Pastoral Care - Inspiration from John 10

Michael Hardt

As the good shepherd, Christ stands alone. He is absolutely unique. This becomes clear very quickly from reading John 10 (see especially verses 11 and 14). At the same time, this passage also contains much information about the sheep and their needs. Therefore, many prompts for shepherd care can be gained from considering the good shepherd as the perfect model.

Let us consider these aspects in turn: the good shepherd, the sheep, and lessons we can draw for pastoral care.

What Christ did for the sheep

In John 10, three pictures are used to bring home to us what Christ did for the sheep.

First, the Lord Jesus came as the shepherd. He had accepted the task of looking after God’s flock (cf. Zech. 11:4, 7). He was marked out as the shepherd because He entered ‘by the door to the [Jewish] fold of the sheep’ (John 10:1–6): humbly, meeting all requirements stipulated in the prophetic word. He fulfilled every prophecy relating to His first coming (born at the appointed time, as son of Abraham and son of David, in Bethlehem, etc.). What happened when the Messiah-shepherd came? His sheep heard His voice, and He led them out of the fold. The man born blind (John 9) is a good example of this. On the face of it, he had been cast out, and the Lord, Himself an outcast, had found him. But the divine perspective on these events is an entirely different one: the shepherd had found one of His sheep and graciously led him out of the fold.

Verses 7–9 contain the second picture. Here, Christ does not enter by the door (of the fold), but He is the door. On the one hand, He is the door leading the sheep out of the Jewish fold — not into a new fold but into liberty. On the other hand, He leads the sheep into blessing (v. 9).

Third, starting with verse 10, Christ is the shepherd again. As a matter of fact, He is the good shepherd. As such:

He stands in contrast to the ‘thief’ — a pseudo-shepherd who seeks to enrich himself at the expense of the flock (v. 10).
His character is marked by love and liberality: He gives His life for the sheep (vs. 11, 15).
Giving His life (Gr. psyche), He can give eternal life (Gr. zoe), even life in abundance (v. 11b).[1]
A further mark of the good shepherd is mutual knowledge between Him and the sheep (v. 14). In fact, this knowledge is likened to the knowledge between Him and the Father! As Christ confided in the Father and the Father delighted in Him, so the sheep can confide in the shepherd, knowing they are the object of His heart.
The gift of the shepherd’s life is so great that the blessing cannot be confined to the few sheep led out of the (Jewish) fold. He ‘must’, so He declares, bring ‘other sheep’, Gentile people like most Christians today (v. 16).
In verses 17–19 we learn of an even more elevated part of the truth: the tremendous gift of His own life was not only for the blessing of the sheep but also for the delight of the Father. He provides the Father with a new motive to love Him by performing the greatest deed ever. In a scene where death had entered, He brought life. He achieved this through an act that was, at the same time, one of voluntary devotion (‘I lay down my life’) and of perfect obedience (a ‘commandment of my Father’).
Then, following the attacks of those who (by attacking Him) demonstrated they were not of His sheep, the Lord brings out the blessed assurance and certainty of those who are really His sheep: possessing eternal life, eternally secure, never to perish, safe in the hands of the shepherd and safe in the hands of the Father (vs. 27–29).
Finally, we learn in verse 30 that the one who came, humbly — by the door — is none other than God! ‘I and the Father are one.’

The sheep and their needs

Although the focus of this passage is on the good shepherd, we can draw upon the information provided about the sheep in our applications to shepherd care. His sheep are marked by the following features (amongst others):

They hear His voice (initially in receiving life, and then continuously). This is a statement of fact in the first instance. Nevertheless, it speaks to our consciences (vs. 3, 16, 27).
They receive life (v. 10).
They follow the good shepherd (vs. 4, 27).
They listen to no other voice (v. 5).

The importance of listening to the shepherd’s voice (and none other) and of following Him becomes evident once you bear in mind that sheep are notoriously prone to lose their way (Isa. 53:6).

Further, the sheep:

flee from danger, knowing their weakness (v. 12);
can be scattered by the wolf but cannot be snatched out of the shepherd’s hand (vs. 12, 28).

Lessons for shepherd care

As stated above, Christ stands alone: only He came — entering ‘by the door’ — as Messiah-shepherd to the fold; only He gave His life; and only He can give life and accomplish the work of atonement, to the Father’s delight.

Nevertheless, we can learn from Him. His actions as well as His shepherd character provide rich inspiration for all engaged in shepherd care (and for all who are willing to be exercised as to whether the Lord would use them in this field of service). Here are some points worth noting:

The Lord’s humility (vs. 2, 3)

He was willing to enter by the door. If we follow His example, we do not need to bend the rules, take shortcuts or assert ourselves. Shepherd care takes humility.

