I am known. I am seen. I am loved. (part 5 in the I AM series)

John 10:14-15

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep”

Many times in the Old Testament, God is portrayed as the shepherd of His people. And then in the Gospels, Jesus describes Himself as the good shepherd. So again, in this I AM statement, Jesus is identifying Himself as God.

In first century Israel , shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the  social ladder. They shared the same unenviable status as the tax collectors and dung sweepers.

However, during the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great Patriarchs, shepherding had been a noble occupation. In those times, understanding that their God was the shepherd, and they, the flock, would have been tremendously comforting to His people.

In Ezekiel 34:15,16 for example, God says, “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest. . . . the lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal”.  How incredibly reassuring!

So, here in John’s gospel, as Jesus faces growing opposition from His enemies, once again He uses the shepherd/sheep metaphor. He draws His followers ever closer by introducing them to the kind and caring leader that He embodies—the Good Shepherd.

Jesus wants His disciples to recognise that He is not like the abusive religious leaders who were in constant conflict with Him and His ministry. The ones who took advantage of the sheep, neglecting the weak and helpless, abandoning the stray and the lost - placing impossible burdens upon the shoulders of their people.

Jesus really wants the disciples to have in mind a good shepherd. The one who provides for, and protects the sheep, carries the feeble and if needed, sacrifices his own life for the flock. Jesus always leads by example. He doesn’t have to push or prod us to follow Him, but guides us by walking ahead of us. We, His beloved sheep know Him - we can trust Him with the precious people in our lives, with our dreams and also with our heartache. Because we know Him, we can expect Him to be patient when we mess up and kind and compassionate when we are weak and overwhelmed.

Our good shepherd knows us all, one by one, as individuals, not as a collective group. He knows that we like cheese and not ham, blue but not teal, dogs, but only big ones. Jesus knows when we are worried and what brings us deep joy. He sees us, day by day, watching over us, as we come and go.

Jesus knows YOU, by name - He knows you spell it with a ‘y’ and not an ‘i’. He knows you hate it abbreviated, He knows you love it when your friend uses your nickname.

The word used here for ‘know’,γινώσκω, in Greek means ‘knowledge gained through experience’. In our verses in John a two-way intimate relationship of deep affection is alluded to. It is totally extraordinary to me, that Jesus also equates the depth of His commitment and love to us, with the one experienced between Him and the Father! That is mind blowing.

When we are hurt by the Church, or deeply disappointed by the moral fall of a Christian leader, it is all too easy to project these failings onto God, as though He Himself were the guilty one. Many, feeling betrayed, no longer attend church, and forsaking God, turn their back on Him.

But Jesus is the perfect shepherd-leader. He will never abandon us or humiliate us. He does not abuse or overlook us. He cannot fail us or manipulate us. When men and women let us down, He will never, ever let us down. We, His precious sheep, are His Number One priority.

Never, ever doubt how valued, how wonderfully known YOU really are. YOU are the beloved, the apple of His eye.