It seems to me that Jesus knew how much His disciples and friends (then and now) would need to grasp this idea of His identity as a good shepherd. They needed to feel His love and comfort, to experience His protection and care, and to be confident in their relationship to Him. They needed that for themselves first of all AND then they would need it in the future as they became shepherds themselves. After all, wasn’t that the whole idea? After His resurrection, Jesus clearly called Peter to be a shepherd and that was only possible because Peter had learned to know that He had a shepherd who truly loved and understood and accepted him. He knew it in his head intellectually, but he also felt it in the inner core of his being emotionally. Because I know and I feel You are my shepherd, Jesus, I can find the capacity to take care of the “lambs” in my life. Thank you.
