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10:1 "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 10:2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 10:4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 10:5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." 10:6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 10:7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 10:8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 10:9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away--and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 10:13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 10:16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 10:17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father." 10:19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 10:20 Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?" 10:21 Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

(1b) John 15:13

15:13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.

(1c) 1 John 3:16

3:16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.

The major biblical parallels to the good shepherd theme are to be found in Ezekiel 34 and the Psalms (23, 95, 100):

Ezekiel 34

34:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 34:2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them--to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. 34:5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. 34:6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. 34:7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 34:8 As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; 34:9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 34:10 Thus says the Lord GOD, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 34:12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 34:13 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 watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 34:14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 34:16 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, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. 34:17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 34:19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet? 34:20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 34:21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 34:22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 34:23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 34:24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. 34:25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. 34:26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 34:27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 34:28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. 34:29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. 34:30 They shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD. 34:31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.

Psalm 23

23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
23:3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.
23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Psalm 95

/1/ O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
/2/ Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
/3/ For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
/4/ In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
/5/ The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
/6/ O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
/7a/ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Psalm 100

/1/ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
/2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
/3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
/4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
/5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations

RCL: Easter 4, Year B
ECUSA & RC: Easter 4, Year B

advanceWord: Easter 4B

John Dominic Crossan