Gospel of John, Chapter 10 (The Good Shepherd)

Chapter 10 of John's Gospel tells the story of the Good Shepherd. The imagery in this story was confusing to the people who heard it, and it can even be confusing for people who have grown up knowing who Jesus is, singing hymn after hymn about Jesus, our shepherd. In verses 1-18, He appears to give us three different images of Himself, or perhaps two different interpretations of the same image.

He starts out by telling His disciples about the "shepherd of the sheep," who "enters by the door," (John 10:2) in contrast to "thieves and robbers." But, "they did not understand what he was saying to them." (John 10:6) So, Jesus announces that He is "the door of the sheep." (John 10:7) Then who is the Shepherd? "I am the good shepherd," Jesus says.

The door is a good image for Jesus, because Jesus is the only one who has seen the Father (John 6:46). So, the only way to the Father must be through Jesus Christ. He's the only one who could possibly know the way. You might also says He's leading us to the Father, like a shepherd. So, both images fit, but why doesn't Jesus make up His mind and pick one? Isn't it a bit confusing to be two things in one story?

It is confusing. Almost as confusing as saying to an ancient Jew, "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30) The very first line of John states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) The mysterious imagery Jesus uses is fitting for contemplating the awesome nature and identity of our God. At the same time, the images should have been very familiar to the ancient Jews. Not only was everyone familiar with what a shepherd is like, the story of the Good Shepherd also serves to bring to mind Ezekiel 34.

"For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; ... I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats."

So, Ezekiel speaks of a shepherd who will gather his scattered sheep (John 10:16); who will will heal the sick (John 6:2), and act as a judge (John 5:27). What a beautiful messianic prophecy! Jesus is God, and God is our Shepherd.

But, we are also called to enter through the door that is Jesus, and shepherd God's flock. Being a shepherd is a function of what you do. We can be one with God in action, and God asks that we do exactly that. "[H]e called them gods unto whom the word of God came...." (John 10:35) Again, we can never be God, but we can be images of God and reflect His glory. At the end of John's Gospel, Jesus commands Peter to, "tend my sheep." (John 21:16)

But, who are the "thieves and robbers?" (John 10:8) They could by demons, or Satan. They could be the bad shepherds that Ezekiel condemns. By now, you probably realize that it's all of the above. Jesus' mystical body is united in Him, and those outside of the gate have in common His absence. They are of the world, and He and His mystical body are of Heaven.

John 10 gets to the heart of Christ's message and identity. That identity is mysterious, but it's also True. As Peter Kreeft might say, it is not made up of meaningless contradictions, but meaningful paradoxes. Christ, the Truth can lead us closer to our mysterious Father, God.