John 10:11-16

John 10:11-16 - Daily Devotion - 5 August 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.14 I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.REFLECTIONSWritten by Ian MuAs I was reading this passage I wondered, “What would I actually lay down my life for?” Even just reflecting on the last week, I thought, I couldn't even give the people I love an hour of my time. I didn’t even manage to lay down my time, my comfort and my plans.Jesus really is a good shepherd because he laid down his life for us. A hired hand might look like he cares for his sheep, but the second danger strikes he is out of there! The false shepherds Jesus talked about are definitely not like the Good Shepherd. A false shepherd is not willing to lay down his comfort for God’s sheep.If I look at it from our perspective – we are the sheep, so the kind of person we need to follow is Jesus, because he laid down his life for us sheep.I also really like verse 14 where Jesus says, “I know my sheep.” As I was reflecting on that I thought: Wow, Jesus really does know everything. He knows my struggles and the reason and motivation for those struggles. He knows my thoughts and how I feel. And then I thought: How well do I really know him? When I think about how deeply Jesus knows us, I think how amazing it is that he still chose to lay down his life for us.That makes me ask myself: Who am I really following? Am I following the Good Shepherd who knows me and still chose to lay down his life for me, or am I following the hired hand who doesn't really care? I am challenged here to fully rely on the Jesus, the only one who cared so much that he laid down his life for me and for all God’s sheep. ABOUT THE AUTHORIan is a member of our Fairfield Morning congregation.