I really enjoy the summer. Not just the weather (which is a welcome reprieve when one lives in Canada) but also the pace. I get to know my neighbours as we pause and chat while out on walks. I enjoy picnics in the park. One of my favourite activities is sitting around a bonfire, simply enjoying being in the company of others. I find relationships deepen in a unique way in these unstructured months of summer.

Deepening relationships is at the heart of the “I Am” statements. Nestled in John’s Gospel are seven names of Jesus. They are expressions of self-disclosure that show how God wants to be in relationship with us, and how we may encounter relationship with God through Jesus.

“I am the Good Shepherd” (see John 10:11-18) is a wonderful example of a relational name. This fourth name is filled with imagery and promise, not just of protective care but of our salvation hope. It is a royal and messianic image that is filled with missional possibility.

The Good Shepherd is also a name of relationship. We are created to be in relationship with one another and with God. Humans have three basic needs: to be known, to belong and to be loved (the third level of American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). The passage that encases Jesus’ name “I am the Good Shepherd” reveals to us how these three needs are met in Jesus.

In John 10:14-15, we discover how Jesus meets our need to be known. This knowledge runs far deeper than roles we fulfil or our accomplishments. Jesus knows our joy and sorrow, our fear and vulnerability. Jesus sees beneath our personas to who we are at the centre of our being, and the possibilities of who we can become. This is a knowledge of relationship. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we open up the ever-deeper recesses of our soul.

The next verse promises how the Good Shepherd meets our need to belong. A sense of belonging is cultivated when we feel a connection with other people, when we feel accepted for who we are (more than what we do). Belonging provides a place where we both give and receive care. 

The name Good Shepherd happens within a larger discourse of Jesus’ sixth sign (healing the man born blind in John 9). This man had spent his life on the margins of society, viewed as a sinner. He was restored physically and, hopefully, spiritually, as well. Yet this healing so angered the religious leaders that rather than being fully welcomed into community, he was thrown out (see John 9:34). Not only was this healing rejected by the religious leaders, but so, too, was the man. The next verses show howJesus finds the man and welcomes him into the fold. Jesus met this man’s need for belonging and identified that this belonging is availableto everyone: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

From knowing to belonging, we discover how our need to be loved is met by Jesus. Jesus’ name the Good Shepherd is intimately connected to his relationship with his Father. The Father loves the shepherd, and the shepherd will express God’s love by laying down his life for his sheep. In this way Jesus differentiates himself from all the “hired help” who will flee at the sign of danger. He will remain present and steadfast in the face of danger. He will sacrifice his own life so his sheep may live. Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus explains how there is no greater love than laying down one’s life for another (see John 15:13).

When we hear the name “Good Shepherd” it is natural to picture a tender image of enfolding a lamb in arms of love. However, as Jesus describes his name we encounter a fierce love, one that crosses to the margins to invite people to a space of belonging, one that perseveres through appearances to a space of knowing, and one that will steadfastly and sacrificially provide a space of loving.

Prayer Practice

1. Choose a picture ofJesus holding a lamb.
2. Feel his arms, tenderly and lovingly hold you. Rest here for a while.
3. Prayerfully consider: How do I belong to Jesus, and how am I known and loved by Jesus?

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