John 10:11

John 10:7-10 expand the idea of the gate from John 10:1-5, and John 10:11-18 develop the idea of the Shepherd from those verses.

Here is another "I am" claim. Jesus is the Good Shepherd in contrast to the bad shepherds just described (John 10:8; John 10:10 a). Rather than killing the sheep so He might live, as the bad shepherds did, Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life (Gr. psyche, the total self) so the sheep might live. It is this extreme commitment to the welfare of the sheep that qualified Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The titles "Great Shepherd" (Hebrews 13:20-21) and "Chief Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:4) stress different aspects of Jesus’ character as a shepherd. Good shepherding involves protecting, providing, and sacrificing.

"Good" (Gr. kalos) connotes nobility and worth, not merely gentleness. It contrasts Jesus with the unworthy and ignoble shepherds that He proceeded to describe (John 10:12-13). Laying down His life is a uniquely Johannine expression that describes a voluntary sacrificial death (cf. John 10:17-18; John 13:37-38; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16). Likewise the preposition hyper ("for") usually connotes sacrifice (cf. John 13:37; John 15:13; Luke 22:19; Romans 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Most shepherds do not intend to die for their sheep but to live for them; they only die for their sheep accidentally. Yet Jesus came to die for His sheep. Of course, Jesus also came to die for the whole world (John 6:51; John 11:50-52).