I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:11–15 ESV)
This picture of Jesus as a good shepherd who comes to lay down his life for the sheep is not a random image presented in the Gospel of John. In our lesson last week we talked about how we make lousy shepherds for our own lives. When we follow ourselves and our idols that in our lives, we are left wandering aimlessly in life and afflicted because we lack a shepherd for our lives (cf. Zechariah 10:2). Zechariah 11 continues this picture about how we are lost and how we need a shepherd to direct our lives so that we are not wandering and afflicted…
To read more of this lesson click here.
