'I am the good shepherd'

Question 1

How many ‘I am’ statements does Jesus make in this discourse?

Answer 1

3, all of which have something to do with shepherding

Question 2

Who would this kind of language been very family too?

Answer 2

His listeners in 1st century Palestine

Question 3

Why were sheep the main farming animal in Palestine?

Answer 3

Because cows needed too much water, and pigs were off limits for the Jews

Question 4

Describe the role of a shepherd at this time

Answer 4

They were the lowest paid farm workers, with little incentive to risk their life to protect someone else’s flock

Question 5

Who do the sheep represent?

Answer 5

The ordinary Jewish people; ‘the lost sheep of Israel’, as Jesus calls them

Question 6

State Jesus’ ‘I am the gate’ statement in full

Answer 6

‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are theives and robbers, but the sheep will not have listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved’

Question 7

What does Jesus mean when he says he is the gate?

Answer 7

He is the way for the sheep to exit the pen and enter the pastures, which is a symbol for eternal life

Question 8

State John 14:6

Answer 8

I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

Question 9

Who does Raymond Brown suggest the theives and robbers are?

Answer 9

The Pharisees

Question 10

Why did Jesus think religious teachers had hijacked the Jewish faith?

Answer 10

Because they don’t really represent the type of religion God promised to Abraham.

Question 11

What does Jesus mean when he says ‘the sheep have not listened to them’?

Answer 11

Ordinary people can’t meet all the rules the Pharisees lay down, but they can believe in Jesus

Question 12

Give Jesus’ ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ statement in full

Answer 12

I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep

Question 13

What is the difference between the good shephers and the ‘hirelings’?

Answer 13

The hirelings only guard the flock because they are paid, whereas the good shepherd is motivated by love

Question 14

How is the idea of the good shepherd linked to the theme of God’s word becoming flesh?

Answer 14

Because God’s word comes to the Earth to seek out the lost souls, just as a good shepherd would look for a sheep who had wandered away from the flock

Question 15

How does the idea of the heroic shepherd link back to the story of King David?

Answer 15

David bravely fought of lions to protect his father’s flock as a youth. Jesus is in the line of David, and, like David, is defending his father’s flock - but his father is God and his flock is the entire human race

Question 16

What does Jesus mean when he talks about ‘laying down his life for the sheep’?

Answer 16

He is predicting his crucifixion: David only had to face down lions and survived; Jesus will have to face down the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Roman Empire, but he is prepared to die an atoning death to save people from sin

Question 17

How can Jesus be seen as identifying himself with God by calling himself the good shepherd?

Answer 17

Because the OT often uses the image of the good shepherd to describe Jesus

Question 18

Where is God referred to as the good shepherd in the OT?

Answer 18

Ezekial 37:24

Question 19

What does Jesus mean when he says his sheep ‘know him’?

Answer 19

That they have a relationship with him because they know him, rather than just following the rules

Question 20

How is what Jesus offers different to what the Pharisees offer?

Answer 20

Jesus offers a relationship of love with his followers, the same love that exists between him and God, whereas the Pharisees only offer rules to follow

Question 21

What does Jesus mean when he says that he has ‘other sheep that are not of this sheep pen’?

Answer 21

Jesus’ other sheep are the Gentiles. Jesus’ atoning death will not just be for the Jews, but for all people

Question 22

Why were the earliest Christian leaders called pastors?

Answer 22

It is from the Latin word for shepherd

Question 23

What did early bishops use to symbolise their authority?

Answer 23

A crozier, modeled on a shepherd’s crook

Question 24

How does Raymond Brown propose that the structure of the Johannine community and the idea that Jesus is the good shepherd are linked?

Answer 24

He proposes that the Johannine Community didn’t have pastors was more egalitarian than the other Christians churches of the time. Therefore this passage is meant to say that Christ, rather than any other human, is the true ‘pastor’ of the church

Question 25

What type of religion did Christianity become?

Answer 25

A hierarchical religion, with ranks and power at the top

Question 26

What was the problem with Christianity becoming a hierarchical religion?

Answer 26

Leaders would often abuse their power and exploit their followers

Question 27

Give some examples of Christians leaders abusing their power and exploiting their followers

Answer 27

• Directing them to war during the Crusades
• Torturing them for their beliefs during the Inquisition
• The recent child sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic church

Question 28

Why do some people criticise the idea of shepherds and sheep?

Answer 28

Because sheep are unintelligent and directionless; they cannot survive without the shephard in the world to protect them. By viewing Christian believers as sheep, Christianity had a low opinion of them and encourages blind faith

Question 29

Why was the idea of a good shepherd particularly pertinent to Jesus’ audience?

Answer 29

They would have understood how maddeningly stupid sheep were. By presenting himself as the good shepherd, Christ reassures us that God loves us despite our sinfulness and failure to follow his commands; it reminds us that we depend on God and cannot survive without him

Question 30

Why is Jesus accusing the Pharisees of trying to ‘steal’ sheep hypocritical?

Answer 30

Because the Pharisees that felt that Jesus was the one trying to hijack Judaism and start a religion of his own. If we’re supposed to be sheep, we can’t use reason to decide which shephard to follow

Question 31

What does the sheep pen represent?

Answer 31

Heaven

Question 32

What does the gate represent?

Answer 32

Following Jesus

Question 33

What do the thieves/robbers represent?

Answer 33

The world

Question 34

What does Jesus mean when he says that his followers ‘hear his voice’?

Answer 34

This is a reference to the Logos, the voice of God

Question 35

State Ezekial 34:31

Answer 35

‘And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God

Question 36

What does Schnackenburh say about the use of the word ‘shepherd’?

Answer 36

In ancient and Hellenic times, the use of ‘shepherd’ as a designation for a divine human leader was widespread

Question 37

State Isaiah 53:5

Answer 37

‘A shepherd was required to lay down his life for the sheep, as was the King of Israel’

Question 38

State John 10:30

Answer 38

‘The father and I are one’

Question 39

How did people react to John 10:30?

Answer 39

They tried to stone Jesus when he said this