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These words are equivalent to —

I. I am A Shepherd. I stand in a peculiar relation to a peculiar people, who are My sheep.

II. I am a GOOD Shepherd. I possess the appropriate qualifications and perform the appropriate duties of the character I sustain.

III. I am THE Shepherd — the one Shepherd — not like him of ver. 2, one of the shepherds, but the great, chief, proprietor Shepherd, whose own the sheep are — the Shepherd of shepherds as well as of sheep.

IV. I am THE GOOD Shepherd. I possess in the most perfect degree all the qualifications that are requisite for the discharge of the numerous, varied, and difficult duties of this most exalted office.

V. I am THAT GOOD Shepherd, i.e., the Divine Guardian foreshadowed in prophecy (Ezekiel 34:11-24), and answering in every respect to the type. Christ is all this —

1. As He secures for His peculiar people all the blessings they require.

2. As He secures these advantages to them at the greatest conceivable expense to Himself.

3. As there subsists the most endearing mutual acquaintance and intercourse between Him and His people.

4. As He cares for the happiness, so He secures the salvation of all.

(J. Brown, D. D.)

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KJV: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

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