During one of the times Jesus was preaching the crowds, He alludes to His upcoming death. However, this idea seems to be lost on the crowd He was speaking to. When Jesus begins talking about a good shepherd and contrasting this person with descriptions of both thieves and robbers, Jesus describes the good shepherd as one who gives His life for His sheep.
Jesus clearly states this first in verse 11 when He says: “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep.” Jesus then reemphasizes this idea a few verses later by saying, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep.” (v. 14-15)
If that wasn’t enough, Jesus emphasizes this one more time, and in this third time, Jesus also hints at the idea of a future resurrection. “The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.” (v. 17-18)
Here in the third reference to Jesus (a.k.a. the Good Shepherd) giving up His life, we see Jesus describing the life He gave up being returned to Him. This sounds a lot like resurrection in my mind. This could be coincidence that there are three references to giving up His life, and in the third reference we find Jesus referring to receiving His life back again. This echoes what happened on crucifixion weekend, where Jesus gave up His life and on the third day He received His life back when He was resurrected from the tomb.
While Jesus’ teaching about being a good shepherd divides those present in His audience, we can learn that nothing Jesus ever said or did happened by chance. Everything in Jesus’ life followed God’s plan, and Jesus ultimately gave His life up on the cross so that all of God’s people could have the assurance of a new life with Him in heaven.
We can place our hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus because He is willing to face death because He loves us so much. Jesus died for you and me, and this is the clearest example of how God feels about you and me.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Read this article on the web on it's official page: Giving Up His Life: John 10:1-21
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