“And I will set up
over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed
them and be their shepherd.” Ezekiel 34:23 ESV
“The LORD is my
shepherd; I shall not want…” Psalm 23:1 ESV
Context: The two
“I am” statements for this study are found within the larger pericope of John
10:1-21 which is often referred to as “The Good Shepherd Discourse.” Who is
Jesus addressing in these verses? This is a difficult question and it is not
ENTIRELY clear, BUT, it is consistent in the Gospel of John that transitions in
setting and conversation do not happen with “truly, truly” or “very truly” in
English (Greek amen amen). This
suggests that the audience is the same as at the end of chapter 9. Toward the
end of chapter 9 the Pharisees’ had just expelled a formerly blind man from the
local synagogue because of his faith in Jesus as Messiah. The blind man’s faith
in Jesus places him directly within the trajectory of the Jewish leaders who
did not welcome Jesus’ teaching, preaching, healing, or mission. [1]
This dark backdrop provides the context for the Good Shepherd
Discourse—if it were not for the glaring irresponsibility of the Jewish
religious leaders toward the people charged to their care, Jesus would not need
to address them in this manner. Shepherding imagery regarding the care of God’s
people is found throughout the Old Testament. The two verses below the heading
above, Ezekiel 34:23 (indeed chapter 34 is of paramount importance in
understanding Jesus’ teaching in this pericope!) and Psalm 23:1 are just a very
small sampling of the corpus available to us that demonstrate this imagery. Our
study below of these two “I am” statements will flesh this out more.
Study
- Familiarize yourselves
with this pericope by reading together John 10:1-21, The Good
Shepherd Discourse. (The image of the people as sheep and Jesus as the
shepherd can also be found at Matthew 9:36 and 26:31 [which is Jesus
claiming fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7]. It might prove
helpful to read this together as well.)
Köstenberger writes helpfully,
The metaphor of the “flock,” an
everyday feature of Jewish life, pervades the OT. God himself is known as
Israel’s Shepherd (see Gen. 48:15, 49:24; Psalm 23:1, 28:9, 77:20, 78:52, 80:1;
Isaiah 40:11, Jeremiah 31:9; and Ezekiel 34:11-31) and his people are the
“sheep of his pasture” (see Psalm 74:1, 78:52, 79:13, 95:7, 100:3, and Ezekiel
34:31). Part of this imagery was also the notion of chief shepherd and
assistant shepherds and of hired hands. David, who was a shepherd before he was
a king, became a prototype of God’s shepherd. Jesus saw himself as embodying
the characteristics and expectations attached to this salvation-historical figure
as the Good Shepherd par excellence.[2]
Question: when you envision in your mind what a shepherd in the ancient world
looked like, smelled like, acted like, and lived like, is it a generally
positive or negative image?
- Re-read John 10:1-10.
A “sheep-fold” is essentially a pen. While this fold/pen may be part of a
family courtyard, as was common in the ancient world and still is to this
day in certain areas of the world, it is perhaps more likely that this pen
is part of a larger, independent enclosure, where multiple families kept
their sheep, hiring an under shepherd (the watchman of v. 2) to guard the
gate. Those who are authorized to enter would, of course, go through the
gate. He whose interest is stealing or wounding the sheep would avoid the
gate; that is, he climbs in by
another way (v. 1). The point here seems clear that the shepherd knows
his sheep, is recognized by their watchman and by the sheep alike, and
leads them out for their own good.[3]
- What do you think it
means that the shepherd calls his own sheep by name (v. 3)? How does this
relate to Jesus chastisement of the Pharisees regarding their care for
the people Israel as their spiritual shepherds?
- If the shepherd knows the
name of the sheep, how do the sheep know the voice of the shepherd? Or, stated
in another manner, how do the sheep (people) know how to respond to the
voice of the shepherd (Jesus)?
- In vs. 7 and 9 Jesus
states that he is the gate/door of the sheep. It is only through him that people can be led
to sweet pastures. He also states
that all who came before him were thieves and robbers—whose intent it was
to deceive, harm, and lead astray. Jesus says that, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me (!) he will be saved and
will go in and out and find pasture.” (v. 9).
