Jesus is the Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.’”

– John 10:14-15

Over the past 10 years or so, I’ve become an avid jogger, running about three times a week. Several years ago, I was jogging in the open desert when I saw a strange animal a few hundred yards ahead. It was too big to be a coyote, and if it was a stray dog, it was the fattest, most well-fed stray dog I’d ever seen. When I got closer, to my surprise, it turned out to be a sheep, and he had lots and lots of friends with him—including two sheepdogs. These dogs obviously took their job very seriously, because they came charging at me like a bat out of … a cave. Fortunately, before I had time to grab my emergency pepper spray out of my pocket, the dogs were called off by a quick whistle in the distance: the call of their shepherd.

That day I had my first and only encounter with two very well-trained sheepdogs … and an even better shepherd. One short command from him told those dogs not to make mincemeat out of me, and it was pretty amazing. (Not to mention a relief.)

In John 10, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd—and not just any good shepherd. The word he uses for “good” is the Greek word “kalos,” which doesn’t just refer to moral goodness. Kalos means moral, beautiful, magnificent and excellent both inside and out—the ideal or model of perfection. So when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd,” he is claiming to be the ideal shepherd, the very model of perfection. He’s not just the good shepherd—he’s the absolute best. And beginning in John 10:11, he goes on to highlight four important things he does as the model “Good Shepherd.”

1) Jesus dies for his sheep (vs. 11-13). Jesus laid down his life for the sins of the world, for the sins of any man, woman or child who would trust in him as Lord and Savior. And as the Good Shepherd, Jesus doesn’t die as a martyr for a cause that he stands for. He dies as a substitute, willingly laying his life down for his sheep.

2) Jesus knows and loves his sheep. In verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me … just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” Here, the word “know” is a translation of the Greek work “ginosko,” referring to a personal, even intimate knowledge of someone. A good shepherd knows his sheep, and likewise Jesus knows each of his followers backwards and forwards, inside and out. There’s no doubt in my mind that the very best part of heaven won’t be the great food, the streets of gold or the music that’s out of this world. The very best part of heaven will be our love relationship with our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

3) Jesus unites his sheep (verse 16). Jesus came to earth first to be the savior of the Jews and second to be the savior of everyone else. His purpose was always to lead his saved sheep out of their respective pens and unite them into one flock under the care of one Good Shepherd: Jesus himself. We don’t separate Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, just as we don’t separate black Christians and white Christians or male Christians and female Christians. We have one shepherd, and that shepherd has just one flock of sheep.

4) Jesus lives for his sheep (vs. 17-18). Jesus’ voluntary death was followed by his glorious resurrection. Yes, he died for you, but he also conquered death for you. He conquered death so that you could conquer death. He lives so that you can live—not just temporarily here on earth, but forever with him in heaven. The Good Shepherd died for his sheep, but he didn’t stop there. Jesus lives for his sheep. And for that we should be eternally grateful.

You see, Jesus didn’t come to earth and die on the cross and conquer death to gain admirers, or even to be a good teacher or a good role model. He came and died and rose again so that you could come out of the sheep pen of sin and death, walk through his gate of salvation and follow him for the rest of your life. Today is the day to walk through the gate. Today is the day to begin following the Good Shepherd. Today is the day.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Jesus is the Gate

“Jesus said, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

He will come in and go out, and find pasture.’” – John 10:9

Earlier this summer, I was down the hill visiting my wife’s family. My father-in-law, an avid hiker, asked if my wife and I would like to join him for an early morning hike. The three of us woke up bright and early and started our trek. But after only about 10 minutes, we hit an unexpected obstacle: A large, locked metal security gate blocked the trail. Normally a city employee would have unlocked the gate by this time, but obviously he was running late. What had started out as a pleasant outing came to an abrupt end, reminding us of a very important reality: Everyone needs an open gate.

In John 10, Jesus tries to explain this reality to the Pharisees. He had just healed a blind man in the temple courts, and as they tended to do, the Pharisees had a problem with this healing. When they confronted Jesus, he told them they were more blind than the man had been before his healing—because they were spiritually blind. Jesus then shifted to a familiar scene in Israel: a sheep pen. He said, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep” (John 10:1-2).

You see, in Jesus’ day, most shepherds in Israel had small flocks, and it was common for small villages to have only one sheep pen for the whole village. The pen was usually a wall of large rocks with only one break, or gate, through which the shepherds would usher their sheep every night. In the morning, each shepherd would come to the entrance of the sheep pen and call his sheep by name. Although the flocks were intermingled overnight, a sheep would only come out when it was called by its own shepherd.

During the night, a watchman guarded the entrance to the pen, so an intruder would have to get past him … unless they scaled the wall. But since a sheep would answer only to the voice of its own shepherd, the only way for the thief to get the mutton out of the pen was to kill it, then throw it over the wall and harvest the victim’s remains for its meat or wool. As Jesus describes in verse 10, the thief came to steal, kill and destroy.

When Jesus depicted a scene where true shepherds lead their sheep, while bogus shepherds steal and kill other people’s sheep, he was clearly rebuking the Pharisees as bogus, fake pastors.

Theologians have debated what the sheep pen represents. Since the sheep enter and leave each day, it doesn’t seem to correspond to salvation or heaven, since we don’t commute back and forth from either of those. The best interpretation I’ve heard is that the sheep pen represents Israel. Just as the pen protects the sheep within its walls, over the centuries God repeatedly protected and preserved Israel, His people. This interpretation makes even more sense when we read what Jesus says in verse 16: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen…. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Doesn’t that sound like God’s plan for welcoming Gentiles to the fold through Jesus Christ?

For us today, the sheep pen may represent our comfort zone. We need to venture out of it to graze and be nourished by God’s teaching, or eventually we’ll starve. But first, we all must listen to our good shepherd’s voice. Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I am the gate for the sheep…. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (vs. 7b-9).

By rejecting Jesus, the Pharisees were rejecting the only true gate—the only real door to salvation, freedom and green pastures. May we never be so foolish as to follow in their footsteps.

If you’ve been missing out on a relationship with God, if you’ve been feeling hungry for more satisfying spiritual food, or if you’ve been feeling trapped in whatever sheep pen you find yourself in--Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the doorway to the peace with God and the freedom and joy you’ve been missing.

 Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.