On Shepherds

My language helper and I are working on describing John 10 in my lessons. The Good Shepherd. Of course, it helps to know a bit about shepherds when one wants to describe a passage on shepherds. I grew up in Juneau, Alaska which means I have not spent a large portion of my life observing sheep. My helper, on the other hand, spent part of her childhood in a village on the southern coast of Turkey. She has had the chance to see and observe sheep.
Sheep must have a shepherd. Without a shepherd they don't know where to go, don't know what to do. They're standing in the middle of the road, a car comes along and they don't move. In a standoff between a flock of sheep and a car, the sheep win. Sheep will eat their way off a cliff.
The shepherd truly does know the sheep and the sheep truly do know the shepherd. They will follow him, they will run to his voice. When a stranger comes into the fold, he can say whatever he wants, but the sheep will not hear him.
Ah, but she made an interesting comment. If a stranger comes into the fold and beats the sheep into submission, they will follow him. But it is not out of trust that they follow. Instead it is out of fear.
So, what have I learned? I've been thinking about this off and on for the last several days. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We really are like sheep. Yes, I know I've heard this uncountable times before. But I've gotten a little closer to it in this process. And...those who come to kill, steal and destroy? They really can come in. But it is only the Good Shepherd who we will follow in trust.