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'The Good Shepherd' is a pericope found in in which Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd is revisited throughout the four Gospels in references to Jesus not letting himself lose any of his sheep.
In the surrounding context of the allegorical story of the Good Shepherd ( and ) depicts the people around Jesus realized that he was asserting that he was God. Donald Guthrie sees the reaction of the Jews (picking up stones to stone him) show that they understood Jesus was asserting divinity. (see Leviticus 24:16).

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Is it a parable?

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From (NIV):

Is it a parable?

This story is commonly called a parable. However, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Parables: "There are no parables in St. John's Gospel" and the Encyclopædia Britannica article on Gospel of St. John: "Here Jesus' teaching contains no parables and but three allegories, the Synoptists present it as parabolic through and through." is potentially a stand-alone parable of Jesus, which UBS calls "Parable of the Sheepfold", calls it a "figure of speech", Strong's G3942, however, states 'I am the gate', which makes it a metaphor.

Notes

1. "The figure (...) is an allegory of Christ as the shepherd" Andre Grabard, "Christian iconography, a study of its origins", ISBN 0691018308