Jn 10:1-10
[Jesus said to the Pharisees,] 1“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. 2But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. 5But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” 6Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
7So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
SHEPHERD AND SHEEP: The land of Israel offers abundant pastures, and people earn their living by pasturing sheep and goats. Allusions to shepherd and sheep thus abound in the Bible. The sheep must be protected from wild beasts, thieves, dangers, and inclement weather (Gn 31:39-40). The shepherd leads the sheep to green pasture and water, and protects them (Ps 23:1-4).
The religious and political leaders of Israel are compared to the shepherds, and the people to the flock which they must tend. When the shepherds do not attend to their responsibilities, great harm befalls the sheep.
Jesus is presented in the Gospels as the shepherd who looks after the sheep. His heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they are like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34). He shepherds the people by teaching them and multiplying bread to feed them. Jesus also tells the parable of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the lost sheep, rejoicing greatly when he finds it (Lk 15:1-7).
While the Synoptic Gospels compare the kingdom of heaven to a shepherd who looks for the lost sheep, in John the “kingdom” is embodied in the person of Jesus. He is therefore the “Good Shepherd,” the way God is presented in the Old Testament (Ez 34; Ps 23). Jesus is the model (good) shepherd in two ways: (a) he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, and (b) he knows his sheep. This knowledge involves love, which is the reason for his laying down his life for them.