I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and fleas; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

- John 10:1-18

In our recent readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (beginning in chapter 7, with this reading).  He has had extensive dialogue and confrontation with the leadership.  It is the last day of the Feast.  As He passed from the temple, when the leadership attempted to stone Him, He met a man blind from birth whose sight He healed.  Yesterday we read that the leadership did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."  As chapter 10 begins, Jesus' conversation with the Pharisees continues.  As noted above, it is still the final day (the eighth day) of the Feast of Tabernacles.  In today's reading, Jesus contrasts the leadership of the Pharisees with His own.  My study bible notes that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership is marked by deceit and pride and is lacking in compassion.  By contrast, it is Christ who fulfills all virtue.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments that the door is God's Word, meaning both the Scriptures and Christ Himself.  The Scriptures reveal God the Word (or Logos).  The one who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor in accordance with the teaching of the Scriptures is both a thief and a robber.  Rather than using this door so that all can see His works openly, my study bible says, the false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls (verse 10).  However, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  My study bible says that as Christ has intimate knowledge of every person, so also true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name -- personally.  Such pastors endeavor to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least -- and possess Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  People will respond to a true leader, if they trust that leader is a follower of Christ.  My study bible quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  Often it is the response of the faithful that is a better indicator of a true shepherd than the claims of leadership (7:47-49). 

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  My study bible says that the phrase all whoever came before Me does not refer to Moses or genuine prophets, but to people claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ.  (Acts 5:36-37 mentions, for example, Judas of Galilee and Theudas.)   The ultimate thief is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, and lures away both leaders and people.  Life, says my study bible, means living in God's grace here on earth, and the more abundant life indicates the Kingdom to come.

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and fleas; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  Christ is the good shepherd:  He enters by the door -- that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself; He knows and is known by the Father; He knows His people personally, and is therefore known by them; and He gives His life for the sake of His people, a direct prophecy of His coming Passion. 

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  Other sheep are the Gentiles.  They will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.   Therefore, says my study bible, the Church, for example, transcends ethnic and racial lines.  I would add, also, political lines.  From the earliest canons of the Church, one bishop serves a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle that has been affirmed in every generation.  St. Ignatius is quoted by study bible, who wrote in the early second century to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians:  "Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of His Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there is one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  Jesus makes it clear that His 'life-giving' death is voluntary.   He will do nothing apart from the will of His Father.  My study bible says that as He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

Jesus presents Himself as the door to the sheep, and as the good shepherd.  He is the one who will lay down His life for the sheep.  How do we know the good shepherd?  My study bible cites several ways:  He knows them personally (by name).  A name is a kind of symbol for true identity; the name by which Christ calls us is our true image, true self.  He knows each one intimately, and in prayer personal issues are addressed; through such relationship, we are led into true identity -- that would include teaching and discipline in terms of where we need go, and what we need to discard that we're clinging to.  A true shepherd tells us the truth; He's one in whom we can trust and who also puts His faith into us.  So it holds true for pastors and leaders especially of our souls and spirits.  Trust is all-important.  A pastor doesn't disrupt relationships with gossip and power-mongering.  A true shepherd is one who cares for the sheep above all, and is capable of love and compassion.  This is far beyond what we call "political correctness," or any form of following a set of rules alone.  True care goes beyond temporal disagreements such as political sloganeering or agendas.   In this context, we'd do well to remember that it was the political 'leader' the crowd preferred to Christ at the Crucifixion; and disappointed material and political ambitions that fueled rejection of Him.  Christ is Shepherd of all.  He is far greater than such limited focus.  The most important understanding we can have is that all the characteristics of leadership we can find in Christ all point to one thing:  love.  He is the personification of love, and He teaches us love.  Love doesn't know boundaries.  It doesn't fear the truth.  It is above all trustworthy, worthy of our faith.  A leader doesn't just tell you what you want to hear so He gets followers.  That is the last thing Jesus would do, especially in accordance with what we read in John's Gospel (see, for example, this reading).  A leader is true to God, who is love, setting the pleasing of God before all other things.  This is the one way to lead the people to true health:  physical, mental, and spiritual.  It is the true way to care for their souls.  If we look into our hearts, we find a way to respond to the One who truly loves us, who died for us.  That leader shows us the way, even to the places we don't want to go, but we trust in His love.  How many of us want a leader like that?  How many simply don't?  A leader responds to our love with love, and always has time to listen.  A true shepherd knows and leads each personally, not simply as "collective."  Love is something we learn and grow into -- the true Shepherd shows us the way, and so do the true shepherds who would serve in His name.