Christ's self-designation in John 10:11-18: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. The image draws on the OT shepherd-king tradition (Ezek 34, where God Himself promises to come shepherd His scattered flock when their human shepherds have failed; Ps 23, the most beloved psalm) and fulfills it. Christ contrasts Himself with the hireling (10:12-13) who flees when the wolf comes — the hireling does not own the sheep and so does not love them at cost. The good shepherd lays down His life voluntarily (10:18, no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself) and takes it up again. The mark of the true Christ-shepherd, over against the false, is willingness to die for the sheep. The cross is the diagnostic.