The Good Shepherd

John 10

One day, Jesus said, "If a man sneaks over the fence to get into a sheep pen, he probably is a thief. If he calls the sheep, they won't come because he's a stranger. His voice frightens them and they run away. But the real shepherd enters through the gate. And when he calls his sheep, he uses their names, and they know his voice.

"I am the good shepherd. I know each of My sheep by name, and My sheep know Me. And I am the gate. Those who come through Me will be saved. They will have everything they need.

"Sometimes a man is hired to watch over the sheep," continued Jesus. "But this man does not own these sheep and he does not really care about them. He just -works to get paid. If awolf comes in the middle of the night, the man runs away! And the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters the flock. The man doesn't even care–because they're not his sheep.

"But I am the good shepherd," said. Jesus. "And I lay down My life for My sheep.

"My Father loves Me, and I gladly lay down My life for My sheep. Even though He has told Me to do this, I do it because I want to. No man will take My life from Me. Instead, I give it freely.

"And after I lay down My life, My Father has given Me the power to take it back again."

Jesus the Shepherd

Jesus has been described as our food and as our light. Now Jesus presents himself as our shepherd. Sheep don't see very well. They live mainly by hearing, and they depend n their shepherd to keep them from going astray.

In the land where Jesus lived shepherds called their sheep by name. And the sheep knew the shepherd's voice. If you mixed two flocks of sheep, and each shepherd called his own sheep, each flock would go to its own shepherd. jesus, our shepherd knows his people by name. He calls each of us to come to him.

It is comforting to know that Jesus is looking out for us. He always calls us when we stray. Listen for the Shepherd's voice.