Our Lord always taught by parables. Matthew 13-34 In the parable of the good shepherd we have a powerful illustration of Christ as the good shepherd and his people as his sheep.--A flock would know if their shepherd was a good shepherd by the way he treated them. So the Lord's people can know they are his by how he shepherds them.--1- The good shepherd - eight things he is known by.-2- The life he gives for the sheep - given in five ways.