Christ, the Shepherd-King
Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd of the sheep. He testified, saying. ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.’ Joh 10:11. The ‘sheep’ of the Son’s sheepfold were given to Him by God the Father. Joh 10:29. They are the Father’s sons and daughters. As Jesus prayed, ‘You [the Father] have given Him [the Son] authority [as a Shepherd-King] over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.’ Joh 17:2.
This multitude of sons and daughters of God was given to the Son before the creation of the heavens and the earth, when the Father predestined every person to adoption as a son of God in Christ. Eph 1:5. All of our names were written in Christ, whom the Scriptures describe as the Seed of God. He would fall into the ground and die, and then come up like an ear of corn, full of grain. Each seed within the ear of corn represents a son of God. Joh 12:24.