“WOE TO THE SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL WHO FEED THEMSELVES! … BUT YOU DO NOT FEED THE FLOCK …” EZEK. 34:2-5
“I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own” (John 10:14)
In John, chapter 10:7-16 we see Jesus Christ identify himself as many different “I Am this” or “I am that.” He claims throughout John and that he is The Bread, the Water of life, the Light, the Door, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Vine. In John 10 he claims to be the Door of the sheep that we enter and the Good Shepherd. Let’s consider what it means that Jesus is our Shepherd and that He knows us by name. He lays hold of the rich meaning of Yahweh as Israel’s shepherd, their Ruler, Protector, Leader, and caring Companion. Those who hear His voice and come to Him discover He is “good,” the winsome, attractive Shepherd.
In contrast to the thief who takes life, Jesus gives life. The life he gives right now is abundantly richer and fuller. It is eternal, yet it begins immediately. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of his overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. Have you taken Christ’s offer of life? A hired hand tends the sheep for money, while the shepherd does it for love. The shepherd owns the sheep and is committed to them. Jesus is not merely doing a job, he is committed to love us and even lay down his life for us. False teachers and false prophets do not have this commitment.
Jesus is the good Shepherd because He gives His life for the sheep. This is why He has come. He cares for the sheep daily, watching, feeding, and protecting them. But in the end He must finally deal with their greatest danger, face the mightiest thief, the evil one, who spreads darkness and disorder through his own servants, the false shepherds. So the good Shepherd will give His life at the cross in this last struggle with this enemy and overcome.
Jesus is also the good Shepherd who knows the sheep and they know Him. There is a loving intimacy between Shepherd and sheep. The Shepherd knows the weak and the strong, the stubborn and the submissive ones, the hurts and the needs of every sheep. And the sheep know and trust their Shepherd—every inflection of His voice, the way by which He leads them out to pasture, His courage in the face of danger. He is their Shepherd. This intimate knowing between Shepherd and sheep is rooted in and modeled after the union between Father and Son.
The ways of caring for sheep and the characteristics of Palestinian shepherds in the days of Jesus were very different from the modern methods of sheep herding that are used today in this part of the world. The life of a shepherd in Judah was a very hard life, a very simple life. The sheep grazed in the hills and mountains of Israel. Grass was very sparse there, and so they had to be led from place to place. The shepherd had to keep looking for fresh grass, and the sheep would sometimes wander away from the flock onto a dangerous precipice, so the shepherd was always on duty. The sheep not only needed to be protected from themselves and their tendencies to wander, they also had to be protected from wild animals, especially wolves that were abundant in that part of the world at that time. Besides that, there were always robbers seeking to steal the sheep for themselves. I have heard it said that people who have been to Israel describe seeing shepherds even today who still work in much those same conditions. They wear the same kind of garb as the shepherds of Jesus’ day.
At the end of the day, when the sheep entered the sheepfold, the shepherd would hold the staff low over the entrance and every sheep had to pass under the rod. In Ezekiel, chapter 20, God speaks of His sheep, Israel, passing under the rod of discipline. The shepherd would make the sheep pass under his rod. They had to slow down almost to a crawl to go under the staff, and the shepherd could check and see if there were any cuts, bruises and injuries that he needed to take care of. That is a good example of God’s discipline in our lives sometimes. He makes us pass under the rod and slows us down and makes us examine ourselves so that He can show us the things that need to be changed in our lives.
Today the way we know the voice of God is through the Word of God. We need to focus our attention and our energy on learning the Word of God, and then when we hear something that is not in sync with the Word of God, we will know it, because we know what our Shepherd’s voice sounds like. We know the kinds of commands our Shepherd gives, so when someone comes along and says something that is contrary to the way our Shepherd speaks, we may not know all about where he is off base, but we will know that he is not our Shepherd. Be on your guard—listen only to your Shepherd.
We all love Psalm 23 that speaks about the Shepherd. We read this Psalm in times of pressure and of danger. The Lord is indeed our Shepherd. He leads us in paths of righteousness; he makes us lie down in green pastures; he leads us beside still waters; he takes us through places of danger and darkness. What a comforting thing it is to know we have such a Shepherd—I AM your Shepherd!
When Jesus calls us he leads us out of the blindness and darkness of the world. Jesus goes before us. When he leads you out he does not leave you alone; he has already gone ahead of you. In every situation you have to face he has been there first. He has chosen for you every circumstance of your life as a believer. That is the great truth of Scripture that helps us handle the pressures, the dangers, and the pitfalls of life—He has gone before us. We trust the voice of Jesus—“A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” The wonderful thing about this Shepherd is that, when you know him, you will have a sense of security. You will have liberty and Jesus will protect you from the wolves ready to snap at you, chew you up, and spit you out. Jesus promises you will “find pasture.” That is nourishment—food for the soul, for the mind, and for the heart.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:11-15 RSV).
With all these things in mind, let nothing tempt you to wander from the fold to which you are brought. Follow not those who are but “goats,” or “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Let it be your delight to hear your Shepherd’s voice, and to follow his steps: then shall you be separated from the goats in the Day of Judgment, and receive from the Chief Shepherd the portion reserved for you. Jesus is our Shepherd and will be for all eternity.
