Discover the Person of Jesus in the Gospel of Johnናሙና

Scripture

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 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. . . . My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:10–15, 27–30

Today’s Thought

Years ago, a young Bosnian boy from a local shepherd village found a puppy while playing in the forest. The pup followed the boy home, and the family began to raise it to be another dog to help them with the sheep. After some months, it became clear that it wasn’t a normal pup but a wolf pup. The village shepherds demanded the family take the pup into the woods and do away with it, but they were met with loud protests from the boy. “I’ll teach it to be good. Like our dogs, I’ll love it and teach it to care for the sheep.” The shepherds agreed on the single condition that the first sign of aggression toward any sheep, the pup, would be shot, for the wolf was the greatest predator of their sheep.

Over the years, the wolf became an amazing sheepdog, but one night as thundering noise broke out in the village, a knock came on the door of the boy’s family. “Your wolf has turned on the sheep. Find it and kill it. Now!” As the boy dressed, the wolf pawed at the door, and when the young lad opened the door, he saw the wolf covered in blood. He kept his promise with a broken heart and then headed into the village to help round up the sheep who had been attacked and scattered by the wolf. As they hunted the sheep, the villagers found a dead wolf, then another, and another. The reality of the situation broke upon them all—the boy’s wolf had defended the sheep against other wolves. Later, as a man, the Bosnian shepherd revealed his greatest regret, “I should have believed that the love of a shepherd could really change the heart of a wolf!”

I need a shepherd. I need the good shepherd to change the heart of this old wolf. I find in my heart a desire to devour, hurt, be selfish, and at times, prey on the weak and helpless. Sheep are perhaps the most defenseless of all domesticated animals. They will spend their entire day grazing and wandering from place to place without ever noticing where they are going. As they look up, they are absolutely lost with no sense of homing to get them back to the shepherd or the fold. These creatures are perhaps most known for their complete absence of any form of defense from the wolf or other predators. They will simply huddle together, effectively creating a kill box for the wolf. We are all sheep, and all of us have some wolf within. We need a shepherd, the good shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd.” This fourth “I am” statement of the Son of God is so comforting. He knows our greatest weaknesses, our tendencies to get lost, and our foolishness in following another into unimaginable danger. He knows; He loves; He cares; He understands. “I am the good shepherd.” He understands our defenselessness against the dark wolfhounds of hell. He also knows that we are not just sheep but have wolves within. Only the love of a shepherd can change the heart of a wolf. He is our, my, your, good shepherd.

He says to us, “I am the good shepherd, and I lay down my life for My sheep. I know them, each one of them. I know their name, their tendencies, their strangeness, and their weakness. I know them each individually. I am the good shepherd. I will never run away when the wolf seeks to devour me. I will crush his head with My staff! I am the good shepherd, and My sheep know My voice, and they follow Me and Me alone, and no one, no, no one will ever snatch them from My hand. I am the good shepherd!”

What a comforting reality. He is our shepherd who knows us completely yet still loves us fully. He knows how to speak in such a way that you and I can hear and follow Him. He knows how to stand against your wolf and mine. He will never run. He is the good shepherd!

Think It Over

• Why does He say “the good shepherd”?
• What would it mean if you came to fully realize
• and believe that Jesus is your shepherd?
• How can you enter into the reality of Jesus, your good shepherd?

Let’s Pray

Oh, Lord, I receive You today as the good shepherd. Come and shepherd my soul. I trust in You today to speak in such a way that I hear. I ask You to keep me from wandering away as I graze in the fields of this world. I trust You to stand against the wolves that come to steal, kill, and destroy me and mine. You are my good shepherd. Make me lie down in green pastures and lead me beside safe waters. I trust; I rest; I count upon You, the good shepherd, and my good shepherd forever. Amen.