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The Beautiful Shepherd
Exploring the heart of Christ through John 10, where Jesus reveals himself as the Good Shepherd—a title that communicates not just position and messianic truth, but shows us his very heart for his people.
The Many Names of Jesus
  • Immanuel
  • The Son of God
  • The Son of Man
  • The Amen
  • The Alpha & Omega
  • The Son of David
  • The Advocate
  • The Author & Perfector
  • The Door of the Sheep
  • The Faithful Witness
  • The Holy One of God
  • The Way, Truth, & Life
  • The King of Kings
  • The King of Israel
  • The Last Adam
  • The Mediator
  • The Lord of Glory
  • The Word
  • The Morning Star
  • The Prince of Peace
  • The Prince of Life
  • The Rock
  • The Savior
  • The Everlasting One
The Good Shepherd
Jesus has many names and titles throughout Scripture, yet the title "Good Shepherd" stands out as most endearing across generations because it reveals both his position and his heart.
Understanding John 10 Through John 9
John 10 must be understood in relation to John 9—the story of the man born blind. This living parable shows us sovereign grace in action: Jesus seeks out the man without being asked, heals him, and after the authorities cast him out, Jesus finds him again and the man believes.
The man born blind represents all of us—born into brokenness and utter inability. The fold represents Israel, with the law as its protective walls. But life isn't experienced in the holding pen; the Good Shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures and living waters.
01
Born in Brokenness
The man is born blind, unable to see, representing our sinful state of utter inability.
02
Sovereign Grace Seeks
Jesus goes to the man without being asked, demonstrating the shepherd calling his own.
03
Authorities Reject
The religious leaders care nothing for the miracle and cast the man out.
04
Jesus Finds Again
After being cast out, Jesus finds the man, who sees him and believes.
I Am the Good Shepherd
Jesus declares, "I am the shepherd, the good one"—using the Greek word kalos, meaning not just morally good but beautiful, of superior quality, winsome. This beauty contrasts sharply with the ugliness of the Jewish authorities who cared nothing for the man born blind.
The Beautiful Shepherd
  • Seeks out the lost without being asked
  • Gives without thought of return
  • Provides belonging to the cast out
  • Calls his own by name
  • Gives abundant, overflowing life
  • Stands his ground against the wolf
The Ugly Shepherds
  • Used and fleeced the people
  • Cared nothing for miracles
  • Rejected and humiliated the weak
  • Cast out those who testified to truth
  • Fled when danger approached
The Beauty That Woos
"There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ. The love and grace that Christ has manifested does as much exceed all that which is in this world as the sun is brighter than a candle."
—Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards sought not just to present people with Christ, but to woo them with the beauty of Christ. Everything lovely in God is in Christ—the holiest, meekest, most humble, and most excellent man who ever lived. He is the loveliest expression of God, the exact imprint of his nature.
When we share our faith, we must not only convict with truth but woo people to Christ. Help them taste the light, see the loveliness, experience the beauty of Christ, so they long to have their chains set free and stand in his presence.
Known and Loved
Jesus declares: "I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father." The sheep are no longer just livestock—they're brought into the intimate relationship that the shepherd himself enjoys with his Father. They go from sheep to sons.
Fully Known
The Greek word ginosko has a present timeless force—the way God knows God, we will know God through the Son.
Fully Loved
We are loved as members of the Trinity are fully known and loved—an intimacy beyond comprehension.
Full Access
Under the name of the firstborn, we have complete access to the Father himself.
Do you desire to be fully known and fully loved? That's bound up in all of humanity. We want to be known despite our shame, and we want to be loved. That's exactly what Jesus wants for his sheep—to be fully known and invited into knowing someone else who desires to be known and loved by you.
I Lay Down My Life
Jesus says, "I lay down my life for the sheep." This is stunning because it's an act of affection, not need. Sheep exist to serve the shepherd, to provide livelihood. If the shepherd gives his life for them, they haven't served their purpose. But Jesus pictures a shepherd who values the lives of his sheep more than his own life.
This is pure sacrifice, sheer grace and affection—getting nothing in return, giving everything for the sheep. In the eye of this shepherd, these are his sheep, and he refuses to lose even a single one. So he lays his life down.
1
Not Mutual Benefit
If the shepherd dies, the sheep no longer benefit him. This is pure sacrifice.
2
Names His Sheep
He knows each one by name and refuses to lose a single one.
3
Gives Everything
He puts the good of the sheep before himself, dying to save their lives.
The Death of God
Jesus says "I am" (Yahweh) and "I lay down my life"—introducing a profound mystery: How can God die? The answer: the death of God in the Son. This is only possible through the Trinity, and without the Trinity, the Gospel falls apart.
God the Father
Did not become flesh, did not die, but decreed the mission of redemption.
God the Son
Became flesh, died on the cross, yet retained omnipresence through the Spirit.
God the Spirit
Did not die, but empowered the Son's ministry and resurrection.
"God has appeared glorious to me on account of the Trinity. The sweetest joys and delights I have experienced have arisen out of meditations on the in-being of God."
—Jonathan Edwards
God died through and in the Son. The Father didn't die, the Spirit didn't die, but the Son did die. God therefore died because they are inextricably connected—one divine essence, three persons exercising different functions in complete harmony.
One Flock, One Shepherd
Jesus declares: "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." This is the great mission of God—the shepherd has come to call his own from Israel, but he has other sheep outside this fold: the Gentiles.
Jesus personally went to Israel to draw out his sheep, and the work of the mission to the nations is the personal endeavor of the Son of God to draw his sheep from every tribe, tongue, language, ethnicity, people group, and nation. One people, one flock under one shepherd, one Savior, one master.
1
Israel
The shepherd enters the fold and calls his own from among the Jews.
2
The Nations
"I must bring them also"—the personal mission to gather Gentiles.
3
One Flock
All believers united under one shepherd from every nation.
Love, Obedience, and the Soul
Jesus says, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." The Father and Son's relationship is bound up in love, obedience, and submission—and this defines the Christian life as well.
What Jesus Laid Down
Jesus used the word psyche—not just his body (bios) but his very soul, his fundamental inner being. On the cross, he opened his psyche fully to the wrath of God and the darkness of hell, tasting it in its entirety.
Through his flesh and soul, hell is completely paid. The debt of sin is paid fully and completely.
What We Receive
Because he paid it fully, we will reign with Christ bodily, down to our very soul, to the innermost part of our being—free of sin and death, under the righteousness and goodness of our Good Shepherd.
We are called to walk in love and obedience, wooing people with the loveliness and beauty of Christ.
"May you be able to comprehend the height, the depth, the breadth, the richness of the love of God—to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge."
—Ephesians 3