John 10:11-18, the Gospel lesson appointed for the 4th Sunday of Easter in the Year of Mark is well-known as part of the Good Shepherd text. It is paired well with Psalm 23 which accompanies it on this Good Shepherd Sunday. What is striking about this part of the Good Shepherd chapter is the writer's emphasis on Jesus' willingness to lay down his life, certainly an extraordinary criteria for a shepherd. To risk one's life might be required of a shepherd, but to lay it down? Here is good news worthy of preaching!
(The following questions have been developed to help exegetes discover the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are used best as part of a larger repertoire available to students of scripture. For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)
1. How does the Word function in the text? The Word functions clearly as both Law and Gospel in this text. It functions as Gospel, announcing God's love and care, whenever the good shepherd is mentioned: in laying down their life for the sheep, in knowing the sheep intimately, and in including sheep "that do not belong to this fold." The Word functions as Law, showing us our need for a Savior, whenever the hired hand is mentioned: in abandoning the sheep to the wolf, in not caring for the sheep, and in allowing the sheep to be scattered.
2. With whom are you identifying in the text? We have two choices in this text: we can either identify with the hired hands who are condemned for their cowardice and refusal to care for the sheep, or we can identify with the sheep who are being cared for by the shepherd. If we choose the former, this text will call us to repentance. If we choose the latter, this text will bring us hope and strength, knowing that our good shepherd is watching over us.
3. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text? There is no word here that invites us to live in a certain way in response to God's work in Christ. We might see an invitation to be open to sheep that do not belong to the flock as a call to obedience, but that is not explicit.
4. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? The metaphor of shepherding is rich with ideas for couplets. A few suggestions: snatched/rescued; scattered/reunited; abandoned/cared for.
5. Exegetical work: Many scholars have tied the Pharisees in chapter 9 to the hired hands condemned in chapter 10. Patristic writers and reformers alike have come to this conclusion. Augustine is a good example: "Who then is the hireling? They are some in office in the church, of whom the apostle Paul says, 'Who seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's.'" (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. IVa, p. 346). Lamar Williamson Jr. is an example of a modern scholar who falls into this line: "Of all religious authorities who are more interested in their own prestige than in the welfare of God's flock, the text says: 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.' (10:10a). In contrast, Jesus offers himself as the entry way through which the sheep have free access to security on one hand and sustenance on the other." (Preaching the Gospel of John, p. 120). Craig Koester, another modern scholar, offers an interesting analysis of John's use of this metaphor. He notes that "the good shepherd imagery helps integrate the human, messianic, and divine dimensions of Jesus' identity into a coherent whole." Noting how John's listeners/readers would have likely been familiar with the OT imagery in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and other prophets, he argues that this shepherd image is multivalent, not only showing a contrast with the unfaithful 'shepherds' (i.e. Pharisees and scribes), but revealing Christ's unique exercise of power through giving up his life, and God's extraordinary gift of love in Christ. See Koester's work to read the entire analysis. (Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, p. 109-116).
6. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text? Mark Marius, in his April 17, 2021 post highlights the question of who we identify with in this text. Are we sheep, hired hands, or even wolves? It's clear who Jesus is, but who are we? that's the question. Go to crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.
Blessings on your proclamation!
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