Christ, Our Shepherd

HI: God will not stop being the Shepherd of His people.

He is our shepherd in the face of sin (vv. 1-5)

Isaiah 40:1 KJV 1900

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Hezekiah has just shown his inadequacy as a leader. He is content with peace in his own day, even though his actions will bring future ruin to his kingdom.

Happened in 586 BC when Babylon came in.

God calls for “comfort” in the face of his tragedy.

This is the beginning of the second half of isaiah, and it is markedly different. The first words are key: it is the section of “comfort”.

God can fix what is broken since He became a baby in a broken world.

Isaiah 40:2 KJV 1900

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, That her warfare is accomplished, That her iniquity is pardoned: For she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

In the face of their sin, God promises a double measure of comfort.

God’s grace is not only amazing grace, it is abounding grace.

Havner, Vance

God now says, “Here is how the pardoning of your iniquity will one day be carried out: the messenger in the desert will come preparing the way.”

Qtd. in Matt.3.3; John 1.23; Mark 1.3; Luke 3.1-6

Isaiah 40:3–5 KJV 1900

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill shall be made low: And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The places being made “lower” and higher” are all a part of verse 3: a highway for grace is being made here. There is now access to God from all directions and localities with nothing hindering it.

A straight and level way must be prepared according to the ancient custom of building a road to welcome a king or conqueror. E. Power

He is our shepherd with the unchanging Word (vv. 6-8)

Isaiah 40:6–8 KJV 1900

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.

How could Israel believe this when their situation mitigated against it?

They had to cling to one thing: God’s unchanging word.

Qtd in 1 Peter 1.22 to show how God’s word is unchanging and always the word that saves.

we do have our moments of dedication, don’t we, when we feel ourselves fully committed to the Lord. But our faithfulness is like the flower of the field, beautiful at the moment but rapidly failing when trouble and distraction come upon us. Yet, “but,” nevertheless ... in contrast to our inconstancy, God’s faithfulness is not inconstant. His word stands forever. He never takes it back. God keeps his promises. Elizabeth Achtemeier,

He is our shepherd with a conquering arm (vv. 9-11)

Isaiah 40:9–11 KJV 1900

9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; Lift it up, be not afraid; Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, And his arm shall rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, And his work before him. 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with his arm, And carry them in his bosom, And shall gently lead those that are with young.

This is the culmination of the promises so far: sin pardoned, trust in God’s word, and now, Israel, go and rejoice.

God comes as a ruler.

Qtd. in Rev.22.12. It is key that this is not just about the future. God will bring rewards to his people every time He “comes” in judgment on nations with the Gospel. Cf. Isaiah 62.11

Amidst all of this, he will cary for His flock in a special way.

There’s not a thumb’s breadth of this universe about which Jesus Christ does not say, ‘It is mine.’

Abraham Kuyper