A man was walking along the countryside when he notices a lot of sheep and only one shepherd, so, curiously, he walks over to him and asks, “Are those sheep yours?”

“Which ones, the black, or the white?” the shepherd asks.

“The black ones?”

“They’re mine,” the shepherd says.

“I see. What about the white ones then?”

“They are also mine,” he replies.

The man thinks of his reply as both strange and funny, but lets it slide. The man’s curiosity continues, so he asks again, “How much wool do they produce?”

“The black or the white?” the shepherd asks again.

“The black ones,” the man says.

“About 20 kilograms.”

“And the whites, the man asks?”

“They also produce 20 kilograms.”

This time the man gets a little annoyed but still lets it slide and continues with another question:

“How much milk do they produce?”

“Which ones, the black or the white?”

Now it takes every ounce in the man’s body to hold on to his patience, but he does and asks, “The black ones?”

“About 15 liters.”

“And the whites?” he continues.

“Also 15 liters.”

The man loses it this time, enraged he says, “If all of them are yours, produce the exact same amount of milk and wool, then why do you keep asking for them separately?” The shepherd calmly replies, “You see those black ones, they belonged to my late father.”

The man’s disposition immediately changes from frustration to compassion after hearing him mention his late father and he feels both apologetic and sympathetic towards the shepherd, and sheepishly says, “O-oh I see,” before asking the final question, “And the white ones?”

“They also belonged to my father,” the shepherd says…

A story so bland it is brilliant in its building up towards the final less than surprising punch line and ending…But there is an unmistakable truth hidden in this story that is analogous to the reality of the relationship between the Good and True and Chief Shepherd, Jesus, and his sheep.

This shepherd here knows his sheep—all of his sheep—whether black or white—he knows how much each produces in wool—he knows how much each produces in milk—and he knows they were all a gift to him the son, from his father…

And…in a similar yet far more spiritually and eternally consequential way, Jesus the ultimate Good and True and Chief Shepherd, knows His sheep, inside and out, up and down, left and right, and every which way you can imagine—he knows them by name and himself names them—and each of his sheep have also been given to him by the Father as a gift.

And not only that, the Good Shepherd’s sheep know him—they know him, they recognize his voice, and they follow his voice alone—not the voice of pseudo-shepherds—they flee from every other voice that is not their beloved Shepherd’s, voice.

And in the continuation of our story this morning, Jesus reveals that this reciprocal, intimate, and personal knowledge, union, and love between the Good Shepherd and His Sheep is analogous to, borne from, and the direct result of the infinite and perfect unity of knowledge, action, purpose, and love between the Father and Son, within the Triune God.

And even more mindbogglingly, the eternal love between the Father and Son in the Triune God is the very motivation and ground that compels the love of the Good Shepherd towards his sheep which he demonstrates not only in his providing their needs and protecting them from those who would seek to steal and deceive them, like robbers and wolves—but in his willfully laying down his life to rescue and redeem them from themselves, freeing them from the debt of sin they owed to God—dying to take the penalty for their sin—and raising back to life for their justification, guaranteeing eternal forgiveness and the hope of glory.

But only for HIS sheep—not all sheep—and not any other animal that you might liken human beings too—only for HIS sheep—and HIS sheep are comprised of people from every background imaginable—yet despite their diversity they demonstrate their unity with one another and to the Good Shepherd by their faith in him—and their faithfulness to follow only him—his voice. These are the ones Jesus laid his life down to rescue and redeem for himself, and to himself…

This is what makes Jesus the Good Shepherd. This is why Jesus—is—the—only—Good—Shepherd—in the purest sense of the word. The question is: do you know him as your Shepherd, and does he know you as his sheep?