John 10: “I Am the Good Shepherd”
1. The Door of the Sheepfold
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.” (Jn 10:1)
The sheepfold is the Church; the door is Christ Himself.
All who try to lead souls apart from Him — false messiahs, heretics, and deceivers — are thieves.
St Augustine explains:
“The sheepfold is the unity of the faithful; the door is Christ. Whoever enters not by Christ, enters to steal, not to save.”
(Tractates on John 45.2)
The Gospel begins not with a sentimental shepherd image but a warning: salvation has only one gate.
2. The True Shepherd’s Voice
“He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (vv. 2–3)
Christ’s authority is legitimate, personal, and loving.
He calls each sheep by name — intimacy, not anonymity.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“He calls by name when He moves the heart inwardly by grace; for faith hears not by ear but by love.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
The true shepherd does not drive; he leads. His voice precedes His flock.
3. “A Stranger They Will Not Follow”
“A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (v. 5)
The sheep’s instinct of discernment — born of intimacy with the Shepherd — protects them from deceit.
To “know His voice” is the fruit of prayer and fidelity.
St Augustine remarks:
“Those who know the voice of Christ flee from the voice of the world, not by feet but by affections.”
(Tractates on John 45.5)
True discipleship is not naïve tolerance of every voice, but loving recognition of one.
4. “I Am the Door”
“So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’” (v. 7)
Christ Himself interprets the parable: He is both the Shepherd and the Door — both leader and access.
No prophet, priest, or king can save except through Him.
St Ambrose comments:
“He is both Shepherd and Door — Shepherd by His care, Door by His passion; for through His wounds we enter to life.”
(On the Mysteries 30)
Every sacrament, every grace, every vocation opens only through this door.
5. “I Came That They May Have Life”
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (v. 10)
Here is the Gospel in one line.
Christ’s mission is not mere deliverance from death, but overflowing life — zoe perisson — divine, superabundant, eternal.
St Augustine writes:
“He gives not merely to live, but to live more — that is, to love more, to rejoice more, to be more filled with God.”
(Tractates on John 45.9)
Grace is not survival but joy.
6. “I Am the Good Shepherd”
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (v. 11)
The adjective kalos (“good”) also means “noble,” “beautiful.”
Christ’s goodness is moral and majestic — beauty revealed through sacrifice.
St Ambrose teaches:
“He calls Himself good because He lays down His life; for true goodness is proved by giving.”
(On the Duties of the Clergy II.11)
The Shepherd does not merely protect the flock; He redeems it through His own death.
7. The Hireling
“He who is a hireling and not a shepherd… sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.” (vv. 12–13)
The hireling serves for pay, not for love. His ministry ends when it costs him comfort.
The wolf is the devil; the hireling’s flight symbolises faithless pastors or hypocrites.
St Bede warns:
“He who loves the wages of service more than the souls of the flock is a hireling; but the shepherd stands when the wolf comes.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
Pastoral integrity is measured by sacrifice.
8. “I Know My Own and My Own Know Me”
“As the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (vv. 14–15)
Christ’s relationship with His people mirrors His relationship with the Father: communion through knowledge and love.
Knowledge here means not information but union.
St Augustine explains:
“To know as He knows is to love as He loves; for in divine knowing there is no curiosity, only charity.”
(Tractates on John 46.3)
The Shepherd’s intimacy with His flock flows from the Trinity itself.
9. “Other Sheep I Have”
“And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice, so there shall be one flock, one shepherd.” (v. 16)
This is the prophecy of the Church universal — Jews and Gentiles united in one faith.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“Those not of this fold are the Gentiles; the voice that once called Israel in the desert now gathers the nations to one pasture.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
Unity is not uniformity but shared belonging in the Shepherd’s voice.
10. “I Lay Down My Life… That I May Take It Again”
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again.” (v. 17)
Christ’s sacrifice is entirely voluntary — not fate, not force, but filial obedience.
He gives His life as priest and victim both.
St Ambrose comments:
“He lays it down by power, not necessity; for He is Lord even of His own death.”
(On the Mysteries 30)
The Resurrection is implicit: the Shepherd dies to rise, and rises to gather.
11. Division Among the Jews
“There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.” (v. 19)
Truth always divides before it unites.
The same voice that draws the sheep unsettles the wolves.
St Augustine remarks:
“The Word divides hearts that He may purify them; for unity cannot be built on hypocrisy.”
(Tractates on John 46.9)
Christ’s words provoke decision — belief or rejection.
12. The Feast of Dedication
“It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.” (vv. 22–23)
The setting is symbolic: winter — the coldness of unbelief; the temple — the old covenant awaiting renewal; the portico of Solomon — wisdom unrecognised.
St Bede notes:
“He walks in winter because charity grows cold; yet He still walks, for even among the unbelieving His mercy lingers.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
Even in the chill of rejection, the Light of the world shines.
