John 10:11

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” – John 10:11  

Over the next few weekdays, we will be looking at seven verses where Jesus declares “I AM”, and then gives a metaphor regarding what He is.  Today, we will look at the fourth of these, “I am the Good Shepherd.”

Immediately after declaring that He is “the door” in the previous verse of the day, Jesus declares “I am the good shepherd.” He describes Himself as not only “the shepherd” but the “good shepherd.” What does this mean? It should be understood that Jesus is the good shepherd, not simply a good shepherd, as others may be, but He is unique in character.  The Greek word kalos, translated “good,” describes that which is noble, wholesome, good, and beautiful, in contrast to that which is wicked, mean, foul, and unlovely. It signifies not only that which is good inwardly in character but also that which is attractive outwardly. It is an innate goodness. Therefore, in using the phrase “the good shepherd,” Jesus is referencing His inherent goodness, His righteousness, and His beauty as in the way He carries Himself. As shepherd of the sheep, He is the one who protects, guides, and nurtures His flock.

Jesus here, again, is making a big distinction between Himself and the Jewish religious leaders.  He uses the idea of one who is hired to take care of the flock, which is an interesting way to see the Jewish religious leaders.  They are more concerned about doing their tasks rather than caring for the sheep.  “He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He  flees because he is a hireling and is not concerned about the sheep.” John 10:12-13.  In verse eight, He refers to them as thieves and robbers. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.” John 10:8. He who is a “hireling” works for wages, which are his main consideration. His concern is not for the sheep but for himself. Interestingly enough, the shepherds of ancient times were not usually the owners of the flock. Nevertheless, they were expected to exercise the same care and concern the owners would. This was characteristic of a true shepherd. However, some of the hirelings thought only of themselves. As a result, when a wolf appeared—the most common threat to sheep in that day—the hireling abandoned the flock and fled, leaving the sheep to be scattered or killed.

In our verse of the day yesterday in verse nine, I spoke of the shepherd being the door to the sheepfold when in the wilderness.  He would lay at the opening as he slept so as to protect them from wild predators. He put his life on the line to protect the flock.  Likewise, Jesus gave His life on the cross as “the Good Shepherd” for his own. He who would save others, though He had the power, did not choose to save Himself. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28. Through His willing sacrifice, the Lord made salvation possible for all who come to Him in faith. In proclaiming that He is the Good Shepherd, Jesus speaks of “laying down” His life for His sheep. Jesus’ death was divinely appointed. It is only through Him that we receive salvation. “Jesus’ death was divinely appointed. ”I  am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15. 

Jesus loves us more than we can ever imagine.  So much so, that as a shepherd lays down his life for his flock, Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, His people, Christians.  All who accept what He did will be saved. The Jewish religious leaders would not sacrifice their lives for God’s people.  They were not good shepherds but merely hirelings. Jesus sacrificed everything to save His people thus becoming our Savior, otherwise known as the good shepherd.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 23:1

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Psalm 23:1   

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” – Psalm 23:1

-Over the next week I will be looking at Psalm 23, probably the most familiar of all the psalms.  It is a psalm of David.  There is no indication as to what prompted him writing this for there is nothing in the Psalm that gives any historical information.  However, what we do know is that David is exhibiting extreme confidence in the Lord, believing that He will take complete care of him.  We will start this with Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  Psalm 23:1 

In verse one, he is declaring how God is our shepherd.   The main role of a shepherd was to take care of sheep.  It was their responsibility to keep the flock intact, protect them from predators or thieves, and to guide them to where they needed to go.  You can see how this is a clear picture of how God takes care of His people.  He will keep His people (in our time, the church) together, will protect us from the schemes of the enemy, both temporal and spiritual, and how He guides us to where He wants us to go.  We read in Genesis where Jehovah is called the shepherd of His people.  “But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)” Genesis 49:24.  He is also referred to as a shepherd by Isaiah when he said, “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” Isaiah 40:11. 

However, the best picture of Him as shepherd is from Jesus Himself.  “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 is not the owner of 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 is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me. even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:11-15.  Let us look at this in detail.

First, He says He “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11.  This is a statement made by Jesus regarding His purpose in coming to earth.  The reason He came here was to lay down His life for his people.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 3:8.  He willingly died for our sins, for we could not make things right on our own.  And He did this willingly.  We are His sheep, and He willingly laid down His life for us.  He knows His sheep and did what was needed to save them.  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15. 

What David was saying in Psalm 23:1 is that God is our shepherd.  He protects us, guides us, and willingly died for us through His son Jesus Christ.  And the end of this verse says, “I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1b.  As the shepherd, He provides everything we need, up to and including the way of salvation.  I like the way the theologian Albert Barnes puts it.  “The meaning is, that, as a shepherd, he would make all needful provision for his flock, and evince all proper care for it. The words shall not want, as applied to the psalmist, would embrace everything that could be a proper object of desire, whether temporal or spiritual, whether pertaining to the body or the soul, whether having reference to time or to eternity. There is no reason for supposing that David limited this to his temporal necessities, or to the present life, but the idea manifestly is that God would provide all that was needful for him always.”   And this, Jesus has done.  He is our good shepherd and has met every need we have, even if we are not aware they have been met.  So, let us, as Christians, trust that our every need has been met, for through so doing peace will be a part of our life here on earth.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.