“Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me^[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.¹² The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them^[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

^……30 I and the Father are one.”

1) Why did Jesus use the analogy of sheep and a shepherd in this illustration?
Jesus often spoke in parables and analogies to help the people understand the point He was trying to make. The analogy of sheep and a shepherd was easy for the crowd to grasp. In their culture, the occupation of shepherd was one that people knew well, although it was not a highly respected position. They were familiar with the humble role of a shepherd and the way sheep responded to his voice and command. More importantly, those in the crowd were familiar with the Psalms and would make the parallel connection between Jesus’ claim to be a Shepherd and David’s psalm (Psalm 23). Jesus was living out David’s description of God as the Good Shepherd!

2) In verse 16, who is Jesus referring to when He says He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen?
The “other sheep” Jesus is referring to are the Gentiles, the rest of humanity outside of those with a Jewish heritage. Jesus’ earthly ministry primarily focused on the Jewish people, but after His death, resurrection and ascension, God revealed to Peter that new life in Christ is for everyone, the Jew and the Gentile (Acts 10). The Jews thought that Jesus had come to save the Jewish people and restore Jerusalem, but God’s plan for redemption was greater than the Jews could have ever expected. The early church was made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.

3) In verse 30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” What does this mean and why is it important?
What Jesus was saying was radical when He claimed here to be the very Son of God, which put him on the same level as God! To the crowd Jesus was speaking to, claiming to be one with God was blasphemy. The next verse says that the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. They wanted some other explanation for who he was (v. 24), but Jesus had made it clear to them that He was indeed the long-promised Messiah.

1) Why did Jesus use the analogy of sheep and a shepherd in this illustration?
Shepherds and sheep aren’t an analogy we are familiar with in our culture. Another great picture of God that is used repeatedly in Scripture is God as our father, our Abba father, which means “daddy” (Galatians 4:6). We are all familiar with what a loving father should look like, even if we haven’t been fortunate enough to experience that relationship for ourselves. Like a shepherd, Father God protects us, provides for us, and leads us in the way we should go.

2) In verse 16, who is Jesus referring to when He says He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen?
What great news that there are “other sheep”! Gentiles is not a word commonly used today, but if you are not Jewish or of Jewish descent, then you are a Gentile. Jesus’ sacrifice was for both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:16). We have unity within the body of Christ – to be of “one flock”. While we may not make distinction between Jew and Gentile today, we draw our own lines of judgement. Race, sexual orientation, alcohol consumption, homeless, where are your lines? Are you willing to extend Christ to all?!

3) In verse 30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” What does this mean and why is it important?
Christians from Jesus’ day to our modern times believe in the Trinity as a core doctrine. This means God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One in community with each other and have been for eternity. Even now, 2,000 years later, people find it hard to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Some people believe Jesus existed historically, but claim that He was just a good teacher or a prophet. The notion that God would send His only Son to die for sinners is hard to believe! But that is what makes the Gospel so wonderful and unique!

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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

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