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John 10:11-16 - Mine!

  • Writer: Chad Werkhoven
    Chad Werkhoven
  • Jun 3
  • 4 min read

Updated: Jun 11

Your significance comes from the Good Shepherd who claims you as His own.

Sheep in a grassy field at sunset. Text: "I know my own and my own know me, John 10:14." Sky has pink and orange hues, serene mood.

John 10:11-16 (NIV)


CONTEXT: Jesus is speaking to a group of incredulous Pharisees


“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.


14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Canons of Dordt

Point 2 - Limited Atonement


Article 8: The Saving Effectiveness of Christ’s Death

  1. For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father 

    1. that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son’s costly death 

      1. should work itself out in all the elect, 

      2. in order that God might grant justifying faith to them only 

    2. and thereby lead them without fail to salvation. 

  2. In other words, it was God’s will that Christ 

    1. through the blood of the cross 

    2. (by which he confirmed the new covenant) 

    1. should effectively redeem 

      1. from every people, tribe, nation, and language 

      2. all those and only those 

        1. who were chosen from eternity to salvation 

        2. and given to him by the Father; 

    2. that Christ should grant them faith

      1. (which, like the Holy Spirit’s other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death). 

  3. It was also God’s will 

    1. that Christ should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, 

      1. both original and actual, 

      2. whether committed before or after their coming to faith; 

    2. that he should faithfully preserve them to the very end; 

    3. and that he should finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without spot or wrinkle.


Summary


The shepherd motif has a rich history in Scripture, which is fitting given how familiar many of the Bible’s original readers would have been with the role and responsibilities of a shepherd. But the shepherd concept extended to more than just one who watches over a flock of sheep; both kings and sometimes even local deities were considered as shepherds over their people.


So when Jesus here famously claims to be the good shepherd, He's not just equating Himself to a humble agrarian caretaker, but He's claiming to be a king. And not just a typical king; in announcing Himself He began with the theologically charged phrase I AM, which would have been understood by the Pharisees who heard it as the holy name the LORD identified Himself as when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush.


Jesus included the Pharisees He spoke to in His metaphor. Whereas He is the true and good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, the religious establishment that the Pharisees were part of were nothing more than uncaring hired hands who abandoned their posts at the first sign of danger.


In just five short words - I AM the good shepherd - Jesus claims to be the rightful protector of God's people (contrary to the current religious hired hands), the true King of Israel, and even to be God Himself!



  Dig Deeper  


As amazing and profound as what Jesus' claims about Himself are here, it's what He says about His sheep - that's us - that draws our attention today:


14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.


Literally translated, Jesus said I know mine and mine know me.


What's critical to understand here is that Jesus wasn't putting His emphasis on the fact that you're a sheep, but rather that you are His - that you belong to Him, the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. He didn't lay down His life for all of the sheep, just the ones that He claims as mine, the ones He would go on to describe in v29 as the sheep which my Father has given to me.


So who then are the other sheep that are not of this sheep pen? Although the Mormons like to imagine these sheep as a supposed civilization (the 'Nephites') living in North America two thousand years ago whose descendents would go on to become latter day saints, the real explanation is far simpler. You and I are the other sheep, in that we are (for the most part) gentiles and not physical descendents of Abraham that Jesus was speaking directly to.


Most of us don't have much worldly significance; it often seems like we're just a random statistic in a sea of statistics. When you feel that way, remember these words of your Savior, the Good Shepherd. He says of you, you are mine! That's true significance!



  • ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who along with His Son, the Good Shepherd, and the Holy Spirit are the Triune God;

  • ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live with the confidence and significance of knowing that you fully belong and are protected by the Good Shepherd;

  • ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 14

 
 
 

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