Allegory of the good Shepherd.
There is a progress of thought in each allegory.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. "I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
1. He is himself "the great Shepherd of the sheep" of whom the prophets stoke. (Ezekiel 34:23; Genesis 49:24; Isaiah 40:11.)
2. This interest in his sheep is manifested in his throwing away his life/or their protection. Like David, he exposes his life freely for the sake of his Father's flock; he gives his life in their room and stead. Our Lord constantly emphasizes that doctrine of atonement which the "wisdom of the world" rejects.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THE HIRELING.
1. He has no natural concern for the sheep. "But he that is an hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sooth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep." Hirelings of this class mind their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ, seeking only their gain from their quarter. They care not, therefore, what becomes of the sheep. Our Lord here refers, probably, to the natural guides of the Jewish people—the priests and the Levites, who had come to forget or ignore all their religious responsibilities.
2. He allows the wolves to scatter the flock. "The wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep." The wolf represents the natural enemy of the sheep. Jesus had said before, "I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matthew 10:16). The Pharisees were "wolves" from their rapacity, their falseness, and their temper of domination.
III. THE RELATION BETWEEN THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP. "I know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, and as I know the Father."
1. This bespeaks mutual knowledge.
(a) trust,
(b) love,
(c) admiration.
2. He sacrifices his life for the sheep. "And I give my life for the sheep." The sacrifice was yet future, but clearly foreseen. There was no life for the sheep but through the death of the Shepherd.
3. He has also purposes of mercy for the Gentiles. "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall be one flock, one Shepherd."
(a) Jesus by his death has made both one—"one new man"—breaking down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile.
(b) There may be many folds, that is, many visible Churches, but there is but one flock.
(c) There is but one Shepherd in this flock. Our Lord foresees the great mission-work of the Church in coming ages.
IV. MARK THE PERFECT FREEDOM OF THE SHEPHERD'S DEATH. "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I give my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it from me, but I give it of myself."
1. There is more in the sacrifice of Christ than in the death of a shepherd, who lets himself be torn in pieces that his flock may escape.
2. Christ's was a death absolutely self-determined, yet in accordance with his Father's will, and therefore does it specially challenge the Father's love.
V. CONSIDER THE EFFECT OF OUR LORD'S TEACHING. "There was a division therefore again among the Jews by reason of these words." There is always the same result: a few accept the teaching, the rest become increasingly hostile and insulting. The question, "Why hear ye him?" implies an uneasiness at the favor shown to him by a portion of the Jews.