13. THE GOOD SHEPHERD (John 10:1-16)

1. Verses 1-6. At this stage Jesus hasn’t yet revealed that he is talking about himself. Thus the discussion in your Bible study must for the moment deal only with a literal shepherd and his sheep.
   • What characteristics does a sheep have according to these six verses?
   • What is peculiar to a shepherd according to these verses?
   • Why can’t a sheep manage without a shepherd?
   • Why is it not easy to change from one shepherd to another?
   • What are the differences between a shepherd and a thief?
   • What is the function of a watchman in the life of a sheep?
      
2. Verses 7-10. Thieves, robbers and gates.
   • What does it mean that Jesus is a gate? (Where is he a gate to?)
   • Whom is Jesus referring to in verse eight?
   • Why should anyone want to come into a Christian fellowship “over the fence” and not through the gate (cf. also verse 1)?
   • What does Jesus mean by claiming that inside the Christian fellowship there are people who will “steal and kill and destroy”?
   • Are these words of Jesus relevant to your own life: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (verse 10)?
      
3. Verses 11-13: It is only now that Jesus reveals himself as the Good Shepherd of whom many prophets in the Old Testament wrote about. (For example Ezek.34 and Psalms 23).
   • What are the differences between a shepherd and a hired hand? (Why would a hired hand have accepted the job in the first place, do you think?)
   • Whom is Jesus referring to as “a hired hand”?
   • Find as many similarities as possible between Jesus and a good shepherd.
   • How would you feel if your child offered his life for his dog?
   • Which of these two things makes more sense to you: that a man dies for the sake of an animal or that God dies for the sake of human beings?
   • Why did Jesus agree to die for your sake?
   • Give on example of “a wolf” found among Christians.
   • How must the shepherds of our day fight the “wolves” that attack our Christian fellowship?
      
4. Verses 14-16: Coming to know the Good Shepherd.
   • How do a sheep and a shepherd come to know each other? (How does Jesus come to know us and how do we come to know him?)
   • What does this passage teach us about the words of Jesus (3,4,5,8,16)?
   • How can we learn to distinguish the voice of Jesus from other voices?
   • What is common to all the Christians of the world (verse 16)?
   • Why can’t we speak about the Good Shepherd without speaking about his death?