John 10:11 (DBY)

Passage

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep:

Nearby Context

John 10:9 I am the door: if any one enter in by me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and shall find pasture.

John 10:10 The thief comes not but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I am come that they might have life, and might have [it] abundantly.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep:

John 10:12 but he who serves for wages, and who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf seizes them and scatters the sheep.

John 10:13 Now he who serves for wages flees because he serves for wages, and is not himself concerned about the sheep.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "good", "shepherd", "lays", "down", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "good", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "The thief comes not but that he..." into verse 12's "but he who serves for wages and...", so "sheep" and "good" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "good" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.