Jesus wants us to know who he is: The Good Shepherd, who protects and cares for the people of God, just as a shepherd does his sheep.
Shepherds always want their sheep to be healthy and happy. They want them to have the best grass, fresh water, and safety, so that they can grow and multiply as much as possible.
A sheep has no greater friend than a good shepherd, and we have no greater friend than Christ. He invented life, he gave us life, and he came so that, in him, we might learn to live it "more abundantly".
He does not claim to be one good shepherd among many good shepherds, but the only one: "All others who have come are thieves and robbers."
Some religious leaders and philosophers throughout history - and even in our own day - have claimed to be saviours, to have all the answers, but they were really consumed by pride, greed, or lust.
Others have sincerely sought to better this world, but simply have insufficient wisdom or power to provide the human family with the kind of hope we long for and need.
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, not only wants to lead us to a more abundant life, but he can. Omniscient, omnipotent, and eternal, he combines utter goodness with infinite wisdom and unlimited power.
And so, with his flock, the problem is not the shepherd's limitations or ignorance, but the sheep's lack of docility: we stray from the flock and trap ourselves in thistles and swamps of self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and stubborn disobedience.
As Christians, we actually don't have just a good shepherd, but the perfect shepherd. All we need is to be sensible sheep and listen to the voice of the One we know.