Who is the Good Shepherd?

John 10:11,14,15 – I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.... 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

It is a familiar text.  We have all see the pictures— a very tranquil looking Jesus holding a shepherd's staff in one hand and a little lamb in the other.  What was Jesus saying about himself?

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

So, is he saying that he "has come to save that which was lost?"  Is it a metaphor about salvation? Yes.  But that isn't the main point that he is making.  He is talking about his identity.  For anyone familiar with their Scriptures— the Law and the Prophets and the Writings— he is saying, "This is who I Am."  When Jesus had something challenging to say, he told a parable.  He didn't say it directly— he used word pictures to say it.  Let's look at the Law and Prophets and Writings— who is the Good Shepherd?

The Shepherd in the Hebrew Scriptures

Genesis 48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Psalm 23:1 ... The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 28:8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 80:1 ... Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! 3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Ezekiel 34:11 For thus says the Lord God : Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. 17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God : Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.

Ezekiel 34:23 Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.

Ezekiel 34:31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.

Look closely at Ezekiel 34.  "For thus says the LORD God : Behold, I, I myself ....  I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep."  And then, a few verses later.  "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd."  And then, "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them."   On the one hand, God is saying "I myself" will be the shepherd, and then he will set "one shepherd, My servant David" over the sheep.  This is Ezekiel writing— long after the death of King David.  Who is he talking about?

Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 9:16 16 On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.

Zechariah 13:1 On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.... 6 And if one asks him, 'What are these wounds on your back?' he will say, 'The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' 7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

New Testament Shepherd Texts

Matthew 25:31 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  (Compare with Ezekiel 34:17)

Mark 14:26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.  (Compare with Zechariah 13:7)

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.... 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (Compare with Ezekiel 34:31) 

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,...

1 Peter 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

What was Jesus saying, when he said, "I am the Good Shepherd," he was saying,....  (you fill in the blank)

I AM .....