- This is an exclusive
claim that Jesus is making. It is only through him that people can be
saved. As Christians how are we to understand this in light of people
saying things like, “There are many paths to God” and “Good people go to
heaven when they die?” Does Jesus give us those options?
- Scripture teaches that
Christ knows his sheep. He died for them, he calls them by name, and
they hear him. This is the gospel that he commanded his disciples to
preach in the entire world, in order to save sinners.[4]
- Read John 10:11-19 again. Jesus begins this passage by claiming
that he is the good shepherd. A hired hand will look out for his own
self-interest—If a wolf, bear, or lion were to attack a flock of sheep a
hired may very well run away to preserve their own life. Jesus states that
he, “…lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus is not about preserving his
own self-interest, but in doing whatever is necessary to protect those in
his flock that his father has given him. Jesus is
most interested in being faithful and obedient to the will of the Father
(see v. 17).
- V. 11 is the third time
that Jesus has intentionally invoked the term “I am” in referring to his
identity. As we learned in earlier lessons, this would have undoubtedly
perked up the ears of all listening to his words. As we learned earlier
in this lesson, the benevolent shepherd cited throughout the Old
Testament is God. In V. 7,9, and now 11 Jesus is not only claiming the
name “I am” which was reserved exclusively for God, but he was also
invoking Godly imagery by claiming to be the ultimate protector
(shepherd) of the sheep—the people Israel.
- In v. 14-15 Jesus uses
the term know (GK ginosko) to
compare his love of the people with his love of his Father. This
certainly implies a much deeper knowledge than a friendship. What do you
think this term “know” means? How are we to understand our relationship
with the shepherd (Jesus) in light of this understanding of “know?”
- The shepherd’s (Jesus) act of laying down his life on behalf of others is, in effect, a substitutionary offering (v. 14-15). This appears to be a referent to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:4-6: “Surely he has borne our infirmities and he has carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”[5]
- Finally, if you have not
done so already, as a group read Ezekiel 34:1-31.
- At the beginning of the
chapter, v. 1-6, what is written about false shepherds and their chief
characteristics?
- In the middle of the
chapter, v. 11-16, we are given a what serves as the best Old Testament
commentary on the coming of God as the Good Shepherd. What are some of
those characteristics Ezekiel lifts up?
- Finally, at the end of
the chapter, v. 23-27, Ezekiel describes the special form that God’s coming
will take—namely the coming of the Son of David, the longed-for Messiah,
as the human Good Shepherd. Does Jesus fit this description? If so, in
what way?[6]
- Ezekiel lived during the
time of the Babylonian conquest Jerusalem and of the destruction of the
Temple of the Lord built by King Solomon (around 600 BC). He was among
the first of his people taken into exile by the Babylonians, and his wife
died during this series of horrific events. During his lifetime the
people were hungry for a word of encouragement from God. They were
desperate for a word of hope. In a series of oracles God came to Ezekiel
and gave him both bad news and good news.
Chapters 33-48 give the good news that God intends to bless his
people after their time of suffering. The Good Shepherd of chapter 34 was
certainly a foundational understanding of what that blessing would look
like.
- The people in Jesus’ day
would have picked up on the Ezekiel references to this Good Shepherd
quickly. READ John 10:19-21 again. How did the people respond to
Jesus’ “I am” claims in this passage?
- How do we respond to
Jesus’ claims today?
- Do we believe them?
- How do we faithfully
live in a pluralistic society/culture while clinging to Jesus’ claims
to be “THE” gatekeeper and “THE” good shepherd?
[1] Andreas Köstenberger’s article “John” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the
Old Testament (2007) was very helpful for this study.
[2] Ibid., 462.
[3] Carson, D.A., The
Gospel According to John, page 381.
[5] Bruner, Dale F.,
The Gospel of John: A Commentary, page 628-629.
[6] Ibid., page 630.
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