Jesus is Lord!  Trust Him!
 
“Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.”  Psalm 95:6-7
 
What does Jesus say about His sheep, the people of His pasture?
In John 10 He tells us what a good shepherd does as opposed to the behavior of a hireling who is not the owner of the sheep.
(Read all of John 10 for the whole of this vital teaching.)
 
“I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  John 10:11
“But he who is a hireling, and not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf catches the sheep, and scatters them.  Vs. 12
“He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.”  Vs. 13
 
But Jesus assures us again that He is the good shepherd as we see in verse 14,
“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
 
I am ‘known by My own’
He has already explained something of the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep earlier in the chapter -- Jesus tells us that they know something of each other,
“To him (the shepherd) the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out,
And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”  Vs. 3-5
 
Notice he does not drive the sheep, but he calls each by name and they follow him.  Does that not picture a loving trust on the part of the sheep for the one who cares for them?  If you can’t see it here, look at Psalm 23.
 
“The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me by still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name sake.”
(I will let you finish the rest of Psalm 23.)
 
We do see that the shepherd meets all the needs of his sheep -- food, water, rest, protection and the most tender of care.
 
The Lord Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are His people.  Our Good Shepherd did just that, He laid down His life, that we might be redeem and reconciled to God.  Hallelujah, He took it up again!
 
“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father.”  Vs. 18
 
There are those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ as we see in Vs. 25-26,
“Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe.  The works I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep…”  
 
But of His sheep,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”  Vs. 27-30
 
I end with Psalm 100 which is a Psalm of thanksgiving:
 
“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.”
 
All praise and glory to Lord Jesus: our Good Shepherd. Amen