[2026. 4. 26.] I Am the Good Shepherd | John 10:11–18

[2026. 4. 26.] I Am the Good Shepherd | John 10:11–18

Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch) 

 

2026. 4. 26. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 29
본문: 요한복음 10:11–18
제목: 나는 선한 목자라

설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)

 

In the Gospel of John, it is said that there are seven “ego eimi,” that is, seven declarations in which Jesus proclaims His own identity by saying, “I am ~.” Today’s passage contains the fourth of those seven.

What were the first and second? (1) I am the bread of life (John 6:35), (2) I am the light of the world (John 8:12). (3) I am the gate for the sheep (John 10:7), and now the fourth declaration appears twice in today’s passage, in verse 11 and verse 14. [v 11] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” [v 14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

I hope that today will be a time for us to know more deeply the Jesus who declares Himself to be the Good Shepherd.

 

1. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

[v 11] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The first characteristic of the Good Shepherd is that He lays down His life for the sheep. This can be seen as one of the ideas held by shepherds in Israel at that time.

David once made such a confession. Before going out to fight Goliath, he told King Saul about how he had rescued sheep during his shepherding days, and this appears in 1 Samuel 17. [1 Samuel 17:34–35] But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.” He says he fought lions and bears that carried off lambs and rescued the sheep, killing the wild beasts. This was an action that risked his own life. This shows the mindset and responsibility shepherds had when tending sheep. Shepherds in Palestine lay across the entrance of the sheepfold at night to protect the sheep, and when wild animals came, they had to fight with staffs and slings.

But not all shepherds would have done this. Many more would have abandoned the sheep and run away. In today’s passage, Jesus says such a person is not a shepherd but a hired hand, and He says the hired hand is different from the Good Shepherd. [v 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.”

What kind of person is a hired hand? He is not a true shepherd. The sheep are not his own. He is someone who is paid to watch someone else’s sheep. When a wolf comes, he abandons the sheep and runs away. He does not care for the sheep.

Their purposes differ. The Good Shepherd shepherds for the sake of the sheep, but the hired hand shepherds for his own benefit.

So when reading this passage, I often find myself asking, “Am I a good shepherd or a hired hand?” Pastors sometimes ask this question in meetings or sermons: “Are you a good shepherd or a hired hand?”

What do you think? “Do you think your pastor is a good shepherd or a hired hand?” You are not answering…

At times like this, not answering is wise. In fact, asking such a question shows that one has not properly understood the Good Shepherd described in this passage.

The phrase “good shepherd” here is ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός (ho poimēn ho kalos). The word kalos, translated as “good,” does not simply mean “kind,” but “beautiful, true, and inherently good.” Among all humans on earth, only one is inherently good. Who is that? Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus is not “one of many good shepherds”—He alone is the only Good Shepherd.

That the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep is not merely about protecting the sheep but is a foreshadowing of the cross, where He would voluntarily give His life to save the sheep. As I said last Sunday, even if a parent dies to save their child, that parent cannot become a savior. Why? Because God has not appointed them as savior. Why can’t God appoint a parent who dies for their child as savior? Because they are not inherently righteous—they are sinners born into sin. To be a savior, one must be inherently righteous and able to atone for sin. The only one in human history born without sin is Jesus, the only begotten Son whom God sent.

God caused Jesus to be crucified and lay down His life for the sheep. I hope you believe that He alone is the only Good Shepherd and the only Savior.

God has placed each of us during our lives as shepherds—pastors leading congregations, cell leaders leading their groups, teachers leading departments, parents leading families, leaders guiding teams at work or school. These people can be called shepherds. So again we ask: Are you a good shepherd or a hired hand? What will you answer?

We are not the Good Shepherd. We cannot be the Good Shepherd, nor should we be hired hands. What are we then? We are people born inherently sinful, yet through the life of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we have been called righteous. As believers, we are shepherds who daily grow to resemble Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and the love we are to follow is not emotional love but love proven through sacrifice. Therefore, let us remember that we are called to live not self-centered lives but lives of sacrifice, service, and love for others, following the way Jesus loved.

[Application] Do I acknowledge that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is my Shepherd? What must I lay down and sacrifice today to resemble Him?

 

2. The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, and the sheep know the Shepherd.

[v 14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Here, the word “know” is the Greek γινώσκω (ginosko), which means not simple information but relational, personal, experiential knowing. “I know Christopher Luxon, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. He was born in 1970, became a National Party MP in 2020, and became Prime Minister in 2023.” If someone asks, “Wow, you know the Prime Minister well. Do you meet him often?” and I answer, “I have never met him once,” this is not ginosko.

