Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Jesus: Shepherd

     "So we Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture," Psalm 79:13 states, "will give thanks to Thee forever; to all generations we will tell of Thy praise."
     "Oh give ear, Shepherd of Israel," the next chapter begins, "Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!"
     As we see from these passages, it was not at all uncommon for people of the Old Testament to think of God as their shepherd.  The people were very familiar with herding sheep, and it was only natural to regard their ultimate leader as their shepherd.
     "Know that the Lord Himself is God;" we read in Psalm 100:3, "it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
     "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock," Isaiah 40:11 promises, "in His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes."
     One of the most extensive Old Testament discussions of God's flock is found in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel.  From this chapter we learn at least two things.
     The first thing we learn from Ezekiel 34 is that God is not happy with the performance of the people He has allowed to watch over His flock.
     "Son of Man," God instructs beginning in verse 2, "prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.  Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves!  Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
     "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
     "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.
     "And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered."'"
     The second thing that we learn from this chapter is that God does not plan on continuing to accept this kind of leadership.  In fact, He is sending a shepherd who will do the right kind of job.
     "And I, the Lord, will be their God," verse 24 points out, "and My servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken."
     "And I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing," God promises in verse 26.  "And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing."
     "And My servant David will be king over them," Ezekiel 37:24 prophesies, "and they will have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them."
     Of course, the shepherd who is promised is Jesus.
     "We are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand," Psalm 95:7 states.
     "Today, if you would hear His voice," the thought continues, "do not harden your hearts..."
     This passage is quoted in the third chapter of Hebrews, in a discussion of the position of Jesus over the house of God.
     "I am the good shepherd," Jesus claims in John 10:11.
     As the Lord begins His ministry here on earth, He clearly understands the job before Him as a shepherd.
     "And seeing the multitudes," Matthew 9:36 notes, "He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd."
     In Luke 18:12-14, Jesus tells a short parable which makes evident His dedication as a shepherd as well as His great love for each individual sheep.
     "What do you think?" Christ asks.  "If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
     "And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.  Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish."

     Jesus is the shepherd.  No passage makes this clearer than does the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John.  As we learn from verses 18 and 30, Jesus has the authority to be the shepherd.  He also states this in Matthew 28:18 where He tells His apostles that all authority has been given Him in heaven and on earth.
     But we also learn from John chapter ten that there are imposters who try to lead the sheep astray.
     "Truly, truly, I say to you," Jesus warns in John 10:1, "he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber."
     "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers;" He adds in verse 8, "but the sheep did not hear them."
     Jesus is the one-and-only shepherd.  But John 10 goes beyond that.  Jesus is the GOOD shepherd.  He is the good shepherd, we learn in verse 11, because He gives His life for the sheep.
     "I lay down My life for the sheep," the Master states in verse 15.
     Jesus is also the good shepherd because He is willing to defend the flock.
     "He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep," Jesus explains in John 10:12-14, "beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the world snatches them, and scatters them.
     "He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me."
     If Jesus is the good shepherd, then that makes us the sheep.  And this means that certain things are required on our part.
     If we are the sheep of Jesus, then we must hear our shepherd's voice.
     "To him the doorkeeper opens;" John 10:3-4 notes, "and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice."
     "My sheep hear My voice," Jesus adds in verse 27, "and I know them, and they follow Me."
     Stop and think for a moment.  There are a lot of people who claim to be leading the flock.  But is the voice we are hearing really that of Jesus?  This brings up another thing that is required if we are to be the sheep of Jesus.  If we are going to listen to His voice, we must be able to recognize Him.  We must be able to distinguish His voice from that of other would-be shepherds.
     "My own know Me," the Lord points out in John 10:14.
     In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus looks ahead to the day when He will separate the sheep of His flock from the goats that do not belong there.  It will be a sad day if we find out we are in the wrong group, won't it?
     Some of the saddest words in the entire Bible are found in Luke 13:23-27, where Jesus states that the majority of people who think they have been following Him will be greatly surprised on the Judgment Day.
     "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" someone asks in verse 23.
     Before we go on with the rest of this passage, ask yourself how your religious teacher would answer this question.  The answer would be, "No, all good people will go to heaven!" wouldn't it?  Or, the reply might be, "All you have to do is believe in God!" or "All you have to do is have love."  Be honest.  What answer would you be given?  If the answer is not exactly the same as that of Jesus, then you had better find another teacher before it is too late.
     "Strive to enter by the narrow door;" the Master responds, "for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
     "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.'"
     If you know of anything sadder than hearing Jesus say, "I do not know you," please let me know.  Otherwise, do some serious thinking about what you will hear from the Good Shepherd's lips.  Will you be able to argue with Jesus and make Him see things your way?
     "Then you will begin to say," the passage goes on, "'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets'; and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evil doers.'"
     If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, then we must listen to His voice.  We must be able to recognize His voice.  And we must follow only Him.
     As John 10:5 makes clear, we must not follow imposters.  And, according to verses seven and eight, we can enter the flock only though Jesus, the one shepherd.
     By the way, this chapter also points out in verse 16 that this one shepherd has only one flock.
     There are many false flocks lead by false shepherds.  But only the truth will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)