We come this week to the fourth “I am” statement in the John’s gospel: “I am the good shepherd.” Of all the ways Jesus could have described himself as our shepherd, he choose to reveal himself as the good shepherd. Unlike a hired hand, Jesus loves us freely, not out of obligation; fully, laying down his life for the sheep; and purposefully, gathering us into one flock and empowering us to know him deeply. His goodness is not abstract but personal, sacrificial, and transformational. To know Christ as the Good Shepherd is the heart of eternal life—not merely to know about him, but to truly know him, as he knows us.