Jesus' most distinctive way of teaching was through parables - or as John liked to refer to them, "through figures of speech" (10:6). Jesus also used the parable to skewer his adversaries, often with such subtlety that they failed to recognize their own caricature as it was drawn before them. Another favorite illustrative technique used by Jesus and recorded most prominently in John's gospel is the "I am" format used to introduce one after another new image of Jesus' role and mission. Jesus claims "I am" before such images as "the salt," "the gate," "the light," "the leaven," "the bread," "the resurrection," and in this week's text "the good shepherd."

The Lord as "shepherd" is probably familiar to every Sunday school child who has recited the twenty-third psalm. But the psalm, while it be…