:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd.

Jesus is more than just a shepherd; He’s the good shepherd. The Greek for this word indicates that it has to do with being excellent, noble, praiseworthy, as something ought to be. Jesus, then, is what a shepherd ought to be.

Why? Jesus follows His declaration by saying that the good shepherd “lays down his life for the sheep”, and He repeats this a little later: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” We know that unlike a hired hand, a shepherd will protect and defend his sheep; Jesus goes one better: He will die for His sheep.

There’s another characteristic that sets Jesus apart: “I know the Father.” The relationship of Jesus and His sheep is like that of Jesus and His Father; they know each other. And He goes on to say that He is carrying out the charge that His Father gave Him. In the rest of the chapter, John shows us how Jesus develops this idea in another setting. When Jesus further explains His relationship and identification with the Father, He concludes that “I and the Father are one.” This statement was so startling that some wanted to kill Jesus because they understood Him to claim divinity. And that’s certainly true. My interest in this passage, though, is what it tells us about Jesus’ intentions, about His heart.

A few years ago, my pastor asked me to write and revise the copy on the church web site; the fact that I’m a writer certainly made me a likely candidate for the work. Truth is, though, Chris could have hired many others who were much more skilled at writing the kind of copy needed for the site. What set me apart in this instance, as Chris put it, was that I “knew his heart.” He didn’t want just information presented grammatically; he wanted his heart — his passion and vision for the church — to permeate the way that information was presented. Because I knew Chris before he started the church, because I saw where he had come from and how he was doing things differently, I was able to communicate his intent.

Jesus is the good shepherd because He knows the Father’s heart. The heart of God — His passion and vision for us — informs, permeates, and motivates all that Jesus does as shepherd. This blesses me. We’ve all seen those paintings of Jesus holding the lamb, and frankly, that image never did much for me. It seemed like a way to make Jesus appear attractive and friendly to children (which is not a bad thing, of course). And I’ve heard sermons about how sheep need a shepherd because sheep are stupid and we are stupid too. That didn’t do much for me either.

Jesus presents Himself as the good shepherd not to tell us something about sheep; the parable tells us about Him. He says, “you’re in capable hands. I know what I’m doing, and even better, your needs are important to me. I know what the Father wants for you, and I want the same thing too. I’ll fight to the death to keep you safe.” That speaks to me.