Second, Jesus is the good shepherd because he has a strong sense of responsibility. Look at verse 12. "'The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.'" Why do shepherds toil and labour for the sheep? Because a shepherd owns the sheep. A person who has a sense of ownership loves what he owns. A strong sense of ownership (i.e., responsibility) does not mean control. It means love. Self-centred and possessive ownership is destructive. But a healthy sense of ownership is very constructive. Who owns London UBF? Each of us owns this ministry. We pray for UCL because we love it as our spiritual vineyard. For the last 8 years, we have been praying for this nation that God may make it a holy nation. Why? Because we love this country and we have a healthy and strong sense of responsibility for this country. The sense of ownership grows as we come to know the love of God more. Ultimately, this world is Jesus' pasture. This is God's world. So we love to pray and take care of the whole world with a strong sense of responsibility.

Other lords have their portion, and Christ takes his portion. His people are his inheritance. He speaks of "my sheep" as a special heritage, whom, as a shepherd, he claims for his own. Of these he is the sole Owner. He is not merely their Custodian, but their Owner. We read of the hireling or mercenary shepherd, "whose doesn't own the sheep"; but in the case of our good Shepherd, "he brought out his own [sheep]."