The Good Shepherd (Christianity)

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Christ Jesus,^[1] the Good Shepherd, 3rd century.

The Good Shepherd is a pericope found in John 10:1-21 in which Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd is revisited throughout the four Gospels in references to Jesus not letting himself lose any of his sheep.

In the surrounding context of the allegorical story of the Good Shepherd (John 9:35-41 and John 10:22-30) depicts the people around Jesus realized that he was asserting that he was God. Donald Guthrie sees the reaction of the Jews (picking up stones to stone him) show that they understood Jesus was asserting divinity. (Cf. Leviticus chapter 24, verse 16: "anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him." NIV)

[edit] Text

From John 10:11-18 (NIV):

The 5th-century Ravenna mosaic illustrating the parable.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

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.

[edit] Parable?

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Parables: "There are no parables in St. John's Gospel" and the Encyclopædia Britannica article on Gospel of St. John: "Here Jesus' teaching contains no parables and but three allegories, the Synoptists present it as parabolic through and through." John 10:1-5 is potentially a stand-alone parable of Jesus, which UBS calls "Parable of the Sheepfold", John 10:6 calls it a "figure of speech", Strong's G3942, however, John 10:7 states I am the gate, which makes it a metaphor.