Discovery BoxJohn 10:11 
Context10:11 “I am the good 1 shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life 2 for the sheep.
John 10:28-29
Context10:28 I give 3 them eternal life, and they will never perish; 4 no one will snatch 5 them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, 6 and no one can snatch 7 them from my Father’s hand.
1 tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).
2 tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”
sn Jesus speaks openly of his vicarious death twice in this section (John 10:11, 15). Note the contrast: The thief takes the life of the sheep (10:10), the good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. Jesus is not speaking generally here, but specifically: He has his own substitutionary death on the cross in view. For a literal shepherd with a literal flock, the shepherd’s death would have spelled disaster for the sheep; in this instance it spells life for them (Compare the worthless shepherd of Zech 11:17, by contrast).
3 tn Grk “And I give.”
4 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
5 tn Or “no one will seize.”
6 tn Or “is superior to all.”
7 tn Or “no one can seize.”