“I know Joon well. I saw him from birth, watched him grow, kept meeting and talking with him, and even now I meet him every week.” This is ginosko.

A shepherd lives with the sheep daily. So the shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep also know who their shepherd is. Here, the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep represents the relationship between Jesus and us, the believers. I hope the fact that Jesus knows us becomes a great comfort and strength to you. Jesus knows our tendencies, our weaknesses, our wounds, and even our fears. And He does not stop at knowing—He personally cares for us and leads us. As sheep, we believers know Jesus’ love, goodness, and faithfulness. And what we know is not something we know by ourselves but something the Holy Spirit enables us to know. [1 Corinthians 12:3] Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Without the work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot know Jesus or confess Him as Lord. I hope you believe that our believing in Jesus and becoming like Him is all the work of the Spirit.

Jesus connects this relational, personal knowing between the Good Shepherd and the sheep to the intimacy within the Trinity. [v 15] “Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

I received much grace through this verse. Normally, a father knows a son differently than a son knows a father. I did not know my father well. Only after becoming a father myself did I begin to understand him, and when I wanted to know him more, he was already gone—he had gone to be with the Lord.

But Jesus says He knew the Father just as the Father knew Him. What is the secret of this intimacy? [John 17:21] “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…” The secret of the intimacy between God the Father and God the Son is that they met within one another.

Beloved saints, when we meet our Shepherd Jesus, there must also be an inner meeting. Even among believers, intimacy grows only when there is an inner meeting. Truly close friends have secrets they do not tell others. Friends who only know each other outwardly do not know each other’s hearts.

Why did Jesus lay down His life for the sheep? It appears again in verse 15. Let us look again. [v 15] “Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for the sheep because He knew the Father’s heart.

Our Good Shepherd Jesus knows us. He already knows even our innermost thoughts, but He wants us to speak our hearts to Him. Why? Because when we give our hearts, His heart comes to us. When we lay our hearts before the Lord, the Lord’s heart toward us is conveyed to us.

What is the Lord’s heart toward us? [Jeremiah 29:11] “ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope in your final outcome.” God says His thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace. How does this peace come to us? [Philippians 4:6–7] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Just as our Good Shepherd knows us, may we also know the Lord, follow Him, and enjoy His peace.

[Application] What does it mean to me that the Lord knows me? What decision must I make today to know Him more?

3. The Good Shepherd desires to lead sheep who are outside the fold.

[v 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.”

Who are the “other sheep not of this fold”? Primarily, Gentiles. Secondarily, unbelievers outside the body of Christ, the church. Jesus’ heart reaches beyond Israel to all people—even to those who do not believe. Across all barriers of ethnicity, culture, language, and generation, He desires that all people come to believe in Him through the gospel.

What did the Good Shepherd do to accomplish this? He laid down His life. [v 17] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.”

Jesus’ death on the cross may appear as though His life was taken by Jews and Romans, and people often think this way, but Jesus says otherwise. [v 18] “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus says He laid down His life voluntarily. Why? Because He received a command from the Father. This word “command” is the Greek ἐντολὴν (entolēn), which can mean command, instruction, or authority. It is often used for the “new command” Jesus gave—to love one another as He loved us. Here, it is easier to understand it as “command” or “mission.” The New Korean Translation renders it this way: “No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own free will… This is the command I received from my Father.”

In other words, Jesus’ death and resurrection were the fulfillment of the mission and authority He received from the Father to give life to the sheep.

The Good Shepherd who desires to lead all sheep gives the same mission to His disciples. [Matthew 28:19–20] “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is the Great Commission.

We are people who have received the mission from Jesus to go, preach the gospel, and make disciples. But even more amazing is this: we have not only received a mission—we have received authority. Just as God gave Jesus authority when giving Him His mission, Jesus gives us authority when giving us ours. That appears in the previous verse. [Matthew 28:18] “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Jesus says He has received all authority in heaven and on earth, and then what does He say to the disciples in the next verse? “Therefore go...” What does this mean? It means that when you go, you are not going by yourselves. He is saying that you go with all the authority in heaven and on earth that Jesus received. Why interpret it this way? Because of what He said at the end of verse 20: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Beloved saints, the Good Shepherd Jesus desires even today to bring lost sheep outside the fold into His flock. And He has called us into this amazing work of salvation. And to the disciples who go into the world with this mission, the Lord who has all authority in heaven and on earth promises to always be with them.

May all of you love Jesus, the only Good Shepherd who laid down His life and rose again for us, and joyfully fulfill the mission He has entrusted to us.

[Application] Who is the lost sheep the Lord is entrusting to me and sending me to? Have I ever experienced the authority of heaven and earth at work as I shared the gospel?

 

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.