We are used to thinking of shepherds as guides, herding their sheep, leading them to pasture. This image is powerfully portrayed in that most famous psalm – The Lord is My Shepherd (Ps 23).
Insofar as we have any acquaintance with the activities of shepherds (and their dogs, which of course are the cute ones), we might take this to be their primary role.
However, at the time of Jesus, there was a much more fundamental role for the shepherd. He was the protector of the flock, and the need for protection was very real. Anywhere outside a town was dangerous, wild animals were common, and hungry. Sheep had to travel over long distances to forage, they couldn’t be kept safely in a field near a farm. Shepherds had to wander with them, and those days had only sticks and stones to fight off predators (just like David many years before). I don’t think I’d want to go up against wolves or bears in those circumstances.
In today’s gospel reading (Jn 10:11-18) Jesus is drawing on the image of the shepherd as protector. And there is a fierceness associated with this protection. This is no cuddle to make you feel better. This is a matter of life and death, literally. This is the strength of character and purpose associated with battles in a time of war, when death is very real. It isn’t about making someone feel better, it’s about protecting their life.
The price this shepherd is prepared to pay is his own life: “I will lay down my life for the sheep”. Consciously and willingly this shepherd will die to protect his sheep. And not just the ones he was given to look after (the House of Israel) – this shepherd will give his life for any and all sheep. No one is beyond the reach of his protection, because there is only one flock and one shepherd. Whoever we are, wherever we may be, whatever we have done, we are all part of this one flock. He dies for everyone.