13. “Tell Us Plainly”
“How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” (v. 24)
They demand clarity but not faith. The problem is not lack of evidence but lack of humility.
St Augustine answers:
“They asked not to learn but to accuse; for those who seek signs without love cannot see the truth even when it speaks.”
(Tractates on John 47.2)
Faith sees more by trust than sight sees by proof.
14. “My Sheep Hear My Voice”
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life.” (vv. 27–28)
This is the heart of discipleship — hearing, being known, following, and receiving life.
The verbs flow in divine order: hearing leads to following, following to life.
St Bede explains:
“To hear is to obey; to be known is to be loved; to follow is to imitate; to receive life is to rest in God.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
Eternal life begins already in this obedience of love.
15. “No One Shall Snatch Them Out of My Hand”
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (vv. 29–30)
Security in salvation rests not in human strength but in divine fidelity.
The Son’s hand and the Father’s hand are one — proof of Christ’s divinity.
St Augustine declares:
“The same hand holds the sheep, for the Father and the Son are one essence, not two powers.”
(Tractates on John 48.5)
The unity of God guarantees the safety of His people.
16. “I and the Father Are One”
“The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” (v. 31)
This is the climax: Christ openly declares His consubstantial unity with the Father.
The reaction — stones — proves their understanding: they grasp the claim, but reject its truth.
St Ambrose teaches:
“He is not saying one in will merely, but one in nature; for will follows essence, and the Son is consubstantial with the Father.”
(On the Faith I.5)
This verse became a cornerstone of the Nicene Creed.
17. “You Are Gods”
“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If He called them gods to whom the word of God came… do you say of Him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (vv. 34–36)
Christ quotes Psalm 82, where judges are called “gods” as bearers of divine authority.
If that title applies to mere men by delegation, how much more to the One consecrated and sent by the Father.
St Augustine comments:
“They were called gods by participation; He alone is God by nature.”
(Tractates on John 48.8)
The Scripture they claim to defend condemns their unbelief.
18. “The Father Is in Me and I Am in the Father”
“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me… but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works.” (vv. 37–38)
Christ appeals to His deeds as revelation of His unity with the Father.
His miracles are sacraments of identity — the works manifest who He is.
St Bede writes:
“The Father acts in the Son, not as through an instrument but as in His own Word; for their operation is one, as their essence is one.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
Faith is invited, not forced: “believe the works.”
19. Withdrawal Beyond the Jordan
“He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptised, and there He remained.” (v. 40)
Christ withdraws not in fear but in divine strategy — a return to the source of His public ministry, the place of baptism and beginning.
The light withdraws only to shine again more fully in Passion and Resurrection.
St Augustine notes:
“He withdraws bodily that He may return spiritually in His Passion; for He never leaves those who love Him.”
(Tractates on John 49.2)
20. “Many Believed in Him There”
“And many came to Him; and they said, ‘John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.’ And many believed in Him there.” (vv. 41–42)
Faith blooms where pride had not chilled the soil.
The contrast is clear: the temple rejects; the wilderness believes.
St Bede comments:
“He is received where John baptised, for humility always receives what pride rejects.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, I.14)
The Good Shepherd gathers His sheep, one heart at a time.
21. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Door and Shepherd | Christ as sole Mediator and Saviour |
| Voice and knowledge | Personal relationship of love |
| Laying down life | Voluntary, redemptive death |
| One flock, one shepherd | Unity of the Church under Christ |
| I and the Father are one | Full revelation of Christ’s divinity |
St Augustine summarises:
“He is Door, Shepherd, and Light — by Him we enter, by Him we are led, by Him we see.”
(Tractates on John 48.12)
22. Moral and Spiritual Application
Enter only through Christ. Every other “way” leads to loss.
Learn to recognise His voice. Silence, prayer, and Scripture train the ear of the soul.
Be faithful shepherds. Love the flock more than your comfort.
Rejoice in unity. Seek “one flock, one shepherd” in charity, not uniformity.
Rest secure. No one can snatch you from the Father’s hand.
23. Christ the Good Shepherd
| Image | Fulfilment |
| Shepherd | Christ leading, feeding, and defending His Church |
| Door | The only access to salvation |
| Voice | Revelation through Word and Spirit |
| Life laid down | The Cross and Resurrection |
| One flock | The Church united under the true Shepherd |
St Ambrose concludes:
“The Shepherd became the Lamb, that the Lambs might not fear the wolf; He who guards us by His power guides us by His wounds.”
(On the Mysteries 30)
24. Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd and true Door of the sheep,
You know us each by name and call us into the light of life.
Guard us from the voices of strangers,
keep us in the unity of Your fold,
and teach us to follow You wherever You lead.
May we rest secure in Your hand
and hear Your voice again in the eternal pasture of heaven,
where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 