We will contemplate in this post on the name of
God that identifies Him as the LORD our shepherd. What child of God can hear this name without
immediately thinking of the 23rd Psalm.
Psalms 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
There are other places in scripture that identify
the LORD in the person of Jesus as the “good” shepherd, the “chief” shepherd
and the “great” shepherd.
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep.”
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
Hebrews 13:20–21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of
the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ;
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
So, why does scripture make such a big deal about
identifying the LORD as our Shepherd?
Because it reveals so much about the heart of God toward us. A shepherd is responsible for the welfare of
the sheep in his flock. Just as with
those in every other area of responsibility, there will be some who are good
and some who are bad. There will also be
those that do their job so well that they are the standard by which all others
in their position are held. The LORD is
not only our Shepherd, He is our good and great Shepherd—the Chief Shepherd.
With Psalm 23 as our guide let’s see what this
name of the LORD reveals about His relationship to His people, His sheep.
Psalms 23:2 “He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
The shepherd is responsible for providing healthy
nourishment for the sheep. Even more
important than the physical nourishment He provides us, the LORD provides for
our spiritual nourishment. In fact, He
provides Himself as the actual “bread of life,” the Holy Spirit to quench our
thirst and His word to sustain continued growth.
John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will
give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
John 7:37–39 “…Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of
the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive….)”
1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the
word, that ye may grow thereby….”
Psalms 23:3 “He restoreth my soul: he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
The “soul” makes reference to our whole
being. There are times when we may be
fine physically, but with great need spiritually. Other times we may be doing fine spiritually,
but find ourselves in physical need. The
Lord is a shepherd that can provide nourishment, healing and protection in both
areas.
A good shepherd is always
leading his flocks to places that benefit them.
The LORD, our spiritual Shepherd, always leads us in directions that are
righteous and good. His desire for us is
to live holy lives.
Leviticus 20:7 “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for
I am the LORD your God.”
1 Peter 1:15–16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye
holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am
holy.”
Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Sheep have complete trust in the shepherd. As His sheep, we too can trust implicitly in
the LORD as our Shepherd. No matter how
dangerous the situation, even to the point of facing death, the child of God
has nothing to fear. As discussed in the
previous post, our Shepherd is always with us working all for good. The rod and staff are tools the shepherd uses
to discipline and protect his sheep. The
LORD just as surely disciplines and protects us through the ministry of the
Holy Spirit as He teaches us according to God’s word and convicts us of sin. I also believe that the angels often act on
His behalf in protecting and comforting us.
Hebrews 1:13–14 “But to which of the angels said he at any time,
Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not
all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?”
I think it is important to note that
as the “good Shepherd,” Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life to provide us
eternal life. As the “chief Shepherd”
the LORD will reward us with the crown of glory that is part of our eternal
inheritance as believers. As the “great
Shepherd” He is ever working to exhort us to do His will and all that is
pleasing to Him.
There is another important truth embodied
in this picture of the LORD as our Shepherd.
A shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know their shepherd. Jesus applied this truth to those that choose
to accept His gift of salvation and become his followers.
John 10:27–30 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
I and my Father are one.”
Those who profess to know Jesus yet have no
interest in following Him in obedience give testimony to a false profession of
faith. Those who evidence the truth of
their profession by following Him in obedience are assured of eternal life
because they are held securely in the hand of both the Son and the
Father—Almighty God. Let me clarify that
I am not saying that a true follower of Jesus will never sin; we will and we
do. However, when we sin, it is
accompanied by guilt and regret and a desire to repent and do better. Jesus addressed this truth when teaching the
disciples how to pray.
Luke 11:4 “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from
evil.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”
There is
one other section of scripture that I want to share in light of prophecy that
compares Jesus to a shepherd.
Matthew
25:31–34, 41 & 46 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And
before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world….Then shall he say also unto
them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels….And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
This scripture declares a blessed truth regarding
the eternal future of the believer and a terrible truth regarding the eternal
future of those that reject God. The
future will prove that God’s truth will prevail despite the arguments of man to
the contrary. I pray that you are among
those made righteous through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.”
(to be continued…)
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