John 10:14-18 (NIV)
“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. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
There are three signs that Jesus gave as testimony to His identity as the Good Shepherd.
First is the fact that Jesus knows exactly who the sheep who belong to His flock are, and who are not. At this point, the vast majority of the Jewish leaders were NOT part of His flock; they did not believe in Him, they would not believe His testimony about who He was, and they would not commit to following Him as disciples. Jesus’ knowledge of His flock members is at an extremely high level, the same level of knowledge as He had of the Father, with whom He was eternally one (John 1:1, a key contextual verse for the whole gospel).
The second sign was that Jesus would soon lay down His life for His sheep. When danger from the enemy approached, He would not run to try to save Himself, as the false shepherds would. Instead, He would boldly march forward, even though it would cost Him His own life. And this laying down of His life for the sake of the sheep would be neither out of His control, nor permanent. Because of His eternal relationship with the Father, Jesus had been given authority to purposefully lay down His life for the sake of the sheep, as well as authority to take His life back up again, to raise Himself from the dead as an act of His own power.
The third sign was that Jesus would not only lay down His life to bring the Jews into the fold, but to bring the gentiles in as well, the “other sheep” that He talked about. In all of their interpretations of the Messiah that these Bible scholars had come up with, their conceptions were all far too small, centered on a narrow nationalism that allowed no room for God’s love to reach beyond the people that He had originally called. But now that the Messiah had indeed come, the gate to life in the kingdom would be thrown open to everyone who would believe in Him for salvation (John 3:14-17). People from every nation, tribe, people, and language would all flow into the kingdom (Revelation 7:9-10), forming one flock under the leadership of Jesus Himself.
Father, Jesus truly is the Good Shepherd of all who want to come to You for salvation, and has proven Himself to be over a span of two thousand years. All who have tasted of eternal life agree! Thank You for Your saving grace that Has worked eternity into my own life in undeniable ways through faith in Jesus! Amen.