Jesus now takes us further in His revelation of Himself when he boldly declares again, I AM. I am the good shepherd. Some have called this the New Testament version of Psalm 23. Jesus is confidently announcing that He is the fulfillment also of that precious Psalm. We learn of His intimacy.

First, as opposed to the Pharisees whom He designates as strangers Jesus knows His sheep. We're taken back to the image of the shepherd coming into the sheepfold early in the morning to rouse his sheep and lead them out to pasture. Immediately they know his voice, and he calls them all by name. Christ knows His sheep well. He knows their weaknesses, their struggles and their fears.

Second, as opposed to the Pharisees whom Jesus also calls thieves and robbers, Jesus owns the sheep. I know My sheep, and am known by My own! These are the bought and paid for sheep. They are His flock, the church He purchased with His own precious blood.

The false shepherds are also hirelings who care nothing for the sheep. A hireling, or a hired hand, is one who stands in for the shepherd. Some hired hands may have a shepherd's heart, but not these guys. These are the type who don't mind tending someone else's sheep when the sun is shining, when no danger threatens and the money's good. But the moment disaster strikes, as soon as the wolf comes, they're off like scared rabbits. "Are you kidding, I'm not messing around with any wolves, I'm not risking my life for a mangy bunch of sheep, they're not even mine."

Did the Pharisees show even a hint of pity for the woman caught in adultery? Was there a speck of concern for the man born blind? Instead of in any way defending Israel from the spiritual dangers that surrounded it, like a hireling, all of their attention was focused upon themselves and their own comfort.

But no one is going to snatch the sheep from Jesus' hands. Jesus is not a thief and a robber, He owns the sheep. He's not a stranger, He knows His sheep. He's not a hireling, He cares for, He loves His sheep. He lays down His life for His sheep!

Reflecting on the wonder of such intimacy becomes even more thrilling when we appreci­ate that the good shepherd knows His sheep even as the Father knows Him and He knows the Father. The intimacy we know through Christ our good shepherd is a reflection of, and is grounded in, the love between the Father and the Son from all eternity!

We also learn of the good shepherd's intentionality.

A good shepherd will not flee when danger comes. He'll stand up to it for the protection of the sheep. We have real life examples of this in the Biblical record. Think of young David who slew both the bear and the lion in defense of the sheep. Nevertheless, as good as any shepherd might be, none would actually lay down his life for the sheep, for if he did, the sheep would still be defenseless. Shepherds have sometimes given their lives fight­ing for the sake of the sheep, but that was not their intention. Their death was a tragedy.

Not so the death of the good shepherd: "I lay down my life," He says. Again Jesus speaks of His coming cross. That cross was not an unfortunate incident, or an infelicitous turn of events that just "happened." No, it was an act, a deed, a work of love. "No one takes my life from me, I lay it down of my own accord, and I take it up again!"

He pours out His soul unto death (Isaiah 53:12). He gives it all. And He does so for (in the place of) His sheep, as their substitute.

The blessing, of course, is that unlike when the earthly shepherd is killed and leaves the sheep to face their death, Christ's death brings life. Life to the full.

And because of this act of Christ, grounded in the eternal love of the triune God for His sheep, Jesus goes on: "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd." In addition to gathering the lost sheep of Israel from out of the fold of the Jews, there is the whole world of the Gentiles, He has His sheep there too.

Notice especially that little word must when Jesus says: "them also I must bring." It's a must because such helpless, stubborn, foolish and sinful sheep would never make their own way to Him, unless they were gathered. It's a must because as the Great I AM

Jesus will show Himself as the fulfillment and fulfiller of all of the Old Testament prophecies that all of the families of the earth should be blessed. And, in keeping with Christ's love for His Father and for all those the Father has given Him it's a must of loving compulsion. He must, and He will!

In this same chapter John goes on to inform us that about a month later, at the next festive occasion (Hanukkah) Jesus returned to the discussion and proclaimed: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.

What an impact. What confidence that gives us for the life and mission of the church.

I AM, says Jesus. I am the good shepherd. Bold claims. In the context of these feasts it ought to have been patently obvious that Jerusalem had received a great Visitor, toward whom none can remain neutral. They didn't. They heard what He was saying, and they took up stones to kill Him.