He leads the sheep (vs. 3, 4)

Sheep tend to go astray. They need direction and true leadership. Such leadership does not happen from behind but by the shepherd leading the sheep, going before them. Shepherds have to lead by example. Anyone exercising shepherd care (and, to some extent, all of us) needs to appreciate that believers will imitate what they observe in others, and especially in those they look up to (cf. Phil. 3:17; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Pet. 5:3). Paul could say: ‘Be my imitators, even as I also am of Christ’ (1 Cor. 11:1).

He leads ‘out’ (vs. 3, 4)

Christ led His (Jewish) sheep out of the sheep fold, leading them from Judaism to Christianity. Even today, He desires that His sheep are led out of religious systems that are at variance with His Word. Shepherd care will, at times, involve making this point: believers should not be kept in (denominational) ‘folds’ but should know liberty, meeting simply to the name of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 18:20).

He gives liberty (v. 9)

The Lord is the door by which the sheep can ‘go in and out’ — that is, enjoy Christian liberty. Shepherd care will involve instructing believers in this liberty: free from the law, free from the power of sin, simply following the voice of the good shepherd (see Rom. 6:14; 8:2; Gal. 5:1, 2).

He ensures His sheep find good pasture(v. 9)

Presenting the Lord’s people with green pasture offering spiritual food of high nutritional value is a vital element of shepherd care. This work can involve the presentation of the Word in public or ‘in the houses’ (Acts 5:42), as well as encouraging and directing the sheep to find their way to wholesome pastures — where Christ is presented.

There has never been a time in which so much good spiritual food has been available in the form of Bible commentaries (printed and electronic), lectures, video messages and the like. At the same time, there has also never been so much counterfeit, admixture of error — very dangerous pasture. In the era of ‘fake news’ we are never far from ‘fake views’, that is from defective or even erroneous teaching — often only a click of a button away from us.

Shepherd care will involve showing the value of good pastures — and, where needed, warning against dangerous ones.

The shepherd cares about the sheep (vs. 11–13)

Here is a key characteristic of the shepherd, a distinguishing feature that marks him out. How can you tell the shepherd from the ‘hireling’? At first sight they look very similar. Both use the same sort of instruments, and both seem to be doing the same sort of things. The difference lies in the motivation. The hireling does not own the sheep, whereas the shepherd does. The hireling does not really care about the sheep, but the true shepherd does.

Here lies a heart-searching question: are we genuinely concerned about the sheep and their well-being or are other motives at play in any service which we might undertake, whether they be pecuniary objectives, the desire to build up a reputation, the aim of being esteemed by others or being seen to be shepherding, or the like?

He protects the sheep (vs. 11–13)

When the wolf comes, the good shepherd places himself between the predator and the sheep. He knows that running away and avoiding the wolf’s attack is not an option for one who cares for the sheep. In the moment of crisis, the difference between shepherd and hireling becomes even more evident: the hireling runs, while the shepherd courageously protects the sheep.

The shepherd also stands in contrast to others in other respects:

the thief who seeks to enrich himself through cunning (vs. 1, 10),
the robber who, seeking to achieve the same end, uses violence (v. 1),
the hireling who is not malicious but self-seeking and hence, ultimately, a danger for the sheep because he cares more about his own skin than about their safety (vs. 12–13),
the wolf who comes to scatter the sheep, whereas the shepherd gathers (v. 12).

Other matters

A profitable shepherd knows that there is one flock[2] (not fold) and one shepherd (v. 16):

he knows the sheep are held together not by fences[3] but by attraction to Christ, the true shepherd (He is the chief shepherd; we are, at best, His ‘under-shepherds’; cf. 1 Pet. 5:4),
he also realises there is one flock. He steers clear of creating ‘folds’ of denominational membership or national boundaries.

A good pastor (shepherd) will imitate the good shepherd (cf. vs, 17, 18):

by acting in obedience to the Father, shepherding in a way that delights Him,
by serving with Christ before his eyes who did so perfectly, even voluntarily laying down His life!

Finally, good shepherd ministry confirms the sheep as to their eternal security (v. 27–29), pointing out that — although weak in themselves — they have a life which is eternal, they will not perish, and they are safe in the hand of the good shepherd (the Lord Jesus) and safe in the hand of the Father. To be able to feed on Christ, to find delight in Him and to grow and develop well, Christians need to know that their salvation is assured and cannot be lost. They are a gift made by the Father to the Son, the good shepherd. He will never let them go.

May the example of the good shepherd — unmatchable as it is — inspire genuine shepherd care for His flock!

[1] Phsyche is used for human life and for ‘soul’ but when it comes to eternal life, Scripture uses an entirely different word (zoe).

[2] Verse 16 should read ‘one flock’ (as in the J N Darby Translation), not ‘one fold’ (a serious mistake in the otherwise much blessed Authorised Version).

[3] Obviously, this scripture does not invalidate passages that exhort us to separate from evil (2 Tim. 2:19–22 etc.). However, this is not the thought in this passage. Here, the emphasis is on the fact that it is one flock, without any distinction between the sheep that used to be in the fold (believers with a Jewish background) and the ‘other sheep’ (believers with a non-Jewish background).

From: Truth and Testimony, 2023