“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
In this passage, Jesus offers a third parable about sheep. In the first one (John 10: 1-6) Jesus is the shepherd. In the second parable (John 10: 7-10), Jesus is the gate to the sheepfold. In today’s passage, Jesus is again the shepherd, but this time he draws a distinction between the good shepherd and the bad shepherd.
The good shepherd values the sheep more than his own life. The bad shepherd? He abandons the sheep and runs away. Now, who is he talking about?
In each parable, the sheep remain the same. They are those who are in need. The good shepherd sees the need as a reason to care. The bad shepherd sees the need as an opportunity. When trouble comes the different motivations become very clear.
Let’s Discuss: What do you see in this passage?
We are card for by God
*cared for
Actually some of us are a card! 🙂
Jesus is a Good Shepherd who cannot be replaced. He is our example as we lead others – but we always lead others to Jesus. Others need Jesus and so do we.
He lays down his life for his flock. Just as Jesus did for us. The religious leaders are the hired help at this time. If they are to be good shepherds they must be willing to lay down their life for the flock not run away when the evil one comes around.