John 10:1-18

Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open our minds and open our hearts and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

The Shepherd and His Flock

¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^a]'> He will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I 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. ¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No 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."

Christ is our Shepherd. This is wonderful and very true comparison to real life. Jesus says a shepherd would not enter his pen over the sides but use a gate, only a thief would enter over the sides. Christ is the gate-we are the sheep. we enter through him. My variation is that a cow man will not cut his fences to enter his pastures, we use gates,over and over. The rustler cuts the wire and enters the pasture by secret. I understand these verses.

So, we say that Jesus is our Shepard. What does a shepherd do? He takes care of his flock, his herd, his mob. In this illustration the shepherd is the owner of the sheep. The sheep are more than his job-they are his life. The shepherd will do what ever it takes to protect His herd. Unlike the hired man, when danger comes the shepherd will risk his life to protect the herd. The hired hand may say "that's not in my job description," and run away. The shepherd has too much invested.

Jesus is our Shepherd-we are his sheep. When evil comes He will protect us. He uses the gate, (himself,) for us to enter the pastures and pens, which is heaven. Jesus did lay down his life to protect us. He gave up his life that we might live, and live through Him.

Questions:

1. Why would a thief climb the walls of the pen? Who may be a thief?

2.What is the difference between a shepherd and someone watching the sheep?

3. If Christ is our shepherd, why would we fear evil?

Prayer- Dear Lord, thank You for sending Your Son to watch over us as our Shepard. Help us feel that peace that comes from You. Go-Fight-Win. Amen