The Way
I Am the Good Shepherd
The shepherd who calls his sheep by name
Story
When the shepherd comes in through the gate and calls his own sheep by name, one by one, the sheep know his voice and follow him out. From a stranger's voice they only run away. With this familiar scene, Jesus spoke of himself. I am the gate for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Before long it was winter, and Jerusalem was keeping the Feast of Dedication. As Jesus walked in Solomon's Colonnade in the temple, the Jewish leaders surrounded him. How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered. I have told you already, and you do not believe. My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. No one can snatch them out of my hand.
I and the Father are one. No sooner were the words spoken than people picked up stones again. When they tried to seize him, he slipped out of their grasp and withdrew across the Jordan to the place where John had first baptized, and he stayed there. Many people came to him. John never did a single sign, they said, but everything he said about this man was true. And there many believed in Jesus.
Walk this scene on the map →His Words
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.
I came so that the sheep may have life, and have it in overflowing abundance.
My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
The Father and I are one.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Jn 10:1–42
Background
The Feast of Dedication is a winter festival commemorating how Judas Maccabeus, in 164 BC, recovered the Temple defiled by the foreign king Antiochus the Fourth and dedicated it again. Today it is Hanukkah.
Pause and Reflect
Among all the voices around me, whose voice do I listen to most closely?