NOTES for Joh 10:11

As before, Jesus uses symbolic words from everyday life familiar to people in order to express who He is and why He has come. This time He calls Himself the shepherd, ready to protect and preserve the flock even at the cost of His own life.

Like other images, this little parable cannot prove anything to anyone. Although the Lord says that the sheep know the shepherd by his voice, most of them prefer not to remember or accept this. This image can only help a person who already trusts Jesus to understand Him better, to become convinced of the truth of His words, and to hear once again from the pages of the Gospel how a familiar voice calls him by name - for in this flock each sheep is unique and is worth the shepherd's life. The one who by faith knows why and for whom the Lord died and rose again can now realize how immeasurably close and dear he is to the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep.