John 10:11-16
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him, and he isn’t their shepherd. And so, the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “
I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So, I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
The word Shepherd is mentioned 119 times in the NLT translation, and it’s generally around a position of leadership.
God is referred to as the shepherd of the Israelite's in the Old Testament Psalm 23
Jesus was prophesied to be the Shepherd of the people of Israel Matthew 2:6
A Shepherd in this context is a leader and the good shepherd is a leader who will go out of his way to protect the sheep, leave the 99 to save the one.
John also mentions the other sheep who are not in this sheepfold yet. These are people who are lost and don’t actually know Jesus yet and are wondering and searching for God.
This scripture calls out the pharisees as the hired hands who don’t lead according to Gods will but actually lead people astray.
So Jesus, the good shepherd is like a great leader, but there are people who aren’t great leaders who lead people astray.
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