Jesus the Good Shepherd

In John 10:11 Jesus Christ calls himself the Good Shepherd, but what does this mean?

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them."
John 10:11-12

There are many references to both God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament as a shepherd. The most famous of these references is in the Parable of the Lost Sheep and in the Parable of the Good Shepherd.

In this Parable of the Good Shepherd, Jesus compares a shepherd to a hired hand. The good shepherd loves the sheep and risks his life for them. The hired hand works for money not the love of the sheep. He would rather save his life than die to save the sheep.

The connection is pretty clear. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. He laid down his life for us. He died to save us.

The wolf is like the devil, who comes to devour us. Jesus protects us from the devil, temptation, and sin itself.

What about the hired hand? Jesus may be referring to the religious leaders of the Jewish people during his lifetime. Many of the Pharisees, priests, and scribes sought spiritual rewards and respect rather than sacrificing themselves.

We might also think of the hired hands as anything we rely on besides Jesus to protect us from harm.

This image of Jesus as a shepherd was very important to the early Church. In fact, a painting of a shepherd with a sheep on his shoulders in the Christian catacombs is one of the earliest known images of Jesus.

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[tlewisable]

I never thought of it that way. Thanks!

[supermariomps]

Jerry, thanks be to God for your ministry. I love your quick videos. They are so concise and to the point. I and my boys watch them regularly and try to form our discipling after it. Question. As I try to be an imitator of Christ; are there pitfalls to avoid so that I do not come off as the "hired man"? My daily spiritual recipe includes "infused prayer", Word, good works, Sacraments, repentance daily, Eucharist as much as possible along with love, mercy, humility and forgiveness. TBTG

[troyhayder]

Only good shepherds dont slaughter their meat for money and let them frolick around in fields costing them a fortune...