Christ is spoken about as the good shepherd in John 10:11-15, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Christ is represented to us in Scripture under a great variety of names and titles. There are more than a hundred different names applied to Christ in the Bible. He is the rose of Sharon, the apple tree, the plant of renown, the bridegroom, the husband, the friend of sinners, the door, the way, the true vine, etc. The reason is that no one name fully describes Immanuel. He is so full, so wonderful, so filled with treasures of grace to the needy soul, that all the names in the Bible do not half describe him. Here is one of the sweetest: ‘I am the good shepherd.’
‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep’ (verse 11); ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine’ (verse 14). The Lord here lays down the marks of His excellency as a shepherd.